Afghan President Hamid Karzai led his country's Independence Day celebrations Sunday with a call for young Afghans to educate themselves to preserve their freedom.
Mr. Karzai told thousands of people gathered at the Kabul sports stadium that Afghanistan was still threatened by enemies, referring to the Taleban-led insurgency.
Meanwhile, Mullah Omar, the elusive Taleban leader in Afghanistan, issued a statement calling for people to join the insurgency to oust the U.S.-backed Karzai government.
Afghanistan served as a buffer between the British and Russian empires until it won independence from British control on August 19th of 1919.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP and AP.