U.S. helicopter pilot sings 'Bye, bye Miss American Pie' as his missile strike blasts an Afghan man to pieces

It is the horrific moment an Afghan man is blown apart by a US missile.

But in a moment of twisted inspiration an American helicopter pilot decided to give it a impromptu soundtrack - by singing ‘Bye, bye Miss American pie.’

He belted out the most famous line of the Don McLean classic at the moment of impact when a fireball consumed at least one man.

According to the caption the victims were ‘innocent farms planting poppy seeds in the middle of the road,’ although that has not been verified.  The weapon used on them was supposedly a one kilogram Hellfire missile.

Read more / watch video: Daily Mail

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French Defense Minister in Afghanistan After Troops Killed

France's Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian arrived in Afghanistan Sunday, one day after a Taliban attack killed four French NATO troops and wounded five others.

Details of Drian's program in Afghanistan have not been released but he is expected to address French troops and meet Afghan government officials in Kabul.

On Saturday, French troops responding to a tip that a bomb had been planted under a bridge in eastern Kapisa province were attacked by a suicide bomber disguised as a woman, who walked up to the soldiers and blew himself up.

Read more: VOA

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Karzai: U.S. has endangered security pact

 Afghanistan's president said Saturday the United States had put the two countries' security pact at risk with a unilateral air strike that killed 18 civilians, and a Taliban suicide bomber killed four French soldiers responding to a tip-off about a bomb hidden under a bridge.

The violence and the dispute highlight the muddled nature of the international mission in Afghanistan as NATO coalition countries try to shift to a training role in a country still very much at war.

The majority of NATO and U.S. forces are scheduled to leave the country by the end of 2014, but the exit is looking far from neat at the beginning of the hot summer months, when fighting typically surges.

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The betrayal futility of British soldiers' deaths in Helmand - Afghanistan

As British  involvement in Helmand heads towards its seventh year and the number of British troop fatalities in Afghanistan nears 420 with little sign of respite, an award-winning book on the war deliberately pulls no punches in its depiction of the conflict’s gruesome realities.

Written by Daily Mail journalist Toby Harnden, it follows the Welsh Guards in gripping everyday detail through a six-month tour of duty in Helmand in 2009.

Sixteen from the Welsh Guards Battle Group would die, including the charismatic and hugely popular commander, Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe. Dozens more would be seriously wounded and many left with mental scars that may never heal.

Within days of going out on the ground, they had lost their first man. Dubai-born Lance Sergeant Tobie Fasfous was returning from a patrol when someone stepped on the pressure pad of an IED (improvised explosive device). The bottom half of his body was devastated while the Afghan interpreter beside him was decapitated.

Read more gory details: Daily Mail

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Hollande defends troop pullout on Afghanistan visit

President Francois Hollande visited Afghanistan on Friday to defend France's imminent departure from the war, telling troops that it would be coordinated closely with Afghan and NATO allies.

Hollande with Karzai

Hollande met French soldiers deployed in the volatile province of Kapisa and held talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on his first visit to the country where French troops have been fighting the Taliban since the 2001 US-led invasion.

He explained his decision to recall French combat troops by the end of 2012, a year earlier than Paris initially planned, and two years before NATO allies.

Read more: France24

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Man in Afghan army uniform kills NATO soldier

A man wearing the uniform of the Afghan army has shot dead a NATO service member on Friday in the east of the county. The death brings to 20 the number of NATO soldiers killed by Afghan colleagues in at least 15 separate attacks so far this year.

The NATO statement provided no details about Friday’s attack and did not give the nationality of the service member killed. NATO usually waits for member nations to provide details about troop deaths.

It may be added that an increasing number of Afghan soldiers are turning their weapons against NATO troops who are helping Kabul fight a decade-long insurgency by hardline Taliban Islamists.

Read more: Alarabiya

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Afghan bomb kills at least 10, including 3 U.S. soldiers

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 10 people, including three American soldiers, at a park in a relatively peaceful area of northern Afghanistan on Wednesday, part of an increase in violence at the start of the spring fighting season.

Shortly before noon, the bomber detonated his explosives at the gate of the park in Maimanah, the capital of Faryab province, police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmad Zai said. His target was unclear, but Zai said four of the 10 killed were Afghan police officers. At least 20 people were wounded, officials said.

In Kabul, NATO said three of its service members were killed in a bombing Wednesday in northern Afghanistan. It provided no other details about the attack or the nationalities of the three.

So far this year, 97 NATO service members have been killed in Afghanistan, including at least 55 Americans.

Read more: Salt Lake Tribune

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