War News for Tuesday, December 31, 2013

11 journalists killed in Pakistan in 2013: Report

US-led coalition sees lower casualties in 2013 as Afghan forces take lead in fighting


Reported security incidents
#1: An Afghan official says gunshots erupted during a rally in a northern province where a group was protesting the selection of candidates for the 2014 elections, killing two people and wounding eight. Governor Khirullah Anosh says the shooting took place on Tuesday outside his office in the town of Aibak in Samangan province. About 300 people had gathered for the protest.

#2: The Afghan Interior Ministry said Tuesday that the country's national security forces have killed eight militants during operation since early Monday. "Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) conducted anti- terrorism operations in Zabul, Uruzgan and Wardak provinces over the last 24 hours. As a result, eight armed Taliban members were killed and two others were arrested by the ANSF,"the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates.

War News for Monday, December 30, 2013

Afghanistan frees 650 inmates from Bagram prison


Reported security incidents
#1: Three persons were killed including a woman and her two children and two other injured as a bomb planted in a Hujra in Charsadda district on Monday, local police said. Some unknown terrorists destroyed the Hujra of a local resident, Alamgir, with planted explosives. According to Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) initial investigation revealed that explosives were planted inside the house.

#2: A health worker supervising a polio vaccination campaign was fatally shot and two others were wounded on Saturday when gunmen opened fire at a hospital in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.

#3: Two police officials were killed and another critically injured in firing by unidentified gunmen in Rawalpindi garrison city on Monday. According to RPO Akhtar Hayat Lalika, the police officials were deployed for security at Imambargah in Dhok Sayedan when four unidentified gunmen on two motorbikes opened fire on them.
#4: Eight Taliban militants were killed in separate military operations in Afghanistan, the country's Interior Ministry said on Monday.

#5: According to local authorities in western Farah province of Afghanistan, at least two construction workers were killed following a roadside improvised explosive device (IED) explosion.


DoD: Capt. David I. Lyon

MoD: Captain Richard Holloway killed in Afghanistan

News of the Day for Sunday, December 29, 2013

Car in a wedding party hits a mine in Kandahar province, 2 killed, 8 injured. Provincial government blames Taliban, but no claim of responsibility.

One border police officer killed and 3 injured by IED in Herat province. No claim of responsibility.

 Apparently the Interior Ministry report was not made on a copier today, only 7 militants killed in past 24 hours, which is one quarter of the standard number. Once again, no government or civilian casualties, of course. I'm sure they'll get it back up to 28 tomorrow.

Taliban kill a man in Nimruz province alleging out of wedlock sex. At least they shot him, rather than stoning him to death.

Members of Parliament say that security is deteriorating. "Based on information from our own provinces, the security is bad," MP Sayed Nader Shah Bahr said. "Right now, the government controls only the district centers, but the rest of the districts are governed by insurgents."

WaPo reports National Intelligence Estimate says U.S. "gains" in Afghanistan will be quickly lost, even if a residual military force remains in the country and the U.S. continues to bankroll the government, although they interview some officials who dispute this. Excerpt:

U.S. intelligence analysts did not provide a detailed mapping of areas they believe are likely to become controlled by specific groups or warlords in coming years, said one of the officials. But the analysts anticipate that the central government in Kabul is all but certain to become increasingly irrelevant as it loses “purchase” over parts of the country, the official said.

Airman David Lyon identified as U.S. service member killed Dec. 27. Lyon was a graduate of the Air Force Academy who was a star shot putter. His widow, Dana Pounds-Lyon, is also an Academy graduate and a champion javeline thrower.

And Iraq continues to descend into chaos. Round up from Antiwar.com yesterday paints the picture. Among numerous other incidents, perhaps the most significant: "Security forces arrived at the Ramadi home of M.P. Ahmed al-Awlani to arrest him and his brother on terrorism charges that likely stem from the lawmaker’s criticism of the Shi’ite-led government. Awlani was detained, but not before a clash between his guards and security forces erupted at the compound. Awlani’s brother, a soldier and five guards were killed, and another 17 people were wounded. A sister was reported to have been among the dead, and Awlani was treated for injuries. The arrest could signal renewed suppression of Sunni politicians by Shi’ite P.M. Nouri al-Maliki."

