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| See also: | Other events of 2002 List of years in Afghanistan | ||||
The following lists events that happened during2002 in Afghanistan.
January 3–14: U.S. aircraft bombed a suspectedTaliban complex in easternAfghanistan.
Friday, January 4: Sgt. 1st ClassNathan Ross Chapman ofSan Antonio, Texas, was killed in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan, the first U.S. soldier to die by hostile fire. ACIA operative was also wounded.
Wednesday, January 9: Seven U.S. Marines were killed when their plane hit a mountain while landing in Pakistan. In the first three months of the campaign, 15 U.S. personnel died.
Thursday, January 10: U.S. forces engaged in a firefight with unknown forces as a transport plane took off in Kandahar.[1]
January 24, theHazar Qadam raid Americans accidentally attacked an allied compound collecting weapons for their Karzai government.
Sunday, January 27: U.S. Special forces backed a local Afghan militia attack which killed 6 Al-Qaeda personnel held up in a hospital in Kandahar.
Friday, February 1: Snow atKabul International Airport forced the plane of Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai to land inBagram, as he returned after a week-long trip abroad that took him to the United States and the United Kingdom.
Saturday, February 2: Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai established a special committee to investigate factional violence threatening the stability of Afghanistan. The nine-member commission, headed by Border Affairs MinisterAmanullah Zadran, flew by helicopter immediately to the eastern city ofGardez where violence had erupted days before.
Sunday, February 3: InGardez, Afghanistan, Afghan andUnited Nations mediators, joined by U.S. officials, extracted a conditional cease-fire agreement fromBacha Khan andPadshah Khan.
Monday, February 4:Yacine Akhnouche and two others were arrested near Paris. Arknouche told police he had met suspected shoe bomberRichard Reid andZacarias Moussaoui at a training camp in Afghanistan in 2000.
Tuesday, February 5: Calling on his countrymen to "take each other's hands" to rebuild the nation, interim Afghan leaderHamid Karzai raised Afghanistan's new flag over the presidential palace. The flag had been originally approved by the 1964 constitution as Afghanistan's national emblem but had not flown over government offices in Kabul since the Taliban took over in the early 1990s. The ceremony, which lasted about 15 minutes, was attended by cabinet ministers, diplomats and former presidentBurhanuddin Rabbani.
Wednesday, February 6: In attempts to bring peace between feuding warlords, Afghanistan's interim leaderHamid Karzai visitedHerat.
Thursday, February 7: U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush decided that the 1949Geneva Conventions would apply to captured Taliban fighters taken from Afghanistan to a US military base atGuantánamo Bay,Cuba, but not toal-Qaeda members there.
Friday, February 8: Pakistan President Gen.Pervez Musharraf and Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai agreed to cooperate on a proposedTrans-Afghanistan Pipeline project to transport natural gas from Central Asia to Pakistan via Afghanistan.
Saturday, February 9:Hamid Karzai, head of the Afghan interim government, appointedMaulvi Zia-ul-haq Haqyar andSayed Ikramuddin Masoomi as the new governors ofBaghlan andTakhar provinces in northern Afghanistan.
Sunday, February 10: Interim Afghan leaderHamid Karzai released more than 300 capturedTaliban soldier. Karzai said they were innocent and urged them to find jobs.
Monday, February 11: Interim Afghan leaderHamid Karzai met withUnited Arab Emirates President His HighnessSheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The UAE announced it allocated $6 million for Afghan humanitarian relief, setting up refugee camps on the Pakistan-Afghan border near the Pakistan town of Chaman. Karzai reopened the Afghan embassy.
Tuesday, February 12: Interim Afghan leaderHamid Karzai warned warlords to remove their check posts and chains on roads.
Wednesday, February 13: The United States Congress stepped in to find nearly $300m in humanitarian and reconstruction funds for Afghanistan after theBush administration failed to request any money in the latest budget.
Thursday, February 14: Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai visitedJalalabad to attend a function being held there in memory of formermujahedin commanderAbdul Haq. Haq was brother of the Jalalabad governor,HajiAbdul Qadir.
Friday, February 15: Fighting broke out at a goodwill soccer game between an Afghanistan national team and international peacekeepers. Guards beat back overflowing crowds trying to enter the stadium. Play went on anyway despite the clash, and the international team won the game three to one. Afghanistan's former Taliban government had used the Kabul stadium for public executions and other harsh punishment to enforce its fundamentalist version of Islamic rules.
