2004 in Afghanistan January . Thursday , January 1 - Close to half of the loya jirga boycotted a vote on five disputed articles concerning the Proposed Afghan Constitution , promoting Chairman Subghatullah Mujadidi to call for a two - day adjournment to for negotiations . Advisors from the United Nations ( UN ) and the United States were present to help mediate between the two sides . The primary controversy concerned whether to have a strong president or a strong parliament . Friday , January 2 - In Kabul , Afghan leaders met privately with U . S . and UN officials , including UN envoy Lakhdar Brahimi and U . S . ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad , to try to end the impasse over the Proposed Afghan Constitution . Saturday , January 3 - A rocket exploded in Kabul . There were no casualties . Sunday , January 4 - The loya jirga adopted the proposed Afghan Constitution by way of consensus . Monday , January 5 - North of Qalat , Zabul Province , men kidnapped an Afghan aid worker who was part of a caravan for Shelter For Life . Two local people were shot and injured when they tried to stop the militants . Taliban spokesman Mullah Abdul Hakim Latifi claimed responsibility . Tuesday , January 6 - In Kandahar , at least sixteen people were killed ( six of which were children ) and 58 people were wounded when a time bomb hidden in an apple cart exploded away from an Afghan military base . The crowd had gathered to investigate another bomb that had gone off 15 minutes earlier and injured a small child . A suspect was caught trying to hide in a nearby home . The blasts occurred moments before a motorcade was about to pass . Thursday , January 8 - In Kandahar , two Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded ( one losing a leg ) by a bomb that exploded on the roof of a building less than an eighth of a mile from the January 6 incident that killed over a dozen people . Friday , January 9 - A rocket hit an army camp in Wana ( Pakistan ) , South Waziristan , Pakistan , killing four Pakistani soldiers . Saturday , January 10 - Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai announced that he would be a candidate for the election to be held in June . Sunday , January 11 - Five Afghan National Army soldiers died and three others were injured when they came under attack in Kandahar Province . Monday , January 12 - The Afghan National Field Hockey Team arrived in Peshawar , Pakistan to play six matches over ten days . Tuesday , January 13 - Afghanistan released 100 Pakistani prisoners to reciprocate a similar gesture by Pakistan only days earlier . The prisoners had been suspected of fighting for the Taliban . Wednesday , January 14 - About a dozen rockets were fired at the U . S . base near the Khost airport in Afghanistan . There were no casualties . Thursday , January 15 - Outgoing U . N . envoy to Afghanistan , Lakhdar Brahimi , told the United Nations Security Council that elections scheduled for June were unrealistic because factions and extremists continued to threaten the peace process . Brahimi also criticized the Bonn Agreement s on the grounds that the Taliban had not been present there . He also criticized western feminists protesting the burqa . He said women would go further in Afghanistan through education , not changes in dress . Friday , January 16 - At the request of the United Nations , Chinese police officer Zhang Ming was sent to Afghanistan to help fight drug trafficking . Saturday , January 17 - Forty rebels ambushed an Afghan convoy in Kandahar Province , provoking a gun fight that left three rebels and two Afghan National Army soldiers dead . Monday , January 19 - In a raid on a compound in Kabul , Canadian soldiers arrested 16 men and seized drugs , cash and weapons . Tuesday , January 20 - Pakistan announced there no longer any bans on goods exported to Afghanistan , with the exception of ghee and cooking oil . Thursday , January 22 - 100 Canadian soldiers arrived in Kabul to start a six - month tour of duty . Friday , January 23 - Iran announced that it would place a dozen jailed al - Qaeda suspects on trial . Saturday , January 24 - In Nangarhar Province , at least four children were wounded by a landmine . Sunday , January 25 - Responding to rocket attacks on its air base in the region , U . S . planes bombed several areas in the Narang district , Kunar Province . Monday , January 26 - With assistance from UNICEF and the World Health Organization , the Afghan Ministry of Health began a three - day vaccination program intended to reach about five million children aged five and under in Afghanistan . Tuesday , January 27 - A Canadian soldier , Jamie Brendan Murphy , and one Afghan civilian were killed by a suicide bomber in Kabul . Three others soldiers and nine bystanders were injured . Wednesday , January 28 - A British soldier was killed and another four were wounded by a car bomb in Kabul . Mullah Hakim Latifi of the Taliban claimed responsibility . Thursday , January 29 - Eight U . S . soldiers were killed and at least three were wounded when an explosion occurred at a weapons storage area near Ghazni . The explosion may have been caused by a booby - trap . Saturday , January 31 - In Deh Rawood , a remote - controlled bomb destroyed a vehicle , killing Mayor Khalif Sadaht and seven of his relatives . February . Sunday , February 1 - Afghan families began celebrating Eid al - Adha . In Kabul , former king Mohammad Zaher Shah and interim president Hamid Karzai joined for prayers at the downtown palace . Monday , February 2 - U . S . president George W . Bush submitted a 2005 budget proposal to the U . S . Congress which contained US $ 1 . 