NATO warplanes carried out airstrikes in Helmand province March 25, killing 19 militants and bringing the toll from a four-day operation to 99, the Afghan defence ministry said. (AFP, March 26) Fighting in the region continues to claim the lives of civilians. The UN news agency IRIN interviewed residents of a small village in Helmand's Gherishk who said family members had been killed by cross-fire in recent clashes, and that they were considering fleeing to Kandahar, the nearest city. Officials denied the claims. "No civilian has been killed or injured in the Gherishk operation," said Gen. Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for Afghanistan's Ministry of Defense. More than 1,000 civilians were killed or injured in clashes between insurgents and ISAF in Helmand and neighboring provinces in 2006, according to Human Rights Watch, and some 5,000 families have reportedly been displaced in the province since September 2006. (IRIN, March 26)

Pakistani agents recovered three Iranian policemen who were kidnapped by Baluch militants and handed them back to authorities in Iran, while a fourth is believed to have been killed. The four police were abducted Feb. 27 by the Jundallah militant group after a deadly clash in Iran's southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchestan, and taken across the Pakistani border. (AFP, March 26)

The Tamil Tiger rebels launched their first air strike March 26, hitting a Sri Lankan air base near Colombo. They Defense Ministry said three airmen were killed and 16 wounded, but the military's newly-purchased MIG fighter jets were not damaged. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) said the raid, carried out with two planes, was aimed at interrupting the "indiscriminative bombing of the Tamil areas" by the Sri Lankan government. LTTE guerillas attacked the same base in 2001, destroying half of the Sri Lankan fleet. (Asia News, March 26) In India P. Nedumaran, leader of the Tamilar Desiya Iyakkam of Tamil Nadu, said the LTTE air attack has brought "endless joy and happiness to Tamils all over the world." (Asian Tribune) Meanwhile, Sri Lanka's pro-government LankaWeb cites claims on the Counterterrorism Blog that the LTTE sold stolen Norwegian passports to al-Qaeda operatives. Writes Counterterrorism Blog's self-appointed "expert" Aaron Mannes:

US and Iraqi officials are in contact with representatives of some Sunni insurgent groups to build an alliance against al-Qaeda in Iraq, outgoing US ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad announced March 26, saying he is cautiously optimistic that "success is possible." Khalilzad admitted he had flown to Jordan for meetings with representatives of the Islamic Army of Iraq and the 1920 Revolution Brigades. (Reuters, NYT, March 26) In Ramadi, Col. John W. Charlton boasts that a new anti-Qaeda Sunni alliance, the Anbar Salvation Council led by Sheikh Abdul Sattar al-Rishawi, has cut attacks in the city by half in recent months. But the leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars, Sheikh Harith al-Dhari, describes the Anbar Salvation Council as "thieves and bandits." US forces in Anbar report growing gun battles between rival Sunni militias in Ramadi. They used to describe such skirmishes as "red on red" fighting—battles between enemies. Now they call it "red on green." (AP, March 26)

Followers of the People's Front in Defense of the Land (FPDT) from the central Mexican village of San Salvador Atenco marched and blocked the Texcoco-Lecheria federal highway to demand the liberation of 31 of their comrades from Altiplano and Santiaguito prisons in the state of Mexico. The group of campesinos was led by Maria Antonia Trinidad Ramirez, wife of FPDT director Ignacio Del Valle, one of the prisoners at Altiplano. (La Jornada, March 24)

Amid a growing threat of paramilitary violence in Mexico's conflicted southern state of Chiapas, Subcomandante Marcos, leader of the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN), reappeared in the highland city of San Cristobal de Las Casas to announce the resumption of his nationwide civil political initiative known as the "Other Campaign." The new phase is to begin March 24 in San Cristobal, where a series of meetings will be held with a Zapatista delegation and national and international supporters. In a document presented to the press, Marcos said the delegation will be "made up of seven female commanders, seven male commanders and a subcomandante," a reference to himself. (El Universal, March 24)

Amid a growing threat of paramilitary violence in Mexico's conflicted southern state of Chiapas, the indigenous civil organization Las Abejas (The Bees), which was targeted in the December 1997 Acteal massacre, issued a statement urging Gov. Juan Sabines not to release Pedro Chulin, director of the Organization for the Defense of Indigenous and Campesino Rights (OPDDIC). Chulin was arrested with several OPDDIC militants following a March 7 disturbance in Ocosingo. (La Jornada, March 24)

Two Border Patrol agents examining a load of marijuana exchanged gunfire March 20 with unseen assailants from the Mexican side of the Rio Grande, near Donna, TX. Border Patrol spokesman Oscar Saldana said the agents were not hurt, and no one was believed injured on the Mexican side. Four loads of marijuana totaling 305 pounds were found on the river bank. Saldana said the agents came under fire as they approached the bank after spotting an inflatable raft near the US side. The raft, with more marijuana on board, was pulled back to the Mexican side during the exchange of fire. It was the second time this year that Border Patrol agents were fired on along the narrow stretch of the river about 13 miles northeast of McAllen. (AP, March 21)