Villagers near the Afghan city of Kandahar say Afghan troops, and their U.S. mentors, forced civilians to march ahead of soldiers on roads where landmines were suspected. No one was hurt, but the incident raises questions about how civilians are being caught between the warring parties.

Sgt. Nathan Harris was part of the unit where photographer-filmmaker Danfung Dennis was embedded in Afghanistan. After Harris was wounded in a firefight, Dennis realized the story of his recovery was inextricable from the story of his war.

Last year's U.S. troops surge in southern Afghanistan was aimed at ousting the Taliban from much of its home turf. So what does Kandahar province look like today? NPR's Quil Lawrence spent a week in the region and shares his impressions with host Audie Cornish.

Militants tried to blast their way into an American base on Saturday, striking before dawn with rocket-propelled grenades and a vehicle packed with explosives. The attackers failed to breach the gate of the base in Panjshir province's Rakha district, said a provincial police chief.

The 74-page report by the United Nationss concludes that suspected Taliban fighters have been subjected to beatings, electric shocks and other forms of torture in some Afghan-run detention centers.

The documentary Hell and Back Again was a standout at Sundance, and it hits theaters this week. It follows Marine Sgt. Nathan Harris from Afghanistan back home to North Carolina. Director Danfung Dennis made an unusual choice for this film: no musical score. Instead, he uses sounds gathered on the battlefield and manipulates them to highlight the emotion of the story. Noah Nelson of Turnstyle News reports.

The United States has never seen a moment like this one, the Pew Center says: sustained combat for a decade, and a small fraction of American men and women in uniform. A new Pew study says that's led to some different views on the wars, the value of military service — and even the subject of patriotism.