Afghans Pin Hopes on Mining As Taliban Attacks Intensify

By DEVON MAYLIE

Afghanistan's mining ministry, emboldened by its first copper tender and undeterred by escalating violence, is inviting more bids in hopes the industry can eventually drive economic growth and help bring security.

The rising number of attacks by Taliban insurgents around the country is already deterring investors with a high resistance to risk. In the latest in a series of incidents in which civilians were victims, roadside bombings in Southern and Western Afghanistan this week have killed at least 15 people. On Thursday, four U.S. service members were killed by a roadside bomb in the West, and five Afghan policemen were killed in the South. ....