War News for Saturday, December 28, 2013

Two Slovak soldiers killed in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Danville’s law enforcement community expressed sadness at the death of a former city police officer and SWAT team member who was shot and killed Thursday while working in Afghanistan. Lee McCubbins, 43, who worked for the Danville Police Department for about 15 years, was killed while performing subcontract work at the Kajaki Dam project in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province. McCubbins was working with Pax Mondial, an Arlington County-based subcontractor for Black & Veatch when he was killed, Minter said Friday.

#2: Unidentified gunmen have killed a senior Afghan Taliban leader in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, Taliban sources said on Friday.

#3: Pakistani police say gunmen attacked an anti-polio vaccination centre in the country’s northwest and killed a medic on duty, then fled the scene. Police official Raheem Khan says another technician was also wounded in Saturday’s attack on the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

War News for Friday, December 27, 2013

The military is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from a suicide vehicle born improvised explosive device in Kabul, Afghanistan on Friday, December 27th.

Reported security incidents
#1: A Taliban suicide bomber detonated an explosives-packed vehicle next to a Nato military convoy in Kabul on Friday, officials said, though no details about casualties were immediately available. The attack occurred on a main road that passes by a series of government compounds and military facilities in the Afghan capital on the way to the eastern city of Jalalabad.

#2-3: At least four civilians were killed or injured following separate blasts in southern Afghanistan on Thursday.

#3: In the meantime, two civilians were injured after a motorcycle packed with explosives went off in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan on Thursday.

#2: A kid was killed following a blast in Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar province on Thursday afternoon. Zia Durani, spokesman for the provincial security department confirming the report said, another civilian was also injured in the blast.

#4: At least one person was killed and 15 others wounded when a bomb exploded in Pakistan's restive southwest on Thursday, officials said. The incident happened in Pashtunabad area on the outskirts of Quetta city.

#5: Afghan army special operation forces launched an operation in the country's eastern province of Laghman early Friday, killing eight Taliban insurgent group members while wounding one other rebel, a provincial government spokesman said.

War News for Thursday, December 26, 2013

Canadian military prepares Afghan exit

Georgian soldiers launch operation in Afghanistan

U.S. Sends Arms to Aid Iraq Fight With Extremists

Judge dismisses sailor radiation case - Here’s a little blip which has largely missed the American public. Apparently The USS Ronal Reagan has been contaminated from the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster in Japan.


Reported security incident:
#1: Four militants were killed in a drone strike on their hideout in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal area bordering Afghanistan on Thursday, security officials said. The drone fired two rockets in the early hours of Thursday at the compound of top militant commander Gul Bahadur at Mirali village.

#2: A militant belonging to Pakistan based Lashker-e-Toiba (LeT) was killed in an encounter with security forces in Budgam district of Kashmir Valley on Thursday, police said. The militant, identified as Umar Bilal from Pakistan- occupied Kashmir, was killed in a gunfight in Hushroo village of Chadoora area of the central Kashmir district this morning, a police spokesman said.

War News for Wesnesday, December 25, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: Two Taliban rockets landed inside the US embassy compound in Kabul early on Wednesday, causing no casualties. Another rocket landed near a hill where former kings and members of the old royal family are buried in a large mausoleum, a spokesman for the National Directorate of Security told AFP

#2: The ministry of interior said four policemen had suffered minor injuries on Wednesday morning when some other explosive ordnance detonated as they were investigating the rocket on Maranjan hill.

#3: One Afghan army soldier was killed while two other soldiers were wounded Wednesday when an army vehicle set off an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern province of Khost, the provincial government confirmed in a statement.

#4: At least 19 people including Afghan police officers were killed or injured following an explosion in Logar province of Afghanistan on Wednesday. Provincial governor spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwish confirming the report said, the incident took place in Pul-e-Alam city on Wednesday afternoon. Mr. Darwish further added that a bicycle packed with explosives went off in a busy area in Pul-e-Alam city, leaving 4 civilians and 2 police officers dead.

#5: At least 16 militants were killed and 7 others were injured during coordinated military operations across the country, interior ministry said on Wednesday. The militants were killed or injured during the operations conducted during the past 24 hours in various provinces of Afghanistan.


