War News for Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Sgt. 1st Class Daniel R. Sexton died in a non-combat related incident in Balad, Iraq on Wednesday, September 10th. No other details were released.

The DoD is reporting a second new death previously unreported by the military. Lt. Col. Ralph J. Marino died from a non-combat related illness at Camp Buehring, Kuwait on Sunday, September 14th. No other details were released.


Sept. 15 airpower summary:

720 Afghan police killed in 6 months:

US soldiers battling hard in Iraqi city: (A first hand account from Mosul)

A remarkable look at the Iraq mess: (Capitol Hill Blue's article on Bob Woodward's new book)

Pakistan orders troops to open fire if US raids: (Looks like "idiot boy" might get another war. Now if we hadn't ran off most of our experienced long time civil servants with the State Department and hire "yes men" then we might have been able to apply some good diplomacy and defuse this volatile situation before it gets worse.)


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A car bomb killed one member of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol and wounded another in the district of Adhamiya in northern Baghdad on Monday, police said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one policeman and wounded seven other people in the district of Shaab in northern Baghdad, police said.

#3: Two policemen were killed and three others wounded on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off in Ur neighborhood, eastern Baghdad, the Iraqi police said.


Diyala Prv
Khalis:
#1: A tribal chief of al-Izza clan was killed by a pillaging gang near al-Adhim area, al-Khalist district, 15 km north of the city of Baaquba, on Tuesday, a security source in Diala province said. "A robbing and pillaging gang intercepted a vehicle that boarded Sheikh Omar Raddam Keitan on the main road in the village of al-Safra, al-Adhim area, al-Khalis, killing him and wounding a relative of his," the source, who refused to have his name mentioned, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

Khaniqeen:
#1: Four policemen were killed and three others were injured on Tuesday when an improvised explosive device went off targeting their vehicle patrols in Khaniqeen, northeast of Baaquba, a security source said. "The bomb was detonated targeting a police vehicle patrol on the main road between Jalawla and al-Saadiya districts in Khaniqeen, killing four policemen and injuring three," the source, who wished to remain anonymous, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq.


Taji:
#1: A roadside bomb in a market killed two people and wounded 13 others in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

Police say a bicycle laden with explosives exploded at a busy market north of Baghdad, killing two civilians and wounding 19.Some of the wounded are badly hurt. A police officer says the bicycle was left near an Iraq military truck parked at the main market in Taji, a small town 12 miles north of Baghdad.


Touz Khurmato:
#1: Six people, including five policemen, were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off in Touz Khormato, 85 km southwest of Kirkuk, on Tuesday, police said. The IED, which targeted a police patrol in central Touz district, wounded a civilian near the explosion scene and five patrolmen and caused damage to a patrol vehicle," a security source in the Touz police told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.


Makhmour District:
#1: Two civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near their vehicle close to the district of Makhmour on Tuesday, an Iraqi army source said. "An IED went off near a civilian vehicle close to Sultan Aula village, (30 km west of Makhmour), leaving two people wounded," the source, who did not want to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq. "The two wounded men area local residents of border villages and were heading towards Kirkuk city when the blast occurred," the source added.Makhmour, which lies 68 km southwest of Arbil city, is a disputed area between the two provinces of Arbil and Ninewa.


Kirkuk:
#1: A civilian man was killed and another wounded in an attack by unidentified gunmen southwest of Kirkuk city on Tuesday, an official security source said."Unknown gunmen waged an attack near the village of Dakmat, Rashad district, (35 km) southwest of Kirkuk, leaving one civilian man killed and another wounded," Brig. Sarhad Qader, the Kirkuk districts' police chief, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.


Mosul:
#1: A civilian man was killed in an armed attack by two unidentified gunmen in eastern Mosul. "Unidentified gunmen in a civilian vehicle opened fire at a 25-year-old young civilian during a late hour of Monday night in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul, killing him instantly," the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.

#2: two policemen were wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in the western part of the city, a security source in Ninewa province said on Tuesday. Meanwhile, another security source told VOI that an IED went off near a police patrol in 17 Tammuz neighborhood, western Mosul, during a late hour of Monday night, leaving two patrol men wounded.

#3: Three civilians were wounded when an improvised explosive device went off near an Iraqi army patrol in northeastern Mosul city on Tuesday, a security source said."The IED went off in the area between the Sinharib bridge and the Grand Mosque in al-Hai al-Ziraie, northeastern Mosul, leaving three civilians wounded," the source, who asked that his name not be published, told Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq.



Afghanistan:
#1: Ten insurgents were killed in combat with the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Wardak province south-west of the capital, the alliance said in a statement. The militants fired rockets at an ISAF base in Sayed Abad, on Kabul-Kandahar highway near Kabul city, the statement said, adding that NATO forces responded with artillery and close air support. "After positive identification of the insurgents, aircraft engaged the insurgents with gunfire," the statement said.

#2: Afghan and ISAF forces also killed one militant and detained 20 others in the adjoining province of Ghazni, a separate statement said. The clash occurred in Spin Kholah village in Qarabagh district of the province after the combined forces engaged armed insurgents in the area, the statement said. It did not say if there were casualties among Afghan or international soldiers during the combat operations.

#3: Security forces, backed by air support, pounded suspected militant hide-outs in a Taliban stronghold in Pakistan's northwest, killing eight alleged insurgents Tuesday, an official said. Government official Iqbal Khattak, who confirmed Tuesday's death toll, added that the military used helicopter gunships and fighter jets to advance in the militant stronghold.

#4: Taliban ambushed a convoy carrying officials of Ghazni province in an area of neighbouring Maidan Wardak on Tuesday, an official said. In a clash that followed the ambush, police killed at least six of the assailants, he said, adding there were no losses on the government side.

#5: An intelligence officer, his wife and two of his sons, were killed in their house in an attack by Taliban fighters in Kunar province in the east, an official said on Tuesday.