Saturday, February 16: The first attack onInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers since their initial deployment in Afghanistan on December 22, 2001, occurred when a post in Kabul came under attack before dawn. Soldiers of the 2nd Parachute Battalion returned fire, and the gunmen fled in a car. Later, a car at a nearby house was discovered riddled with bullets. One man was found dead and five hurt.
Tuesday, February 19:The Pentagon ordered two U.S. bombing raids against Afghan militias opposed to the new administration led byHamid Karzai. This marked a turn in strategy. Previously, all U.S. military operation had focused strictly on Taliban andal-Qaeda forces.
Saturday, February 23: Two rockets are fired at the U.S. base in Kandahar, but don't inflict any damage.[3]
Sunday, February 24: Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai arrived inTehran,Iran to meet with reformist PresidentMohammad Khatami and his government and to exchange views on regional issues, including the future ofAfghan refugees. Iran pledged $560 million to Afghan reconstruction over five years. The meetings take place despite U.S. accusations of Iran's inclusion in U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush's "axis of evil". Traveling with Karzai were Afghan Ministers of Foreign AffairsAbdullah, Immigration AffairsEnayatullah Nazari, CommerceSayed Mustafa Kazemi, TransportSultan Hamid Sultan, Information and CultureRahim Makhdoom, AgricultureSayed Hussein Anwari, and Rural DevelopmentAbdul Malik Anwar.
Monday, February 25: The first units of a new Afghan army started training in Kabul. The U.S. was assisting in the creation of the army.
Tuesday, February 26: Accompanied by a strong 36-member delegation, which includes Foreign MinisterAbdullah, Afghanistan interim headHamid Karzai arrived in New Delhi, India to discuss efforts underway for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
Wednesday, February 27: Afghan interim leaderHamid Karzai attended a special ceremonial reception at theRashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, India. He also had visits with Indian PresidentKocheril Raman Narayanan and Prime MinisterAtal Bihari Vajpayee, Vice PresidentKrishan Kant, and Leader of OppositionSonia Gandhi.
Saturday, March 2: In an incident offriendly fire, U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley Harriman, of the Third Special Forces Group, and two Afghans were killed by a U.S.AC-130 gunship that mistook their convoy for enemies. They had been moving into position forOperation Anaconda. Three U.S. and 14 Afghan troops were wounded in the attack. It was originally reported that they were ambushed.
Sunday, March 3: Seven U.S. soldiers are killed when their helicopter is shot down duringOperation Anaconda
Wednesday, March 6: A blast killed two German and three Danish soldiers as they defused a Soviet-made SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near the airport in Kabul. Eight people were wounded.
Saturday, March 9: TheInternational Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), theInternational Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and theAfghan Red Crescent Society (ARCS) jointly celebratedInternational Women's Day in Kabul. Attending the event were over 130 ARCS staff members and volunteers, representatives of the Afghan government and of local and foreign non-government organizations. Tribute was paid to the women who had played a crucial role in helping children survive.
Monday, March 11: Through his deputy,Qutbuddin Hilal,Gulbuddin Hekmatyar pledged support forHamid Karzai. Hekmatyar also supported the return of the king.
Wednesday, March 20: A Special forces soldier is wounded during a firefight near Khost.
Thursday, March 21:UNICEF completed a "Back to school" project, providing thousands of basic packs for the schools, students and teachers in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, March 27: A U.S. soldier is killed by a mine outside of Kandahar.
Thursday, March 28: TheU.N. Security Council voted to create aU.N. assistance mission in Afghanistan for one year.
Tuesday, April 2: In Kabul, Pakistani President GeneralPervez Musharraf met with Afghanistan's interim leaderHamid Karzai, in the first visit by a Pakistani leader in more than 30 years. The two planned to mend relations and work together to promote stability in Afghanistan.
Wednesday, April 3: A tripartite accord regarding repatriation ofrefugees was signed inGeneva byIran, Afghanistan, and theUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Saturday, April 6: Three Danish and two German explosives experts were killed while defusing Soviet-built SA-3 anti-aircraft missiles near Kabul's airport. Eight others were injured. In November 2002, a Danish-German report would conclude that the explosives experts did not follow safety regulations while disarming two of the missiles. By March 2003 two Danish officers would face preliminary charges of negligence.
