War News for Tuesday, July 31, 2012

French forces withdraw from Afghan district

Militant Group Poses Risk to U.S.-Pakistan Relations


Reported security incidents
#1: At least one civilian has been killed and four others have been wounded in a mine explosion in Afghanistan's eastern province of Laghman, Press TV reports. Sarhadi Zwak, a Laghman provincial spokesman, said the incident took place on Tuesday when a 13-year-old boy hammered an unexploded wartime mine with a stone in a house in the city of Mehter Lam. Zwak said the boy was killed and four other members of his family were wounded and taken to a local hospital.

#2: A district chief was injured and three police were killed after an attack in Hisarak district of eastern Ningarhar province yesterday, an official said Monday. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for Ningarhar governor, told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) that Taliban attacked the motorcade of Abdul Khaliq Maroof, administrator of Hisarak district, in Jokan area yesterday. He said three police were killed while the district chief and two police were wounded in the attack, adding the attackers also suffered casualties in the ensuing clash but they had no accurate information.

#3: Meanwhile, a helicopter of International Security Force (ISAF) crashed in Mizana district of Zabul province Saturday but no one on board was injured, the military said Monday.

#4: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan at least 6 militants including their commander was killed following clashes with the Afghan security forces in Asmar and Sarkano districts. A local Afghan national army official Gen. Shirin Agha confirming the report said at least 4 militants including their commander Hazrat Ali were killed in Asmar district and another Pakistani militant from Waziristan was killed in Sarkano district.

#5: In a separate incident at least 2 suspected militants were killed while they were planting roadside bombs at Dasht-e-Archi district in northern Kunduz province. District chief for Dasht-e-Archi Sheikh Sadruddin said the incident took place on Monday night and at least two other suspected militants were also injured following the incident.

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Bobby L. Estle

DoD: Pfc. Jose Oscar Belmontes

DoD: Spc. Benjamin C. Pleitez

DoD: 1st Lt. Sean R. Jacobs

DoD: Sgt. John E. Hansen

DoD: Gunnery Sgt. Jonathan W. Gifford

DoD: Gunnery Sgt. Daniel J. Price

War News for Monday, July 30, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of a USFOR-A soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in northern Afghanistan on Friday, July 27th.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in western Afghanistan on Sunday, July 29th.

NATO supplies remain suspended

Afghan forces deaths outstrip Nato’s 5-1

U.S. Fund to Rebuild Afghanistan Is Criticized


Reported security incidents
#1: Missiles fired from a US drone killed at least four militants in Pakistan's restive tribal northwest on Sunday, security officials said. The missiles struck a compound in Khushhali Turikhel village of the troubled North Waziristan tribal district on the Afghan border. "US drones fired six missiles into a militant compound. At least four militants were killed," a security official told AFP.

#2: Afghan police have killed 17 Taliban militants and wounded five others across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement on Monday. "Afghan National Police backed by army and the NATO-led coalition forces launched seven operations in Nangarhar, Kandahar, Logar, Khost and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours during which 17 Taliban were killed, five wounded and two others were arrested," the statement said. However, it did not say if there were any casualties on security forces.

#3: Four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed and six more injured in separate violence-related incidents in various parts of the country over the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Defence said Sunday. A defence ministry press release stated the ANA soldiers suffered casualties in attack and blasts of the enemy in Paktika, Logar and Kandahar provinces over the past 24 hours. The press release said 11 armed opponents were killed and one was held along with five weapons during joint operation in Gilan district in Ghazni province.

#5: Insurgents shot and killed a government official in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, Afghan officials said. The Wardak Province governor’s office said in a statement that the head of volatile Chak district was driving to his office when gunmen overtook his car. They shot both Mohammad Ismail Wafa and his adult son. The son was wounded.

#6: A provincial judge was killed and four civilians were wounded in a bomb blast at a mosque in southern Uruzgan province on Monday morning. The incident happened in Tarin Kowt, the provincial capital of Uruzgan. The judge was identified as Taj Mohammad, provincial police chief Farid Hayeel said. "A bomb had been placed inside the mosque," Mr Hayeel said.

#7: A woman and four minors were injured when a mortar round allegedly fired by the armed opponents hit a house in Zerok district in Paktika province Sunday.

#8: According to Afghan security officials, an Afghan parliament member representing southern Kandahar province survived a life attempt attack by unknown gunmen. An Afghan security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Abdul Rahim Ayoubi Afghan MP survived an attack at Kolola Pushta area in capital Kabul Sunday night. The source further added former provincial security chief of southern Uruzgan province Juma Gul Hemat was also accompanying him when the incident took place. He was slightly injured following the incident. In the meantime Afghan parliament member Abdul Rahim Ayoubi quoted by local Benawa News Agency confirmed the report and said he escaped the attack unharmed.


DoD: Pfc. Theodore M. Glende

GEO. MoD: Corporal Givi Pantsuala

News of the Day for Sunday, July 29, 2012

Ismael Wafa, Governor of Chak District, Wardak Province, is assassinated when attackers fire on his car. His son also died in the attack. Taliban have claimed responsibility.

A soldier from the Republic of Georgia, injured in Afghanistan in January, has died of his injuries. Corporal Givi Pantsulaia was the 16th Georgian soldier to have died in the Afghanistan conflict. (Bet you didn't even know they were there. --C)

More than 100 shops burn at a market in Ghazni. As of now, authorities are blaming the fire on an electrical problem, no mention of sabotage.

Afghan Interior Ministry claims 17 militants killed, 18 detained in various operations around the country in the past 24 hours.

