February 2010 Current Events: World News

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

U.S. News | Business News | Science/Disasters News

Here are the key events in world news for the month of February 2010.

• Three American Soldiers Killed in Pakistan (Feb. 3): Three American soldiers, along with four Pakistanis, are killed in a suicide bombing attack in Pakistan. Members of the Taliban are responsible for the blast. While Pakistan is officially an ally to the United States, Pakistan does not allow American combat forces in the country. However, a Special Operations team of 60–100 American soldiers is currently in Pakistan to train the paramilitary Frontier Corps in counterinsurgency techniques. (Feb. 4): Pakistan officials arrest 35 people who they suspect were involved in the suicide bombing that killed 3 American soldiers.
• Olympic Luger from Republic of Georgia Dies in Training Crash (Feb. 12): A luger from the Republic of Georgia, Nodar Kumaritashvili, dies tragically in a crash during training for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Canada. Just hours before the Opening Ceremony, Kumaritashvili lost control of his sled while traveling at 90 miles per hour on the Whistler Sliding Centre track. The safety of the track, built in 2007, has been called into question recently because of the sheer speed at which the athletes are able to travel.
• Multi-Country Offensive Launched in Afghanistan (Feb. 12): Thousands of American, Afghan, and British troops storm the city of Marja, Afghanistan in an attempt to destroy the Taliban's latest haven. The attack by the 6,000 troops is the biggest offensive in the country since the United States invaded Afghanistan in 2001. (Feb. 14): A U.S. rocket strike that went awry kills at least 10 civilians in the Helmand province. Five children were among those killed.
• Taliban's Top Commander Captured (Feb. 15): The Taliban's top military commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, is captured in Karachi, Pakistan in a secret joint operation by the American and Pakistani intelligence forces. American officials claim that Barader is the most significant human capture since the in Afghanistan began in 2001. (Feb. 18): Two senior Taliban leaders are arrested in Pakistan. Afghan officials are calling the two men "shadow governors" in two provinces of the country. Their arrest, along with the capture of Barader, severely hamper the Taliban leadership and their presence in Pakistan.
• NATO Airstrike in Afghanistan Kills 27 Civilians (Feb. 22): An airstrike launched by the United States Special Forces in Kabul, Afghanistan, targeted at insurgents, accidentally kills 27 Afghan civilians. President Hamid Karzai condemns the killings.