Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - A helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan has killed five American service members, officials said Tuesday. Monday night's crash brought the total number of U.S. troops killed that day to seven, making it the deadliest day for U.S. forces so far this year. Two U.S. special operations forces were gunned down hours earlier in an insider attack by an Afghan policeman in eastern Afghanistan. The NATO military coalition said in a statement that initial reports showed no enemy activity in the area at the time.

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Hamid Karzai lashed out at the United States in strikingly acerbic terms Sunday, implying that the American military was stoking violence in collusion with the Taliban to justify a prolonged presence and alleging that foreign troops were harassing Afghan university students. The remarks painted an embarrassing picture of discord that marred Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel's first foreign trip as Pentagon chief and plunged the tenuous allies into crisis mode at a time when the United States is struggling to wind down the unpopular war in a dignified manner.

KABUL, Afghanistan - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel arrived in the Afghan capital Friday night to take stock of America's winding-down war in Afghanistan, one of the thorniest issues the new Pentagon chief will confront. Just days after weathering a bruising confirmation process, the former Republican senator said he was eager to get a firsthand look at the war zone, speak to commanders and reacquaint himself with Afghanistan's nettlesome president, Hamid Karzai. "We have a lot of big issues and challenges ahead as we prepare for a responsible transition," Hagel said during the flight to Kabul.

KABUL, Afghanistan - International forces accidentally killed two Afghan boys during an operation in southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition said Saturday. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford, commander of U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan, offered his personal apology and condolences to the boys' family and said the coalition took full responsibility for the deaths. A statement issued by the coalition said the boys were killed Thursday when coalition forces fired at what they thought were insurgent forces in the Shahid-e Hasas district of Uruzgan province.

WASHINGTON - The United States and its NATO allies revealed Friday that they may keep as many as 12,000 troops in Afghanistan after the combat mission ends next year, largely American forces tasked with hunting down remnants of al-Qaeda and helping Afghan forces with their own security. Patience with the 11-year-old war has grown thin in the United States and Europe, yet Washington and its allies feel they cannot pick up and leave without risking a repeat of what happened in Afghanistan after Soviet troops withdrew in 1989: Attention turned elsewhere, the Taliban grabbed power, and al-Qaeda found refuge.

KABUL, Afghanistan - The number of U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan rose sharply last year compared with 2011, the United Nations said Tuesday. The increase was a sign that unmanned aircraft are taking a greater role as Americans try to streamline the fight against insurgents while preparing to withdraw combat forces in less than two years. The U.N. figures were released as part of its annual report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan. Overall, the full-year toll of civilian deaths in 2012 declined to 2,754, a 12 percent decrease from 3,131 in the same period a year earlier.

KABUL, Afghanistan - President Obama's decision to bring half of America's 66,000 troops home within a year was welcomed Wednesday by Afghan officials who have long agitated to control their country but was greeted with dismay by Afghans who think the United States failed to keep its promise of a better and safer life. A troop drawdown was widely expected, but for the first time, Obama said how many. For some Afghans, Obama's State of the Union address underscored the reality that foreign troops were leaving - and sooner than expected.

KABUL, Afghanistan - It was one of the most emotional moments in Sunday's handoff ceremony, as Gen. John Allen passed command of U.S. troops in Afghanistan over to Gen. Joe Dunford. To loud applause, Allen recognized two Afghan students sitting in the front row, saying they were like his children, and they represented the future for which U.S. and Afghan troops fought. Allen was correct. The fate of Mustafa and Somaya, two orphans who attend the extraordinary Marefat School in Kabul, will reveal much about the gains (or lack thereof)