Tuesday, April 9: A joint program betweenUNHCR andIran encouraging repatriation ofAfghan refugees went into effect. (see details of the UNHCR Afghan repatriation programs)
Saturday, April 13: A U.S.-Afghan patrol comes under attack by 20 militants, air support is called in which killed five of them.[4]
Sunday, April 14: A U.S. airbase is attacked by two RPGS.[4]
Monday, April 15: Operation Mountain Lion began in the Gardez and Khost regions.[5]
Wednesday, April 17: Two U.S. pilots, MajorsHarry Schmidt andWilliam Umbach, returning from a 10-hour patrol, at more than 15,000 feet, spotted surface-to-air fire and feared it was from Taliban forces. Thinking Umbach was under attack, Schmidt asked flight control permission to fire his 20 mm cannons, to which flight control replied "hold fire." Four seconds later, Schmidt said he was "rolling in, in self defense." He dropped a laser-guided bomb 35 seconds after that, wounding eight and killing Sgt.Marc Leger, Cpl.Ainsworth Dyer, Pvt.Richard Green and Pvt.Nathan Smith, members of the 3rd Battalion of thePrincess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. The troops were atTarnak Farms, a former al-Qaeda training area nearKandahar that allied forces had begun using as a practice range. The Canadians were firing anti-tank and machine-gun rounds horizontally, not vertically in a way that would have threatened the twoF-16s.
May 2002:Combined Joint Task Force 180 becomes the most senior U.S. military headquarters in the country.
Wednesday, 1 May 2002, A U.S. Green Beret was wounded near Bagram.
Sunday, May 19: A U.S. Special forces soldier is killed in a firefight nearSkhin, Paktia province.[5]
Monday, May 20: Japan extended its logistics support for the U.S.-led anti-terrorism campaign in and around Afghanistan for another six months.
Wednesday, May 22: U.S. planes bomb a group of suspected militants near the Pakistani border.[7]
Thursday, May 30: TwoC-130 Hercules used to airlift food toGhor Province in central Afghanistan during the winter returned to their African base. They had flown back and forth betweenHerat orMashad,Iran and Ghor almost every day for five months, distributing 6,400 metric tons of food and seeds to more than 460,000 Afghans.
Friday, May 31: In an incident offriendly fire, U.S. troops killed three of their Afghan allies during a firefight.
Sunday June 1: U.S. troops kill a suspected enemy fighter near Lwara.[9]
Tuesday, June 18: An unidentified group launches rockets within Kabul, and several rockets land in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy.
Monday, June 24: U.S. forces fire mortars and call in close air support after coming under rocket fire near Jalalabad.[11]
Sunday, June 30: Two RPGs are fired at the U.S. airbase near Kandahar.[12]
Monday, July 1: In centralUruzgan province, a U.S.B-52 struck suspectedal-Qaeda and Taliban cave and bunker complexes, while anAC-130 gunship strafed several villages. U.S. officials said they believed the villages were legitimate targets, but Afghan authorities said that 48 civilians were killed and 117 were injured at a wedding party. The United States said a plane had come under attack from people on the ground, although no anti-aircraft weapons were found.
Sunday, July 2: A U.S. soldier is slightly wounded after a U.S. convoy came under fire near a hospital in Kandahar.[13]
Thursday, July 12: A U.S. compound in Tarin Kowt comes under small arms fire but no casualties are reported.[14]
Saturday, July 27: US soldiers surrounded a compound nearKhost and a firefight took place.Randy Watt led a group of the US soldiers to search the compound, in the belief that everybody had been killed. Two people had survived however,Omar Khadr and an unidentified man, one of whom threw a grenade killingChristopher J. Speer.
Monday, August 5: U.S. Special forces kill two people after coming under fire near Asadabad.[15]
Tuesday, August 6: U.S. troops kill four people in a car after a passenger with a gun attempted to open fire on them.[16]
Wednesday, August 7: At least 15 people were killed when suspected al-Qaeda gunmen attacked an army base in the southern outskirts of Kabul.
Friday, August 9: A powerful car bomb exploded at a construction company's warehouse in Jalalabad, killing 25 people and injuring 80 others.