DoD: Sgt. Daniel M. Vasselian

War News for Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The military is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a direct fire attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, December 23rd.

Soldier from the Royal Engineers killed in Afghanistan

U.S. Softens Deadline for Deal to Keep Troops in Afghanistan

Over 500 Taliban prisoners released from Afghan jails


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan security forces have killed two Taliban militants including a key commander and injured two others in the eastern Laghman province and extended government control over several villages, a statement released by provincial administration said Tuesday. "Security forces kicked off operations against Taliban militants in parts of Alinegar district on Sunday night and during Tuesday's operations, two Taliban rebels including a key commander were killed and two others sustained injuries,"the statement added.

#2: National Directorate of Security (NDS) forces arrested a group of four insurgents, who were appointed to assassinate Nangarhar provincial governor, Maulavi Ataullah Ludin.

#3: At least 7 militants were killed and 8 others were injured during military operations by Afghan national security forces during the past 24 hours, interior ministry said in a statement.

War News for Monday, December 23, 2013

The military is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a direct fire attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, December 23rd.

Residents allege dozens of civilians killed in Waziristan action


Reported security incidents
#1: Twelve militants were killed in separate military operations conducted by the Afghan troops since early Saturday, the country's Interior Ministry said on Sunday.

#2: According to local authorities in western Farah province of Afghanistan, Taliban militants abducted three construction workers in this province.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Laghman province of Afghanistan, Afghan security forces arrested three would-be suicide bombers during a military operation in this province.

News of the Day for Sunday, December 22, 2013

NATO opens talks with Afghanistan on post-2014 status of forces. This is not a substitute for or end-run around the stalled agreement with the U.S. NATO will not sign any agreement until after the bilateral agreement with the U.S. is concluded. (Which tells you all you need to know about how multinational the western occupation of Afghanistan really is. It's a U.S.-run operation with a few sidekicks.)

Afghan security forces said to foil a suicide bomb plot in Laghman province.

M.P. Farkhunda Zahra Naderi discusses the status of women in Afghanistan. She sees real change in women's assertiveness, and also a backlash. "Ms. Naderi said, in fact, the focus on women’s rights had changed the Afghan women to the extent that men, used to decades of superiority, were seeing them as a challenge. She said, men wouldn’t take women seriously. Now, they feared women’s empowerment so much that they got together in July to decrease the 25 per cent quota for women in Parliament, guaranteed by the 2004 Constitution."

India begins training Afghan special forces, an indication of growing military ties between the two countries. Note that it is in part fear of this development which has led Pakistani Interservices Security to maintain ties with the Afghan Taliban, as a means of maintaining influence. Afghanistan is of no real importance to the U.S. but it does matter in regional rivalries. --

As this editorial in Bakhtar news demonstrates:

The Indian Republic and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan are bounded in brotherly relations since independence these honest ties are deep as oceans and high as skies. With consideration of these honest and brotherly cooperation and relations, the Indian governments have supported the war-devastated Afghanistan in all spheres including health, transportation, high education and infrastructural projects. Considering vitality of the relations with India, Afghanistan signed the first strategic cooperation partnership with India. India provided huge financial and moral assistance to Afghanistan after the country initiated its new political chapter in international politics. The Afghan people are hopeful that India continues backing the country in all sectors in the future including training of Afghan national security forces and equipment for them in order to support Afghanistan to get on its own feet.

There are about 18,000 Afghan refugees currently in India. They do not wish to return under current circumstances, fearing violence and ultimately, Taliban ascendancy.

However, there are millions of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province ("KP" in the linked article).

Two thirds of Americans think the Afghan war was not worth fighting in a new WaPo-ABC poll.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, the civil war continues, with 15 soldiers, including 5 officers, killed in a battle with al-Qaeda in Anbar. Remember Anbar province? A brigadier general escapes an assassination attempt in Kirkuk, a police officer and a civilian are killed in Mosul, on Friday six people were killed and 22 injured by explosions in Touzkhormatoo, and on and on it goes.

War News for Saturday, December 21, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen in Pakistan have killed a health worker who was administering the polio vaccine in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border. Officials say the attack took place Saturday in Jamrud in the Khyber tribal district.

