War News for Thursday, July 23, 2009

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier in an IED blast in Nad e Ali District, Helmand Province , Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 22nd.

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 22nd. Press reports state that these are American soldiers.


52 percent of U.S. soldiers wounded in Iraq, Afghanistan diagnosed with TBI:

40 years for soldier in Fort Bliss beating death:

Behind the CIA’s assassination program:

Mongolia to send troops to Afghanistan:

Selly Oak hospital hit by casualty surge from Afghanistan:

Reading scripture to a donkey:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Wednesday A roadside bomb detonated in New Baghdad area in east Baghdad around 9 p.m. injuring six people including a policeman.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Three civilians were wounded Thursday in an improvised explosive device explosion in central Baaquba, according to a security source. “An explosive charge went off Thursday (July 23) targeting an army vehicle patrol in al-Ameen square in central Baaquba, injuring three civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted a truck carrying vegetables in al Abbara area in southern Baquba, Wednesday morning, seriously injuring the driver and killing his assistant.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded one policeman and five civilians in east Baghdad's New Baghdad district on Wednesday, police said.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: An Iraqi army Hummer vehicle was set on fire when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near Baghdad, according to a local security source. “A roadside explosive device exploded in al-Haswa area, west of Abu Ghraib (20 km west of Baghdad), near an Iraqi army patrol, setting a Hummer vehicle on fire,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. There was no word on casualties, the source noted, adding that all roads leading to the scene of the blast were blocked.


Yusufiya:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting a U.S. military patrol killed one civilian and wounded two others in Yusufiya, 20 km (12 miles) south of Baghdad, police said.


Hilla:
#1: Police forces on Wednesday found a body belonging to a civilian on a road in southern Babel province, according to a local police source. “The corpse bore signs of gunshot and torture wounds, which made it impossible for the police to identify the victim,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: An insurgent targeting a U.S. patrol with a hand grenade wounded one civilian in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad. Police said there were U.S. casualties, which could not be immediately confirmed.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An Afghan girl has been killed in an accidental shooting by Canadian soldiers in Kandahar province, military officials disclosed yesterday. Soldiers had dismounted from a convoy in the volatile Panjwaii district when a motorcycle came speeding toward them, said Task Force Kandahar spokesman Maj. Mario Couture. When the driver did not heed signals to stop, a warning shot was fired and the motorcycle changed direction and sped away. Moments later, the soldiers noticed a crowd gathering and discovered that a girl, whose age was not disclosed, had been hit with the ricocheting bullet, Couture said. Attempts to save the girl were unsuccessful, he added.

#2: About an hour later, in a separate incident, soldiers inspecting a suspected improvised explosive device on a road in neighbouring Dand district fired on a vehicle advancing on them in the dark with its lights out. He said the soldiers used lights and a warning shot to try and stop the truck, but to no avail. "A shot was fired like it normally is at the ground to get their attention," Couture said. When that didn't work, soldiers fired on the vehicle, injuring three men inside. About 10 shots were fired. Two Afghan National Policemen suffered minor injuries and were released, while the third remains in hospital.


Casualty Reports:

Army Sgt. 1st Class Sualauvi Tuimalealiifano, 30, was paralyzed from the neck down from injuries suffered after his elite Army Special Operations team was ambushed by Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan in 2007.

Specialist Jacob Benson of Willmar is recovering from injuries suffered in last Thursday's insurgent attack near Basra in southern Iraq.Benson tells the West Central Tribune that pieces of shrapnel were found in his arm and back after the attack.He also suffered bruises from being thrown by the explosion.Benson's friends, Spc. James Wertish of rural Olivia, Spc. Carlos Wilcox IV of Cottage Grove, and Spc. Daniel Drevnick, of Woodbury, were all killed in the attack.


DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Sgt. Gregory Owens Jr., 24, of Garland, Texas.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Spc. Anthony M. Lightfoot, 20, of Riverdale, Ga.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Spc. Andrew J. Roughton, 21, of Houston, Texas.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Pfc. Dennis J. Pratt, 34, of Duncan, Okla.

DoD Identifies Army Casualty: Spc. Raymundo P. Morales