War News for Saturday, February 04, 2012

Record civilian death toll in Afghan war last year: UN

Mullah Omar sent letter to Obama to end war

Turkey bombs three PKK targets in northern Iraq

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Feb. 4

American brigadier general dies in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: At least four people were killed when a suicide bomber targeted the office of a property dealer in Peshawar, the capital city of northwest Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Friday night. Federal Minister Bashir Bilaur told media that a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the office of a property dealer, Astana Gul, at Ring Road area of Peshawar. There were four people inside the building when the blast took place. Following the explosion, the office building was razed to the ground. Later talking to media, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa told media that the target of the blast -- Astana Gul is the leader of a banned outfit of militants, however he was not present inside the building at the time of blast.

#2: The first incident took place in Cholan area 5 kilo meters east of Khost city on Friday night when a land mine hit an Afghan National Army soldiers while they were patrolling in the area. ANA press office in the 1st ANA brigade 203rd corp says one ANA soldier was killed and two other were wounded when a remote control bomb detonated on their soldier’s foot patrol.

War News for Friday, February 03, 2012

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Lance Cpl. Edward J. Dycus died during combat operations somewhere in Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, February 1st.


French forces leave Afghan base where soldiers were killed

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, Feb. 3


Reported security incidents
#1: Seven security personnel and 18 militants were killed and five soldiers were kidnapped by Taliban militants, on Friday, during an attack on a check post in the restive Kurram tribal region of northwest Pakistan, which has witnessed fierce fighting in recent days. The militants attacked the check post in Shidano Dand area near the border with Afghanistan overnight, officials were quoted as saying by TV news channels. The attack triggered fierce clashes in which seven soldiers and 18 militants were killed, the officials said. The rebels took away five soldiers. There was no official word on the incident.

#2: Finnish soldiers exchanged fire with insurgents in northern Afghanistan on Thursday. None of the peacekeepers were wounded in the action in which they returned fire in self-defence. The joint Finnish-Swedish patrol was travelling from Darzab to Sheberghan when they were attacked. The skirmish lasted ten minutes.

#3: An Italian base in southwestern Afghanistan came under fire Thursday afternoon but "no damage was done," military sources said Friday. Italian troops have been fighting the Taliban for control of roads in the region and there have been "almost daily" firefights, they said. An Italian soldier was killed at the 'Snow' outpost in the Gulistan district in December 2010.

#4: A homemade bomb exploded outside a house in the Bazaar Zakhakhel area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, killing one person and wounding two others, local government officials said.

#5: Militants attacked a paramilitary checkpost in the Bara area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region near the Afghanistan border, killing a soldier and wounding another two, security officials said. Two militants were killed when Pakistani forces at the post returned fire, officials added.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Edward J. Dycus

War News for Thursday, February 02, 2012

Final tally says 2,000 Canadians wounded in Afghanistan

Breakdown of troops in Afghanistan

Pakistan to limit unilateral US actions: Khar

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, February 2

NASA orbiter gives glimpse of moon's far side

Panetta Says U.S. to End Afghan Combat Role as Soon as 2013

Taliban Captives Dispute U.S. View on Afghanistan War


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban militants armed with guns and grenades ambushed a police patrol in northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing three officers and wounding another, police said. The attack took place in Lakki Marwat district, part of the troubled Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan. Police said eight to 10 Taliban fighters ambushed a police vehicle, first by hurling a grenade and then opening fire with Kalashnikovs after policemen tried to retaliate. "Three policemen were killed and one was injured. Taliban later escaped," Mohammad Gulzar, the district police chief, told AFP.

#2: Suspected militants killed five policemen in a shootout in the volatile southwestern Baluchistan province early on Wednesday, police said. Some 20 militants attacked the policemen travelling in a car who were heading towards the provincial capital, Quetta.

#3: The suspected militants kidnapped a senior government official in another district of the province. (Baluchistan province)

#4: Two people were killed and several wounded in a bombing in a market on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar, government officials said.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 7 people were killed and injured following an explosion in eastern Kapisa province. The officials further added, the incident took place after a car packed with explosives went off in Nejrab district of eastern Kapisa province. District police chief for Nejrab Ata Mohammad Nazari confirming the report said, at least 1 Afghan civilian was killed and 6 others were injured following the explosion which took place in a busy market in Nejrab district. Mr. Nazari further added, the explosion took place on Wednesday evening at Chowkandaz area. He also added, the main target of the explosion was the convoy of the coalition security forces.

#6: According to local government officials in western Afghanistan, at least four Taliban militants were killed following armed clashes with the Afghan border protection police forces in western Herat province. Gen. Toryalai Halimyar deputy commander of the border protection forces in the 4th western zone said, the clashes took place last night in Keshk-Robat Sangi district after a number of the Taliban militants attacked a security check post. Gen. Halimyar further added, at least four Taliban militants were killed during the clashes which lasted at least two hours. He all added, Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties during the clashes and armed Taliban militants fled the area.