#2: Over 50 people, including militants, have reportedly died in Pakistan’s lawless North Waziristan region in the past three days after the army launched an operation in retaliation for a suicide attack on its soldiers. The army claims troops had killed only militants and foreign fighters operating in the semi-autonomous tribal district but residents said civilians had also died. The violence in North Waziristan, triggered by Wednesday night’s suicide attack on security forces, continued yesterday as three persons were killed when troops fired at a vehicle during curfew near Khajori check post, the Dawn daily reported.

War News for Friday, December 20, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: Residents in Pakistan's troubled North Waziristan tribal region said Thursday that dozens of civilians were killed in an army operation following a suicide attack at a checkpoint, charges the Pakistani military rejected. Local residents said that more than 20 men, mostly truck drivers, were shot dead at a restaurant, while shelling claimed several more lives, including women and children, as the army responded to Wednesday's deadly attack on its nearby outpost.

#2: At least one person was killed and 15 others wounded when a bomb exploded in Balochistan province on Thursday, officials said. The incident happened in the Pashtunabad area on the outskirts of Quetta city, the capital of Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.

#3: Peshawar was rocked on Friday by an explosion in the Aijazabad area of Peshawar, a private news channel reported. According to police, unidentified men placed an explosive device outside a house in Aijazabad and fled away after which the explosion occurred. The house was partially damaged by the blast but no casualties have been reported in the incident.


DoD: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Randy L. Billings

DoD: Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joshua B. Silverman

DoD: Sgt. Peter C. Bohler

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Omar W. Forde

DoD: Staff Sgt. Jesse L. Williams

DoD: Spc. Terry K. D. Gordon

War News for Thursdayy, December 19, 2013

Soldier killed in Afghanistan helicopter crash has local ties - crew chief Chris Bohler

Soldier From Elkhart, Ind. Killed In Helicopter Crash In Afghanistan - Army Staff Sgt. Jesse Lee Williams

71 Journalists Killed in 2013


Reported security incidents
#1: At least 23 militants were killed during a clash with security forces in Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region, where a suicide attack had taken place earlier, officials said. According to a security official, the militants tried to ambush a security forces' convoy which was returning from Khajuri checkpost area in Mir Ali of North Waziristan tribal region where the suicide attack had taken place, the Dawn reported Thursday. The gun battle between the security forces and the militants continued for several hours during which the 23 militants were killed. Three security personnel were injured in the clash.

War News for Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The DoD is reporting the death of Petty Officer 1st Class James L. Smith who died a non-combat related incident in Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany on Wednesday, December 11th.

The military is reporting the deaths of six American ISAF soldiers when a black hawk helicopter crashed in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, December 17th.

Pentagon probes whether U.S. troops killed by enemy fire - The Pentagon urgently investigated whether six American troops killed in Afghanistan on Tuesday may have died from enemy fire after their helicopter crashed, rather than from the crash itself, two senior U.S. officials said.

Photos: Taliban attacks U.S. base in Afghanistan

A Top Iraqi Official’s Advice to Karzai? Take America’s Deal

Pakistan Taliban reject gov't dialogue offer


Reported security incidents
#1: Militants attacked a transit point for NATO supplies on the Afghan-Pakistani border early Wednesday, prompting a firefight that left at least four people dead and damaged more than a dozen vehicles, a government official said. Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor of eastern Nangarhar province, said Afghan security forces fought a group of armed suicide bombers for more than two hours. The firefight left one member of the Afghan Public Protection Forces dead and at least five other people wounded, he said.

Earlier on Wednesday, one policeman and three Taliban militants were killed and 16 trucks were destroyed when Taliban launched a massive suicide and shooting attack against a NATO-led coalition forces in Torkham, a bordering town near the Pakistan border.

#2: Four militants were killed and 23 others detained in military operations across Afghanistan since early Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday morning.

#3: NATO forces in eastern Afghanistan came under attack on Wednesday, a military spokeswoman said. NATO-led International Security Assistance Force spokeswoman Lt. Col. Latondra Kinley said the Torkham base in Nangarhar province was hit by indirect fire.