Reuters discusses the perilous existence of truckers who move goods for NATO. Excerpt:

It is a thankless and increasingly deadly job, and one so mired in graft that the drivers see a fraction of the cash paid by US military paymasters, with the rest skimmed by middlemen or even going into the hands of insurgents for "protection".

Only this week, three of Habibullah's [owner of a small company] trucks were attacked and burned by Taliban amid the rugged mountains of Nuristan, a virtual no-go zone for Nato soldiers after heavy past losses and now garrisoned by a handful of Afghan troops and police.. . .One of our drivers was killed. We brought his body back to Jalalabad," Habibullah said. "His wife came and grabbed me by my collar, tearing my shirt and shouting 'you killed my husband'. I had to give her some money. The Americans don't help with that."

NPR's Sean Carberry describes training of Afghan security forces to disarm IEDs. At the current rate, it will take several years to produce a sufficient number of specialists.

Afghan MoD confirms report of an 11% increase in insurgent activity in the past 3 months. "The Wall Street Journal article cited a Nato official as saying that June had seen the highest number of monthly attacks in almost two years, with more than 3,000 incidents, including firefights and bomb blasts."

Azizullah Lodin, head of the High Office of Oversight and Anti-Corruption, says Karzai's pledges of reform will be hollow if corrupt officials are not fired.

Pressure from the international community has forced Mr Karzai to look as if he is serious about tackling the corruption that has infested every layer of his administration. On Friday, he issued a degree ordering government officials to be transparent in their activities. "The decree should be implemented in an honest, responsible manner by government bodies otherwise it will be a piece of old paper," Mr Lodin told TOLOnews.

Members of Parliament agree with him. "Afghan lawmakers on Saturday called President Hamid Karzai's plan for sweeping reforms "ridiculous" and "deceiving." . . . Parliamentarians derided the decree saying it will not benefit Afghanistan unless he sacks corrupt minister and officials."


Four army officials including Kunar's Army Brigade Facility Chief were arrested in connection with supplying insurgents with weapons, a spokesman for Afghan Ministry of Defense said on Saturday.

War News for Saturday, July 28, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 28th.

War News for Monday, July 02, 2012
#1: According to local authorities in western Herat province of Afghanistan at least five Afghan national police officers were killed or injured following attacks by Taliban militants in this province. The officials further added the incident took place after a number of armed Taliban militants attacked a mobile phone tower at Zarghoon Pashtun district on Friday night. Provincial security chief Abdul Hamid Hamidi confirming the report said a number of Afghan national police officers were on their way to quit the fire while they were attacked by Taliban militants.  In the meantime a local security official said at least 2 Afghan national police officers were killed at Keshk-e-Rabat district. The source further added the incident took place after an Afghan national police vehicle was attacked by Taliban militants while they were patrolling in the area.

#2: Afghan defense ministry officials following a statement announced, at least 5 Afghan national army soldiers were killed and four others were injured in various incidents across the country during the past 24 hours. The source further added, the Afghan national army soldiers were killed or injured following militants attacks and roadside bomb explosions in Kandahar, Kunar, Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces of Afghanistan.

#3: According to local authorities in Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan, heavy clashes took place between Afghan security forces, NATO troops and armed militants in Jalrez district. A local security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the incident took place around 11:00 am local time after an Afghan national army vehicle struck a roadside bomb injuring two Afghan soldiers and one driver. The source further added a convoy of the Afghan national army and NATO troops were attacked by militants while they were on their way from Daimerdad district to Maidan Shahr city.

War News for Friday, July 27, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, July 26th.

Pakistan suspends NATO supply route over security

Reported security incidents
#1: update A truck packed with explosives blew up in a crowded market in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing 11 people, as security concerns led officials to close temporarily a supply route to NATO troops in Afghanistan. The blast in Salarzai town in the Bajur tribal area near the Afghan border also wounded nearly two dozen people, some of them critically, and damaged several vehicles and shops, said Jehangir Azam, a local government administrator.

#2: A Buffalo soldier is recovering in Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., from serious wounds he suffered in Afghanistan last week when his Humvee was blown up. Spec. Stephen Wagner was riding in the back seat of the Humvee at about 2 a.m. July 18 when it was struck by an improvised explosive device.

#3: At least three people were killed and four others got injured on Thursday night when a bomb blast hit Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Khyber Agency, local media reported. According to the reports, the blast took place in the center of a banned militant organization Lashkar-e-Islam in the Akka Khel area of Khyber Agency, Pakistan's tribal region bordering Afghanistan. The improvised explosive device (IED) was fixed near a mosque and was triggered by a remote-controlled device when people were coming out of the mosque after offering prayer. In the result of the explosion three people were killed on the spot while four others got injured and were shifted to the nearby hospital.

War News for Thursday, July 26, 2012

The DoD is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine. Sgt. Justin M. Hansen died during combat operations in Badghis province on Tuesday, July 24th. He was assigned to USFOR-A. News reports that he died from small arms fire/gun shot wounds.


Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb tore through a busy market in Pakistan's tribal belt on Thursday, killing at least five people and wounding 11 others near the Afghan border, officials said. The device exploded in Pasht bazaar of Salarzai in Bajaur district.

