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Gul Khan was one of the original inhabitants of Panjwai district, Kandahar province. He was living there with his family. Though the life was tense due to insurgent activities of the Taliban and counter attacks by Coalition and NATO forces, he was happy in his small house with his wife and children, looking after their gardens.

Unfortunately, in late 2005, Panjwai and its neighbouring districts occupied by the insurgents and their activities increased. So the counter-insurgent attacks also began to swell up.

Gul Khan's gardens, which produced the sweetest fruit of the world, destroyed either by the Taliban or by foreign troops during their attacks. The worst was that one morning government forces announced that all the civilian residents must leave the area because an air strike and operation against the insurgents was imminent.

For Gul Khan, it was not possible to leave his house and village. The reasons were two. He was never thought to leave his village in his life, even in the war against Soviet forces. And he has no other place to go to. Also it was very difficult, at least for him, to find a place in Kandahar city in 24 hours, the deadline given by the government.

As most of the residents left the area, Gul Khan remained in his house with his family. Then a massive operation launched by International Security Assistant Force (ISAF), Afghan National Army (ANA), Afghan National Police (ANP) and Coalition Forces. The Taliban insurgents responded with their own force and the fierce fighting continued approximately two months. Air strikes, ground attacks, ambushes, suicide attacks and bomb blasts were part of this battle.

One night Gul Khan's house also targeted and he got serious wounds. A non-governmental medical team carried him to a hospital after the fighting and he died there.

His house was damaged in the strike so a non-governmental aid organisation helped his family and gave them a house near Panjwai's main bazaar. The government and other aid organisations helped the family with some money and thus they started a new life.

Five months later, Gul Khan's wife admitted her 10 years old son in the only school of the area, and only two months later he killed in a suicide attack by the insurgents. 22 people, all civilians, were killed in this suicide blast. The incident was occurred in the morning time when people were going to their shops, schools or other duties.

Reports say that more than 10 thousand Afghans, most of them civilians, are killed since 2001. They

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