2 billion in assistance for Afghanistan focusing on education , health , infrastructure and assistance to the Afghan National Army . The budget did not contain funding estimates for U . S . military operations . Tuesday , February 3 - Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai appointed Mohammad Yusuf as governor of Farah Province , and Azizullah Afzali as governor of Baghdis province . Karzai also named new police chiefs in five northern and central provinces . Gul Nabi Ahmadzai was appointed chief of training for the Afghan National Army . Wednesday , February 4 Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai fired Mohammad Aref Sarwari , the head of national security . Thursday , February 5 - Police arrested the owner of a taxi used in a suicide bombing that killed a British soldier in Kabul on January 28 . Friday , February 6 - The Indian company Mahindra Defence Systems announced that it would provided 80 SUV s and 40 jeep s to the Afghan National Army over the next six months . Saturday , February 7 - The Afghan Disarmament , Demobilisation and Re - Integration Program , headed by Milos Krsmanovic , launched a disarmament program in northern Afghanistan aimed at disarming some 2 , 000 militiamen under the command of generals Abdul Rashid Dostam and Atta Muhammad . Sunday , February 8 - Over 200 Afghan delegates gathered in Kabul for the International Conference on Counter - Narcotics in Afghanistan to discuss law enforcement , alternative livelihoods for poppy farmers and demand reduction . Keynote speakers included executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Antonio Maria Costa , interim president Hamid Karzai and the United Kingdom ' s foreign office minister Bill Rammell . Monday , February 9 - Under tight security , NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer visited Kabul and met with Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai . Tuesday , February 10 - In Afghanistan , the Kabul Primary Court sentenced to death two former Taliban officials , Zia Ahmad and Abdul Nab , for the murder of aid - worker Bettina Goislard November 16 , 2003 . The trial took three hours and the judgment took twenty minutes . No witnesses to the crime were present at the trial . The men planned to appeal the decision . Wednesday , February 11 - In Khost , Major Mohammed Isa Khan , the deputy intelligence director of Khost Province , was assassinated in his car by gunman Hafez Elal . Elal tried to escape but was chased down by bodyguards . To avoid capture , he detonated explosives strapped to his body . Taliban spokesman Mohammed Saiful Adel claimed responsibility . Thursday , February 12 - Addressing the National Defence College in Islamabad , Pakistan , president Pervez Musharraf admitted that some anti - government activity in Afghanistan was coming from within the Pakistan border . Friday , February 13 - One civilian and old soldier were killed and six people were wounded in an explosion at an Afghan National Army military post near Khost . Saturday , February 14 - Near Bala Buluk in Farah Province , four Afghans working for the United Nations de - mining agency were fatally shot in an ambush . Sunday , February 15 - A Canadian soldier was shot in the face when his rifle went off in his sleeping quarters at Camp Julien in Kabul . He survived and was placed in critical condition . Monday , February 16 - After being open for one day , a driving school in Herat was shut down by local authorities . Tuesday , February 17 - In Kandahar Province , men loyal to two senior government officials exchanged gunfire in a bazaar wounding four people . Wednesday , February 18 - Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah warned Afghans not to vote in the election scheduled for June . Thursday , February 19 - former Afghan king Mohammed Zahir Shah was released from a hospital in New Delhi , India after two weeks of receiving medical treatment for an intestinal problem . He remained in New Delhi , however , for further observation . Sunday , February 22 - Before takeoff , a Louis Berger Group helicopter was attacked by gunfire in Thaloqan village in Kandahar Province , killing the Australian pilot and seriously injuring a U . S . woman . Taliban spokesmen took responsibility . Monday , February 23 - In Thaloqan village in Kandahar Province , U . S . forces from the 10th Mountain Division assisted hundreds of local police in a search for the gunman who killed an Australian pilot the previous day . Thirty suspected Taliban members were rounded up . Wednesday , February 25 - Five Afghan employees of Serai Development Foundation were killed and two injured in an ambush northeast of Kabul . Thursday , February 26 - United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld spoke in front of a graduating class of 48 Afghan policemen in Kandahar . Friday , February 27 - Two hundred - five South Korean medics and military engineers left Seoul for Afghanistan to replace existing troops , and to help with reconstruction projects for six months . Saturday , February 28 - The United States and Pakistan denied an Iranian radio report that Osama bin Laden had been captured " a long time ago " in Pakistan ' s border region with Afghanistan . March . Monday , March 1 - During public ceremonies in Kabul , of Shia Muslim s commemorating the slaying of their leader Imam al - Husayn , an Afghan National Army cadet shouted abusive language and spat at a banner , prompting the Shia Muslims to throw stones at the soldiers . The cadets then fired into the crowd , killing one and injuring sixteen . Tuesday , March 2 - A voluntary repatriation program for Afghan refugees run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees resumed after a four - month hiatus following the murder of a staff member in November . Wednesday , March 3 - At a ceremony held in the Chinese embassy in Kabul , Chinese ambassador to Afghanistan Sun Yuxi and Afghan Irrigation , Water Resources and Environment Minister Mohammad Yusuf Nooristani signed a contract detailing China ' s assistance in a major irrigation re - build project near the capital . The project was supposed to be finished in early 2006 . Thursday , March 4 - Rebels attacked a border post in Maruf district in