Dianna Cahn / Stars and Stripes

Staff Sgt. Jason Holland walks past the open doorway of an Afghan home during a patrol in the Bala Murghab District of Badghis Province on Feb. 22. The patrol took insurgent gunfire while crossing a field outside the area coalition and government forces now control after fierce battles.

Afghan, coalition forces bridge doubts to make gains in Bala Murghab

In Helmand province, a flag-raising over the Taliban stronghold of Marjah last month commanded international attention. In Bala Murghab, a line of flags plots an unsung tale of battlefield victories, spanning the narrow midsection of this valley from west to east like the parting of a Taliban Red Sea in a region long devoid of government presence.

Commander: More NATO trainers needed

U.S. lawmakers expressed frustration Tuesday that NATO countries were not offering more personnel to train the Afghan army. Members of the Senate Armed Services Committee grilled the alliance's top military leader, Adm. James Stavridis, during his visit to Capitol Hill.

Gates highlights military success story in Now Zad

Defense Secretary Robert Gates walked the streets of Now Zad on Tuesday, surveying the city that was "the first test" of the new counterinsurgency strategy and the model for the offensive in nearby Marjah.

Report: North Korea has medium-range missile division

North Korea has recently created an army division in charge of newly developed intermediate-range missiles capable of striking U.S. forces in Japan and Guam, a South Korean news agency said Tuesday.

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