DoD: Petty Officer 1st Class James L. Smith

War News for Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Pakistan stung by Iran pipeline blow

Pakistan's polio workers targeted for killing

Afghan army hands over check posts to Taliban in Helmand


Reported security incidents
#1: Unknown armed men set ablaze a NATO oil tanker in Wadh area of Khuzdar district on Tuesday. According to Levies force Afghanistan bound NATO oil tanker was on its way when gunmen riding a motorbike intercepted and set it on fire and fled.

#2: At least two Afghan border policemen were killed and four others along with two civilians injured when an explosive went off in southern province of Kandahar, an official said Tuesday. The incident happened in Wish Bazaar area near the border with the Pakistani, where an IED rugged bicycle blew up killing two Afghan border keepers and wounding four others, said police spokesman, Ziaurrahman Durrani. He also confirmed injury of two civilians as well.

#3: A blast occurred near the security forces convoy when it was passing through Mir Ali area of North Waziristan on Tuesday, Geo News reported. The sources confirmed the explosion and added that a remote-controlled bomb went off when the security personnel were passing through Mir Ali area today. However, fortunately no loss of life was reported.

War News for Monday, December 16, 2013

Forty Australians dead and 261 seriously wounded in Afghanistan

DOD Identifies Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation


Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb ripped through a police vehicle in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, killing a district police chief and three policemen, an official said. The police chief of Pachir Wa Agam district of Nangarhar province had escaped an ambush by militants and was on the way to his office when his vehicle hit a roadside bomb, provincial spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said. “The police chief of Pachir Wa Agam along with three policemen were killed and seven police were wounded,” he said.

#2: Police in northwestern Pakistan say a roadside bomb has killed a senior bomb disposal officer and two members of his team, in Pakistan's troubled northwest region.

#3-4: Four Afghan army soldiers were killed and six others wounded in separate bomb attacks since late Sunday, said the country's defense ministry on Monday.

#3: "Two soldiers were martyred and one wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) or roadside bomb attack in Nadir Shah Kot district of eastern Khost province," the ministry said in a statement.

#4: One army soldier was killed and five injured in similar blast in Chak district of eastern Wardak province and one army personnel was killed in an IED attack in eastern Kapisa province, the statement said.

#5: Ten militants were killed in an Afghan army operation in the country's eastern province of Ghazni overnight, said an army source on Monday. "Based on a tip off, the Afghan army launched an operation in Godar area of Andar district Sunday night. As a result 10 armed insurgents, including a key militant leader named Mawlawi Raouf, were killed in the raid," the army spokesman in the province Nazifullah Sultani said.

#6: According local authorities in western Herat province of Afghanistan, an Afghan soldier has killed his 2 comrades in latest insider attack. Mr. Alokozai further added that the assailant soldier was also killed.

News of the Day for Sunday, December 15, 2013

Mawlavi Ibrahim, district executive of Ghanikhil, Nangarhar province, is dragged out of his car and shot dead.

Four people are killed in a roadside bombing in Kunar province.

Two students are killed and four wounded by a missile strike in Logar. No information as to who fired the missile.

A suicide bombers enters the National Directorate of Security building in Torkam, Nangarhar province, shoots one soldier then detonates his explosives, injuring two others. The city is on the Pakistani border and is a major border crossing.

Hamid Karzai, while visiting New Delhi, says he does not trust the United States.

Interior Ministry makes the usual claim that 28 militants were killed or injured in the past 24 hours, and as usual there were miraculously no casualties among government forces or civilians. (I don't know why I bother to link to this bullshit. I think they just put it on the copier every day.)

Afghan army conducts controlled explosions in Kabul, causing panic.

War News for Saturday, December 14, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: According to initial reports, missiles fired by the drone aircraft struck a boat in the Kabul river on the Afghan side of the porous border, close to Loe Shalman area in Landi Kotal subdivision of Pakistan’s Khyber tribal agency. Intelligence sources suggested the strike was carried out in Lalpura area of Nangarhar province Afghanistan. According to some reports, the attack killed up to five suspected militants.

#2: Local officials of eastern Nuristan province said that two civilians were killed by a roadside bomb on Saturday morning in Chapa Dara District of the province.

#3: A powerful blast hit eastern Afghan town of Mehterlam, the capital of Laghman province 90 km east of Kabul on Saturday, wounding 19 people, with some in critical condition, spokesman for provincial administration said. Apparently the bomb was planted on a vehicle of traffic police, and exploded in Asmat Square of Mehterlam town, injuring civilians, " he added.

