War News for Sunday, July 05, 2009

The British MoD is announcing the death of an ISAF soldier from small arms fire/RPG attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 4th.

The British MoD is announcing a second death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 4th.


Iraq hit by worst sandstorms in decades:

Attack in Pakistani Garrison City Raises Anxiety About Safety of Nuclear Labs and Staff:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Five civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in southwestern Baghdad on Saturday evening, according to a security source. “An IED planted by unidentified persons on the main road in al-Bayya neighborhood, west of Baghdad, went off, leaving five civilians wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near his patrol in central Baaquba city on Saturday, a security source in Diala said. “The IED ripped through Khreisan street, central Baaquba, on Saturday evening targeting an Iraqi army patrol. One of the soldiers on the patrol was wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diwaniya:
#1: Two Katyusha rockets landed in the environs of the U.S. forces’ ECHO camp in western Diwaniya during the early hours of Sunday but left no casualties or losses, the province’s council chief said. “Security forces rushed to the scene and imposed a security cordon on the rocket firing areas in the district of al-Sedeer, (15 km) south of Diwaniya,” Jubeir al-Juburi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tikrit:
#1: Saturday A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi police vehicle in central Tikrit. One policeman was injured.


Kirkuk:
#1: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped an employee of the Daqquq Public Hospital in Kirkuk, a source from the Joint Coordination Center said. “The Dumez police station was reported that a local resident was kidnapped on Saturday evening by unidentified gunmen in a golden Opel vehicle in the area of al-Askari, southern Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Police found the body of a man with bullet wounds to the head and chest in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, on Saturday, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A booby-trapped car parking near a police office in central Mosul detonated in the morning, wounding four people and caused damage to the office building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The wounded from Sunday’s earlier car bomb blast in southern Mosul rose to 14, including two policeman, one of them in the rank of first lieutenant, a security source in Ninewa said. “The number of wounded from a car bomb blast that was parked near the citizenship department in southern Mosul rose to 14,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: In a separate attack, an attacker hurled a hand grenade at a police vehicle in the city, wounding a policeman and five civilians, the source said.

#3: A policeman was killed when a hand-grenade was thrown at his patrol in central Mosul city in the second incident of its kind on Sunday, a security source in Ninewa said. “An unidentified person hurled a hand-grenade at a police patrol on al-Corniche street, central Mosul, killing a policeman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban positions in a tribal region that could end up the focus of a future military offensive, killing as many as six people Sunday, intelligence officials said. The airstrikes hit several homes in parts of North Waziristan, the two intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The officials said six people died and several were wounded. They did not say if the dead were militants.
Two local residents, however, said two people were killed and seven injured, and that all the victims were tribesmen. The witnesses, Shanawat Khan and Akhtarullah, told The Associated Press via phone that three local tribesmen's homes were hit in the Degan village area.

#2: But overnight Sunday, an army camp in Angoor Ada, a part of the region purportedly under Nazir's control, came under attack, prompting retaliatory fire from security forces, two other intelligence officials said. No casualties were immediately known.

#3: At least three security personnel were killed and six others were injured during the last 24 hours of the ongoing operation in Pakistan's northwest, according to a military press release Sunday. Security forces conducted search operation south of Kotah near Bari Kot in the Swat valley of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP). During exchange of fire with militants, it said, three soldiers were killed.

#4: Also, suspected militants attacked the Chakmalai army camp in South Waziristan with rockets and gunfire, wounding six soldiers. Security forces repulsed the assault with mortars and heavy artillery, said the two officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

#5: gunmen in the east abducted 16 mine-clearing personnel working for the United Nations, officials said Sunday.

The workers, who were de-mining an area between Logar and Paktia, were either taken by unknown gunmen or voluntarily went with their de-mining truck, said Gen Azizullah Wardak, the provincial police chief in Paktia. Only their abandoned ambulance was found. No other details were immediately available.

#6: Troops from a US Marine company in Afghanistan have been under almost constant fire since entering the country with 4,000 other troops during the week. Since flying in by helicopter to Mian Poshteh in Helmand province, troops from the 2/8 infantry battalion have been held down by insurgents. The 200 Marines are still fighting to hold position and have had to call in helicopter gunships for assistance. Taliban fighters have been using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and rockets against the Marines.

#7: An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) helicopter conducted an emergency landing in a non-standard landing zone due to a mechanical failure today in Nangarhar province. An ISAF quick reaction force from a nearby forward operating base was dispatched to aid in site security and was assisted by Afghan National Policemen. No ISAF service members or other passengers on the aircraft were injured. The exact cause of the mechanical failure is currently under investigation.