Daily brief: Pentagon releases names of personnel killed in crash

Names and faces

The Pentagon on Thursday released the names of the 30 Americans, including elite Special Operations Forces, killed when their helicopter was shot down by insurgents in Wardak province before dawn on Saturday, as questions continue to swirl about the incident (NYT, Post, Bloomberg, Tel, CNN, AFP, National Journal, AP). Taliban spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid denied claims from U.S. and NATO commander in Afghanistan Gen. John Allen that the militant who shot down the chopper had been eliminated by U.S. forces, telling journalists that the man is instead, "busy conducting jihad elsewhere in the country" (TIME, Tel).

The AP reveals that U.S. troops have returned to the isolated Pech Valley in the province of Kunar, nicknamed the "Valley of Death," several months after pulling out of the area (AP). NATO and Afghan forces are investigating reports that international troops fired on Afghan police in Kandahar province’s Arghandab Valley, killing four (NYT). And the Times of London investigates U.S. diplomatic cables detailing requests from President George W. Bush and other officials to Italian president Silvio Berlusconi for Italian forces in Afghanistan to halt alleged payments to the Taliban to ward off insurgent attacks (Times).

And Reuters reports that Afghanistan’s minister of mines Wahidullah Shahrani is working to raise the age of mineworkers to 18 and is drafting policies to regulate the country’s mine industry (Reuters).

The long arm of the law

In a rare move, a Pakistani court has convicted and sentenced to death a member of the the paramilitary Rangers, Shahid Zafar, for the killing in Karachi of Sarfaraz Shah, an act caught on tape and broadcast throughout the country (NYT, AFP, BBC, ET). Five other Rangers and a civilian were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in Shah’s death, while the Rangers’ lawyer said he would appeal the convictions (ET). Zafar is the first serving member of Pakistan’s military to be sentenced to death by a civilian court (AFP). Bonus read: Bilal Baloch, "A death on screen" (FP).

Gunmen in Peshawar attacked a police truck carrying two detained militants Friday, killing three officers and freeing the prisoners (ET, Dawn, AP). And the head of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Mohmand agency, Omar Khalid, claimed credit Friday for the use of a female suicide bomber in Peshawar the day before, saying the attack was staged to "avenge" Pakistani military operations in the country’s tribal areas (AFP, ET).

A U.S. official on Thursday denied claims made in a new report by the Britain-based Bureau of Investigative Journalism and highlighted by Scott Shane and others of higher-than-previously-reported civilian casualties from drone strikes in Pakistan’s tribal areas (CNN, NYT, Tel, AFP, ET, ET). Bonus click: A detailed look at every drone strike since 2004, including civilian casualties caused by the attacks (NAF). The police inspector general for Punjab province has summoned seven officers to explain their presence at an iftar, or dinner to break the Ramadan fast, held at the U.S. consulate in Lahore (ET, ET). And a new Congressional Research Service report indicates that budgetary constraints may inhibit U.S. aid to Pakistan (Dawn).

Two stories round out the week: Debates continue between Pakistan’s leading political parties about local government in the province of Sindh and the possible creation of new provinces (ET, Dawn, ET, Dawn, ET, ET, Dawn). And on Thursday a Chinese rocket carried Pakistan’s first communications satellite into space (Dawn).

The AP looks at the impact of poetry in Pakistan, where verses appear across the Internet and everywhere from trucks and taxi windows, to gravestones (AP). Poetry recitals known as mushairas draw huge crowds, and of the roughly 1,000 books published each year in Pakistan, around 50 are of poetry.

Sign up here to receive the Daily Brief in your inbox. Follow the AfPak Channel on Twitter and Facebook.