#2: As many as 20 to 30 Afghan National Army personnel, intruding into the Kurram Agency, attacked Nawazish checkpost in Dalasa area on Wednesday morning, leaving two security forces personnel injured. According to military officials, the attack by the Afghan National Army was repulsed with heavy artillery fire by the security forces, which forced the Afghan army personnel to retreat. The official sources identified the two injured soldiers as Sohail and Haider. Later on, Political Administration officials also arrived at the spot and initiated investigation. "The security forces responded to the attack with full force and used helicopters for shelling on the militants. At least 10 militants were killed in the response," a security official said. Reports said that the Afghan National Army, a few days earlier, had fired missile across the border in which two tribesmen had died.

#3: Afghan national police units during series of operations across the country have killed seven anti- government militants and detained 37 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said on Thursday. "During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police backed by the National Army and the Coalition Forces launched six joint operations in Kabul, Baghlan, Kunduz, Kandahar, Uruzgan and Paktika provinces during which seven armed insurgents have been killed and 10 others arrested," a statement released by the Interior Ministry here said. The Interior Ministry in another statement stated that Special Units of National Police and Coalition Forces launched five joint cleanup operations in Kandahar, Khost and Balkh provinces on Wednesday night as a result 27 armed insurgents were arrested. However, both the statements did not say if there were any casualties on the security forces.

#4: According to local authorities in Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan, heavy clashes took place between Afghan security forces, NATO troops and armed militants in Jalrez district. A local security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said the incident took place around 11:00 am local time after an Afghan national army vehicle struck a roadside bomb injuring two Afghan soldiers and one driver. The source further added a convoy of the Afghan national army and NATO troops were attacked by militants while they were on their way from Daimerdad district to Maidan Shahr city. In the meantime provincial governor spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the cleaning operation is still going on in Mullah Khel area.


News: Civ. Benjamin Monsivais

News: Civ. Joseph Perez

DoD: Pfc. Adam C. Ross

DoD: Spc. Justin L. Horsley

DoD: Pfc. Brenden N. Salazar

DoD: Sgt. Justin M. Hansen

War News for Wednesday, July 25, 2012

The DoD is reporting the death os a U.S. Sailor. PO2 Class Michael J. Brodsky died from an IED blast in Kandahar province on Saturday, July 21st.


The American empire and Pakistan

10 killed, 43 wounded in bomb attacks in Iraq


Reported security incidents
#1: Up to 13 Taliban insurgents have been killed and 33 captured in six cleanup operations carried out by Afghan police, army and the NATO-led coalition forces within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Wednesday. "The joint operations were conducted in Nuristan, Zabul, Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Herat provinces and two other armed insurgents were wounded during the above raids," the ministry said in a statement providing morning operational updates to the media.

#2: A total of seven children were killed when a bomb, initially planted by insurgents to target security forces, went off in western Ghor province Tuesday afternoon.

#3: Defence ministry on Tuesday claimed that two anti-government gunmen were killed and seven Afghan soldiers were wounded during separate engagements and bomb attacks over the past 24 hours. Soldiers of Afghan National Army killed two gunmen and detained six others during an operation in Chahardara district of northern Kunduz province yesterday, the defence ministry said in a statement. adding seven ANA troops were wounded in separate gun and bomb attacks in Kandahar, Kunar and Helmand provinces.

#4: Twenty Afghan guards for the NATO led Australian forces have defected to the Taliban in southern Afghanistan after a dispute with the soldiers, local police say. "The Australian soldiers beat the Afghan guards after some verbal disputes in a military camp in Charchino district of Oruzgan province," district police chief Wali Dad said on Wednesday. The angry guards set the security towers on fire and defected to the Taliban, taking weapons and ammunition, he said. The defection occurred two days after a police chief and 12 of his men took weapons and joined the Taliban in western Farah province.


DoD: Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael J. Brodsky

DoD: Pfc. Julian L. Colvin

DoD: Staff Sgt. Richard L. Berry

DoD: Sgt. Eric E. Williams

War News for Tuesday, July 24, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, July 23rd.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 24th.


Afghan security forces say major hotel attack foiled

Tajik Troops Reported Killed In Special Operation In Gorno-Badakhshan

Spate of attacks kills 107 across Iraq

Iraq Insurgents Kill at Least 100 After Declaring New Offensive


Reported security incidents
#1: The U.S. Embassy and Afghan officials say an American civilian who reportedly worked as an electrical engineer in northern Afghanistan has been killed by gunmen. The U.S. Embassy on Tuesday could not provide further details because of privacy laws, but three Afghan security officials say the man, an electrical engineer working in Afghanistan for about 30 years, was shot Monday by gunmen as he rode in a mini-bus in northern Parwan province. The gunmen, two or three in number, also killed two Afghans, the driver and one of the man’s colleagues, they said.

#2: U.S. drones fired eight missiles at a compound owned by a powerful militant commander in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing nine suspected insurgents, Pakistani intelligence officials said. It was unclear whether the commander, Sadiq Noor, was at the compound in Dre Nishter village in the North Waziristan tribal area during the attack. Noor is the most important commander for Hafiz Gul Bahadur, a prominent Pakistani militant focused on fighting in Afghanistan. The nine suspected militants who were killed were believed to be Bahadur's fighters, said the intelligence officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

#3: Gunmen opened fire on a convoy carrying NATO troop supplies to Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing a driver in the first attack in Pakistan since Islamabad ended its seven-month blockade of the route, a government official said. Gunmen targeted the trucks as they were passing near a bazaar in the town of Jamrud in the Khyber tribal area, said Faraz Khan, a local government official. Jamrud is located very close to Torkham, one of the two crossings used to transport NATO supplies to Afghanistan. In addition to the driver who was killed, a second driver and his assistant were wounded, said Khan.

