War News for Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Cameron looks to 2011 to start Afghan withdrawal

U.S. war veterans being killed with high-dose psychiatric drugs

Private guards can stay in Afghanistan

Two journalists killed near Pakistan-Afghanistan border

US has failed on main Afghan goals, ex-spy chief says


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: In Al Sheala, western Baghdad, unknown gunmen killed a Police Lieutenant in a drive-by shooting.

#2: A similar incident in Al Amiriya, western Baghdad, led to the killing of a Baghdad Secretariat employee shot dead by unknown gunmen.

#3: A roadside bomb in Al Bayaa, southern Baghdad, targeting a rescue police patrol, wounded a policeman.

#4: Another roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in Al Nidal Street, central Baghdad, wounded three persons.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A bomb exploded near a water purification station in northern Baaquba. Two suspects involved in the incident were arrested.

#2: Two bombs near the house of a northern village mayor in Baaquba were disabled.


Babil Prv:
#1: Iraqi security sources said that on Monday, US warplanes shelled a region lying north of the provincial capital of Hilla, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported. “A number of US jets pounded this afternoon al-Buhayrat region, al-Askandariya district," said a security official, noting that Iraqi authorities had not been informed about the operation. “The attack could [have] targeted some armed cells in the region,” he added. It was not clear if the airstrike had left any casualties.

Al Rashad:
#1: Unknown gunmen killed head of Al Rashid municipal council as they opened fire using muted weapons on the civilian car he was driving late at night on Monday.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Suspected militants staged a rocket attack Monday on an army base in the Muqor district of Badghis province, killing three commandos and injuring one, the ministry said.

#2: Three other soldiers were killed Monday in a traffic accident in Qara Bagh, a district in Ghazni province, the statement said.

#3: A suicide bomber attacked a convoy carrying the top official in Pakistan's restive Baluchistan province Tuesday, wounding nine people but leaving the chief minister unscathed, police said. The attacker detonated his explosives as the convoy made its way through Baluchistan's capital, Quetta, said police official Abid Hussain. The blast struck a vehicle carrying policemen, five of whom were wounded. The explosion also wounded four pedestrians, said Hussain. Baluchistan Chief Minister Nawab Muhammad Aslam Khan Raisani was traveling in a separate vehicle and was not harmed, he added.

#4: At least five people were killed and two others injured in two U.S. drone strikes launched Monday night in Pakistan's northwest tribal area along the Afghan border, reported local TV channel Express. According to the Express report, the U.S. drones launched two attacks almost simultaneously in North Waziristan, a place bordering Afghanistan, which is believed to be a stronghold of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. During the first strike launched Monday night, a U.S. drone fired two missiles at a vehicle suspected of carrying militants in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan, killing three in the vehicle and injuring two others on board. In the second attack, an unknown number of U.S. drones fired four missiles at a house at a different place in the same area, killing two people, whose identities are yet to be confirmed.


MoD: Private John Howard

DoD: Lance Cpl. Lucas C. Scott