Sunday, August 18: Two U.S. Special forces soldiers are wounded by gunfire in Uruzgan Province.[18]
August 18–26: During Operation Mountain Sweep, 2,000 U.S. and Afghan troops detain 10 suspects, they come under fire twice but sustain no casualties. the force of U.S. Army Rangers and other coalition special forces, accompanied by members of the 82nd airborne division mounted five air assaults on the area surrounding the villages of Dormat and Narizah. The force found an anti aircraft gun, two 82mm mortars, recoilless rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers, machine guns, small arms and ammunition for all of them.[5][19]
Friday, August 23: The Czech Defense Ministry announced that some of the Czech troops currently stationed in Kuwait will be deployed in Afghanistan at the request of allies.
Wednesday, August 28: U.S. Special forces kill an armed man who displayed "hostile intent" near Lwara.[20]
Thursday, September 5: A car bomb was detonated in downtown Kabul, Afghanistan, killing more than 30 Afghans.
Wednesday, September 11: U.S. troops in Bagram wound a gunman who opened fire on a guard tower.[22]
September 15: Two U.S. soldiers are injured by an explosive device in eastern Afghanistan.[23]
Friday, September 20: A U.S. base in Lwara comes under attack by rockets and small arms fire. U.S. forces respond with small arms and mortar fire, and called in airstrikes.[24]
September 28: A U.S. soldier is grazed by a bullet while in a convoy travelling to Kabul.[25]
October 5: A U.S. soldier in a helicopter northwest of Kandahar is wounded by gunfire, soldiers in the helicopter return fire killing one attacker and wounding another.[26]
Tuesday October 15: A rocket hits a U.S. bunker in Lwara amidst a rocket attack, U.S. forces detain three suspects.[27]
Wednesday October 23 Mortar fire is directed at a U.S. encampment in Asadabad.[28]
Monday, October 28: Iran made an appeal to Kabul to respect a 1972 accord entitling Iran to at least 26 cubic metres of water a second from theHelmand River. When the Taliban ruled Afghanistan, they violated the 1972 accord, with devastating results in Iran's impoverished Sistan-Baluchestan border region. Tens of thousands of cattle and other livestock perished in the ensuing drought. In a sign of improved Tehran-Kabul ties, Afghanistan honored the appeal, but said the flow would only be temporary.
Wednesday, October 30: The topU.N. envoy in Afghanistan,Lakhdar Brahimi, told theU.N. Security Council that the new Afghan government headed byHamid Karzai did not have the means or power to deal with the underlying problems that cause security threats. Brahimi also voiced a concern that Afghan warlordGulbuddin Hekmatyar was trying to form an alliance with remnants of the Taliban andal-Qaeda Brahimi also said there would be no long-term security in Afghanistan until a well-trained, well-equipped, and regularly paid national police force and national army are in place.
Thursday, October 31: Afghan authorities began investigating a series of well-coordinated attacks against girls' schools in a central region near Kabul. Four schools inVardak Province were attacked the previous week in a deliberate and systematic attempt to stop parents from sending their daughters to school. The attackers fired two rockets into school buildings in villages near the town of Maidan Shah, demolishing classroom walls and setting the buildings on fire. They also raided a school at a village mosque, setting fire to its wooden chairs and blackboard. The attackers left behind an unexploded grenade and several leaflets warning parents to keep their girls at home.
During November the U.S. military reported 60 attacks on their forces, up from 5 in July.[29]
Friday, November 1: About 60 kilometers east ofKhost, in Gardez, three rockets exploded just after midnight about one kilometer southwest of a compound housing U.S. special forces soldiers.
Saturday, November 2:Tajik forces loyal toIsmail Khan, the governor ofHerat Province, launched the attack in the Zer-e-Koh district, killing two civilians and injuring 15 in a crowded market. Ismail Khan, a former governor, took back control of Herat after the fall of the Taliban. But localPashtuns have complained his forces have looted and oppressed them.
Sunday, November 3: A rocket exploded 500 meters from a U.S. base inDeh Rahwod District inUruzgan Province, Afghanistan.
Tuesday, November 5: A rocket or mortar was fired at a U.S. Army Special Forces base inGardez, but caused no injuries.