#4: Three local policemen, including a commander were killed in an improvised explosive device blast in northern Baghlan province on Monday. The local police commander Fazal Haq and his two guards were killed when the vehicle they were travelling in struck an IED on Mazar-i-Sharif highway in Baghe Shamal area in Pule Khumri, the Baghlan police spokesman Ahmad Javed Basharat told the Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). However, an area resident told the AIP that four local policemen, including their commander Fazal Haq were killed in the incident.

#5: Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops have killed 10 insurgents and detained seven others in eastern Afghan region within 24 hours ending on Sunday, the ISAF forces on Monday. "Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed 10 insurgents during a small arms engagement in Alah Say District, in eastern Kpaisa province," the ISAF's Regional Command East (RC-E) said in a statement.
#6: According to local authorities in central Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan, a number of armed militants attacked Afghan security forces in this province triggering heavy clashes. A local official speaking on the condition of anonymity said armed militants ambushed Afghan security forces in Ismail Khel village at Jalrez district early Tuesday morning. The source further added Afghan security forces conducted an operation in the area to arrest a local Taliban commander in Ismail Khel area at Jalrez district. The militants attacked Afghan security forces from residential houses and gardens, the official said. In the meantime provincial governor Mohammd Halim Fedaye said at least 15 militants were killed during the clashes that started early Tuesday morning in Jalrez district. Mr. Fedaye further added the operations were conducted by Afghan police, Afghan army and Afghan intelligence forces and the clashes are still continuing in the area.


News: Civ. Dave Chamberlain

News: Civ. Marc McGowan

DoD: Staff Sgt. Brandon R. Pepper

War News for Monday, July 23, 2012

The DoD is reporting what appears to be a new death previously unreported by the military. Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice died from unreported causes in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 19th.

 

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 21st.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 21st.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, July 22nd.

191 Afghan civilians killed or injured in Helmand province --during the past two months

US pullout from Afghanistan halfway done, Gen. John Allen says

Pakistan military rejects Afghan claim

Iraq attacks kill 37

Bombs kill 50, wound 144 across Iraq‎


Reported security incidents
#1: Three civilian police training advisers, two American and one British, were killed over the weekend by an Afghan policeman at a training academy in western Afghanistan, Afghan officials and a NATO official said on Monday. Sunday’s shooting occurred at a police training academy 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of the western city of Herat. They said two other people were wounded — an Afghan translator and a fourth civilian adviser whose nationality is not known.The officials said that the gunman had graduated from the police training center 1 ½ years ago and was assigned to the center’s protection unit. He was killed after he opened fire on the civilian trainers inside a hall at the training center, they said.

#2: Meanwhile, a helicopter of the Afghan National Army made hard landing in Kamdesh district in Nuristan province Sunday, causing injuries to Afghan and ISAF troops. A defence ministry press release stated two ANA bound helicopters were on their way to deliver aid to the 202 Sailab military corps in Nuristan province when one of them experienced technical failures, forcing the chopper to make hard landing. There was no enemy hand involved in the incident and the helicopter crew did not suffer any casualties, the press release said. However, a statement issued by ISAF's Bagram press office said "Afghan and ISAF personnel on board suffered minor injuries and received treatment."

#3: More than 300 heavy artillery shells and rockets were fired from Pakistan into Dangam district of eastern Kunar province on Friday and Saturday, killing at least four people, provincial spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi told AFP.

According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, at least 100 missiles were fired from Pakistan which landed in the bordering regions of Afghanistan during the past 24 hours.

#4: Some unidentified persons blew up a gas pipeline of 16-inch diameter in Killi Mubarakzai area near Airport Road on Sunday, resultantly, gas supply was suspended in various areas of Quetta.

#5: Five Afghan workers of an International Security Assistance Force base allegedly abducted by the armed opponents were found dead in Wardag province Sunday. Their bullet-riddled bodies were found dumped in Faizu Kala area, Jalrez district, Wardag province early Sunday, a press statement issued by the Wardag Governor's office stated. The armed opponents had abducted six Afghan workers of an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) base in Mulakhel area in Jalrez district yesterday, the press release said.

#6: Afghan police during series of operations across the country have killed 19 anti-government militants and captured 14 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here Monday.

#7: Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops have killed 10 insurgents and detained seven others in eastern Afghan region within 24 hours ending on Sunday, the ISAF forces on Monday. "Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed 10 insurgents during a small arms engagement in Alah Say District, in eastern Kpaisa province," the ISAF's Regional Command East (RC-E) said in a statement.


DoD: Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice

DoD: Spc. Darrion T. Hicks

News of the Day for Sunday, July 22, 2012

Two NATO soldiers killed in an explosion today; a third died yesterday in a "rebel attack."  As usual, no further information at this time.

Taliban execute 5 civilians in Jalrez, Wardak province, who they captured while returning from work at a NATO base. The bodies were found booby trapped. A sixth man escaped.

An Afghan couple flees to Pakistan, fearing the bride will be killed for marrying a man of her own choice. However, the Pakistani courts have yet to decide whether to grant the asylum or return them to the jirga of her relatives, who will likely murder her.

Pakistan plans to cancel refugee status for 3 million Afghans, who will face deportation at the end of this year. Excerpt:

Pushing the refugees into Afghanistan would be likely to create a new crisis for that country, already struggling with an insurgency and an economy almost entirely dependent on the western presence and the illegal drug trade. The west is pressing Pakistan to reconsider its policy, which puts it at odds with the United Nations and other international partners. The international community and the Afghan government have no strategy prepared to deal with any such influx of people.