#7: In the meantime at least 2 Afghan police service members were killed and three others were injured in a separate incident at Shindand district of western Herat province. Local security officials said, the security forces were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in Azizabad area at Shindand district. Gen. Syed Aqa Saqib provincial security chief said, the incident took place after Afghan security forces were tracing a group of the thieves in Shindand district. Gen. Saqib further added, at least two police forces were killed and 1 of them was injured during the incident.

#8: He also said, at least two other Afghan police forces were injured after an Afghan police Ranger vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in Azizabad area (Herat province) while they were on their way to assist the local residents who had suffered from natural disasters. According to Gen. Saqib, the roadside bombs were planted by Taliban militants.


DoD: Sgt. William C. Stacey

War News for Wednesday, February 01, 2012

The Georgian Paradox

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, February 1

Another Afghan soldier kills NATO service member - Afghan National Army commander Sayed Malluk confirmed the shooting, which he said happened during a night patrol in Helmand province's Marjah district. But he said the Afghan soldier, who has been in the army for more than two years, told investigators the shooting was an accident.


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen attacked a paramilitary checkpoint in southwestern Pakistan, killing 11 soldiers and increasing tension in an area where a separatist insurgency has raged for decades, the military said Wednesday. Twelve soldiers were also wounded in the attack Tuesday night in the Marwarh area of Baluchistan province, said the paramilitary Frontier Corps. The troops returned fire, but officials did not indicate whether the attackers suffered any casualties. A local government official, Fateh Bangalzai, said soldiers discovered the bodies of seven unarmed men near the checkpoint Wednesday morning. Authorities were investigating whether the men were part of the attacking group or civilians caught in the crossfire, said Bangalzai.

#2: Pakistani fighter jets bombed the hideouts of two militant commanders along the Afghan border Wednesday, killing up to 31 insurgents, government and security officials said. One of those killed was reported to be a Pakistani Taliban leader in Orakzai region named Moin ud Din, said one security official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. It was not possible to independently confirm the information because the border region is effectively off-limits to reporters. Militants have in the past disputed army accounts of casualties, and human rights groups say civilians often die in military actions. There were air strikes in the bordering regions of Kurram and Orakzai, said government officials Wajid Khan and Ameer Gul. The attacks followed clashes between soldiers and militants over a strategic mountaintop in Kurram that killed over 60 people in the last week.

#3: Joint Afghan and coalition security forces killed three armed insurgents during operations in several provinces in the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

#4: At least 13 people were killed when a U.S. drone launched three missile strikes in Orakzai region of Pakistan's northwest tribal belt on Wednesday, local media reported. According to the report by local TV channel Geo, the attack was launched in wee hours in the morning when a U.S. drone fired three missiles at a militants'hideout in Darand Shekhan area of upper Orakzai agency, a militancy-hit tribal area where Pakistan army has been battling local and foreign Taliban militants for the past four months. The report said that six foreigners were also among the killed militants and the dead bodies have been shifted to other areas of Orakzai after the drone attack

War News for Tuesday, January 31, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, January 31st.


Obama confirms U.S. drone strikes in Pakistan

On the Ground in Afghanistan, a Taliban Whose Momentum Seems Anything but Broken

Alternate routes for Nato supplies may come under attack: experts

Reconstructing the bombing of a CIA base

Fear drives new front in Afghan peace talks: analysts

US unilateralism in Afghanistan

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 31, Jan. 30th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Dozens of heavily armed Taliban militants attacked a Pakistani military post on Tuesday, sparking clashes that killed seven soldiers and wounded another 10, the military said. At the time, security forces claimed to have taken control of Jogi, which is strategically located near Orakzai district, birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud. A senior military official told AFP that "more than 300 Taliban attacked" the checkpost at around midnight (1900 GMT Monday) in central Kurram, which is on the Taliban route into North Waziristan and onto the Afghan border. Pakistani security forces retaliated and killed around 25 militants, but seven soldiers were also killed and 10 others wounded, the official said. Independent confirmation of death tolls is largely impossible in the tribal belt, a Taliban and Al-Qaeda stronghold barred to journalists and aid workers. "Heavy fighting continued until this morning," the military official said. Local administration official Sher Bahadur confirmed the military deaths but put the number of wounded paramilitaries at 12.

