KABUL: Separate bombs claimed by Taliban insurgents struck Afghan security force vehicles killing four men, officials said Saturday, as the NATO-led force said 16 Taliban were killed overnight.A roadside bomb struck an Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicle early Saturday in the southern province of Zabul, the defence ministry told. "Two ANA were martyred and four were wounded," it said. Another bomb hit an Afghan police vehicle in the same district on Friday, killing two policemen and wounding four, the interior ministry said in a statement.A spokesman for the Taliban, Yousuf Ahmadi, said his group was responsible for both attacks. A military operation that included air strikes by international warplanes was meanwhile launched in the eastern province of Paktia after the Taliban attacked a government district headquarters early Saturday, a government spokesman said. Police fought back in the Ahmad Khel district and four were wounded, provincial government spokesman Rohullah Samoon told. The Afghan forces asked their international military counterparts for help and they sent aircraft to bomb the area, he said. Nine bodies had been recovered and one wounded militant arrested, "confessing" he was a member of the Taliban from Pakistan, Samoon said.The media office of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force confirmed there was an operation in Paktia overnight and approximately 16 Taliban were killed. There were no details.
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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