War News for Saturday, October 04, 2008

Oct. 2 airpower summary:

Kurdish rebel attack kills 15 Turkish soldiers:

Another female soldier from Fort Bragg found dead:

Poland finally ends Iraq mission

SSU group lists underreported stories The staggering number of Iraqi deaths since the United States invaded and occupied the country five years ago is the most underreported news story of the year, a Sonoma State University media research organization said. Despite public perception that the deaths number in the thousands, independent studies show that more than 1 million people have died since 2003, and the corporate media have not covered it, said Mickey Huff, associate director of Project Censored.


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: The U.S. military said Saturday it killed a senior al-Qaida in Iraq leader suspected of masterminding one of the deadliest bombings in Baghdad as well as recent attacks and the 2006 videotaped execution of a kidnapped Russian official. American troops also killed the man's wife after a firefight as they tried to capture him Friday in the northern neighborhood of Azamiyah in Baghdad, the military said. Mahir Ahmad Mahmud al-Zubaydi, also known as Abu Assad or Abu Rami. On Friday, U.S. troops came under fire after surrounded a building that was said to be housing al-Zubaydi in Azamiyah, a mainly Sunni neighborhood in northern Baghdad. "Acting in self-defense, coalition forces returned fire, killing Abu Rami and a female," the statement said. Tech. Sgt. Chris Stagner, another U.S. military spokesman, said the woman was al-Zubaydi's wife and was not a suspect.

#2: Friday One decomposed body was found in Saidiyah.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb killed two policemen and wounded another on Friday in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: The bodies of two people who had been kidnapped were found on Friday, bearing gunshot wounds, in southeastern Mosul, police said.

#3: Another body was found in western Mosul.

#4: Gunmen entered a Christian-owned shop in central Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, and shot the owner dead, police said.



Afghanistan:
#1: The coalition says an operation in Ghazni province targeting a roadside bomb maker killed two militants.

#2: In the eastern province of Kunar, coalition troops inspecting the aftermath of an airstrike against armed militants were fired on by insurgents. The troops returned fire and killed three militants.


Casualty Reports:

Sgt. Luis Rosa-Valentin lost both his legs and his left arm in what he believes was an artillery attack in April. It was two days before his 25th birthday and he was focusing on small arms fire on a Baghdad street when he was hit. His injuries put him in a two-week coma. Once he was healthy enough, he was sent from Iraq to Walter Reed Army Medical Center where he continued his convalescence.

Army Lt. Col. Greg Gadson, 41, lost both legs after a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq in May 2007.


There seems to have been little reported about the war in Iraq over the last few days. I suspect that the press is distracted with the state of our economic collapse and also the debates. I'm sure that the war is continuing at some level, it certainly can't be over. I'll update this throughout the day as needed. Whisker