#4: Units of Afghan police backed by the army have killed 13 Taliban militants during a series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Saturday. According to the statement, the operations have been carried out in Kunar, Laghman, Kunduz, Jowzjan and Kandahar provinces during which the troops killed 13 armed militants. They also injured four rebels and captured three others.

#5: A roadside bomb struck a police van in the southern Ghazni province on Saturday, killing three police and wounding two others, a local police official said.

War News for Friday, December 13, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: At least four soldiers were killed and five wounded when a military convoy struck a roadside bomb in Pakistan’s tribal areas on Thursday, security officials said. The convoy was passing through Spinwam village some 45 kilometers east of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan, which is a hub of Taliban and Al Qaeda linked militants on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border.

#2: Police say gunmen have killed two police officers assigned to protect a team of polio workers in northwest Pakistan. Local police officer Khalid Iqbal says the two officers were attacked on Friday as they headed to the town of Swabi on a motorcycle to protect the polio workers. Swabi lies 100 kilometers (60 miles) northeast of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Rodriguez

War News for Thursday, December 12, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: An accidental detonation of explosives stored in an Afghan facility beside the U.S. embassy in Kabul sparked a brief panic early on Thursday, triggering concerns of an attack, but no immediate reports of casualties. The blast happened about 10.30 a.m. (0600GMT), and the U.S. embassy's alarm was heard blaring across the diplomatic area of the Afghan capital immediately afterwards.

A blast in a warehouse of Afghanistan's National Directorate for Security (NDA) or national spy agency caused panic among the people on Thursday, Xinhua news agency reported.

#2: Gun battle between security forces and Taliban militants in Badakhshan province left 17 insurgents dead, provincial governor Shah Waliullah Adeen said Thursday. "The conflict which erupted in Jarm district on Wednesday and was over today (Thursday) have left 17 Taliban rebels dead,"Adeeb told Xinhua. He also admitted that two policemen were killed and two others sustained injuries during the two-day gun battle.

War News for Wednesday, December 11, 2013

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, December 11th.

Reported security incidents
#1: A car bomb went off Wednesday near a gate used by NATO troops in the northern section of the Kabul airport, the Afghan Interior Ministry said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the pre-dawn bombing, which caused no casualties. The German military said one of its convoys returning to the facility was targeted in the explosion, which damaged two vehicles.

Czech chief of staff Petr Pavel was at the air base in Kabul at the time when a suicide bomber attacked the ISAF troops there in the morning but neither Pavel nor any Czech soldiers at the base were injured, according to CTK information. The attacker died on the spot. An allied military vehicle was destroyed and the entrance to the gate was partially damaged.

#2: Rocket attack by Taliban militants on a village in Afghanistan's Northwest Badghis province claimed the lives of six civilians on Monday night, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Tuesday.

#3: At least three civilians were killed or injured following a cross-border shelling by Pakistani military in eastern Khost province of Afghanistan.

War News for Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Planes Parked in Weeds in Kabul After $486 Million Spent


Reported security incidents
#1: Rocket attack by Taliban militants on a village in Afghanistan's Northwest Badghis province claimed the lives of six civilians on Monday night, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released in Kabul on Tuesday. "Six innocent civilians were martyred as a rocket fired by Taliban militants slammed into a house in Balamirghab district last night killing six innocent civilians," the statement added.

#2: In another violent incident, three children were killed and another injured as an explosive device went off in the northern Saripul province on Monday.

In a gruesome incident, a mine left over from the past conflicts, exploded Monday afternoon killing three innocent children in the northern Saripul province.

#3: "Units of police backed by the army have killed 15 Taliban militants during series of operations in Kunar, Laghman, Kunduz, Nangarhar, Balkh and Khost provinces over the past 24 hours," the statement added.

#4: National Directorate of Security (NDS) announced Tuesday that coordinated attacks were foiled by Afghan security forces in capital Kabul. NDS spokesman, Gen. Farid told reporters in capital Kabul Tuesday that militants had plotted to carry out 9 suicide attacks and explosion in Kabul city.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, Pakistani military fired at least six artillery shells in Kunar province. Provincial security chief, Abdul Habib Syed Kheli confirming the report said Pakistani military shelled Dandam district on Monday night.