However, Pakistan's top administrator in-charge of the Afghan refugee issue, Habibullah Khan, the States and Frontier Regions Ministry secretary, told the Guardian that Islamabad would not relent. "The international community desires us to review this policy but we are clear on this point. The refugees have become a threat to law and order, security, demography, economy and local culture. Enough is enough," he said.

Afghan security forces capture 6 insurgents in Kandahar province. Three of them are Pakistani nationals.

World Bank grants Afghanistan $125 million to improve rural roads. (Yeah, $125 million used to be a lot of money but that won't go very far at all. See the excerpt below and think about it for a second. And remember they'll have to spend more on security than they do on actual road building. -- C ) Excerpt:

Today, Afghanistan’s tertiary road network is estimated at 80,000 km, of which only about 7,000 km are accessible to motor vehicles in all seasons; the rest are tracks mostly inaccessible to motor vehicles. Among the roads that remain accessible to motor vehicles all year, an estimated 5,000 km are believed to be in maintainable state, while the rest are in poor condition and need rehabilitation.

Shelling of Afghan territory from Pakistan continues, Afghan officials continue to complain.

War News for Saturday, July 21, 2012

Turkey-Iraq oil pipeline attacked


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber killed nine people and wounded 17 others during an attack at the home of a Taliban commander in northwestern Pakistan Saturday, officials said. This explosion was part of a series of attacks that left at least 20 people dead Saturday, as the Muslim holy of month of Ramadan begins. This incident occurred in a village in Kurram, one of the seven districts of Pakistan's volatile tribal region bordering Afghanistan, said Zakir Hussain, a senior government official in the area. Five militants and four children were killed in the attack, Hussain said. The explosion occurred at the entrance of the home that was used by a Taliban commander and also as a meeting place for militants, Hussain said.

#2: In another attack, a roadside bomb blast killed four people and wounded eight others in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, said Muhammad Ali Shah, a senior government official.

#3: In a different attack, armed militants killed seven paramilitary soldiers. This incident occurred in Balochistan province when six gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint.

#4: Four civilians died and two were wounded when their mini-van hit a roadside bomb Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, an official said, dpa reported. "The incident took place ... in Khogyani district of Nangarhar province when a civilian mini-van was heading towards Jalalabad city, the provincial capital," said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, the provincial governor's spokesman.

#5: Six insurgents had been killed and three others detained in military operations within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Saturday. "Afghan police, army and coalition forces launched seven joint cleanup operations in Takhar, Kandahar, Zabul, Herat, Farah and Helmand provinces, killing six armed Taliban insurgents and detaining three others," the ministry said in a statement.

#6: At least four people were injured when some unidentified militants fired at shops near paramilitary forces' headquarters in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Friday morning, local media reported. The incident happened at about 11:30 a.m. (local time) when two unknown gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire at grocery shops at Frontier road of Peshawar, the capital city of Pakistan's northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

#7: According to local authorities in western Herat province of Afghanistan, at least 3 Afghan police officers were killed following an attack by Taliban militants on a security check post in this province. The officials further added the incident took place on Friday night at Guzara district and as a result at least 2 Taliban militants were also killed. District security commander for Guzara was also reportedly killed following the clashes, local officials said. Provincial security chief Abdul Hamid Hamidi said the clashes started after a vehicle of the Afghan police forces was attacked by Taliban militants in Joi Malan area.


DoD: Spc. Krystal M. Fitts

War News for Friday, July 20, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb killed five Afghan policemen, including a district police chief, when it ripped through their vehicle in a volatile part of southern Afghanistan, provincial authorities said Friday. "Four police bodyguards along with district police chief, Ahmadullah, were killed in Sarab district in Uruzgan province late last evening," Abdullah Himmat, the provincial governor's spokesman, told AFP. "Initially, the Taliban insurgents attacked a security checkpost. When the district chief along with his men went to respond, his vehicle struck a roadside bomb," provincial police investigative director, Gulab Khan said. All five in the vehicle were killed, Khan said.

#2: At least four people were injured when some unidentified militants fired at shops near paramilitary forces' headquarters in Pakistan's northwest city of Peshawar on Friday morning, local media reported. The incident happened at about 11:30 a.m. (local time) when two unknown gunmen riding a motorbike opened fire at grocery shops at Frontier road of Peshawar, the capital city of Pakistan's northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Kapisa province of Afghanistan, at least three people were killed and four others were injured following an explosion in this province. The officials further added the incident took place in a construction site of water dam in this province. Chief of the provincial council Shaista Jan Ahadi said the professional staff of the construction project was attacked.


DoD: Sgt. Daniel A. Rodriguez

DoD: Sgt. Jose J. Reyes

DoD: Cpl. Joshua R. Ashley

War News for Thursday, July 19, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of a second ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 18th. Here’s the original release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, July 19th.

 

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, July 19th.

Afghan forces take over security of Kandahar

Britain plans to withdraw troops from Afghanistan: Cameron


Reported security incidents
#1: Pakistani troops reportedly killed six Afghan militants in a cross-border attack in Chitral. "A group of militants tried to infiltrate, but their attempt was foiled by troops. Militants fled leaving six bodies behind," The Nation quoted a security official, as saying.

#2: Eight Afghan civilians were killed in a Taleban bombing in northern Afghanistan. The civilians died in northern Faryab province when their mini-van struck a home-made bomb of the kind widely used by Taleban insurgents in attacks aimed at military forces. 'Eight civilians, including a woman and child, were killed and six others wounded,' a police chief said, adding that a police convoy had been passing as the bomb exploded.

