2007 in Afghanistan - July

July

• July 2: Corporal Bill Henry "Willie" Apiata of the Special Air Service of New Zealand is awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery under fire in Afghanistan in 2004.

• July 4: War in Afghanistan: Six Canadian soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb in the Panjwaii district.

• July 7: The Government of Afghanistan states that it will investigate claims that United States and NATO air strikes caused heavy civilian casualties in Farah Province and Kunar Province.

• July 12: Six Afghan policemen are killed by an improvised explosive device in the Khost Province. Another IED kills two civilians in the Paktika Province.

• July 14: Waziristan conflict (July 2007-present): At least 24 Pakistani soldiers are killed by a suicide attack by militants on a convoy in Waziristan near the Afghanistan border.

• July 20: Taliban insurgents stop a bus in Afghanistan and kidnap some of the passengers including South Koreans.

• July 21: The Taliban threatens to kill 18 South Koreans taken hostage in Afghanistan, prompting the government in Seoul to confirm an earlier plan to withdraw its troops from the country by the end of the year. Separately, the Taliban claims that it has executed two German hostages. However, the Afghan government disputes the claim, stating that one died of a heart attack and the other is still alive.

• July 23: War in Afghanistan: Approximately 60 Taliban and six North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) troops die in two days of heavy fighting.

• July 23: Former King of Afghanistan Mohammed Zahir Shah dies after prolonged illness.

• July 25: 8 of the 23 South Koreans held hostage by the Taliban in Afghanistan are released, while one of the hostages is executed. The Taliban gives further warning that the remaining hostages will be killed.

• July 26: War in Afghanistan: United States-led troops kill more than 50 insurgents in the Helmand province of Afghanistan.

• July 27: War in Afghanistan: Three soldiers in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force are killed.

• July 28: War in Afghanistan: A British soldier is killed by a rocket attack in the Helmand Province.

• July 30: An Afghan governor asks the Taliban to extend Monday's deadline for the lives of 22 South Koreans, after militants warned the Afghan government to release 23 of its captured fighters or else hostages will die. The Taliban later executes a hostage.