Wednesday, November 6:The Hague announced that the Netherlands will join Germany in taking over command of theU.N. security force inAfghanistan in mid-February 2003. To date, Turkey was in command of the 19-nation, 5,000-strongInternational Security Assistance Force. Germany had 1,200 soldiers in the force, and the Dutch 240, but those figures would be boosted after the transfer of command. To date, Germany had a total of 10,000 troops serving abroad, second only to the United States.
Thursday, November 7: Afghanistan's PresidentHamid Karzai ordered the release of 20 female prisoners in a goodwill gesture one day after the start of the holy month ofRamadan. The women had all been detained for petty crimes. The women, held in a Kabul prison, would likely be released over the weekend.
Friday, November 8:Iran called for the second time in less than two weeks for Kabul to respect a water-sharing accord on the Helmand river flowing from Afghanistan into Iran. Afghan PresidentHamid Karzai said he would "take care of this issue personally."
Saturday, November 9: U.S. helicopters broke up a gun battle betweenKuchis and local government forces over a land dispute. After the two sides exchanged fire with light machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades for two hours, the American helicopters attacked the gunmen's positions on cliffs surrounding Kikara village, nearKhost, Afghanistan. Six gunmen were wounded in the clash.
Sunday, November 10: As part of an international effort in Afghanistan, work began on rebuilding a major highway. The project was expected to cost $250 million, two thirds of it pledged by the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia. The 750 mile (1,200 km) route, which runs fromKabul throughKandahar and then toHerat, was built in the 1960s with U.S. funds, but devastated during the 1980s Soviet occupation and the civil war that followed.
Monday, November 11: A team of representatives of theAfghan Human Rights Commission and theU.N. was dispatched to the north to look into the reports that witnesses of mass killings were being harassed, detained, tortured and executed.
Tuesday, November 12: Hundreds ofKabul University students marched in protest against the killing of four of their colleagues in a demonstration the previous evening. Police fired into the air and used water cannons to break up the march. Many of the poorer students, who lived in the troubled dormitory, were from areas dominated by ethnicPashtuns, while the university was dominated by ethnicTajiks.
Wednesday, November 13: 2,000 students assembled outside the gates ofKabul University, refusing to attend lessons until their demands for improved accommodation and justice for those who died in recent protests were met. Students said at least six people died in the two days of unrest. theInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was not called in to assist.Human Rights Watch claimed that Afghan police tortured and detained students, and that reporters were refused access to students being treated atWazir Akbar Khan Hospital.
Thursday, November 14: Construction began on a key highway connecting Kandahar to Spinboldak, Pakistan. The three-month, US$15 million project was funded by theAsian Development Bank.
Saturday, November 16: A remote-control 107 mm rocket landed nearly a mile (1.6 km) from the U.S. base nearGardez at around 8 p.m.
Sunday, November 17 TheUnited Nations investigated alleged human rights abuses byUzbek warlordAbdul Rashid Dostum. Witnesses claimed that Dostum jailed and tortured witnesses to prevent them from testifying in a war crimes case.
Monday, November 18: In New Delhi, India, Afghan Commerce MinisterSayed Mustafa Kazmi and Indian Foreign MinisterYashwant Sinha held talks to put in place a preferential trading arrangement and the setting up of transit routes to jack up bilateral economic cooperation.
Tuesday, November 19: The newestU.N.refugee camp ofZhare Dasht was criticized as being too remote, overcrowded and dangerously close to a mine field. It was built in the desert on the outskirts ofKandahar to house about 60,000 refugees who had been living on Pakistani border.
Wednesday, November 20 Australian Prime MinisterJohn Howard said that Australia would begin withdrawing its 150 commandos from Afghanistan later that month.
Thursday, November 21: A large quantity of explosives was found by Afghan police in the generator room of theSarobi Dam in Kabul, averting a possible sabotage attack. Several arrests were made.
Friday, November 22: AKurdish man fromIraq,Bohtan Akram Tawfiq Horami, carrying 10 kg (22 lb) ofC-4 explosive material in his coat, was arrested inWazir Akbar Khan, an affluent neighborhood of Kabul, where many foreigners have homes and offices. It was believed Defense MinisterMohammed Fahim was the target.
