War News for Friday, July 11, 2008

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in in Paktika province, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 11th. One other soldier was wounded in the attack.


Bodies of 2 U.S. soldiers found in Iraq, family confirms:

July 10 airpower summary:

IDF: Reports about Air Force jets training in Iraq unfounded:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Thursday One unidentified body was found in Baghdad today; it was found by Iraqi Police in Saba al-Bor neighbourhood.

#2: U.S. forces detained nine militants in different operations in central and northern Iraq, the U.S. military said.


Iskandariya:
#1: Two decomposed bodies with gunshot wounds were found in a field in Iskandariya, 40 km (25 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Hilla:
#1: Police found a body in a police uniform with gunshot wounds to the head in a street near Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad on Thursday, police said.


Nassiriya
#1: A civilian man was killed in an airdrop conducted by U.S. forces in central al-Nassiriya city during the early hours of Friday, a media spokesman for the Thi-Qar province police said. "A U.S. force airdropped troops on the house of 65-year-old citizen Muhammad Hammoud Hereiz in the area of al-Thawra during the early hours of Friday, killing him instantly," Maj. Nasser al-Majidi told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

#2: The U.S. military killed one militant and detained another in Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) south of Baghdad, the military said in a statement

A joint Iraqi-U.S. force killed a civilian and wounded two others during an airdrop operation in central al-Nassiriya city during the early hours of Friday, the media advisor for the U.S. army Abdellatif Rayan said.


Samarra:
#1: Iraqi police foiled a planned chlorine bomb attack when they seized a truck packed with explosives and chlorine bottles outside Samarra, 100 km (60 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. Four militants were killed in the incident.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb wounded six civilians in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan:
#1: An official investigation has found that US-led air strikes a week ago struck a wedding and killed 47 Afghan civilians, most of them women and children, an official said Friday. The US-led coalition had said that only militants died in the July 6 strikes in the mountains of eastern Nangarhar province. But spokeswoman Lieutenant Rumi Nielson-Green told AFP Friday the force was investigating and regretted the loss of any civilian life. It is facing similar charges over strikes two days earlier in another border area.

#2: The post in the Angoor Ada area of South Waziristan came under fire Thursday night as Taliban insurgents were retreating to Pakistan following an attack on a US Marine camp in the Afghan province of Paktika. 'Around a dozen mortars were fired from the other side of the border, which destroyed the FC (Frontier Corps) border post,' a local security official said.


Casualty Reports:

U.S. Army Sgt. Robert Barthel, 25, was severely wounded Tuesday morning when the Stryker Infantry Carrier Vehicle in which he was riding was struck by an improvised explosive device while he was on combat patrol near the joint security site in Nasser Wa Salem, Iraq. Thursday morning the younger Barthel was undergoing his second surgery in a military hospital in Germany where doctors were amputating his right foot.

Sergeant Scott Paterson (30), 16th Air Assault, was on patrol when the Jackal 4x4 vehicle set off the mine on Monday. He suffered two broken legs, a broken foot, a gash on his arm and a head wound. As the Press went to print Scott was being flown from an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan to receive treatment in the Royal College for Defence and Medicine based at University Hospital, Selly Oak, Birmingham.

Patrick Madison, 20, was serving with the Delta Company 164 out of Fort Stewart on May 23 when the tank he was driving burst into flames. Madison suffered injuries to his head, chest, and eyes as well as severe smoke inhalation.

Major David Underwood was serving in Iraq when he lost his arm after a homemade explosive went off. Underwood has been recovering at Brooke Army Medical Center. "The explosion went through my wrist, into my vest and was basically stopped by the steel plate, otherwise, I wouldn't be here right now," explained Major Underwood. He added, "The blast went down, and it took the whole front of my left leg off down to my ankle."

Mark Beyers served as a Marine who lost an arm and a leg while serving in Iraq in 2005.

Ryan Job--An insurgent sniper shot Ryan Job through the eye. Job’s Navy SEAL team was performing rooftop patrol in Ramadi in August 2006 when a sniper’s bullet wounded the 27-year-old in the right eye. He is totally blind and often walks with the help of a guide dog.

Chad Juke --The blast from an anti-tank mine shattered Chad Jukes’ leg. Jukes, a 24-year-old Army Reservist from Utah, was part of a security convoy in December 2006 when an anti-tank mine detonated under his vehicle. The explosion shattered his heel and broke his femur. His right leg later was amputated.

Joey Martinez--And a roadside bomb robbed Joey Martinez of his vision. Martinez, 25, and his sniper team were on patrol in al-Anbar province when the blast from an IED blinded him. He since has undergone several optical surgeries and has minimal sight in his left eye.