HEARAT: Afghan police said Wednesday that a US-led air strike killed six women and two children in western Afghanistan, but the US military said up to 15 militants died. The bodies of eight men were found after Monday's strike on the outskirts of the city of Herat, the police chief for western Afghanistan, Ikramuddin Yawar, told. Three of the men appeared to belong to the "armed opposition" but the identities of the other five were unclear, the police officer said. Those five bodies were found near the dead women and children, who were from a nomad tribe and killed close to their tents, he said."We sent a police and army team to investigate the incident. They reported back to me that six women and two children as well as eight men -- three of them in one location and five in another -- were killed," he told. "The women and children no doubt were civilians. Three of the men could be from the armed opposition, but we are not sure about who the other five were," Yawar added.The US military said in a statement that the strike targeted a key insurgent commander called Gholam Yahya Akbari. "Killed in the attack were up to 15 militants suspected of associating with Yahya," it said. The police chief said Yahya was not dead. The military said it had no official reports of civilian casualties. "However, when we receive confirmed reports of civilian deaths, we take those reports very seriously and investigate them along with our Afghan counterparts," said spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Rick Helmer.
Sunday, February 28, 2010 HAVANA: Hundreds of wealthy merchants and cigar aficionados from all parts of the world gathered in Havana this week to bid high stakes for humidors full of premium cigars. Cuba's annual Habanos festival ended on Friday night with an auction of ornate humidors of cedar and mahogany stacked with hand-rolled stogies that raised 800,000 euros ($1.09 million dollars). Habanos S.A. executives this month said cigar sales fell 8 percent to $360 million in 2009, so they have created the Julieta, a smaller, milder version of the Romeo y Julieta cigar, aimed specifically at female smokers. Women now make up only 5 to 10 percent of customers for Habanos. But even with the creation of the Julieta, Garcia said Habanos has only modest hopes for 2010 sales, due largely to a weak economy in Spain, the biggest market for Cuban cigars. The flavor of premium tobacco relies on the soil and climate in which it is grown. The western province of Pinar Del Rio, famous fo...
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