The US army finished a three month training course for the 70 new men for the security detail of Afghan president Karzai. The first fifty security men were trained last year. These men, who will be well paid by Afghan standards, were selected from thousands of applicants. 

About a thousand US, Rumanian and Afghan troops moved into southern Afghanistan to search for al Qaeda and Taliban suspects. The operation, called Valiant Strike. Many of those being sought are thought to be followers of Islamic radical Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. The operation is being led by US Special Forces.