US Department of Defense officials Jan. 15 released the names of prisoners held at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, in response to a Freedom Of Information Act (FOIA) request filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) last year. The list, containing the names of 645 prisoners, several of whose last names were listed as unknown, was heavily redacted, omitting some requested information about the prisoners, such as citizenship, date of capture, and circumstances of capture. US law allows withholding of information in compliance with an executive order or because requested information details the internal personnel rules and practices of an agency.

The number of civilian casualties in Afghanistan rose dramatically last year according to the latest annual survey by the United Nations. The report by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) found that 2,412 civilians were killed last year—67% by the Taliban, 25% in operations by Afghan government and international forces, in particular air raids. For the remaining 8%, responsibility could not be determined.

Afghan officials Jan. 9 signed a memorandum of understanding to delineate the process through which the Kabul government will take over the US military's Parwan Detention Center that was formerly housed at Bagram Air Base. The transfer of responsibilities may take place within six months, and the Afghan Ministry of Defense will initially run the facility. Afghan President Hamid Karzai will determine the timing of the eventual transfer of complete responsibility for the Parwan Detention Center to the Central Prisons Directorate in the Ministry of Justice. Afghan and US officials say that the move will strengthen security and the rule of law in Afghanistan.

Four were killed Jan. 9 in a presumed US drone strike on the village of Ismail Khan in the Dattakhel area of North Waziristan. (CNN, Jan. 9) The attack came hours after Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani again voiced official objection to the ongoing US drone strikes on Pakistan's territory. (Reuters, Jan. 9)

US authorities on Jan. 7 announced charges against two former employees of security firm Blackwater in connection with the May 5 shooting death of two Afghans in Kabul. Justin Cannon and Christopher Drotleff each face 13 counts under the Military Extraterritorial Jurisdiction Act (MEJA), including two counts of second-degree murder, one count of attempted murder, and discharging a firearm during a violent crime, for which they could receive life in prison or the death penalty if convicted. The men are accused of shooting three men, reportedly during a traffic incident, while working for Blackwater subsidiary Paravant LLC, under contract with the US Department of Defense to provide weapons training to the Afghan National Army. (Jurist, Jan. 8)

Armed conflict killed hundreds of children and adversely affected many others in 2009—the deadliest year for Afghan children since 2001—an Afghan human rights group reports. About 1,050 children died in suicide attacks, roadside blasts, air strikes and in the cross-fire between Taliban insurgents and pro-government Afghan and foreign forces from January to December 2009, the Afghanistan Rights Monitor (ARM) said in a statement Jan. 6.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai Dec. 28 appointed a delegation to begin an investigation of 10 civilian deaths, including eight schoolchildren, believed to have occurred during a raid by international forces in Kunar province. The raid in the Narang district occurred on Dec. 26, and allegedly involved NATO forces, though this has not been confirmed. The same day that Karzai announced the formation of the special delegation, a UN committee released figures that show that civilian deaths in Afghanistan in 2009 are up by 10% over 2008. (Jurist, Dec. 29)

A suicide bomb in Muzaffarabad, Pakistan-administrated Kashmir, killed at least 15 and injured over 100 in an attack on a Shi'ite religious procession marking the Ashura holy period Dec. 28, while another explosion near a procession in the port city of Karachi injured 35. Police said the Karachi blast was triggered by a build-up of gas in a manhole, but doctors who treated the victims found pellets in the bodies, suggesting that an explosive device was detonated. (ANI, Dec. 28)