US general sends Afghan war review to Pentagon

[August 31, 2009]  KABUL (AP) -- NATO says the top commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan has finished his 60-day strategic review of the war and that it is now being sent up the chain of command to the Pentagon and NATO headquarters.

A NATO statement released Monday said U.S. Gen. Stanley McChrystal reports the situation is "serious" but that success is achievable. McChrystal says success demands a revised strategy, commitment and resolve.

NATO says the assessment was requested by the U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and NATO headquarters and that it seeks to reduce the capability of insurgents, including al-Qaida.

NATO officials say the review does not ask for more troops, an issue that will be considered separately.

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THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE.
AP's earlier story is below.

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KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (AP) -- Police say Taliban militants ambushed a supply convoy for NATO troops in southern Afghanistan, killing an Afghan guard who was escorting the trucks.

Zabul province police chief Ghulam Jailani Farhai says the militants opened fire on the line of trucks on the main highway from Kandahar province into Zabul early Monday. Private security guards hired to protect the convoy fought off the attackers, but one of the guards died in the battle and four were wounded.

Farhai also said three militants died while trying to plant a bomb on a road in Zabul's Shamolzai district.

In Kandahar, meanwhile, an official says three Afghan police were killed when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb.

[Associated Press]

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