War News for Wednesday, May 19, 2010

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in a small arms fire attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 18th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 19th.


Wreckage of missing Afghan passenger plane spotted: Officials said six foreigners were on board, including three Britons.

101st Division prepares for major Afghan tour: The 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell is in the final stages of deploying to Afghanistan this summer to take over military operations in the country's eastern region.

Taliban Attack American Base Outside Kabul:


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: A number of US soldiers were wounded on Tuesday in a roadside bomb explosion in east of Baaquba, according to eyewitnesses. “A roadside bomb exploded on Tuesday (May 18) near a US Hummer in al-Hasawiya region in al-Muqdadiya district, east of Baaquba, injuring a number of soldiers,” an eyewitness told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. No word was immediately available from the US army on the incident.


Wassit Prv:
#1: The bomb squad on Wednesday defused a booby-trapped car in northern Wassit province. “The car was parked near a trade center, 135 km north of Kut city,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: One civilian was killed on Tuesday by gunmen in northern Mosul, according to a police source. “The armed men opened fire on the civilian in al-Rashidiya region in northern Mosul, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: NATO says Taliban insurgents launched a brazen attack on the U.S.-run Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan early Wednesday, leaving 10 militants dead and wounding at least seven service members. NATO said militants started their assault before dawn using small arms, rockets and grenades. A spokeswoman for the base, Major Virginia McCabe, said the attackers did not gain access to Bagram, but that one building received minor damage. She said gunfire had become more sporadic by midday. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with a spokesman alleging that 20 suicide bombers were involved.

#2: Dozens of militants attacked a security post Wednesday in Pakistan's tribal region near the Afghan border, triggering clashes that left two soldiers and up to 40 rebels dead, officials said. The fighting took place in the Orakzai tribal district, where government forces are carrying out an offensive against Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters. 'The terrorists first fired rockets on the security checkpost in the Dabori area, and then over 150 of them conducted an organised ground attack,' a senior official of the paramilitary Frontier Corps said, adding that the attack was repulsed. Two soldiers were killed and 21 injured, said the official who spoke on the condition of anonymity. After the raid, the troops, backed by tanks and helicopter gunships, chased the militants back to their hideouts in the mountains, the official said. 'Between 35 and 40 militants died while 20 to 30 were wounded,' the official added. An intelligence official who also requested anonymity put the death toll on the Taliban side at more than 50 and around 40 injured. The figures could not be independently verified because access to the region is limited for reporters and aid workers.

#3: Four security personnel were injured as their vehicle ambushed in a rocket attack by unidentified militants in the outskirts of southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Wednesday morning, police said. The police van was partially damaged in the attack near a police station in Mian Ghundi in Hazar Gangi area near Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The injured included two policemen and two Frontier Constabulary (FC) paramilitary troops, who have been taken to a local hospital for their minor wounds. A nearby high-powered electricity pylon was also partially damaged in the rocket attack, witnesses said.

#4: In another incident on Wednesday, a government building was slightly damaged in a rocket attack in Khuzdar area of Balochistan, official sources said, adding that the attack site is located near the office of the district administration chief.


DoD: Cpl. Nicholas D. Paradarodriguez

DND/CF: Colonel Geoff Parker