2003 in Afghanistan – Sludge Pump EZG – Slurry Pump EMM
al-Qaeda fighters in the mountainous area of Shawali Kot north of the city of Kandahar. Two Dutch F-16 aircraft bombed the cave complex as part of a follow-up to the attack.
Twenty female teachers from Afghanistan began a one-month training course at five women’s universities in Japan. The program was sponsored by the Foreign Ministry-affiliated Japan International Cooperation Agency.
February 5:Helge Boes, a CIA counter terrorism officer, was killed and two wounded in a grenade accident during a live fire exercise in eastern Afghanistan.
February 6: The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers and the head of the U.S. Permanent Mission, Ambassador Kevin Moley, signed agreements for U.S. contributions for humanitarian needs of million for Afghanistan and .1 million for Iraq.
February 7: U.S. troops were fired upon while they were searching a compound south-west of Gardez, Afghanistan in an early morning operation following an intelligence report. There were no casualties on either side.
Kabul residents reported a man on a bicycle dispersed leaflets from a previously unknown Islamic group (called Pious Mujahideen (holy warriors) of Islam) demanding the immediate departure of U.S.-led forces from Afghanistan and a return to a strict Islamic dress code for women.
A report by the Post-Conflict Assessment Unit of the United Nations Environment Programme revealed that 99% of the Sistan wetlands in Afghanistan and Iran were dried out.
Rebels attacked an Afghan army post on the Ayub Mama post in Helmand Province near thePakistani border, killing five soldiers and wounding four others. Two Afghan soldiers were also abducted.
Twenty-five men arrived at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, pushing the number of terror suspects at the naval base to about 650. The arrivals came a day after The Pentagon reported a recent rise in suicide attempts among detainees at the base.
February 8: German Defence Minister Peter Struck said that US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had assured Struck that he would support the German proposal for NATO to take over.
February 9: On the orders of President Karzai, 138 people, including 72 members of the Taliban, were freed from Afghan jails in a goodwill gesture before the Muslim festival of Eid al-Adha. Freed were prisoners who were critically ill, older than 60, serving minor offences or women who had finished half their sentence.
Afghanistan launched a campaign to recruit more women for training at the national police academy in Kabul. Priority was to be given to women who were denied education opportunities under Afghanistan’s former Taliban rulers. To date, There were 29 women among the nearly 1,500 students undergoing training.
February 10: Afghanistan became the 89th nation to join the International Criminal Court. The ratification took effect May 1, 2003. The court will prosecute those accused of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. It will intervene only when a country is unable or lacks the political will to carry out the trial.
Germany and the Netherlands took over joint command of the international peace-keeping force in Afghanistan. The command was handed over by Turkey’s Maj-Gen Hilmi Akin Zorlu during a ceremony at a secondary school in Kabul. Dignitaries present included President Karzai, German Defence Minster Peter Struck, and the Dutch Defence Minister Benk Korthals. As Lt-Gen Norbert Van Heyst vowed to maintain law and order, a rocket landed a hundred meters from a German base in Kabul. Struck was taken to shelter during the visit to Kabul when two rockets landed in his vicinity. To date, The German contingent in the peacekeeping force numbered about 2,500. The Turkish contingent numbered about 1,400, but was likely to be reduced to 160 men.
February 11: U.S. bombers fired laser-guided bombs at 25 armed Taliban suspects near the village of Lejay in the Baghran valley. Afghan authorities said that the raids had killed 17 civilians.
February 12: Canada said it would send up to 2,000 troops (consisting of a battle group and a brigade headquarters) to Afghanistan later in the year to bolster the United Nations peacekeeping mission. To date, Canada had two warships, two maritime patrol aircraft, three transport plans, and about 850 military personnel in the region searching for al Qaeda or Taliban operatives from Afghanistan.
President Karzai urged the international community not to abandon Afghanistan in the event of a U.S.-led war on Iraq. Such a move, he told the BBC, would lead to instability not just in Afghanistan, but within the region.
Key members of the United State Senate criticized the Bush administration for glossing over difficulties it still faced in Afghanistan. Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar said the administration appeared to be losing interest in Afghanistan.
The British announced