#3: Defence ministry on Wednesday announced that five soldiers of Afghan National Army (ANA) and 11 anti-government gunmen were killed in different provinces. Direct armed attacks and roadside bomb strikes by "enemy" left five ANA soldiers dead and 11 wounded in Kunar, Wardak, Kandahar, Paktia, Logar, Ghor and Helmand provinces, the defence ministry said in a statement. Similarly, it said, ANA troops conducted operation in Bala Murghab district of Faryab province, killing 11 anti-government gunmen. It is to be mentioned here that authorities of Helmand province said that gunmen killed nine Afghan troops and wounded seven others in Washer district last night.

#4: Meanwhile, a suicide bomber, targeting a base of Afghan National Army (ANA) in Barak-e-Barak district of Logar province today's afternoon, killed four ANA troops and wounded two others, police said Wednesday. The bomber stuck at the ANA base in Ibarhimkhel area of Barak-e-Barak district about 4:30 p.m. (local time), said Khan Sadiq Abdul Rahimzai, deputy police chief of Logar province. "The attack was carried out through a vehicle in which four soldiers were killed and two wounded," he told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). The deputy police chief said the base was hosting only Afghan troops and no foreign troops were present in the base.

#5: Unknown gunmen on Thursday morning killed the president of All Pakistan Clerks Association (APCA) Accountant General office, Geo News reported. According to police, APCA officer Bakhsh Elahi aged 55 was on his way to work when he was ambushed by unidentified gunmen riding a motorcycle. The APCS employees were on strike for the past 12 days under the leadership of Bakhsh Elahi, and were demanding the government to fulfill their demands. Bakhsh Elahi had announced to continue the strike until their demands are met.

War News for Wednesday, July 18, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 17th.

 

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, July 18th.

Reported security incidents
#1: A NATO helicopter crashed Wednesday in western Afghanistan, injuring two troops serving with the U.S.-led military coalition, NATO said. No other information was disclosed about the crash in the relatively peaceful west. The crash is under investigation.

#2: A bomb ripped through a vehicle in Pakistan's northwestern tribal belt on Wednesday, killing thirteen civilians including two children, officials said. The bomb exploded in Sepoy village in Orakzai district, said senior administration official Zakir Hussain. "It was remote-controlled bomb planted on the road. The bomb exploded near a pick-up van carrying passengers," Hussain told. The blast killed seven people on the spot while six others succumbed to their injuries after reaching the hospital.

#3: Up to nine Afghan army soldiers were killed and seven others injured on Tuesday night when Taliban launched an attack against army checkposts in southern Helmand province, a provincial official said Wednesday.

#4: Up to 25 Taliban insurgents have been killed in joint military operations in different provinces within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said Wednesday morning. "Afghan police, army and NATO-led coalition forces carried out 25 cleanup operations in 18 provinces over the past 24 hours, killing 25 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining 21 other suspects," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates. Eight other armed militants were injured in the above raids, the statement said without saying if there were any casualties on the side of security forces.

#5: According to local authorities in northern Samangan province of Afghanistan, a convoy of oil tankers and other NATO supplies were burnt at Rabatak area in this province. Provincial security chief Gen. Khalilullah Andarabi confirming the report said the convoy included 18 oil tankers and 4 other trucks of NATO supplies. Gen. Andarabi further added the incident took place early Wednesday morning around 3:00 am local time. He also said at least two drivers of the oil tankers and the trucks were injured following the incident.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Carl E. Hammar

DoD: Sgt. Erik N. May

DoD: Spc. Sergio E. Perez Jr.

DoD: Spc. Nicholas A. Taylor

War News for Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Death penalty for Afghan soldier who killed French troops

NATO oil supply delayed

U.S. Navy ship fires at small boat in Persian Gulf

In Afghan village, fears that government can't provide after Americans leave


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen opened fire on a UN vehicle in Karachi Tuesday, wounding a driver and a foreign doctor working on a polio immunisation campaign, officials said. Local police said two young Afghan men opened fire on the vehicle in the Soharb Goth neighbourhood of eastern Karachi. “A foreigner was wounded critically while his driver sustained superficial wounds,” senior police official Shahid Hayat told AFP. Police said the foreign doctor had been travelling to a polio vaccination camp, when the vehicle was attacked.

#2: At least 12 militants were killed in the engagement between security forces and Taliban insurgents in Shah Walikot district of Kandahar early Monday, according to Jawed Faisal, the spokesman for the provincial administration. There were no casualties on the security forces, the official said. Taliban militants made no comment yet. Three Afghan soldiers were also killed by unknown people in the eastern Nuristan province in early hours of Monday, head of provincial council Anayatullah Mazhabyar said.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Nuristan province heavy clashes took place between Taliban militants and Afghan security forces in Wama district in this province. Provincial governor spokesman Mohammad Zarin confirming the report said the clashes started around 12:00 local time on Tuesday after Afghan security forces ambushed a number of armed militants in Terinik area which is the bordering region between Nuristan and Kunar province. The militants were looking to ambush the vehicle of Nuristan provincial governor. Mr. Zarin further added an Afghan police officer was killed and two others were injured following the clashes. However he said there were no reports regarding militants casualties. He also said clashes between armed militants and Afghan security forces were also reported at Kordar area around 5:00 am local time this morning. Mohammad Zarin said Tamim Nurstani had travelled to the area for the inauguration of Kordar-Noorgeram highway and was ambushed by armed militants.