Kandahar Province , killing seven members of the Afghan National Army . Friday , March 5 - U . S . - led forces killed nine rebels in a gun battle in near Orgun , near the border with Pakistan . Saturday , March 6 - Near Qalat , Zabul Province , Mohammad Isah , a director of the Afghan Red Crescent Society , was murdered by men who stopped his car . Sunday , March 7 - Afghan government officials announced that Afghan Planning Minister Haji Muhammad Mohaqiq resigned from the cabinet . Mohaqiq said he was fired after announcing his intention to run against interim president Hamid Karzai in the June 2004 elections . Mohaqiq was replaced by Ramazan Bashardoost . Monday , March 8 - Human Rights Watch published " Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan " , which criticizes the United States ' actions in Afghanistan . The report cites excessive force , arbitrary detentions and the mistreating people in custody as prominent abuses . Tuesday , March 9 - In Ankara , Turkey , Afghan Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Mohammad Fahim Khan met with Turkish National Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül . Wednesday , March 10 - Three rockets were fired at the U . S . base at the airport near Kandahar . There were no casualties . Friday , March 12 - Dodsal , a Dubai - based construction company , signed a US $ 230 million contract to set up a modern petroleum infrastructure in Afghanistan . The deal entails the construction of 700 retail outlets . Saturday , March 13 - In Kandahar Province , rebels attacked a government office . In the battle , three rebels and one Afghan National Army soldier were killed . Sunday , March 14 - Three rockets landed in Jalalabad . There were no injuries , but windows shattered and some walls crumbled . Monday , March 15 - The United States initiated Operation Mountain Storm , which intended to drive from inside Afghanistan into a region of rebel sanctuaries and meet the Pakistani military driving from the opposite direction . Tuesday , March 16 - In an iris verification center in Quetta , Pakistan , 174 Afghan refugees were processed . Each refugee older than six years underwent a computerized iris scan to determine if they had previously been checked and received a repatriation package . The refugees then entered Afghanistan through the Chaman border . Wednesday , March 17 - In Kabul , United States Secretary of State Colin Powell met with Afghan interim President Hamid Karzai to discuss security and preparations for the June elections . Thursday , March 18 - Pakistani forces re - engaged an operation against suspected Al - Qaeda rebels in the villages of Azam Warsak , Shin Warsak and Kaloosha in the mountainous region of South Waziristan , close to the border of Afghanistan . Each side utilized heavy weaponry . 24 rebels and 16 Afghan troops were killed there during a sweep March 15 . The U . S . deployed 13 , 500 soldiers on the Afghan side . Friday , March 19 - A U . S . airstrike on a village in the Charcheno district of Afghanistan killed six civilians and injured seven . Saturday , March 20 - Taliban forces threatened to kill a Turkish highway engineer kidnapped three weeks earlier , demanding that Afghan authorities release two Taliban militia members who were sentenced to death for the November 16 murder of Bettina Goislard . Sunday , March 21 - Afghan Civil Aviation Minister Mirwais Sadiq ( son of governor Ismail Khan ) was killed by a rocket propelled grenade during a gun battle in Herat . Two police officers also died in the attack . Herat military commander Zaher Naib Zada claimed responsibility for the assassination . Zada had earlier been fired by Sadiq ' s father . Factional fighting between supporters of Zahir Nayebzada and of Ismail Khan involving tanks and guns ensued in the region , leaving more than 100 people dead . Days later , president Hamid Karzai would say Sadiq ' s death was caused by a " small accident . " Monday , March 22 - Afghan defense minister Mohammad Qasim Fahim and interior minister Ali Ahmad Jalali arrived in Herat to assess tensions . Tuesday , March 23 - In Herat , a public burial took place for Mirwais Sadiq . The body was taken by tank to its resting place on a hill overlooking the city . Thousands were in attendance . Friday , March 26 - The United Nations Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1536 which extended the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan for another full year . Saturday , March 27 - In Afghanistan , three hand grenade s were thrown at homes of Afghan National Army soldiers . No one was injured . Sunday , March 28 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai announced that the national elections scheduled for June would be delayed until September to give the U . N . more time to prepare . Monday , March 29 - In Kandahar , militia corps commander Khan Mohammed oversaw hundreds of his fighters giving up their assault rifles , machine guns , and rockets to the Afghan National Army . Tuesday , March 30 - In a raid in southern Afghanistan , U . S . troops detained six suspected Taliban members . Wednesday , March 31 - In Berlin , Germany , a two - day international conference on reconstruction assistance to Afghanistan began . The conference was attended by 65 countries . Alastair McKechnie , the World Bank country director for Afghanistan , hoped to accumulate during the conference donations of US $ 27 . 5 billion ( to be granted over seven years ) . Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell announced that the United States had , on top of the US $ 1 . 