Taliban in drag
The militants in drag were among seven men arrested in Mehterlam, Laghman province, east of Kabul, Afghan yesterday intelligence officials said.
Tensions in Afghanistan have increased noticeably in recent weeks since Staff Sergeant Robert Bales allegedly killed eight Afghan adults and nine children after wandering off a US military base in southern Afghanistan.
The disguises show how militants are using increasingly desperate tactics in the war, including the use of children as lookouts and suicide bombers.Reports emerged from Afghanistan this week that a child suicide bomber was responsible for the attack on Australian Aid worker David Savage.
Mr Savage, 49, a former Australian Federal Police (AFP) officer and peacekeeper, is in Germany in a serious but stable condition after the attack on Tuesday.
The protection of Australian aid workers in Afghanistan will be reviewed after an AusAID adviser was injured in a suicide bombing attack, Defence Minister Stephen Smith says.
The attacks happened near the main Australian base as he returned from a community meeting in the Chora Valley, north of Tarin Kowt.
The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed three NATO soldiers and injured an Afghan National Army soldier.
A Taliban spokesman said the attack was in direct retaliation for the murder of 17 Afghan civilians by US Staff Sergeant Robert Bales two weeks ago, Fairfax reported.
Mr Smith said it was unclear whether a child was responsible for the suicide bombing or if the attack was in retaliation for Bales' attack.
Mr Savage was under force protection provided by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) at the time of the attack.
An automatic review of the arrangements would be undertaken, Mr Smith said.
The defence minister said there would be an exhaustive assessment of the attack to examine if Mr Savage was targeted by the suicide bomber.
The use of children in such matters was "absolutely contemptible", Mr Smith said.
"We've seen in the past Taliban using children of very early ages to engage in such activities and we treat that with nothing but contempt."
The murder spree by Bales was a setback, which coalition forces were still working through, the defence minister said.
Bales was charged with 17 premeditated murders as well as six counts of assault and attempted murder in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province.
The killings - mostly of women and children - are believed to be the deadliest war crime by a NATO soldier during the decade-long conflict and have tested an already tense relationship between Washington and Kabul.
Mr Savage was treated at Tarin Kowt initially before he was transferred to the medical facility at Kandahar for more advanced treatment and then on to Germany.
Reports from the area state that the women, a wife, mother, sister and 4-year-old daughter of the ANA soldier, were shot to death in their home by the insurgents who were looking for the soldier because they believed he was passing information to Coalition Forces.
Unable to locate the soldier, the insurgents killed the women in the house and tied up and beat the males.
The ANA Soldier has returned home from his duty-station in Kandahar after hearing about his murdered family.
Local police yesterday arrested seven men dressed in women’s clothing in Mehterlam, Laghman province, east of Kabul.
The disguises show the lengths Taliban rebels are prepared to go to gain access to British and US forces.
The arrests came as it emerged US military commanders have assigned “guardian angels” to watch over troops while they sleep as part of increased security measures to protect troops from rogue attacks.Tensions have increased in the wake of the killings of nine innocent Afghan civilians, who were allegedly gunned down by US Staff Sergeant Robert Bales.
The spike in attacks, which also included the deaths of two US advisers in Afghanistan’s Ministry of Interior who were shot at point-blank range, followed the accidental burning of Korans last month.
The added protection has been introduced in recent weeks as part of a directive by Marine General John Allen, the top US commander in Afghanistan.
Guardian angels will watch over troops as they sleep, when they exercise and go about their daily life.
Other measures implemented include allowing some Americans to carry weapons in several Afghan ministries and rearranging their offices so their desks face the door.
Gen Allen said: "We have taken steps necessary on our side to protect ourselves with respect to, in fact, sleeping arrangements, internal defences associated with those small bases in which we operate.”