War News for Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Local News station KCBD is reporting the death of a soldier two and a half years after he was seriously wounded in Iraq. Staff Sergeant Wesley Hunter died at his parents home in Lubbock County, Texas after laying down to take a nap on Thursday, September 18th. He was shot multiple times and suffered bad shrapnel injuries when insurgents attacked the Humvee he was riding in along with two other soldiers. He was the only one to survive the attack. We will count Sergeant Hunter in the official count pending on the DoD's release.

The DoD is reporting a new death of an Airman who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom previously unreported by the military. Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez died in Islamabad, Pakistan from wounds suffered in an IED attack on Saturday, September 20th. We believe he was killed in the suicide attack on the Marriot hotel.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Center soldier in a small-arms fire attack west of Salman Pak on Tuesday, September 23rd. No other details were released.


Georgia says shot down Russia drone near S.Ossetia:

Court orders detainee-abuse pictures released:

The Real Story Behind Islamabad Marriott Hotel Attack: (I take this with a grain of salt)

Friction Infiltrates Sunni Patrols on Safer Iraqi Streets:

$13 Billion in Iraq Aid Wasted Or Stolen, Ex-Investigator Says:

Blast in SE Turkey kills one soldier:


Baghdad:
#1: A police officer said the first explosion took place in northern Baghdad as a police patrol passed through the area. Reportedly, the attack missed its target and hit a civilian car, wounding four people.

A third roadside bomb detonated in the predominately Sunni neighborhood of Suleikh in northern Baghdad, injuring four civilians, he said, adding that several shops were damaged by the blast.

#2: Police and hospital officials said another roadside bomb struck near an Iraqi army patrol in central Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding three others.

A roadside bomb went off in the busy al-Nidhal Street in Karrada district in central Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding three others, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#3: A fourth roadside bomb exploded in the predominately Shiite neighborhood of Zaafaraniya in southern the capital, leaving a civilian injured, he added.

#4: Monday: Police found three unidentified bodies throughout Baghdad (1 body in Shaab neighborhood, 1 body in Mashtal neighborhood and the last body was found in Atifiyah neighborhood.


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: Two civilians were killed when an improvised explosive device (IED) was detonated close to their vehicle in Iraq's Diyala province late on Monday, police sources said on Tuesday. The device was detonated as the vehicle was on a main road in al- Morgania district in Baquba, 60 kilometres north of Baghdad.


Iskandariya:
#1: Another roadside bomb struck a truck while traveling in the town of Iskandariya, some 45 km south of Baghdad, killing the driver and wounding his wife and their six-month-old child, the source said.


Salaheddin Prv:
#1: The US military said a pro-government Sunni militiamen was killed in a so-called friendly fire accident in the central Salaheddin province. "Soldiers shot a Sons of Iraq leader who was mistaken for the enemy," the US military said in a statement, referring to Sunni Arab fighters battling Al-Qaeda.


Mosul:
#1: A bomb hidden under a pile of trash struck children playing soccer near the northern city of Mosul on Monday, killing at least five of the youths, Iraqi officials said. The blast occurred about 6 p.m. in the Sunni town of Hamam al-Alil, just south of Mosul, which has been the site of U.S.-Iraqi military operations aimed at routing insurgents. Ahmed Khalid, a doctor at the Mosul hospital, and police officials said the hospital had received the bodies of five children, ages six to 12. Three other children were wounded, the officials said.

#2: Insurgents have blown up the house of Iraqi Sunni Arab member of parliament in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, a local official said on Tuesday. "The house of Hashim Yahiyah al-Taie, a lawmaker and member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, was destroyed when gunmen blew it up at about 8:00 p.m. (1700 GMT) on Monday," said Yahiyah Abed Mahjoob, a member of Nineveh provincial council, told Xinhua. The attack, which occurred in the Muthanna neighborhood in northern Mosul, also wounded several people and caused damages to nearby houses, Mahjoob said.

Tai was in Baghdad when the attack took place, but several civilians were wounded when insurgents bombed his house, a statement from the party said.

#3: A body was found with gunshot wounds in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#4: Another man was killed by a stray bullet in western Mosul.



Afghanistan:
#1: Security forces backed by helicopter gunships and artillery killed more than 60 insurgents in northwest Pakistan in offensives aimed at denying al-Qaida and Taliban militants safe havens, officials said Tuesday.

#2: A roadside bomb has killed an Afghan district chief and a police official in the southern Kandahar province. The attack took place when the district chief of Registan, Amir Mohammad, was driving home with police official Assadullah, police said. Four of their guards have been wounded. Taleban insurgents have claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomb struck a vehicle carrying the officials in Registan district late on Monday, news agency Associated Press quoted police chief Matiullah Khan as saying.

#3: Pakistani security forces killed 10 more suspected insurgents as part of a major military offensive near the Afghan border that has spawned retaliatory attacks by the Pakistani Taliban. Iqbal Khattak, a government official, said the latest casualties came early today, when the 10 suspected militants died in an intense shootout with security forces on the outskirts of Bajur's main city of Khar. He said some security forces were wounded, but he would not say how many.

#4: Three Czech soldiers from the Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) were injured in a missile attack against their base in the Logar province in Afghanistan during the night, Czech chief of staff Vlastimil Picek announced Monday. "Three missiles were shot at the Shank base where the Czech soldiers from the PRT were located," Picek said in a press release. The attack occurred at about 2:00 local time. One missile fell into the base where it injured the three soldiers. Two of them were taken by air to the U.S. field hospital at the Bagram base with medium injuries. Their further transport to the Czech Republic will depend on their health condition. The third soldier who suffered light injuries is treated at the Shank base.