ASSOCIATED PRESS: KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Afghan police have arrested 10 Taliban militants involved in an acid attack this month against 15 girls and teachers walking to school in southern Afghanistan, a provincial governor said Tuesday. “Several” of the arrested militants have confessed to taking part in the acid attack, said Kandahar Gov. Rahmatullah Raufi. He declined to be more precise. High-ranking Taliban fighters paid the militants a total of $2,000 to carry out the attack, Raufi said. The attackers came from Pakistan but were Afghan nationals, said Doud Doud, an Interior Ministry official. The attackers squirted the acid from water bottles onto three groups of students and teachers walking to school in Kandahar city on Nov. 12. Several girls suffered burns to the face and were hospitalized. One teenager couldn’t open her eyes days after the attack, which drew 
condemnation from around the world. One of the victims, a teacher named Nuskaal who was burned through her burqa, called Tuesday for a harsh punishment for the attackers. “If these people are found guilty, the government should throw the same acid on these criminals. After that they should be hanged,” said Nuskaal, who like many Afghans goes by one name. President Hamid Karzai earlier this month called for a public execution of the perpetrators. MORE
FRESH AIR: Pakistani journalist Ahmed Rashid discusses the Bush Administration’s policies concerning Afghanistan and Pakistan and speculates about the changes President-elect Barack Obama may bring to the area. Rashid is based in Lahore, Pakistan, where he writes for a host of international publications, including The Washington Post, The International Herald Tribune and London’s Daily Telegraph. His latest book, Descent Into Chaos, details the Bush Administration’s nation-building efforts in central Asia.
ASSOCIATED PRESS: Former Osama bin Laden driver Salim Hamdan is being transferred from the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, back to his home country of Yemen, a senior defense official said Monday. Hamdan was convicted of aiding al-Qaida in August and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison. He would be eligible for release in January with credit for time served. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the matter, said Hamdan will serve out the remainder of his sentence in Yemen. MORE