War News for Thursday, July 30, 2009

The DoD is reporting a new death previously unreported by the military. Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Andrew Scott Charpentier died from a non-combat related illness at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, Fla., on Thursday, July 23rd.


July 27 airpower summary:

Sandstorm hits Baghdad, sends hundreds to hospitals:

Britain begins Iraq war inquiry:

In Afghanistan, the military is moving away from targeting Al Qaeda in favor of stabilizing the country.:

Taliban says it will disrupt Afghan elections which it calls 'American process'

Breakdown of troop numbers in Afghanistan:

Iraq Oil Ministry fires South Oil Company chief:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Eight civilians on Thursday were injured in an explosive charge blast that hit the Iraqi capital, according to a police source. “This morning, a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) detonated in Adan Square of al-Kadhimiya area, northern Baghdad, wounding eight civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Meanwhile, a man and his wife were wounded when a U.S. patrol, traveling on a main road just south of Baghdad, opened fire on their car, the source said. The source could not immediately tell what push the U.S. patrol to open fire, as the incident is under investigation, the source added.

#3: Also in south of Baghdad, a roadside bomb detonated near a U.S. patrol close to an Iraqi security checkpoint just outside the capital, damaging a U.S. vehicle, the source said, adding that he could not confirm whether U.S. soldiers sustained any casualty as the troops sealed off the area. The U.S. military did not confirm yet both the incidents that its troops involved.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Police and hospital officials say a bomb has exploded in a building used by a Sunni-backed political group north of Baghdad, killing at least seven people and wounding 10. The officials say the bomb was hidden inside a building used by the Reform and Development Movement, a Sunni-backed political group that was founded last year and that won four seats in the last provincial council elections. A police official says the blast killed at least seven, wounded 10 and damaged the building. A medic at the hospital in Baqouba, where the victims were taken, confirmed the numbers.


Mosul:
#1: Two children were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near them in eastern Mosul city on Wednesday, a Ninewa police source said. “An IED went off near a house in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul, wounding two children who were standing nearby the explosion scene,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: The chief of a Turkmen council in Mosul was wounded in a blast that targeted his vehicle in the north of the city, a security source said on Thursday. “On Wednesday (July 29) evening, the head of the Council of Turkman Notables in Mosul, Mostafa Raho, was injured when a sticky explosive device targeted his vehicle in al-Rashidiya area, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Raho is in a critical condition and has been rushed to the emergency department in al-Jumhouri Hospital in western Mosul,” the source added.

#3: Gunmen killed two traffic policemen in separate incidents in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: The government says a roadside blast has killed four Afghan guards in the south of the country. An Interior Ministry statement says the explosion hit the guards' vehicle in Helmand province on Thursday. The victims worked for a private security company.

#2: Two persons were killed including a woman and many children were injured when a rocket landed on a house in Tehsil Baramira of Khyber tribal agency in Pakistan's northwest, the private Geo News reported Thursday. Sources were cited as saying that a man identified as Rehmat Gulwas present in his house along with his family. It was then when a rocket coming from unknown direction hit the house, killing him on the spot and his sister-in-law. Two children were seriously injured in the tragic incident, who have been rushed to a local hospital.

#3: A roadside bomb killed four Afghan soldiers and wounded two near Yakhchal village in Gereshk on Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said.

#4: An Afghan civilian was killed when police fired shots to break up a protest by street hawkers in the western city of Herat on Wednesday, the Interior Ministry said. Two police were wounded and a journalist beaten. The hawkers were demonstrating against plans by city officials to stop them trading on the city's streets.


Casualty Reports:

British Ben Parkinson, 25, has been described as the most seriously injured British soldier to survive after his Land Rover was blown up three years ago in Afghanistan. He was told by doctors he would never be able to speak again because of the horrific damage his body suffered which included the loss of both legs and brain damage.


MoD: Bombardier Craig Hopson killed in Afghanistan:

MoD: Warrant Officer Class 2 Sean Upton:

MoD: Trooper Phillip Lawrence killed in Afghanistan:

DoD: Spc. Justin D. Coleman:

DoD: Pfc. Donald W. Vincent:

DoD: Spc. Herberth A. Berrios-Campos:

DoD: Aviation Electronics Technician Airman Andrew Scott Charpentier