2 billion already promised , pledged an additional US $ 1 billion in aid for 2004 . Japan promised US $ 525 million more over the next two years . German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder pledged ( in addition to US $ 391 million promised at a conference in Tokyo in 2002 ) US $ 391 million over the next four years . April . Thursday , April 1 - Up to fifty New Zealand Special Air Service troops flew to Afghanistan for " long - range reconnaissance and direct action missions " . Monday , April 5 - In Badakhshan Province , anti - narcotics police destroyed four heroin laboratories and seized 10 tons of opium poppy . There were several arrests . Wednesday , April 7 - A three - hour gun battle occurred during a joint Afghan – U . S . operation near Gereshk in Helmand Province , killing one rebel and one Afghan soldier , while wounding one U . S . soldier and one Afghan soldier . Thursday , April 8 - Troops under the command of Abdul Rashid Dostum overran Maymana , the capital of Faryab Province . Some reports claim Dostum forces fired into a crowd , killing four . Gov . Enayatullah Enayat was rushed to an airport and evacuated . Afghan National Army troops were flown from Kabul to Faryab province . Saturday , April 10 - In Kod - i - Barq , Balkh Province , an armed encounter took place between forces loyal to Abdul Rashid Dostum and a local Tajik leader Atta Mohammad . The incident took place in the Mazar fertilizer factory residential area and resulted in a few injuries . Monday , April 12 - In Verona , Italy , nine members of the Afghanistan national football team disappeared during the team ' s tour of Europe . Italian border police were alerted . They later surfaced in Germany and the Netherlands to claim asylum . Tuesday , April 13 - Afghan national security officers , local police and more than 100 Canadian soldiers raided a compound in the Charar Asiab district outside Kabul , arresting six suspects of Hezb - e - Islami Gulbuddin . Wednesday , April 14 - Taliban members ambushed and shot dead the deputy chief of Mizan District and several of his colleagues in Zabul Province . Thursday , April 15 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers began a four - day visit to Afghanistan . He was supposed to visit the Zahre Dasht camp for internally displaced person s ( near Kandahar ) ; however , his security could not be insured , and the visit was canceled . Friday , April 16 - The government of Nangarhar Province banned women from performing or reporting news on television and radio . Saturday , April 17 - United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Ruud Lubbers visited with interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai and other senior Afghan officials in Kabul . Lubbers also visited Istalif and the Bagaram district . Sunday , April 18 - The Economic Cooperation Organization opened a two - day conference in Kabul bringing together representatives from ten regional countries . The agenda included ways to improve development and promote trade , and investment opportunities . Monday , April 19 - In a raid on a compound in central Kabul , local police and ISAF forces arrested eight militants with suspected links to Hezb - i - Islami and al - Qaeda . Tuesday , April 20 - At the opening in Kabul of a three - day gathering of representatives of international donor countries , interim president Hamid Karzai announced a reduction in the size of his 30 - person cabinet and a clarification of the responsibilities of each ministry . However , the plan needed the approved of the current cabinet before taking effect . Wednesday , April 21 - In Kabul , local police and ISAF soldiers arrested four suspects , three near Kabul Stadium and one in front of the Finance Ministry . Three detonators were found in the vest of the last suspect . Over a dozen other suspects were taken into custody in a raid on a home . Thursday , April 22 - In the Ghazi Abad District of Kunar Province , a bomb exploded on a truck carrying fuel for a U . S . military base , wounding three Afghan men . Friday , April 23 - In a Panjwai District village of Kandahar Province , a group of 50 armed men attacked aid workers of the Central Asia Development Group , setting fire to eight vehicles . No casualties were reported . Saturday , April 24 - Near the village of Dailanor , in Kandahar Province , rebels ambushed a U . S . military convoy on a road , detonating an explosion that wounded three U . S . Marines , one seriously . The Marines were part of a contingent of 2 , 000 Marines who arrived in Afghanistan in recent weeks . Sunday , April 25 - Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai visited Kandahar for the first time since there was an attempt on his life there on September 5 , 2002 . A man with a grenade near the travel route was apprehended by local police . Monday , April 26 - Top diplomats of NATO ' s North Atlantic Council visited Kabul for the first time since it took over command of ISAF . Wednesday , April 28 - North of Kabul , local police arrested 16 men suspected of plotting to smuggle weapons into the capital . Thursday , April 29 - Afghan Interior Minister Ali Ahmed Jalali announced that Kabul police rescued that week more than 17 children from child kidnappers . Friday , April 30 - At least five Afghan National Army soldiers were killed in an attack by rebels in Panjwai District , Kandahar Province . May . Sunday , May 2 - About 60 U . S . troops in Afghanistan strayed into Pakistan and searched the village of Alwara Mandi in a night time operation . The incursion was accidental and lasted only 25 minutes . Monday , May 3 - Ten Afghan National Army soldiers were found dead in southern Afghanistan after being abducted in two rebel raids . Five soldiers were found dead on a mountainside in Niamashien district of Kandahar Province ; five soldiers were found dead in the Sur Ghogan area . Wednesday , May 5 - The U . S . sent 2 , 000 Marines from the 22nd MEU ( SOC ) to the area around Tirin Kot , 250 miles southwest of Kabul . Friday , May 7 - Six Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded and two were killed in an attack by Taliban forces on a district building in Shah Wali Kot , just north of Kandahar . Saturday , May 8 - Four Afghan election staff workers survived the explosion of their