#4: According to local authorities in southern Helmand province, an heavy explosion took place at Sangin district on Monday evening. Provincial governor spokesman Daud Ahmadi confirming the report said the incident took place after explosives packed in a motorcycle went off after evening prayers in this province. Mr. Ahmadi further added preliminary reports shows at least one Afghan police officer was killed and 8 others were injured. He said three Afghan police officers, one Afghan national army officer and four Afghan civilians were injured. The main target of the explosion was local Afghan security officials. No group including the Taliban have so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

War News for Monday, July 16, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injuries in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 14th.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, July 16th.

Reported security incidents
#1: three Afghan men died Monday in violence in southern Afghanistan, local and NATO officials said. The Afghan men died when their car hit a roadside bomb in Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province, said provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Razaq.

#2: On Sunday, three Afghan women died when the tractor they were riding hit a roadside bomb in Khakrez district of Kandahar province, said district police chief Gul Jan.

 #3: Taliban militants have attacked 12 NATO tankers carrying fuel for US-led forces in eastern Afghanistan, Press TV reports. Afghan officials said that one driver was killed and four security guards were injured late on Sunday when the militants set the tankers on fire in Sayed-Abad district, Wardak province.

#4: Gunmen attacked an office of the security force's intelligence agency in northwest Pakistan Monday, taking several hostages and reportedly killing at least one officer, police said. The attack took place in the city of Bannu just outside of the militant stronghold of North Waziristan in Pakistan's rugged tribal region near the border with Afghanistan. Police official Zeenatullah Khan said police have cordoned off the building and exchanged fire with the attackers. Reports coming to police from inside the building indicate one of the officers has been killed, Zeenatullah said. The attack started around 8 a.m., and the fighting was still underway around noon local time.

 At least three policemen were killed and another three wounded in an attack launched by two militants at a police station in Pakistan's northwest city of Bannu on Monday morning, reported local Urdu TV channel Samaa.

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/07/15/2354870/mortar-kills-woman-3-children.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2012/07/15/2354870/mortar-kills-woman-3-children.html#storylink=c

#5: A stray mortar bomb smashed through a house in a Sheikhan village, a suburb of Peshawar close to the Khyber tribal district, killing three children and their mother and injuring their father, police said. "The victims were asleep. A mother and her three children died on the spot," Shafiullah Khan, a senior police officer, told AFP. The Frontier Corps denied on Sunday firing the mortar in Bara tehsil of Khyber tribal region.


#6: A powerful blast rocked Kunduz city, the capital of northern Kunduz province 250 km north of capital Kabulon Monday, injuring three people, police said. "It was roadside bomb organized to target Nizamudin, the governor of Khan Abad district, but fortunately he escaped unhurt," a police officer Zamarai told Xinhua. However, he stated that the driver of Nizamudin along with two others sustained injuries in the blast happened at 01:40 p.m. local time.

#7: Afghan army and police, backed by NATO-led coalition forces, have eliminated three Taliban insurgents and detained 10 other suspects throughout the past 24 hours ending on Monday morning, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. "The joint operations, which intended to clear areas from the armed Taliban insurgents, were launched in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Faryab, Zabul, Wardak, Logar, Ghazni and Khost provinces," the ministry said in a statement.

DoD: Sgt. Michael E. Ristau

News of the Day for Sunday, July 15, 2012

Afghan Higher Education Minister Obaidullah Obaid escapes an assassination attempt by means of a roadside bomb while traveling between Baghlan and Kunduz, but two police in his escort are wounded.

Double bombing in Logar province injures 18  . A bomb went off near the Red Crescent office in Pul-e-Alam, followed by a second explosion when bystanders and security forces came to assist the victims. Most casualties are said to be civilians. (Note: The story above also mentions this incident but the account appears to be less accurate and complete.)

Taliban attack a police outpost in Shahwali Kot, Kandahar province. The attack is repelled with three attackers said to be killed.

Mayor of Shindand, Herat, is killed in a drive-by shooting on Friday. Apparently it took some time for the news to get out. (BTW Bakhtar News Agency, the source of this story, also gives the casualty total in Pul-e-Alam as 20.)

Alex Spillius reviews "Little America" by Rajiv Chandrasekaran This account of the U.S. war in Afghanistan also tells the story of a failed U.S. development project in Helmand in the '50s. Writes Spillius:

Chandrasekaran contends that haste, ineptitude, poor co-ordination and political considerations largely squandered an opportunity created by the Obama troop “surge” to provide sustainable aid and force elements of the Taliban to talk. . . . Washington’s ambitions in Afghanistan have been scaled down from building a reliable, democratic friend to leaving behind a scarcely credible state barely capable of withstanding the Taliban onslaught expected after 2014. After nearly 11 years, that is sadly not saying much.

Kabul Journalist Rohool Amin blames corrupt leadership  for Afghanistan's civil war, repeated foreign invasions, and dependency. 

War News for Saturday, July 14, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, July 14th.

7 Officials in Afghan Investment Agency Quit, Protesting Graft

Activation of NATO supply routes will take time: US

Reported security incidents
#1:  A suicide bomber killed a prominent anti-Taliban politician and 22 other guests at a wedding reception in the northern Afghan province of Samangan on Saturday, officials said. The bomber blew himself up as he hugged lawmaker Ahmad Khan Samangani, who was celebrating his daughter's marriage, police said. The blast also killed the provincial intelligence chief and a senior police commander. Samangani was close to Uzbek warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, and commanded thousands of men in the area. The Uzbeks are part of an uneasy coalition of minority tribes that fight the Taliban in their area.

