Security Incidents for Thursday, July 26, 2007

(1) The DoD is reporting a new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Navy Hospitalman Daniel S. Noble, 21, of Whittier, California, died from enemy action in Diyala Province on Tuesday, July 24th. He was permanently assigned to the 1st Marine Division.

(2) The DoD has announced three new deaths, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Three Marines were apparently killed in enemy action on Tuesday, July 24th ... in Diyala Province:
Lance Corporal Robert A. Lynch, 20, of Louisville, Kentucky
Corporal James H. McRae, 22, of Springtown, Texas
Corporal Matthew R. Zindars, 21, of Watertown, Wisconsin

(3) The DoD is reporting another new death, not previously reported by CENTCOM. Staff Sergeant Joshua P. Mattero, 29, of San Diego, California, died from wounds he received when an improvised explosive device detonated in the vicinity of Ba'qubah in Diyala Province on Tuesday, July 24th. He was assigned to the 63rd Explosive Ordnance Battalion out of Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland.

(4) MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier in a small arms fire attack in a southern neighborhood of Baghdad on Wednesday, July 25th.

(5) The British Ministry of Defense is reporting the death of a 1st Battalion The Royal Anglian Regiment soldier in an explosion near his vehicle in the northeastern outskirts of Sangin in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, on Wednesday, July 25th. Two other soldiers were injured in the blast.

(6) The British Ministry of Defense is announcing the death of another British serviceman in Afghanistan ... this one from the 1st Battalion, The Grenadier Guards. The soldier was participating in an offensive against Taliban forces in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, north-east of Gereshk, when he was struck by gunfire on the morning of Thursday, July 26th, and pronounced dead at the scene.

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Baghdad:
#1: A bomb killed three people and wounded two others in the al-Shaab district of northern Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.

#2: Four civilians were killed in an IED explosion in Bayaa neighborhood south Baghdad around 1,00 pm.

#3: An Iraqi soldier was killed and five others wounded in a car bomb and IED explosion targeted their patrol in Jamia’a neighborhood west Baghdad around 2,00 pm.

#4: A Multi-National Division-Baghdad Soldier was killed during a small arms fire engagement in a southern section of the Iraqi capital July 25.

#5: A powerful car bomb rocked central Baghdad on Thursday, killing at least 20 bystanders, wounding more than 60 and destroying a row of shops, officials and witnesses said. An AFP journalist said he saw dozens of casualties being carried away from the site of the blast, which partially demolished one building and left several vehicles in flames. An Iraqi security official confirmed a bomb had exploded in the Karrada commercial district


Diyala Prv:
#1: Three Marines and one Sailor assigned to Multi National Force-West died July 24 while conducting combat operations in Diyala Province


Najaf:
#1: A former aide to Iraq's top Shiite cleric was killed Thursday in a drive-by shooting in the holy city of Najaf south of Baghdad, security officials said. Kazim Jabir al-Bidairi was shot dead by two gunmen in a car as he drove in the Wafa area of northern Najaf at 11:30 a.m., according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media. Al-Bidairi, who was in his 40s, was alone in the car.


Diwaniyah:
#1: A roadside bomb struck a police patrol south of Baghdad on Thursday, killing five officers and wounding two as they were on their way home from an operation with U.S. forces, police said. The explosion occurred about 7 a.m. on the main road between Hillah and Diwaniyah, according to an official.


Latifiya:
#1: Police found two bodies blindfolded, handcuffed and riddled with bullets in Latifiya 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said


Tikrit:
#1: Five Iraqi security forces members and two insurgents were killed and many weapons caches seized during a raid in eastern Tikrit, 175 km (110 miles) north of Baghdad, police said

#2: Five policemen including two officers were killed while chasing gunmen in Al Dhuba’i west of Tikrit city today morning.


Mosul:
#1: Mortar bombs killed one soccer fan and wounded nine others who were celebrating Iraq's semi-final win in the Asian Cup. The attack took place in central Mosul 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said

#2: On Thursday, gunmen mined the city's main soccer stadium, destroying about half of the 10,000-seat structure, they said.


Kirkuk:
#1: A parked car bomb near a market killed two people and wounded 20 in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. A hospital source put the death toll at five.


Tal Abta:
#1: A suicide bomber blew himself up at the gate of a police station in northern Iraq on Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding 13, authorities said. The explosion occurred about 11 a.m. in the Tal Abta area, some 80 kilometers (49.71 miles) west of Mosul, police Brig. Gen. Mohammed al-Waqaa said. Those killed included five policemen and one civilian, while the 13 wounded included 10 policemen, according to al-Waqaa.

#2: A mortar round landed on a bus station in Tal Abta, 70 km southwest of the northern city of Mosul, killing one person and wounding seven, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
Fallujah:
#1: A roadside bomb killed one person and wounded 11 others when it hit a bus in central Falluja 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said


Zakho:
#1: The Turkish forces shelled border regions in Zakho district, a security source from the border guard forces in Duhuk province said on Thursday. "More than 30 cannonballs hit Shlash Dar, Serakork, Afla and Berbla regions in Zakho district, northwest of Duhuk, late Wednesday" the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI). "The shelling lasts for an hour without causing casualties," he added.


Deshesh:
#1: local residents from shelled regions told the VOI that the Turkish artillery shelled regions near to the Deshesh village on borders with Turkey. "The shelling caused no casualties but spread fear among the residents," an eyewitness said.


Yarubiya:
#1: Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint at Yarubiya on Iraq's northwestern border with Syria, killing three, police said.




Afghanistan:
#1: A rocket fired into a military base in Pakistan's restive northwest on Thursday killed one soldier, and roadside bombs elsewhere in the region wounded 10 people in a military convoy and a police van, officials said.

#2: Coalition forces and Afghan troops attacked a cluster of buildings in Helmand province that militants have been using to launch attacks. More than 50 Taliban were killed and several others were wounded in the 12-hour gunbattle that ended early Thursday. "Coalition air support dropped two bombs on the compounds with the greatest concentration of insurgents," a coalition statement said. "Both compounds produced significant secondary explosions immediately suggesting a large quantity of explosive material was present in each." The clash happened near the village of Musa Qala

#3: In neighboring Kandahar province, Afghan troops clashed with the Taliban for three hours leaving 10 suspected militants and one policemen dead, said Sayed Afghan Saqib, Kandahar provincial police chief.

#4: In North West Frontier Province, a police van carrying prisoners and officers back from a court hearing was hit by a bomb blast near the town of Timergara, police officer Shahjehan Khan said. Six prisoners and three officers were wounded, Khan said. He said police were investigating the explosion, and refused to speculate on who may have been responsible

#5: In North Waziristan, security forces at checkpoints near the main town of Miran Shah opened fire on suspected militants on Thursday, officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. There were no reports of injuries.

#5: It is with deep regret that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the death of a soldier from the 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards in southern Afghanistan today, Thursday 26 July 2007. The soldier died during a deliberate operation aimed at disrupting Taliban forces in the Upper Gereshk Valley of Helmand province. The soldier had been taking part in a task force level operation codenamed ‘Chakush’ or ‘Hammer’ on Thursday 26 July 07 against the Taliban in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, north-east of Gereshk. At around 6am local time, the company came under fire from Taliban fighters, and the soldier was shot.

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