War News for Wednesday, December 02, 2009

NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed area in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday December 2nd.


Marines to hold hearing for officer on Iraq deaths:

Text of President Obama's speech on Afghanistan:

Obama Adds Troops, but Maps Exit Plan:

The puzzle for Congress: How to pay for plan:

Europe welcomes Obama speech but few pledge troops:

Poland to send some 600 more troops to Afghanistan:

Spain expected to send 200 more troops to AfghanistanRead more:

France, Germany refuse more troops to Afghanistan:

With Troop Pledge, New Demands on Afghans:

Taliban vow to step up resistance in Afghanistan:


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: One civilian was killed and another one was injured in a sticky bomb explosion in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, a police source said. “A bomb, attached to a civilian vehicle, went off on Tuesday (Dec. 1) in al-Jamaaiya street in al-Doura neighborhood in southern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The blast killed the driver and injured the man sitting beside him,” the source added.


Diyala Prv:
#1: The U.S. military says an American airstrike killed one gunman after a joint U.S.-Iraqi patrol was attacked northeast of Baghdad. The military says five gunmen attacked the patrol Wednesday as it was searching a building in the town of Sadiyah in the volatile Diyala province. It says the airstrike was called in following a firefight between the joint patrol and the gunmen. The military says at least one gunmen was killed in the airstrike and that two others were arrested.

#2: “Policemen found on Tuesday (Dec. 1) an unidentified body in al-Asakra village in al-Saadiya district, south of Khanaqin,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Gunmen stormed a currency exchange office in Abu Ghraib town, west of Baghdad, killing the two owners and a customer on Tuesday.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Tuesday in a thermal bomb blast in central Mosul, according to a police source. “A thermal bomb exploded on Tuesday (Dec.1) targeting a police vehicle patrol in Raas al-Kour region in central Mosul, injuring two passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A bomb exploded on Tuesday in eastern Falluja, without causing casualties or material damage, a police source said. “The bomb, placed in al-Karama district in eastern Falluja, went off on Tuesday evening (Dec. 1), without leaving casualties,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide bomber struck near the naval headquarters in Pakistan's capital Islamabad on Wednesday, police said, killing one navy official in the latest attack in the Taliban-troubled nation. The attacker apparently walked up to a checkpoint at the entrance to the heavily-guarded complex in central Islamabad and detonated his explosives when challenged by security forces, police and witnesses said. "One naval official embraced martyrdom while two other navy officials were wounded critically," Fazeel Asghar, Islamabad's top administration official, told reporters in remarks broadcast on local television. Bani Amin, a senior Islamabad police official on the scene, put the wounded toll higher, telling AFP: "It was a suicide attack. Four people were injured -- one is in a critical condition."

#2: One Taliban insurgent was killed and another injured as they came in contact with police in Baghlan province north of Afghanistan, police spokesman Ahmad Jawed Basharat said Wednesday. "Taliban rebels attacked a police patrol in Dushi district Tuesday night and police returned fire killing an insurgent and injuring another," Basharat told Xinhua. Two police constables sustained injuries in the firefight, he added.

#3: Afghan forces in conjunction with NATO-led troops raided a hideout of anti-government militias in eastern Kunar province leaving six militants dead, a press release of Defense Ministry issued here Wednesday said. "National and international troops stormed rebel hideout in Watapor district on Tuesday and killed six enemies including two commanders Matihullah and Tawab," the press release added. Airpower played effective role in eliminating the militants, it further said.

#4: Seven militants were killed and more than 60 suspects were arrested amid a search operation in northwest Pakistan's tribal area and all across the Swat valley following a suicide attack, local TV channels reported Wednesday. A suicide attacker blew himself up in the camp of a provincial parliamentarian Shamsheer Ali Khan on Tuesday, leaving him critically injured who later died of his wounds on the way to hospital. The security across the Swat valley was beefed up soon after. At least five militants were killed in security forces' operation against the militants in Malakand and as many as 50 suspected militants were nabbed during the search operation. Meanwhile in the nearby Khyber tribal agency, the Frontier Constabulary (FC) media cell said at least nine militants were arrested during the search operation in Bara area on Wednesday. Local TV reports said two militants were killed and two others injured during the search operation in Kurram tribal agency and three other militants were apprehended during the operation.


MoD: Sergeant John Amer