Taliban in Afghanistan

Gunmen believed to be members of the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban stopped two minibuses traveling through the Afghan province of Ghor on July 25 and killed 15 passengers. One man escaped. The victims were members of the minority Hazara community, which has been targeted by the Taliban in the past.

In the city of Herat, two Finnish charity workers were killed on July 24 when, reportedly, gunmen fired on their taxi from motorcycles. 

On June 25, an attack on Afghan military sites in Helmand Province resulted in the deaths of at least 100 Taliban fighters, 21 Afghan soldiers and 35 civilians. The previous week, three US soldiers died in Helmand in an explosion.