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Afghan policemen run the site of a blast - Source: Reuters -
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Afghanistan announced a ban on news coverage of Taliban strikes,
saying such coverage only emboldened the Islamist militants, whose
latest strikes killed six in the southern city of
Kandahar.
Journalists will only be allowed to cover the aftermath of Taliban
attacks with permission from the National Directorate of Security
(NDS) spy agency, the agency said.
It threatened to detain journalists who film attacks without
permission and confiscate their equipment.
"Live coverage does not benefit the government, but benefits the
enemies of Afghanistan," NDS spokesman Saeed Ansari said.
The agency summoned a group of reporters to announce the
ban.
No filming will be permitted while attacks are under way, and live
broadcasts will be banned even from a distance, Ansari said.
The move was denounced by Afghan journalism and rights groups,
which said it would deprive the public of vital information about
the security situation in the country.
"Such a decision prevents the public from receiving accurate
information on any occurence," said Abdul Hameed Mubarez head of
the Afghan National Media Union, a group set up to protect Afghan
journalists, who often complain of harassment by
authorities.
"The government should not hide their inabilities by barring media from covering incidents," said Laila Noori, who monitors media issues for Afghanistan Rights Monitor, the country's main liberties watchdog.
"People want to know all the facts on the ground whenever
security incidents take place."
The Afghan government imposed a similar ban for a single day last
year as an extraordinary measure during a presidential election,
but has never before issued a permanent, blanket ban.
Suicide bomber
Two blasts hours apart killed at least six people in the southern
city of Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban whose fighters are
being targeted in a renewed push by NATO-led troops.
One member of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force
(ISAF) was killed in one of the Kandahar strikes, and three other
service members died in attacks elsewhere, the force said.
NATO-led troops launched an offensive last month to drive the
Taliban out of their strongholds as part of a plan to hand control
of the country to Afghan forces before a planned US troop drawdown
that would begin in July 2011.
Fighters have responded with attacks in other parts of the country,
using roadside bombs and suicide attacks.
In the past week, the Taliban have carried out four big attacks
killing at least 29 people and wounding scores more.
On Friday, two suicide blasts and a two-hour shootout between
Afghan forces and the Taliban rocked the capital Kabul, killing 16
people and wounding 37.
Among those killed were Indian government employees and an
Italian diplomat.
In Monday's first blast, a suicide bomber blew up a car as
International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops passed in
convoy on a road several miles from Kandahar airport.
"Four civilians were killed and one wounded in the attack," said
Mohammad Ibrahim, a doctor in a Kandahar hospital.
The Taliban said in a statement the explosion killed at least 11
foreign soldiers, but NATO said only one was killed.
A NATO helicopter evacuated the wounded and a bridge close by was
badly damaged, a Reuters journalist said.
The airport is a key base for a major offensive by ISAF and Afghan
forces launched in neighbouring Helmand province two weeks ago to
retake the town of Marjah and the surrounding district.
The Afghan civilians were killed after they pulled their car to the
side of the road, a common act in rural areas to allow convoys of
foreign forces to pass, witnesses said.
Hours later, a car packed with explosives blew up outside
Kandahar's main police station.
The blast killed one police officer and wounded 16 people,
including nine police, said Fazl Ahmad Sherzad, deputy provincial
police chief.
A reporter at the scene saw at least six vehicles badly
damaged.
Shattered glass littered the area and several buildings nearby were destroyed.
