Pre-meditated murder
A
U.S. Army soldier who confessed to participating in a group of soldiers
who intentionally killed innocent Afghan civilians last year, Spc.
Jeremy Morlock, was sentenced to 24 years in prison yesterday, after
pleading guilty and telling the judge presiding over his court martial
that "the plan was to kill people, sir" (NYT, AP, AJE, Guardian).
Morlock, who will testify against four other members of his platoon,
described for the judge how the group took Afghans from their villages
before killing them and staging the scenes to look like combat (BBC, LAT). He will be eligible for parole after seven years in prison.
In
a speech in London top U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen.
David Petraeus said that nearly 5,000 Taliban fighters had abandoned
their arms or were prepared to do so under the Afghan government's plan
for the "reintegration" of Taliban fighters, though he said that only
700 had gone through the formal government process (Reuters). Bonus read: how to end the war in Afghanistan? (FP).
A
NATO helicopter attack this morning on a car allegedly carrying a
Haqqani network leader in Khost province reportedly killed two Afghan
civilians (AP, Pajhwok).
And mobile service providers have shut down cell phone service in
Helmand, after the Taliban threatened to burn down the cell towers of
companies who did not comply with their demand to close (BBC, Reuters).
Prevailing unrest
A
suicide bomber targeting a police station in Hangu in northwest
Pakistan has killed at least five and injured at least 30 this morning,
the second attack in the district in two days (BBC, AP, AJE, Dawn, Guardian, Daily Times, AFP/ET).
Rocket attacks yesterday in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan
province, killed five people, including a police officer and a child (AP, CNN).
Gunmen on motorcycles yesterday also captured and destroyed three
trucks carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan 75 miles east of
Quetta (AP).
Unidentified
militants freed 20 men out of a group of 24 kidnapped earlier this week
from Lower Kurram in Pakistan's tribal areas after tribal elders
intervened (Dawn). And at least nine people have been murdered in targeted killings in Karachi (Daily Times, ET).
One step forward
In a stunning win, Pakistan crushed the West Indies in yesterday's Cricket World Cup match to advance to the semifinals (WSJ). If India defeats Australia today, then Pakistan and India are set for a showdown in Mohali, India on March 30. Bonus read: cricket shines in Pakistan (FP).
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