Iraq and Afghanistan

At Least 56 Killed in Iraq Violence

In Iraq, at least fifty-six people were killed Sunday in a string of attacks. Six car bombings were carried out in Baghdad, and a suicide bomber struck in Fallujah. More than 100 people were wounded. It was Iraq’s worst day of violence since the US declared the nominal end of combat operations earlier this month. 

NATO Bombing Kills 7 in Afghan Village

In other Afghan news, at least seven people were killed in a NATO bombing hours after the polls closed. The US-led NATO force says the victims were Taliban militants, but local residents said at least some, if not all, of the dead were civilians. One man said he had just helped an elderly victim cast his vote in the elections earlier that day.

Villager: "The government asked us to come and vote to put a candidate in parliament, but why are they bombing us? Yesterday I carried this old man to cast his vote, and this is the result: they dropped a bomb on him."

 

17 Killed as Afghanistan Holds Elections

In Afghanistan, at least seventeen people were killed in cross-country violence Saturday as parliamentary elections were held. Taliban militants had vowed to disrupt the voting. Amidst widespread complaints of vote rigging, the UN envoy to Afghanistan, Staffan de Mistura, said it’s too early to assess whether the elections were credible.

Staffan de Mistura: "If they meant success holding the election, we all agree it was almost a miracle holding an election. Beyond that, I would wait and be cautious."

Report: US Won’t Change Afghan War Policy

Amidst the ongoing violence in Afghanistan, the Washington Post is reporting the Obama administration has concluded its Afghan war policy is sound and will continue unchanged. The decision was reached ahead of a December review that had been billed as a pivotal moment in the Afghan war. But an unnamed senior administration official said that after internal deliberation, the consensus in the White House is that "The fundamentals are in the place where they should be." The official added that any changes will be akin to "moving the rabbit ears around a little bit to get better reception. I don’t think we’ll be changing the channel come December."