War News for Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Photo: A Google Earth map of the general area of the location of Salman Pak in reference to Baghdad. An American helicopter crashed in this location killing two soldiers and wounding twelve others. Click on the map for a larger view.




Security incidents:


Baghdad:
#1: Unknown gunmen opened fire on a car in Haifa Street, in central Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring another, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. One of the victims was Musa Jaafar, top geology surveyor working for the government, the source said.

#2: gunmen opened fire on civilians in Baghdad's western neighborhood of Hay Dragh, leaving two civilians dead, he added.

#3: About 15 minutes earlier, a parked car bomb also exploded on a main road in southwest Baghdad's Baiyaa neighborhood, killing one civilian and wounding six, police said. Most of the wounded were young boys on their way to school, police said.

A car bomb killed one person and wounded six in the Bayaa district of southwestern Baghdad, police said. Another police source said two people had been killed.

#4: Two men were shot and wounded by a 15 year-old boy in Mansour district in western Baghdad, an official at Yarmouk hospital said.

#5: Iraqi army soldiers killed two suspected insurgents and arrested 154 in different areas of Iraq during the past 24 hours, the Defence Ministry said.

#7: A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. military convoy wounded three civilians in Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad, police said.

#8: U.S. forces killed 12 suspected insurgents, detained five others and found two shackled bodies in a makeshift detention facility during operations against al Qaeda along the Tigris River valley on Sunday and Monday, the U.S. military said.

#9: A roadside bomb wounded three people in the Baladiyat district of eastern Baghdad, police said.

#10: The fortified Green Zone in central Baghdad came under mortar shells attack on Tuesday afternoon, an interior ministry's source said. "Two mortar rounds fell into the Green Zone on Tuesday afternoon, leaving no human or material losses" the source told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

#11: Police found ( 6 ) unidentified bodies in the following neighborhood in Baghdad : ( 3 ) were found in west Baghdad ( Karkh bank ) ; 2 in Amil and 1 in Mansour . While ( 3 ) were found in east Baghdad ( Risafa bank ) ; 2 in Sadr city and 1 in Uttafiyah.


Suwayra:
#1: Police found the bodies of four men in the Tigris river near the town of Suwayra, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, on Monday, police said. All four had been tortured and shot.


Salman Pak:
#1: A coalition forces helicopter crashed in Iraq on Tuesday, killing two soldiers and injuring 12, the U.S. military said. Major Brad Leighton, a U.S. military spokesman, said initial reports indicated the crash near the town of Salman Pak, 45 km (28 miles) southeast of Baghdad, was not the result of enemy fire.


Basra:
#1: The Basra forensic medicine department received four bodies found in two separate places, west of Basra," the source, who asked to not be identified, told the independent news agency Voices of Iraq

Samarra:
#1: The body of police major Saad Jumaa was found near Samarra after he was kidnapped on Monday, the Joint Iraqi-U.S. Coordination Centre said.


Dhuluiya:
#1: Police found the bodies of three men shot and bound in the town of Dhuluiya, 70 km (45 miles) north of Baghdad, the Joint Iraqi-U.S. Coordination Centre said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Monday night, a roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army patrol at Sifra village on the Kirkuk – Biji route ( west Kirkuk ) killing one soldier and injuring three others.

#2: Around 7.30 p.m. of Monday evening , gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi army patrol at Hussainiyah village on Kirkuk – Biji ( west Kirkuk) which made the Iraqi patrol raided the village they came from arresting four suspected people having 3 machine guns ( AK4 ) taking them to their headquarter to investigate them.

#3: An improvised explosive device (IED) went off on Tuesday targeting an Iraqi army vehicle patrol southwest of Kirkuk, killing an Iraqi soldier and wounding five others, a police source said.


Mosul:
#1: A car bomb blew up on Tuesday afternoon in a Mosul village, but no casualties were reported, the police chief of al-Qayara district said


Al Anbar Prv:
Haditha:
#1: Three al Qaeda fighters and one policeman were killed in gunbattles in the town of Haditha, 250 km (155 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said. Five militants were detained in the clashes.

Fallujah:
#1: One civilian was killed and five others, including two policemen, wounded when a car bomb ripped through an outdoor souk (market) in the area of Amiriyat al-Falluja, an official police source said on Tuesday.

#2: Around 4.30 p.m. of Monday afternoon, a planted bomb inside an officer’s car of the Ameriat Al-Falluja FBS exploded killing the officer ( Jamal Falij) and injuring two policemen near a police check point inside the residential complex in the area. Abu Risha guys had an instant movement and arrested 2 suspected who were not from the complex and found near the scene.




Afghanistan:
#1: Afghan and coalition troops killed a large group of Taliban fighters in a battle that involved several air strikes in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, the US-led force said. A "company-sized" group of Taliban guerrillas ambushed a combined Afghan and coalition patrol in the southern province of Uruzgan, the coalition said in a statement. A company is about 70 men. Afterwards the insurgents took cover inside a structure and in a trench, forcing Afghan citizens to flee, it added. "Moments later, the combined force fixed the insurgents in their position and several precision air strikes effectively eliminated the Taliban insurgents," it said. It did not say if any civilians were killed.

#2: Taliban insurgents have captured around 10 people allegedly belonging to a private security company in Garmser district of southern Afghan Helmand province, police said Tuesday. The incident occurred on Monday night and the people had been providing protection service for a foreign building company working on a road linking southern province Kandahar to western Herat, provincial police chief Mohammad Hussein Andiwal told Xinhua. Andiwal did not identify the nationality of the security service company. Baghdad:


Casualty Reports:

Three years ago this week, Lt. Col. Tim Maxwell, 42, was discharged from the hospital, wondering how much he was going to recover from a major head injury he suffered when a mortar shell landed on his tent in Iraq.

Spc. Russell Ladwig--The explosion had happened a few hours earlier, and the sergeant had called to let his mother, Amy Daniel, know he was alive, but severely injured. He was recovering from emergency surgery in Mosul, Iraq., after the Humvee he was driving struck a roadside bomb, sending a storm of shrapnel through both legs. Although he was groggy with painkillers, Daniel was able to speak with her 20-year-old son by phone. Doctors are optimistic that Ladwig will recover, but the next two days are important, Daniel said. She said doctors are not sure about the extent of nerve damage, and will be guarding against infection resulting from the explosion. He is expected to be sent to Baghdad, then on to Germany for further treatment. Eventually, he will be sent to a United States Army hospital — likely Walter Reed — for followup treatment and therapy.

A local soldier was shot Sunday morning in Iraq. Jacob Whipkey, 21, of Boswell, was injured while serving his country in Samara, Iraq. Whipkey sustained rifle fire in the chest and right arm. He was wearing Kevlar vest. Whipkey is a 2004 graduate of North Star High school and is now a unit squad leader in the 101st Airborne Division. He is the son of Marcia and John Whipkey. Marcia Whipkey said he is supposed to have surgery today, either in Germany or the United states, depending on when he can be flown home.