Saturday, November 23: Nine white phosphorus rockets were fired at a U.S. base nearLwara, Afghanistan, 178 km southwest of Kabul, at about 10:30 pm. AnA-10 fighter jet dropped a single bomb on the suspected launch site.
Monday, November 25A 15-man U.S. special forces patrol seized a large cache of heavy weapons and armored vehicles nearBamyan. About 100 armedAfghan men fled the site as the soldiers approached the cache. Two unarmed men were briefly questioned then released.
the blasts occurred late Monday in the vicinity of bases housing most of the troops from the 22-nation contingent.
Tuesday, November 26: Several rockets slammed into the eastern edge of Kabul overnight, landing several miles from a base of the international peacekeepers.
Wednesday, November 27: A New Zealand telecoms companyArgent Networks won a $4.5 million contract to developcellular and internet services in Afghanistan. Argent will develop a billing system for the GSM mobile network set up in June by theAfghan Wireless Communication Company, a joint venture betweenTelephone Systems International and theAfghan Ministry of Communications.
Thursday, November 28: To date,U.N.-monitored disarmament commissions collected more than 6,000 small arms and 30 tanks in the northeast ofAfghanistan since the start of the disarmament plan on November 10. The commissions covered the provinces ofBaghlan,Badakhshan,Kunduz andTakhar.
Friday, November 29: Australia announced it would contribute $1 million towards a project to help Afghanistan restore production ofwheat andmaize.
Saturday, November 30: In Moscow, Afghan foreign minister,Abdullah, and his Russian counterpart,Igor Ivanov, held talks focusing on security issues. Russia had provided economic and food aid to Afghanistan during 2002, and Ivanov committed to increasing that aid. The two officials also spent much of their time discussing the growing problem of illegal drug smuggling.
Sunday, December 1: A group of armed Afghans patrolling outsideShindand air base stopped another group of armed Afghans on the roadside. The second group then fired at the patrol. U.S. soldiers who were inside the air base, also came under fire. They returned fire, then called for air support while making their escape. AB-52 bomber dropped seven 2,000-pound laser-guided bombs, killing at least seven.
Monday, December 2: Fierce clashes between forces ofAmanullah Khan andIsmail Khan resumed in western Afghanistan.
Tuesday, December 10: A second prisoner died (the first one dying on December 3) at the makeshift prison in the United States compound at an Afghan base north of Kabul. Later, the autopsies would label the deaths as homicides.
Wednesday, December 11: U.S. forces fire mortars near the Pakistani border after coming under rocket attack.[30]
Thursday, December 12: TheAfghan Cable Center inJalalabad, which had been broadcasting more than 20 foreign television channels, was closed down by a special decision of theAfghanistan Supreme Court presided over by chief justice MowlawiFazl Hadi Shinwari.
Tuesday, December 17: A grenade was thrown into a jeep carrying two U.S. Special Forces soldiers driving through Kabul, Afghanistan. One soldier suffered an eye injury and the other a leg injury. Their Afghan interpreter also was injured.Amir Mohammad was later taken into custody for the crime. He revealed that he had received terror training at a camp inside Afghanistan. Allegedly, he and about a dozen other men trained for a week at a base six miles from the border with Pakistan. About a dozen teachers taught the students how to use guns and bombs. Five students then traveled to Kabul looking for American targets.
Friday, December 20: A U.S. soldier is killed during a gunfight in eastern Afghanistan. The same day, another U.S. soldier is injured by a rocket attack.
Friday, December 27: In theGardez District of Afghanistan, five people were killed and six wounded when guests at a wedding party fired a rocket propelled grenade into the air, only to have it land nearby and explode.
Sunday, December 29: A Pakistaniborder guard shot and wounded a U.S.soldier in the head in eastern Afghanistan'sPaktika province, just a few hundred yards from Pakistan's border. The shooting prompted U.S. forces to call in anairstrike on a building where the guard was believed hiding. Pakistan claimed the building was on its side of the border, but the Americans claimed it was on the Afghan side. The soldier was evacuated to the U.S. military's medical center inLandstuhl, Germany, then transferred to a nearby German hospital for more specificneurological treatment, and a week later flown home to the United States. The border guard was taken into custody. The situation grew more tense when Pakistan dispatched extra troops to the border after the United States said it reserved the right to cross into Pakistan in hot pursuit of enemy fighters fleeing from Afghanistan.
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