#2: Afghan security forces during series of operations across the country have killed 40 anti-government militants and arrested 28 over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Saturday. "During series of operations conducted in Bamyan, Baghlan, Kandahar, Zabul, Logar, Ghazni, Paktiya, Herat and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours, 40 armed insurgents have been killed and 28 others arrested by Afghan National Police," the statement added.

#3: According to local authorities in southern Kandahar province, unknown gunmen assassinated security chief for 15^th district in southern Kandahar city on Saturday. The officials further added the incident took place around 9 am local time at Deh-Khwaja area in Kandahar city while Misteri Rahmatullah security chief for 15^th district of southern Kandahar city was on his way towards his work place.

#3: In the meantime local security officials in Kandahar province announced at least 6 people including three Afghan civilians and three Taliban militants were killed at Shahwali-Kot district. Provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Razaq said militants murdered three Afghan civilians for supporting the Afghan government in Boji area last night.

#4: According to local authorities in western Herat province, Shindand district mayor was shot dead by Taliban militants on Friday night. A local government official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Abdul Salam mayor of Shindand district was killed in front of his residential house by Taliban militants.

#5: An Italian armored vehicle was hit by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan but escaped unscathed with 3 soldiers only slightly bruised. The event occurred yesterday evening a few kilometres from the Italian base 'Lavaredo' near Shindand, headquarters for Task Force Centre.

War News for Friday, July 13, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, July 13th.

Reported security incidents
#1:" An Afghan women's affairs official was killed on Friday when a bomb attached to her vehicle exploded, critically wounding her husband and daughter. "Laghman provincial women's affairs director Hanifa Safi was assassinated as a result of the explosion of a magnetic bomb attached to her vehicle," provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Sarjang told . "Her daughter and husband along with four passersby were wounded."

#2: Six persons including an Awami National Party (ANP) leader were killed while ten others injured when a blast occurred at Kuchlak Bazaar of Quetta Friday morning, Geo News reported. According to police, a blast occurred at Kuchlak Bazaar near the venue of ANP rally and was followed by intense firing that killed six persons including an ANP leader Malik Qasim and eight-year-old boy. Ten persons including ANP’s provincial president Aurangzaib Kasi and his wife were also injured in the blast.


DoD:  Spc. Sterling W. Wyatt

War News for Thursday, July 12, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: Dozens of militants from Afghanistan crossed the border into Pakistan and attacked a village on Thursday, Pakistani military officials said, an incident likely to increase tensions between Islamabad and Kabul. Eight militants were killed in the ongoing skirmish in the tribal region of Bajaur, officials said, and two Pakistani soldiers were wounded. Local military officials said the militants had taken up positions in the village of Katkot in the Mamund area, and were surrounded by Pakistani forces. "The militants attacked the village, focusing on government buildings. Security forces have surrounded them and have called in gunship helicopters as well, but are not resorting to heavy weapons because of the presence of civilians," said Abdul Jabbar Shah, the top government official in Bajaur.

#2: Gunmen on Thursday shot dead nine Pakistani police prison staff as they slept in Lahore, the second attack on security forces in the country's political heartland since Islamabad reopened a NATO supply corridor. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the dawn raid, in which gunmen stormed a hostel housing officers being trained from the troubled northwest. Punjab police chief Habibur Rehman said the attackers came on three motorcycles and one car, armed with Kalashnikov rifles and hand grenades. They then stormed the building in the densely populated area of Ichra, where around 30 police prison staff were sleeping early Thursday. Police said nine other people were wounded, and the victims were shot as they slept on simple mats now soaked with blood.

#3: TWO Australian soldiers were wounded by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan's Uruzgan province on Tuesday. The soldiers, from the 3rd Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment Task Group, were travelling in a Bushmaster armoured vehicle on the Deh Rawud region when the IED exploded. One soldier will likely return to Australia to recover from serious wounds, while the second soldier received only minor wounds.

#4: Afghan national police during series of operations across the country have killed 13 anti-government militants and arrested five others, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Thursday. "Our police during operations in Nangarhar, Helmand, Uruzgan, Laghman and Kandahar provinces have killed 13 rebels and captured five others," the statement added.

#5: According to local authorities in southern Helmand province an Afghan journalist reporter was killed following a roadside bomb blast in this province. Greshk district security chief Gen. Kali Khan confirming the report said Abdul Hadi Hamdard a reporter of local state Radio and Television was killed after his vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in this district. The incident took place at Ab-Bazan area in Greshk district on Wednesday night. Mr. Kali Khan further added at least one other was killed and two others were injured following the explosion. This comes as another Afghan reporter Samad Rohani who was working for BBC was killed in southern Greshk district.

#6: According to local authorities in southern Kandahar province, at least 4 Afghan local police forces were killed and 2 others were injured in an attack by fellow soldiers in this province. A spokesman for 404 Afghan National Police Commandment in Southern Afghanistan Hekmatullah Kochi confirming the report said, two Afghan local police forces on Wednesday night opened fire on other local police forces killing at least 4 service members and injuring 2 others. Mr. Kochi further added the incident took place in Zherai district at Nawbahar area.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Ricardo Seija

DoD: Spc. Erica P. Alecksen

DoD: Spc. Clarence Williams III

DoD: Pfc. Trevor B. Adkins

DoD: Pfc. Alejandro J. Pardo

DoD: Pfc. Cameron J. Stambaugh