Afghan blasts kill 3 NATO troops

Bombs killed three NATO soldiers and a gunman shot dead a prominent local official in the South of the Afghanistan, where thousands of Afghan and international troops are cribbing for a resurgence of spring expected the attacks of the Taliban, officials said Sunday.

NATO said a troop died in an explosion Sunday and two others were killed by the explosion of a Saturday.

Earlier, the alliance said that a fourth died Saturday when a coalition helicopter crashed in the province of Kapisa Alasay district in the East.

He provided no details, or nationalities of those killed.

The death brought to 134 the number of NATO troops killed in Afghanistan this year.

The Afghanistan Spring fighting season should be fully in force at the end of this month or early May. Before defining in last winter, tens of thousands of American reinforcements and NATO routed the Taliban in their fortresses, captured the personalities and destroyed caches of weapons, particularly in East and South.

The militants, known for their resilience, responded by attacks of large across the country.

A gunman assassinated Abdul Zahir, Deputy of the Council of provincial peace in Helmand and former civilian head of Marjahdistrict top, late Saturday in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, the Interior Ministry said Sunday.

Zahir was also a member of the Council for the local improvement area and key members of the Alizai tribe.

The Taliban claim responsibility for the killing in a telephone call from the Associated Press.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai said that he was saddened by the death of Zahir, a man he describes as "a brave sons of this homeland."

Appointment of Zahir Marjah district at the beginning Chief last year became controversial when folders and reports in Germany showed that Zahir was used as a framework more four years imprisonment for news attempted manslaughter for stabbing his son in 1998.

A U.S. official confirmed that Zahir had a criminal record in Germany, but Zahir refused ever to spend time in a German prison.

His record was involved, because at the time, he was the man responsible for convincing the inhabitants of Marjah the central Afghan Government could better provide for them than the Taliban.

Afghan and coalition forces launched a major offensive in Marjah in February 2010 in the rout of the insurgents from their strongholds in Helmand.

Later, Zahir was named the face of a new local government, a key to the strategy of fight test against insurgencies of NATO.

NATO also confirmed Sunday that Afghan and coalition forces killed three leaders of the Haqqani network, a group of insurgents with close ties to al-Qaeda that operates primarily in the provinces of Paktika, Paktia and Khost. So far this year, more than 15 leaders Haqqani and over 130 other insurgents affiliated with the network have been captured or killed.

More than 90 prisoners were taken in Khost province, where the three is died Friday.

Among those killed was Salih Khan, a leader of Haqqani in Nadir Shah Kot district. According to the coalition, he formed the bomb, orchestrated car bomb attacks and handled logistics and communications for the insurgents in the region.

In the past week, led Khan 20 fighters in two attacks on the coalition of advanced base operations, said coalition.

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Italy, France, sending troops to advise the Libyan rebels - CNN International

Will there be a Libya military intervention for humanitarian reasons?New: Italy sends troops to advise the rebels in self-defense France and Britain are sending military advisers and the United Nations human rights Chief, says attacks in Misrata could constitute an international crimesUNICEF, said 20 children have been killed and more injured in many spokesman MisrataA rebelsays it is not the international fighters to join the rebels

Tripoli, Libya (CNN) - France and the Italy announced Wednesday that they will send military officers to advise the rebels to fight for the overthrow of the regime of leader Libyan Muammar Gaddafi.

Following a similar announcement by the British Government Tuesday, French Government spokesman Francois Baroin said that a "small number" of French troops sent to advise the National Council of transition from the rebels.

G?rard Longuet French Defence Minister exclude still send ground troops to fight alongside the rebels. "It's a real question that deserves an international debate", he said, adding, "We are working for the resolution of 1973," a reference to the United Nations resolution authorizing the action in Libya. "You cannot please everyone all the time," he said.

Italy will send military advisers to train rebels in self-defense tactics, Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Maurizio Massari announced.

Britain said Tuesday that he sent a contingent of officers experienced in an advisory role to the stronghold of rebels in Benghazi. The team will work with the National Council of transition on how the opposition can improve military organisational structures, communications and logistics, said the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It will also help the delivery of critical assistance.

"This deployment is fully under resolution 1973 both preparedness and its provision expressly excluding a force of foreign occupation on Libyan soil," said Foreign Secretary William Hague.

Efforts to strengthen the rebellion come as main opposition organization the Libya pleaded for international military intervention.

Libyans are "being killed each day by the forces of Gaddafi," rebel spokesman Shamsiddin Abdulmolah said Tuesday CNN.

The High Commissioner of the United Nations in the human rights said Wednesday that some of the attacks of the Libyan Government on the siege of Misrata city may constitute international crimes.

A statement by the Office of Navi Pillay said it condemned "the reported repeated use of cluster munitions and weapons of heavy weapons by the forces of the Libyan Government in their attempt to regain control of the city under siege from Misrata and said that such attacks on densely populated areas of civilian casualties urbainesentra?nant substantial"could be regarded as international crimes. ?

"Pro-Government forces besieging the city, including their commanders and all other members of staff, must be aware that - with the international criminal court investigating possible crimes - their orders and their actions will be subject to scrutiny""," Pillay said in the statement. "International law, targeting deliberate medical facilities is a war crime, and targeting deliberate or reckless endangering civilians may also constitute serious violations of international humanitarian law or human rights international law".

UNICEF, the children, United Nations agency said Wednesday that 20 children were killed and "countless others wounded" in single Misrata.

Among the rebels, requests for assistance have increased every day.

Aid agencies are afraid to go to such areas as Misrata, that is targeted by Gaddafi troops daily, militant opposition that Mohamed Ibrahim said. "Some of them, they come." But most of them, they come close... they hear the bombing and everything, and they go back, "he says.

At least 27 people were killed and 142 were injured this week, according to a spokesman of the opposition who wanted to be identified only as "Mohammed" for security reasons.

Aid groups were trying to pull the desperate people of Misrata, which is hampered by the forces of Gaddafi on three sides.

The only way to escape is by port of the city - a witnesses in the region, said also was bombed by the forces of Gaddafi.

For those who have left behind, witnesses said, the disastrous situation continues to deteriorate. The city is still without water, electricity and telecommunications, Mohammed said Tuesday. "Bombing has moved out of the industrial areas to residential areas, and it is still in progress."

Rebel spokesman Abdulmolah said that the National Council of transition the opposition does not oppose a humanitarian mission on the ground.

"Something must be done so that we can stop the bloodshed of our people," he said.

But "we don't want any military presence foreign or any veterans international with our rebels," he added.

NATO is leading an international military operation which includes targeting military resources of Gaddafi with airstrikes.

NATO said that the operation has destroyed seven bunkers of munitions in the area of Tripoli and equipment in other parts of the country this week.

NATO attacked three regime battle tanks and an artillery piece mounted on vehicle in and around Misrata Tuesday, spokesman for the British Army major-General John Lorimer said Wednesday.

Abdulmolah said the NATO strikes may also prevent more destruction in eastern Libya, particularly near Benghazi.

"We have received reports that Gaddafi forces were mobilizing their troops and their systems of missile mobile/rockets of Brega to Ajdabiya bomb Benghazi." They were the strikes of NATO stopped by (Tuesday), "he says.

But he said that the opposition wants weapons and "technical assistance", "because we are faced with a ruthless tyrant who wants to kill his own people, simply because they asked for freedom and liberty." CNN Saad Abedine, Andreena Narayan, Reza Sayah, Yousuf Basil and Ben Wedeman contributed to this report.

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