War News for Thursdays, July 03, 2008

July 2 airpower summary:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Unknown gunmen on Thursday blew up the house of an MP from the Unified Iraqi Coalition (UIC) in western Baghdad, a media source from the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council (SIIC) under Abdulaziz al-Hakim said. "The explosion did not hurt anyone, as the house was empty," he added.

Militants planted a bomb in the abandoned home of Shi'ite parliamentarian Shatha al-Moussawi, in western Baghdad, that wounded 4 people including one woman in a neighbouring house, police said. Moussawi had not been living there.

#2: Tuesday Three unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad by Iraqi Police today; one in Nidhal Street, one in Nahdha area and one in Amil.

#3: U.S. forces killed two militants and captured 10 other suspected militants in various operations targeting al Qaeda in central and north-western areas of Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday, a U.S. military statement said.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted a U.S military convoy near Biscolata factory, Ameriyah, west Baghdad at 4 a.m. Thursday. No casualties were reported.

#5: A bomb attached to a car outside a hospital killed its two occupants and wounded two people nearby in west Baghdad's Yarmouk district, police and the director of health services for western Baghdad, Jalil al-Shimari, said.


Diyala Prv:
Khalis:
#1: A truck driver and a taxi driver were kidnapped along with their vehicles in Khalis district, 15 km north of Baquba at 9 a.m. Thursday.


Hilla:
#1: A home-made bomb killed four people when it exploded in a cafe just east of Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Suwayra:
#1: Iraqi police found the bodies of two civilians dumped in the Tigris River near Suwayra, 50 km (30 miles) south east of Baghdad, police said.


Kut:
#1: Iraqi police arrested two wanted militants in a raid in eastern Kut, 150 km (95 miles) southeast of Baghdad, police said.


Basra:
#1: The British base at Basra international airport on Thursday came under a Katyusha rocket attack, leaving no casualties or damages, Multi National Forces (MNF) at southern Iraq said. "The British base at Basra international airport was subjected to an attack with Katyusha rockets that caused no casualties or damages," Captain Cress Ford, MNF spokesman, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.


Jillam:
#1: U.S. troops found 14 unidentified bodies buried randomly near a city in Salahud in province on Thursday, a provincial police source said. The troops discovered the bodies scattered in the open area of Jillam, some 20 km east of the city Samarra, and handed them over to the city police, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The victims were all men who have been killed recently with bullets holes in different parts of their bodies, the source said.


Tikrit:
#1: A roadside bomb wounded five guards when it struck the convoy of Tikrit police chief Hamid al-Namis, in central Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source who declined to be named, said.


Mosul:
#1: Gunmen shot dead a civilian inside a computer games arcade in northern Mosul, police said

#2: Gunmen killed an off-duty policeman in eastern Mosul, police said.

#3: Two militants were killed in a gunfight with police, one of whom also died, in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. The policemen were guarding a local bank.



Afghanistan:
#1: Taliban insurgents ambushed a convoy of Afghan soldiers but 25 of the attackers were killed in a subsequent clash in the northwestern province of Badghis on Wednesday, an official said, adding there were no casualties among the soldiers.

#2: A roadside bomb struck a NATO force convoy, destroying a vehicle, but caused no casualties near Spin Boldak town on the border with Pakistan on Thursday, an official said.


Casualty Reports:

Jamie Cooper,19,who served with 2 Rifles, was testing radio equipment outside Basra's Shat al Arab Hotel in 2006 when two mortar bombs exploded. The first blasted his hands and right arm and the second ripped opened his buttocks, severing the nerves to his leg as shrapnel went through his pelvis and into his stomach.