Jeep near Grabawa , Nangarhar Province . Their driver was slightly injured . Sunday , May 9 - Two foreigners ( about 30 years old and wearing Afghan clothes ) were found dead in a park in west Kabul . One had been beaten with bricks or stones ; the other had been strangled . One of the foreigners was carrying a Swiss passport . Monday , May 10 - Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai visited Herat to negotiated with Ismail Khan regarding disarmament . Karzai traveled via a U . S . C - 130 military transport plane and was guarded by U . S . bodyguards . Tuesday , May 11 - In Kabul , an ISAF peacekeeper was slightly injured by a rocket fired into the ISAF main base . Wednesday , May 12 - In Kabul , a 17 - year - old Afghan man was killed and another injured when their motorcycle with three people aboard struck a trailer towed by a Canadian army truck . The motorcycle attempted to pass a convoy of Canadian military vehicles headed for the airport . Saturday , May 15 - Near Girishk in Helmand Province , rebels attacked a U . S . - led coalition combat patrol , killing one U . S . soldier ( Chief Warrant Officer Bruce E . Price ) and wounding two others . Two men were detained ; they were allegedly brothers of Mullah Abdul Ghafoor . Monday , May 17 - In Islamabad , Pakistan , finance ministers of Pakistan and Afghanistan and the deputy secretary of the United States Department of Treasury John B . Taylor met to review economic developments in the region . Tuesday , May 18 - In Doha , Qatar , an international two - day forum opened to discuss financial , technical and personnel - related aid to Afghan police . Representatives of governmental organizations from over 20 countries were in attendance . Wednesday , May 19 - Between Shindand and Farah , rebels ambushed a police car , and killed two officers returning home from escorting U . N . staff members . Thursday , May 20 - A remote - controlled bomb destroyed a vehicle carrying election workers through the Jaji Maydan District of Khost Province , Afghanistan , injuring at least four people . Friday , May 21 - In Tani village , Khost Province , Afghanistan , three civilians were killed and two wounded in a pre - dawn attack by U . S . helicopter gunships . U . S . forces claimed they had been fired on ; villagers at the scene said no U . S . patrol had been fired on . Saturday , May 22 - The U . S . military named Brig . Gen . Charles Jacoby , deputy operational commander at the Bagram Air Base , to carry out a review of U . S . secretive Afghan . Jacoby was to carry out a top - to - bottom review and deliver a report by mid - June . Sunday , May 23 - In Kabul , a rocket - propelled grenade killed a Norwegian ISAF peacekeeper and injured another as a four - vehicle convoy was driving back from patrol . Tuesday , May 25 - Pakistani and U . S . military officials met to discuss mechanism to stop recent military incursions from Afghanistan by U . S . forces hunting suspected al - Qaeda and Taliban fugitives in the border region . Wednesday , May 26 - Interim Afghan president Hamid Karzai enacted an election law that requires both presidential and parliamentary elections to be held through free , general , secret and direct voting . To win the race , a presidential candidate needs at least 50 percent of the vote . A presidential candidate is required to gather 10 , 000 voters backing the bid . Friday , May 28 - A remote - controlled explosive wounded five Afghan soldiers on a road in the Sozyan area of Uruzgan Province . Three suspects were later detained . Saturday , May 29 - Four U . S . Special Operations Soldiers were killed when their Humvee hit a landmine in the Sorie district of Zabul Province . Three U . S . soldiers were wounded in the blast . June . Tuesday , June 1 - Haji Ajab Shah , the chief of police Jalalabad , was killed and three of his staff injured after a bomb exploded underneath his chair . Wednesday , June 2 - Afghans Fasil Ahmad and Besmillah , Belgian Helene de Beir , Norwegian Egil Tynaes , and Dutchman Willem Kwint , all workers for Doctors Without Borders killed in an ambush near Khair Khana in Badghis Province . They were the first ever fatalities for the group . Mullah Abdul Hakim Latifi , a spokesman for the Taliban , took responsibility for the attack . Thursday , June 3 - Doctors Without Borders suspended its work in Afghanistan . Friday , June 4 - North of Spin Boldak , Afghanistan , militants exchanged fire with U . S . - led forces . There were no reports of injuries , but five militants were detained . Saturday , June 5 - In Paktia Province , a convoy of Afghan and foreign staff preparing for the elections was ambushed . There were no injuries . Sunday , June 6 - U . S . warplanes pounded dozens of insurgents hiding in caves near Tirin Kot . Monday , June 7 - A U . S . soldier was killed and two others wounded after their vehicle hit a landmine in southeastern Afghanistan . They were taken to Kandahar airfield hospital where the one soldier died . Tuesday , June 8 - U . S . - led coalition and Afghan forces completed a week - long operation in the Daychopan District of Zabul Province . Through the course of the operation , 73 rebel fighters were killed and 13 captured . Six Afghan government forces and four coalition soldiers were wounded , and none killed . Wednesday , June 9 - Eleven Chinese aid workers from Jiangxi province were killed in their compound by a score of armed men in Kunduz , and another six were wounded . Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi stated the Taliban were not involved . Thursday , June 10 - In Kunduz Province , police chief Mutaleb Beg announced that two suspects were detained in connection with the previous day ' s massacre of Chinese aid workers . Friday , June 11 - In southeast Afghanistan , eleven rockets were fired at a U . N . convoy carrying government officials . Saturday , June 12 - In Shorabak , Kandahar Province , sixty rebels clashed with fifty Afghan National Army troops for over three hours . The rebels seized the outpost building and set it on fire . Sunday , June 13 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai appeared on NBC ' s " Meet the Press " and on CNN ' s " Late Edition " . Monday , June 14 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai held a press conferences with U . S . Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld beside a 9 - 11 memorial plaque on a section of The Pentagon ' s western wall . Tuesday , June 15 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai addressed the U . S . Congress in the House Chamber . Karzai also met with U . S . President George W . Bush . Wednesday , June 16 - In Kunduz Province , a NATO convey was bombed , killing a driver and three bystanders . Thursday , June 17 - Four suspects linked to the previous day ' s NATO convoy bombing were detained in Kunduz Province by Afghan officials . Friday , June 18 - In central Afghanistan , an Afghan interpreter was killed by militant gunfire , while two U . S . soldiers and two New Zealand soldiers were wounded . Sunday , June 20 - Three rocket - propelled grenade s were fired at an electoral office near Kabul . Monday , June 21 - In the Surkh Sang area of Arghandab District of Zabul Province , rebels kidnapped and beheaded an Afghan interpreter , prompting U . S . - led coalition forces and Afghan National Army soldiers to clash with the rebels , killing four of them . Naimatullah Khan , corps commander of southeastern Zabul province , initially stated that the Afghan soldiers avenged the interpreter ' s murder by beheaded the four rebels , but later retracted the statement . Three rebels were arrested . Tuesday , June 22 - Seven rocket - propelled grenade s were fired at a U . S . military base in Khost , slightly wounding two soldiers and three Afghan interpreters . Wednesday , June 23 - Near Spin Boldak , five members of the Afghan National Army were killed and two others were seriously wounded when their vehicle hit a landmine . Thursday , June 24 - In Kunar Province , two U . S . Marines were killed and another was wounded . Friday , June 25 - In Uruzgan Province rebels kidnapped sixteen passengers of a bus and then killed them . Saturday , June 26 - In Afghanistan , a bomb planted in a minibus carrying workers to voter registration sites from Jalalabad to the Shinwar District exploded , killing two Afghan U . N . election workers , and injuring three . Taliban spokesman Abdul Latif Hakimi claimed responsibility . The driver left the vehicle just before the explosion . He was caught by police shortly thereafter . Tuesday , June 29 - Afghan National Army troops in Char Cheno District , Uruzgan Province , killed three rebel fighters . Wednesday , June 30 - Bombs hidden in fruit carts exploded at two separate security checkpoints in Jalalabad , killing four and injuring 23 . July . Thursday , July 1 - Carmela Baranowska , an Australian journalist reported missing in Helmand Province , called her employer to say she was not being held hostage . She had not been seen nor heard from since June 28 . At the time she was filming her documentary Taliban Country . Saturday , July 3 - Police in Mazari Sharif made a large drug seizure and then accused regional military commander Mohammad Atta of being involved in the illegal trade . Sunday , July 4 , 2004 - In a ceremony in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai accepted the Philadelphia Liberty Medal . Monday , July 5 - In the Karteh Parwan district of Kabul , local security forces arrested three Americans , including Jonathan Idema , and four Afghans after police raided an illegal jail . Tuesday , July 6 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai and members of a U . N . - sponsored electoral commission met in Kabul , but failed to finalize on a date for the national and parliamentary elections . Thursday , July 8 - In Khogyani District , Nangarhar Province , a landmine blast killed a female election worker and wounded at least two other people . Friday , July 9 - The Afghan Joint Electoral Management Body announced that Afghanistan ' s presidential elections would take place on October 9 , 2004 , and parliamentary would take place elections in the Spring of 2005 . Sunday , July 11 - A bomb exploded in Herat , killing six and injuring 34 . Wednesday , July 14 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai signed a decree to get full cooperation from militia commanders with the Afghan Disarmament , Demobilization and Reintegration Program ( DDR ) . The decree stated that those who participate in activities against the DDR process will be considered disloyal and rebellious and will face severe punishment . Thursday , July 15 - The United Nations removed its 17 - person staff via helicopter from Ghor Province after its election office there was attacked by protesters . The mob had been protesting a checkpoint conflict that took place in Chaghcharan in which government troops killed two local militiamen . Friday , July 16 - In the Spin Aghbarqa area in Zabul Province , rebels attacked a convoy of U . S . and Afghan National Armysoldiers on patrol along the Kandahar - Kabul highway , triggering a shootout that killed an Afghan Army soldier and an insurgent . Saturday , July 17 - U . S . troops captured Taliban leader Ghulam Mohammed Hotak in Wardak Province . Sunday , July 18 - An estimate 700 people spent nine hours demonstrating in front of government offices in Maydan Shahr , chanting for the release of Taliban leader Ghulam Mohammed Hotak . Monday , July 19 - In a village in Nawbahar District , Zabul Province , five suspected Taliban were caught by U . S . andAfghan National Army soldiers . Tuesday , July 20 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai promoted three powerful warlords : General Atta Mohammad was made governor of Balkh province ; General Khan Mohammad was made police chief of Kandahar Province ; General Hazrat Ali was made police chief of Nangarhar Province . Wednesday , July 21 - Eleven Afghan security personnel were killed in an ambush on their vehicle in Helmand Province . Thursday , July 22 - Rebels killed a local security chief and 10 of his followers in an ambush in Helmand Province . Friday , July 23 - In Kandahar , a remote - controlled bomb exploded a U . S . military convoy passed , wounding between one and four soldier . Monday , July 26 - A bomb exploded near a U . S . military vehicle 35 miles east of Qalat , Zabul Province , injuring three American soldiers traveling in an armored Humvee . Tuesday , July 27 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai formally declared his candidacy for the October 9 presidential elections . He dropped from his ticket Defense Minister Mohammed Fahim and replaced him with Ahmad Zia Massood . Karzai named Karim Khalili his choice for second vice president . Wednesday , July 28 - At a mosque being used as a voter registration site in Ghazni Province , a bomb killed six , including two United Nations staff workers . Thursday , July 29 - In Brussels , the European Commission approved an extra €9 million to help fund the October 7 presidential elections in Afghanistan . Saturday , July 31 - The United States government warned its citizens that the security situation in Afghanistan remained critical and that there was a general threat to all Americans visiting the nation . August . Sunday , August 1 - A three - day battle began between Afghan National Army and U . S . troops and militants near Zhawara , Khost Province . Coalition ground forces were assisted by U . S . B - 1 Lancer , A - 10 Thunderbolt II and helicopter gunships . Between 10 and 70 rebels were killed ; at least one Afghan soldier was killed . Wednesday , August 4 - Two Afghans , a field officer and his driver , working for Malteser Germany , a Catholic relief agency , were killed by gunmen in Zormat . As a result of the attack , Malteser suspended its operations in Afghanistan . Thursday , August 5 - As part of the Combatant Status Review Tribunal s at Guantánamo Bay , Cuba , with hands bound and feet chained to a metal ring in the floor , an Afghan detainee pleaded for his freedom before the first U . S . military review tribunal partially opened to observers . Friday , August 6 - A convoy of ten U . S . vehicles east of Daychopan , Zabul Province , was ambushed by about ten rebels who fired rocket propelled grenade s . One Humvee was struck , injuring five soldiers . Saturday , August 7 - Two U . S . soldiers and their Afghan interpreter were killed when their Humvee struck a landmine positioned along their route in Ghazni Province . A third soldier was wounded . Tuesday , August 10 - Afghan election officials released the list of approved presidentual candidates for the October 7 election ; the list of seventeen included Hamid Karzai , Yunus Qanooni , Mohammed Fahim and Abdullah Abdullah . Wednesday , August 11 - Mullah Janan , a Taliban military commander , was killed while leading an ambush on a U . S . - Afghan military convoy in Laghman Province . Thursday , August 12 - A U . S . UH - 60 Black Hawk crashed in Khost Province , killing at least one soldier and injuring fourteen . Four personnel were seriously injured and evacuated to the hospital at Bargam Air Base . Tuesday , August 17 - U . S . warplanes bombed the forces of Amanullah near Herat . Khan ' s forces were engaged in fighting the militia backing Herat Province governor Ismail Khan . Amanullah agreed to a cease - fire . Wednesday , August 18 - 18 - year - old Friba Razayee became the first woman ever to compete for Afghanistan at the Olympic Games . She competed in judo against Spain ' s Cecila Blanco . Thursday , August 19 - A bomb exploded in a U . N . - run voter registration building in Farah . Several security personnel were injured . Saturday , August 21 - Three people were killed and two others critically wounded when their pickup truck tried to run a checkpoint in Ghazni Province . An infant in the vehicle was unhurt . Monday , August 23 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai began a two - day visit in Pakistan , meeting first with Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf . Friday , August 27 - Pashtun warlord Amanullah was brought by Afghan authorities from Herat to Kabul and held under arrest . Saturday , August 28 - In Zabul Province , U . S . and Afghan National Army soldiers captured 22 Taliban suspects . Sunday , August 29 - Georgia ' s 16th mountain battalion , commanded by Captain Shavleg Tabatadze , traveled to Germany for a two - week training before they embark on a 100 - day mission in Afghanistan . Monday , August 30 - NATO troops detained a man on the grounds of Kabul Airport and found traces of explosives on his hands . They then turned him over to local authorities . Tuesday , August 31 - In Nangahar Province , security forces arrested two men , Afghan Hesmatullah and Pakistani Shahzada Gul , distributing Taliban leaflet s calling for a holy war against U . S . - led coalition forces and the government . September . Wednesday , September 1 - The Asian Development Bank pledged US $ 600 million to Afghanistan over the next three years . Thursday , September 2 - Afghan Foreign Minister Abdullah visited India and met with Natwar Singh and prime minister Manmohan Singh to discuss a US $ 400 million Indian aid package for Afghanistan . Friday , September 3 - A jeep packed with explosives detonated at a roadside in the Jaikhoja area of Kandahar , killing one person and seriously injuring two others in a passing taxi . Tuesday , September 7 - In northern Afghanistan , ten humanitarian workers were injured in an attack by demonstrators . Thursday , September 9 - In Uruzgan Province , rebels attacked a U . S . patrol vehicle with rocket - propelled grenades , machine guns and small arms fire , wounding one soldier . Saturday , September 11 - In