The United Nations extended a ban on travel for its staff in southern Afghanistan to give local authorities time to improve security in the area where a foreign aid worker was murdered a weak earlier.
A deminer from U.S. military contractor Ronco lost his right foot after stepping on a mine near the Bagram base in Afghanistan.
Three explosions apparently from rockets fired by rebel fighters took place near the U.S. Chapman air field in the eastern Khost province of Afghanistan.
A 9-year-old Afghan boy was evacuated from Deh Rahwood to a U.S.-led base in Kandahar after suffering a bullet wound to the leg.
Afghan forces mounted an operation near Spinboldak against 50 to 60 suspected terrorists. Two government soldiers were killed and one wounded in the fighting. Seven suspected terrorists were captured.
Speaking on Afghan television, the Information and Culture Minister, Makhdum Rahin, said that the country was making progress in encouraging an independent media. He also encouraged Afghanistan's young journalists to criticize the government and himself personally, when mistakes were made.
In Islamabad, Shaukat Aziz announced that Pakistan would actively participate in the reconstruction of Afghanistan and undertake various development projects for the welfare of its people. Aziz said that a Pakistani private construction company has obtained a 25 million U.S. dollar contract to build a road link from Chaman to Kandahar and a 30 million US dollar sub-contract in other reconstruction projects.
A U.S. armored Humvee struck a landmine near Kandahar, Afghanistan. No one was injured. The mine caused major damage to the front end of the vehicle.
Afghan troops, following a trail in the Dara-e-Noor mountains north of Kandahar, stumbled on tents and mud huts that appeared to be a base for about 30 rebel fighters.