#2: Four armed insurgents were killed during joint Afghan and coalition security operations in several provinces in the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

#3: Three people were killed and eight others wounded in a suspected suicide bombing at a house in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police officials said. The house belonged to the leader of a pro-government tribal militia fighting against militants in the nearby Khyber tribal region.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 25 armed militants were killed and injured following a military operation in eastern Kapisa province. A spokesman for provincial police commandment in eastern Kapisa province Asadullah Hamidi said, the operation was conducted in Elasai district by Afghan security forces. Mr. Hamidi further added, at least 19 militants were killed and 6 others were injured during the military operations. He also said, several regions in Elasai district was cleared from the militants and the local residents can continue to their normal lives. In the meantime local officials said, at least eight civilians were also killed and injured during the military operations. The officials said, Afghan civilians were killed during clashes between Afghan security forces and armed militants. According to local officials, Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties during the operations.

War News for Monday, January 30, 2011

U.S. Drones Patrolling Its Skies Provoke Outrage in Iraq

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 30, Jan. 29th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Pakistani army forces have killed at least eight militants during an air strike in the northwestern Kurram tribal region, Press TV reports. Gunship helicopters belonging to Pakistan's army bombarded the militant's hideouts in the Murghan and Kandlor area of central Kurram tribal region near the Afghanistan border on Sunday, killing the eight militants and wounding ten others.

#2: The Taliban have kidnapped a member of Afghanistan's peace council during a bid to promote talks in the volatile east, underscoring the difficulty negotiators face in winning support for nascent negotiations from the Taliban frontline. Maulavi Shafihullah Shafih, a low-level member of the High Peace Council set up by Afghan President Hamid Karzai to liaise with the Taliban, disappeared on Friday in the Asmar district of the eastern province of Kunar, authorities said on Sunday. The attack wounded four people, including Masoom Stanekzai, head of the council's secretariat.

#3: An Afghan-led security force supported by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), killed a leader of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan in Taloqan district, Takhar province, on Sunday, the coalition said in a statement.

#4: Four armed insurgents were killed and one was wounded during security operations in several provinces, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.


MoD: Lance Corporal Gajbahadur Gurung

News of the Day for Sunday, January 29, 2012

A member of the Afghan Peace Council, Shafiullah Shafi, is reported kidnapped in Kunar. He had gone to that province to try to recruit insurgents to the peace process. No one has so far claimed responsibility for seizing him.

Police foil a plot in Kandahar province, seizing a motorbike rigged with explosives.

And, an Afghan soldier is arrested in Herat with an explosive motorbike.

Afghan President Karzai meets with British BP David Cameron in London. Cameron warns against precipitous withdrawal of foreign forces. On Saturday, the two signed a strategic pact to govern relations after 2014.

Meanwhile, British Chief of Staff David Richards, who commanded NATO forces in Afghanistan from 2006-2008, has been talking out of school, telling a journalist that the military effort in Afghanistan is "amateurish, and "verging on the complacent," while the British have failed to learn the lessons of the Iraq war or provide adequate resources. (I don't know how it works in Britain but were he a U.S. general, he'd be home tomorrow tending his tulips. -- C)

Pakistan FM Hina Rabbani Khar will visit Kabul February 1 to try to make nice, in the wake of the assassination of Burhanuddin Rabbani and accusations that Pakistan is harboring Afghan Taliban. She will be the first woman to lead a Pakistani delegation to Afghanistan.

Iraq Update

Xinhua reports several incidents: a civilian is killed by a sticky bomb in Maqdadiyah; in Baquba, a sticky bomb attack on a police officer injures him and 2 bystanders; while in Bani Sa'ad an attack on a Sahwa checkpoint injures 2. Finally, an explosion in southeast Baghdad injures 8 people. Apparently one person did in fact die in the Baghdad blast, which targeted a police patrol.

In Samarra, attackers invade the home of an official of the Iraqi Reconciliation Institution, seriously injuring him and killing a guest.

Ancient Mandaean sect is disappearing from Iraq. In addition to facing religious persecution, their traditional livelihood of gold- and silversmithing has become impossible in an environment of uncontrolled crime.

St. Louis throws a parade for Iraq vets.

U.S. VP Joe Biden has been calling Iraqi leaders to try to facilitate factional reconciliation. However, Iyad Allawi tells Asharq alawsat (here via Aswat al-Iraq, the original interview does not appear to be available in English) that he fears for his personal safety, and:

"The situations are heading towards very difficult trends for several reasons, in their forefront of which is the nature of the political process that was built on erroneous basis, including marginalization and political sectarianism, thing that led for non-building of State institutions, able to present proper services for citizens, especially in the security field and non-implementation of the conditions, cited in the national partnership, agreed upon, thing that also led for difficult tensions facing the country nowadays, such tensions that were stepped up for serious practices, including the case of Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimy and Deputy Prime Minister, Saleh al-Mutlaq," Allawi said in the interview.

"There are no laws in the country, where the law is politicized and the laws are under politicization, along with measures that are taken outside the limits of the law and against the Constitution; that is why there is no concept for the sovereignty on the law, complete disrespect for the sovereignty of the Constitution," Allawi added.