U.S. Marines target Taliban stronghold
More than 1,000 U.S. Marines, backed by artillery and helicopter gunships, stormed into Garmsir, a Taliban stronghold in southern Afghanistan before dawn Tuesday. The operation, mounted by the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, opens a new U.S. combat sweep across the region where Taliban insurgents, ousted from power in 2001, have made a strong comeback. As of Tuesday night, there were no reports of Marine casualties.
U.S. SOLDIER DIES
A soldier was killed Tuesday when an explosive struck his vehicle in northwestern Baghdad, the U.S. command said. At least 4,057 members of the U.S. military have died from all causes, according to an Associated Press count.
IRAQI MINISTER KILLED
In Baghdad, assassins killed Dhia Jodi Jaber, the director-general of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. Some reports said he was shot to death while in his motorcade, but others said a roadside bomb had killed him.
AFGHANS ADMIT ERRORS
Afghanistan's three top security chiefs managed to hold onto their jobs despite admitting before parliament that they failed to prevent Sunday's attack on President Hamid Karzai even though they knew about the plot. At least one police officer was arrested in the assassination attempt.
ATTACK IN OPIUM FIELD
A suicide bomber and gunmen attacked a drug-eradication team in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 19 people and injuring more than 40, authorities said. Twelve police officers were among the dead in the assault. Civilians accounted for the other deaths, officials said. The insurgency is fueled with profits from the drug trade.
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An Israeli airstrike in Beirut killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens more, Lebanese health officials said. It was the first such Israeli attack on Lebanon's capital in months and came shortly after Hezbollah pounded northern Israel with 140 rockets.
