Afghansitan:
2 U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan. So far this year 22 U.S. service members have fallen in Afghanistan at an approximate rate of 1 a day. Tensions in Afghanistan remain high as the NATO practice of night-raids, which take advantage of night-vision technology, become scrutinized. Protests were reported as some claimed that civilians, not militants, were amongst the victims of recent night-raids. Sporadic incidents of violence were reported throughout the country; several militants were arrested and several members of the police were kidnapped. In Paktika province, in eastern Afghanistan along the FATA/Paksitan border, three women and two men were reportedly killed by militant gunfire. Several civilians are also reported dead after accidentally-triggering an old mine. To this day, twenty years after the Soviet retreat, Afghanistan remains one of the most heavily-mined countries in the world.(Associated Press)
A program meant to raise pro-government militias to keep the Taliban at bay is running into problems with some officials who worry that the program could pave the way for warlords to re-emerge, as though they haven't already. Others see the program as essential to degrading the Taliban in Afghanistan.(New York Times)
US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates has taken his first trip to Afghanistan in three years. During the trip, he referred to the Taliban as both a cancer and a part of the Afghan political fabric.(Washington Post)
A drone attack allegedly killed fifteen militants of Chinese and Turkish origin. Some confusion on when the strike actually took place..(the Nation)
Pakistan:
The New York Times looks at the drone-surge that has risen in the aftermath of the suicide-bombing that killed members of CIA.
Pakistan's foreign minister claims that they are reaching out to "all levels" of the Afghan Taliban to try and encourage reconciliation. Given that Hekmatayer, Haqqani, and Omar all have their rear-bases in Pakistan, the Pakistani government could be in a strong position to foster peace in war-torn Afghanistan. But don't hold your breath.(Dawn)
In the Federally-Administered Tribal Areas, squeezed between Pakistan's North-West Frontier Province and eastern Afghanistan, Pakistani security forces continue to engage militants belonging to the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan(TTP). Kurram agency(Dawn) and Orakzai agency(Dawn), both north of North Waziristan, have been flooded with additional TTP militants in recent months following the Pakistani military's Operation Rah-E-Najat in South Waziristan. North Waziristan, long a center of Afghan-Taliban, is now sheltering many members of the Pakistani Taliban- Hakimullah Mehsud, the TTP chief, is thought to be amongst them. A rare foray by Pakistani security forces into North Waziristan took place, likely aimed at TTP members seeking shelter in the area.(Dawn)
In North-West Frontier Province, outside of Peshawar, a NATO fuel truck was attacked and destroyed by militants. Most of the attacks in the area are thought to be launched from Orakzai tribal agency, which is where the Pakistani military is widely believed to be preparing to launch their next assault.(Dawn)
Also in North-West Frontier Province, in the province of Tank outside of South Waziristan, a suicide bomber appears to have tried targeting a police station. Four people died.(the Nation)