War News for Tuesday, November 24, 2009

NATO is reporting the death of a U.S. ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, November 23rd.


British panel begins inquiry on Iraq war:

Britain Opens Inquiry Into Iraq War, After Years of Delay:

UAE tops list of foreign investors in Iraq in 2009:

Obama plans to send 34,000 more troops to Afghanistan:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Imad Abadi, the star anchor of the independent satellite TV news station Al-Diyar, was badly injured in a clearly targeted shooting attack last night in Baghdad. Abadi was shot twice by unidentified gunmen as he was driving through the central Baghdad neighbourhood of Salihiya. “He sustained a gunshot wound to the head and another to the neck,” Al-Diyar owner Faysal Al-Yasqiri told Agence France-Presse, adding that his condition was now stable. He was taken to Yarmouk Hospital.

#2: Two bodyguards of the former prime minister, Iyad Allawi, were wounded in a shooting on Monday in central Baghdad, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen opened fire on the bodyguards of the former prime minister Iyad Allawi in al-Kefah street in central Baghdad, injuring two of them,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Two civilians were wounded on Monday in a sticky bomb blast in southeastern Baghdad, a police source said. “A bomb, stuck to a civilian vehicle, went off in Baghdad al-Jadieda region, southeastern Baghdad, injuring the driver and the man sitting beside him,”

#4: A mosque imam has been killed in an explosive charge blast that hit his vehicle in the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi police said on Tuesday. “Today, al-Arqam Ibn al-Arqam Mosque’s imam was killed when a sticky explosive device hit his pick-up truck in al-Mikaneek neighborhood, al-Doura area, southern Baghdad. The blast killed and wounded two other civilians, who were inside the car with the imam,” the source noted.


Nassiriya:
#1: Four policemen were wounded on Monday in a bomb blast that targeted a joint Iraqi-U.S. convoy in northern Nassiriya, a well-informed source said. “The bomb exploded near a police vehicle which was backing a convoy of the logistic support of the U.S. troops,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Four cops were wounded in the explosion,” he added. “The blast took place at the northern inlet of Nassiriya city and caused a material damage to a U.S. vehicle,” he noted,


Shirqut:
#1: A bomb attack in Salahuddin province damaged the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline more than four days ago and the damage will take up to four more days to fix, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official said on Tuesday. The official, asking not to be identified, said a memo from the North Oil Company received by the ministry on Monday stated the attack had occurred between the village of Shirqat -- a former hotbed of support for al Qaeda -- and the Baiji oil refinery.


Kirkuk:
#1: One worker from the North Oil Company (NOC) was kidnapped by unknown gunmen in northwestern Kirkuk on Monday, a source from the joint coordination center said. “Unknown gunmen kidnapped a worker from the NOC at 10:30 a.m. on Monday (Nov. 23) in Arafa region in northwestern Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Iraqi army forces foiled an attempt by a suicide bomber of Kuwaiti nationality in Anbar on Monday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “A force from the 28th infantry division managed to defuse a car bomb and to kill its driver in al-Qaem, Anbar province,” said the statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The suicide driver carries the Kuwaiti nationality, and had on his possession a fake ID issued from Baiji,” the statement added. “The car was loaded with three tons of Chlorine and C4 as well as other chemical materials,” it added.

#2: The imam and preacher of al-Saqlawiya Mosque has been killed in an explosive charge blast that targeted his vehicle in northern Falluja, a local police source said on Tuesday. “On Tuesday, a sticky device hit Sheikh Ahmed Abdullah Wael’s car while he was driving in al-Saqlawiya district, northern Falluja, killing him on the spot,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The car was completely burnt in the blast, the source noted.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A remote-controlled bomb planted in a water station exploded in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing six members of a family, including four children, authorities and a relative said. The victims were caught in the blast as they traveled in a car on a shopping trip ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid this weekend, relative Qimat Khan told Associated Press Television at the scene in the eastern province of Khost.

#2: Pakistani troops killed 18 militants in a fresh offensive Tuesday against insurgents blamed for a wave of recent bombings in the main northwestern city of Peshawar. The operation in Bara region was the latest salvo in a broadening campaign against al-Qaida and the Taliban in the lawless lands close to the Afghan border since last year. Authorities claim hundreds of militants have been killed, yet the assaults do not appear to have dented the insurgents' ability to strike.
Maj. Fazlur Rehman, a spokesman for the paramilitary Frontier Corps, said ground troops, helicopters and artillery were being used in the operation in Bara close to Peshawar.

#3: Some unidentified militants attacked the convoy of NATO oil tankers in Mastong area of Quetta in southwest Pakistan on Tuesday and injured a tanker driver while the tankers caught fire, local TV channels said. According to details, the militants attacked the NATO supply convoy when it was passing through Sindh- Balochistan by-pass. As a result, a driver was injured while many oil tankers caught fire.

#4: Clashes between Pakistani troops and pro-Taliban militants have left at least six civilians dead in the country's violent tribal region bordering Afghanistan. During the fighting late Monday mortar shells ripped through civilian homes, killing six people in Landi Kotal Khyber, AFP on Tuesday quoted local officials as saying. The incident took place after a group of 50 heavily-armed gunmen stormed a Frontier Corps (FC) checkpoint in Landi Kotal. They had to retreat after facing the government forces' return fire which killed six of the militants. It was not clear who launched the mortars.

#5: Six Taliban fighters including a self-appointed district chief have been killed in Afghanistan's central Daikundi province, the private television channel Tolo reported Tuesday. "Mullah Khairullah and five of his men were going from Gezab district to Charchino area when came under air attacks and killed yesterday (Monday) in Daikundi province," Tolo said in its news bulletin. Taliban leadership had appointed Khairullah as the governor of Gezab district months ago, it further said. This is the first time that Taliban militants have penetrated to the peacefully central Daikundi province.

#6: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a car in Khost City, killing four civilians, including two women, Khost governor Sabari said.

#7: A suicide bomber targeting a police vehicle, detonated his explosives in Panjwai district on Monday, wounding five civilians, including three children, the Interior Ministry said.


DoD: Staff Sgt. John J. Cleaver

DoD: Sgt. Daniel A. Frazier

DoD: Lance Cpl. Nicholas J. Hand

DoD: Sgt. Briand T. Williams