President Hamid Karzai says NATO planes have killed 10 civilians in the province of Takhar where they were campaigning for a candidate in the nation's September 18 elelctions. Here's the translation from Dari of key parts of a statement issued from his office: "As reported three vehicles carrying the campaign team of a Wolosi Jirga election canddiate was targeted by NATO aircrafts in two rounds as they travelled towards Kiwan village in Rustaq district of Takhar province this morning resulting in deaths of 10 campaign wokers and injuring of two others," Karzai "strongly condemns the airstrike," Karzai "once again reiterated that airstrikes over Afghan villages will achieve nothing in the war against terrorism but killing Afghan civilians,"

Afghanistan's troubled Kabul Bank faces a potential run, with thousands of depositors lining up behind its branches almost all major cities to withdraw their money "I don't trust this bank any more," says one depositor. People interviewed behind the banks have said that they receive only a small portion of their deposits. Background: Major US media reported this week that the bank, Afghanistan's largest comercial bank was facing collapse after it was revealed that its owners had taken out hundreds of millions in ill-managed loans to invest abroad. This is despite authorities assured that the bank was way far from collapsing

The US-led NATO force in Afghanistan says it has killed 160 Taliban-linked fighters in August while, according to a tally by Kabul Pressistan, the month of August saw 79 NATO soldiers, mostly US nationals losing their lives in Taliban-linked violence, or NATO losing one soldier to kill two Taliban guerrillas... Based on the Kabul Pressistan count 489 Western troops have died in Afghansitan war so far this year, compared to 521 for the whole last year...

Recent US media reports suggested that the Kabul Bank, Afghanistan's biggest private bank was at the edge of collapsing, accusing its big shareholders of taking out loans. Abdul Qadir Fitrat, the governor of the Central Bank dismissed the reports as "wrong and baseless" also assuring Kabul Bank's clients of Central Bank's support to the private Bank. Here's a cut-and-paste of key quotes picked from Fitrat's press conference. The comments were orginally made in Dari: "The central bank has not taken over the Kabul Bank, is not taking over the Kabul Bank. It has been purely a Kabul Bank decision which was approved by the Central Bank. We welcome this kind of decisions. "Reforms will follow in other banks should their shareholders continue holding CEO positions. "All Kabul Bank's loans, based on their information to the Central Bank's financial department, are guaranteed... whether it's Mr. Farnud or Mr. Haseen or whoever, if they have taken out a loan, they are paying back normally. "Others have also taken out loans, hundreds of people have taken out loans from the Kabul Bank. The majority of the loans are being paid back normally like in any other bank. "We according to the profit and lose account audited by the Price Waterhouse Cooper the bank is suppose to be operating in profit and the bank's profits was announced to be about 13 million dollars "They have enough liquid assets to meet its liquidity demands. "We'll always investigation irregularities in any bank whenever we receive reports. "Whether shareholders can take loans from their own banks?, yes they can take loan from the bank provided that they themselves do not approve it because that's considered conflict of interest in our laws but whether they have taken loans within the limits or outside the limits it will have to be investigated and all the time we investigate that and our supervisory teams go regualarly to banks to investigate if there has been any violation of the laws and regulations of the central bank. "We in the supreme council of the central bank two months ago decided... to began a series of reforms in the banks... part of the reforms, we decided that shareholders can't perform chairmanship and CEO. "This was announced two months back, giving the banks nine-month deadline... there were some banks that their CEOs were from the shareholders including the Kabul Bank. "After the announcement, the Kabul Bank took the initiative and decided volunteerly to reform their leadership and took Mr. Massoud Ghazi ... (a former central bank official) as their CEO. "The appointment of Masoud Ghazi has been an initiative by the Kabul Bank. Few words by Mr. Sher Khan Farnud one of the Kabul Bank owner "I dismiss we'd any argument. "Two months ago they'd given instructions that shareholders can't perform chairmanship and CEO. Based on that we were looking for a competent person as CEO... We studied few CVs one of them Mr. Massoud Musa Ghazi (who) appeared to be competent. We offered him 15,000 dollar as salary... we referred him to the Central Bank for the approval. He was approved.

The NATO force in Afghanistan released the deaths of four more Americans killed in Taliban violence, taking to 21 the number of its casualties since this weekend. In total 482 troopers have lost their lives in the war so far this year, compared to 521 in the whole last year, according to a tally by Kabul Pressistan. At meantime President Karzai will hold a prss conference with an un-named foreign dignitary at his palace -- a good apportunity to ask him about his recent statements criticising US war startegy in Afghanistan... In one such statement this week Karzai has said: "The review of war strategy is a serious need in Afghanistan," and "the lack of progress in the war on terrorism is because the roots of the terror has not been addressed and lots of civilians were killed in this war."

The NATO force in Afghanistan released the deaths of four more American military casualties, taking to 21 the number of its casualties since this weekend. In total 482 troopers have lost their lives in the war so far this year, compared to 521 in the whole last year, according to a tally by Kabul Pressistan. At meantime President Karzai will hold a prss conference with an un-named foreign dignitary at his palace -- a good apportunity to ask him about his recent statements criticising US war startegy in Afghanistan... In one such statement this week Karzai has said: "The review of war strategy is a serious need in Afghanistan," and "the lack of progress in the war on terrorism is because the roots of the terror has not been addressed and lots of civilians were killed in this war."