Violence, doubts rise for Afghans
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KABUL, Afghanistan -- U S and NATO commanders say they have blunted the Taliban's threatened spring offensive, killing almost 40 commanders and 2,000 insurgents. But suicide bombings and civilian deaths inflicted by international forces are all on the rise, threatening to derail the five-year mission to pacify and rebuild Afghanistan.
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Clashes and bombings killed 34 Taliban fighters and one policeman in Afghanistan, while President Hamid Karzai told the U.N. Wednesday that terrorist sanctuaries elsewhere must be destroyed to eliminate the violence engulfing his country.
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Violence and intimidation have escalated in the south of Afghanistan ahead of landmark presidential elections on October 9, a United Nations report said.
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The Kabul bombing came amid a sharp escalation of violence in Afghanistan.
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Sporadic violence erupted in pockets of  Afghanistan on the eve of a historic presidential election in  the rugged war-torn land, highlighting the risks posed by  Taliban militants who have vowed to disrupt the vote.
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The surge in violence has led many experts to voice serious doubts about whether legitimate elections can be held in January.
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KABUL, Afghanistan -- Fierce fighting broke out across Afghanistan yesterday with battles in three regions killing more than 100 militants, part of a cycle of rapidly rising violence five years into the US-led effort to defeat the Taliban.
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Hundreds of people rallied across war-scarred Afghanistan Friday to call for an end to violence on the United Nations&#39; Day of Peace, as fighting linked to a Taliban-led insurgency continued.
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Two people were killed in clashes on  Saturday between U.S. and Afghan forces and stone-throwing  protesters angered by President Hamid Karzai effectively axing  a regional governor, hospital officials and witnesses said.
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Many Afghans say they are more worried about a different source of abuse and intimidation during the presidential elections: pressure from local militia commanders to vote for certain candidates.
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This freshly minted democracy is about to hold the first open election in its history, but Saturday&#39;s vote fills Afghans here both with elation and fear.
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The death of the children may well add to the crescendoing anger many Afghans feel about civilian casualties from American and NATO military operations.
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U.S.-led forces trying to protect landmark Afghan elections face a rising wave of violence from about 2,000 insurgents, including al-Qaida militants slipping in from Pakistan, an American general said Saturday.
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More than 100 people, including militants, civilians and police, have been killed in three days of fierce clashes between NATO and the Taliban in southern Afghanistan, Afghan officials said Monday.
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At least 12 Afghan soldiers are dead after fighting in the south with Taliban fighters, say provincial officials. Thursday&#39;s fighting was a sharp escalation in violence ahead of next month&#39;s landmark presidential election.
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The counting of votes after Afghanistan&#39;s historic but contentious first democratic election last weekend resumed on Saturday after a break for the start of Ramadan and new violence across the country.
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Evidence emerges of increasing concern over the scale of British army casualties in southern Afghanistan.