BUT AFGHANISTAN IS SO TWO AND A HALF YEARS AGO

Taliban Kill Six Afghan Police, Kidnap Plot Foiled

Suspected Taliban guerrillas killed six policemen and wounded four others on Wednesday during a foiled attempt to kidnap four Turkish engineers in western Afghanistan, police said....

The attack in Farah was the second on police guarding a highway in the province in less than two weeks.

In late June, gunmen in military uniforms killed seven officers in an ambush in Farah's Del Khak district, an attack police said was the work of the Taliban or drug traffickers.

The province lies near the border with Iran, a key smuggling route for Afghanistan's massive narcotics output....

Hundreds have died in militant attacks this year despite the presence in the country of some 20,000 U.S.-led troops and 6,500 NATO-led peacekeepers. The violence has raised concerns about security for elections expected later this year.

--AP