War News for Wednesday, November 09, 2011

Huge U.S. air base returned to Iraqi control - Joint Base Balad was returned to Iraqi control on Tuesday


Reported security incidents

Diyala Prv:
#1: Meanwhile, in the eastern province of Diyala, gunmen planted a bomb at the residence of a police officer in a town west of the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, wounding a member of the official's family, a source from the provincial operations command told Xinhua. The targeted officer escaped the attack unharmed, and the Iraqi security forces have launched an investigation into the incident, the source said.


Salah al Din prv:
#1: A Pro Iraqi-government al-Sahwa (Awakening) Force commander has been killed in an explosive charge blast in Iraq's Salahal-Din Province on Wednesday, a police source reported. "An explosive charge, planted under the car of Sheikh Ali al-Sheikhani, blew off early Wednesday in Salahal-Din's Railway Station, killing him on the spot," the police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Balad:
#1: In another incident, the police source said that 2 explosive charges blew off against al-Sahwa checking point in Balad township of Salahal-Din Province on Tuesday night, cause no human casualties.


Mosul:
#1: The Mayor of the city of Mosul, the center of north Iraq's Ninewa Province, has escaped an assassination attempt during an attack on his house in southern Mosul, a Ninewa security source reported on Wednesday. "Mosul's Mayor, Hussein Ali Hachem, has escaped an assassination attempt at dawn Wednesday, in an attack against his house that caused material damage to the house at Gayara township, 60 km to the south of Mosul, but the Mayor was not hurt, when his guards returned fire and forced the attackers to escape," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded four policemen in a town just west of Ramadi, which is 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: All Afghan soldiers working in a patrol base in southern Afghanistan have been disarmed and confined to barracks after one of them turned his weapons on Australian troops, seriously injuring three of them. The incident, in Uruzgan province, is the latest attack on western troops by members of Afghanistan's fledgling security forces, who are being recruited and trained at breakneck speed to take over from western combat troops by the end of 2014. Officials say the Afghanistan National Army (ANA) soldier was standing on a raised watchtower in a patrol base when he opened fire with an automatic weapon and grenade launcher, shooting down into the interior of the compound. As in other such incidents, his victims would have been unprepared to defend themselves, and probably not wearing body armour. In addition to seriously wounding three members of an Australian team responsible for training and mentoring Afghans soldiers, two ANA servicemen were also hurt, although their injuries were minor, the Australian defence ministry said.

#2: An Afghan official says between 60 to 70 insurgents have been killed after they attacked bases used by NATO and Afghan forces in the eastern Paktika province. Mokhlis Afghan, the spokesman for the provincial governor, says insurgents moved from the Afghan-Pakistan border on Tuesday night and attacked the bases in Barmal district. He says Afghan and NATO forces quickly launched a counter attack and called in coalition aircraft. He says the fighting left up to 70 insurgents dead. NATO says the militants attacked the bases with small arms and rocket-propelled grenades, but no NATO service members were killed or wounded in the attack.

#3: According to local officials in southern Afghanistan, at least three civilians were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in southern Uruzgan province. The officials further added, the incident took place in Tarinkowt, the central city of southern Uruzgan province. A spokesman for the provincial police chief for Southern Uruzgan province Farid Ahmad Ayil confirming the incident said, the incident took place after a civilian vehicle struck with a roadside bomb late Tuesday night.

#4: A roadside bomb on Tuesday killed the district governor of Sar Howza district of eastern Paktika province and one of his bodyguards, wounding four others, Mukhlis Afghan, a spokesman for the governor of Paktika said.