Herat , dozens of supporters of Ismail Khan gathered outside his home after he was replaced as provincial governor , and began chanting slogans against the United States and Afghan president Hamid Karzai . Shots were fired by U . S . and Afghan security forces after their convoy was pelted with stones . Two people were killed , four injured and four arrested . Sunday , September 12 - In Herat , hundreds of demonstrators , protesting the previous day ' s dismissal of Ismail Khan , ransacked and set fires at United Nations offices . At least seven people died and dozens more wounded . Later in the day , Khan appeared on television and called for his supporters to exercise restraint . Interim president Hamid Karzai chose Mohammed Khair Khuwa to replace Kahn . Monday , September 13 - The United Nations withdrew dozens of its staff members from Herat , Afghanistan a day after mobs ransacked its offices . Tuesday , September 14 - In Herat , Afghanistan , two men in a four - wheel - drive vehicle shot and killed a militiaman loyal to his ousted predecessor , Ismail Khan . Wednesday , September 15 - In Kabul , an Afghan court sentenced Jonathan Idema and Brent Bennett to 10 - year prison terms and Edward Caraballo to an 8 - year term for participating in torture , kidnapping and running a private jail . Their four Afghan accomplices were sentenced to between one and five years in prison . Thursday , September 16 - A rocket fired on but missed a helicopter carrying Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai as it prepared for landing in Gardez , where Karzai planned to open a school . The helicopter returned to Kabul without touching down in Gardez . Police later captured three suspects who confessed to firing the rockets . Friday , September 17 - Afghan National Army forces searching for three missing elders kidnapped from the Maruf district in Kandahar Province , found two of them dead and the third wounded . All had multiple gunshot wounds . The survivor had injuries to the throat and stomach and was taken to the U . S . military base in Kandahar . The elders had been working to register voters . Saturday , September 18 - In Helmand Province , four gunmen riding two motorcycles ambushed the car of a militia commander , killing him and wounding two of his guards . Sunday , September 19 - Afghanistan held an auction of capital note s to allow its banks to determine a market - driven interest rate . The two winning banks were Millie Bank and Pashtany Bank . Monday , September 20 - Afghan interim vice - president Nehmatullah Shahrani survived an assassination attempt when a remote controlled roadside bomb exploded next to his convoy in Kunduz Province . Tuesday , September 21 - In New York , Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai attended the opening of the United Nations General Assembly . Wednesday , September 22 - About 130 paratrooper s the U . S . 82nd Airborne Division left from Fort Bragg , North Carolina to Afghanistan to help provide security for the October elections there . Friday , September 24 - The Asian Development Bank approved a loan to Afghanistan of US $ 5 million and a guarantee of US $ 10 million to provide political risk guarantees to eligible investors and financiers . Saturday , September 25 - former Camp X - Ray prisoner and Taliban leader Maulvi Abdul Ghaffar was among three rebel fighters killed during a raid in Char Cheno District , Uruzgan Province . Sunday , September 26 - Iran announced that since March 20 , more than 30 , 000 Afghan refugees had left the city of Isfahan to return to their country . Tuesday , September 28 - Afghan General Abdul Rashid Dostum held a rally in Shiberghan for his presidential campaign bid and outlined his campaign issues . Wednesday , September 29 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai inaugurated the Afghan National Museum in Kabul . Thursday , September 30 - In Orgun , two Afghan National Army soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a land mine attack on their convoy . October . Friday , October 1 - In Pakistan , hundreds of Afghan refugees , including women , lined up at special voting registration centers near Quetta and Peshawar . Saturday , October 2 - Afghan presidential candidate Yunus Qanuni held a rally in Kandahar . Sunday , October 3 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai visited Germany , where he met Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer and accepted a prize from the private organization Werkstatt Deutschland . Tuesday , October 5 - Afghan interim president Hamid Karzai flew to Ghazni to speak to a crowd of about 5 , 000 . While airborne , his helicopter was escorted by a U . S . AH - 64 Apache and an A - 10 Thunderbolt II . Wednesday , October 6 - In Badakhshan Province , an assassination attempt on vice - presidential candidate Ahmed Zia Massood killed one person and injured five others , including the former provincial governor . Thursday , October 7 - In Moscow , Russia , Russia and France signed an agreement on military transits to Afghanistan via Russia . Signing for Russia was Sergei Lavrov , Minister of Foreign Affairs , and for France , Jean Cadet , Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Russia . Friday , October 8 - In London , England , the trial began for former Afghan warlord Zardad Khan . Saturday , October 9 - In Afghanistan ' s first - ever direct presidential election , Hamid Karzai was elected President of Afghanistan . Monday , October 11 - The Czech Republic voted to donate surplus weaponry ( including submachine gun ammunition , hand grenade s and signal rocket s ) to the Afghan National Army . Tuesday , October 12 - In Vienna , Austria , the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime hosted a meeting of United Nations officials and international policy - makers to address the heroin problem arising from Afghanistan . December . 28 Americans die in Helmand way in 2004 December 16 .