War News for Monday, December 09, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan police backed by units of the national army have killed five Taliban militants during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday. During the operations, conducted in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Uruzgan, Logar and Helmand provinces.

#2: Militants attacked and damaged two Nato containers in the Bolan district on Sunday, officials said. Levies official said that four militants on two motorcycles opened fire at tankers carrying fuel for Nato troops.“Two Nato containers were on their way to Afghanistan from Karachi when a group of assailants on motorbikes opened fire at them,” the official said. “They torched one of the containers and partially damaged the second one.” He said one Nato container was gutted while fire tenders managed to save another from complete destruction.

#3: Provincial governor for eastern Nuristan province of Afghanistan escaped unhurt from an ambush by militants in eastern Laghman province of Afghanistan. The incident took place in Bolwayi area of eastern Laghman province after a number of militants opened fire on a convoy of vehicles which was carrying Nuristan governor. A local security official speaking on the codition of anonymity said, the secretary of Nuristan governor was injured along with a number of his secuirty guards.

News of the Day for Sunday, December 8, 2013

Local authorities say 4 militants killed by a drone strike in Kunar province.

One Afghan soldier killed, 1 injured by an IED in Badghis province.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel meets with his Afghan counterpart Bismillah Khan Mohammadi in Kabul, along with other Afghan officials, but he does not meet with president Karzai. Mohammadi assures him that the security agreement with the U.S. will be signed in a timely manner, but Karazai continues to say his successor should sign it. General Dunford says he will prepare to begin pulling out all foreign troops if the pact is not signed by the end of this year.

U.S. runs out of cash to complete construction of Afghan Defense Ministry HQ. The U.S. has already spent $107 million on the project, double the budgeted amount. WaPo's Tim Craig reports:

John F. Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said the project’s woes fit into a pattern of “poor planning, poor record keeping, poor oversight and poor security” amid a “rush to spend” U.S. tax dollars on the Afghan military. Of particular concern, Sopko said, is the fact that U.S. military commanders rotate in and out of Afghanistan very frequently. U.S. officials familiar with the Defense Ministry project say such turnover is partially to blame for its problems. Contractors repeatedly requested additional funds without receiving a thorough vetting of their bills or performance, they said.

(I suggest you read the whole thing. Graveyard of empires indeed.)

Hamid Karzai is in Tehran for high level talks.

The UN mission in Afghanistan reports implementation of the 2009 act to stop violence against women has been slow. "The law, when applied, has provided protection to Afghan women facing violence,' said Georgette Gagnon, the mission's director of human rights. But she added that 'most of the women victims remain largely unprotected due to a lack of investigation into most incidents and continued underreporting of pervasive violence against women and girls resulting from discrimination, existing social norms and cultural practices, and fear of reprisals and threat to life.'"

War News for Saturday, December 07, 2013

Journalist loses suit over being expelled from Afghan embed

Read more here: http://www.thestate.com/2013/12/06/3143511/journalist-loses-suit-over-being.html#storylink=cpy

Reported security incidents
#1: Thee insurgents leaders were arrested, while several others killed and wounded in eastern Kunar and southern Kandahar provinces, Afghanistan defense ministry said in a statement Saturday. One national army was also killed and another wounded during the operation, the ministry confirmed.

#2: A blast was heard on Akhtar Muhammad Road, in the provincial capital, here on Saturday. Police sources said that they received information about the blast on Akhtar Muhammad road and trying to ascertain its nature. Further probe was in process.

#3: update: FOUR International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers of undisclosed nationalities were wounded along with at least six civilians when a suicide vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (SVBIED), driven by an unidentified militant, detonated near an ISAF patrol in the Maiwand district of Afghanistan's Kandahar province on 5 December, Afghan Islamic Press reported

#4: Nineteen Taliban militants were killed in separate military operations since early Friday, said the country's Interior Ministry on Saturday.

#5: At least 13 Taliban militants were killed or injured during a military operation in north-eastern Badakhshan province of Afghanistan.

#6: At least five Taliban militants were killed and three others were injured following clashes with the Afghan and coalition security forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

War News for friday, December 06, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: A motorcycle bomb exploded Thursday near a police checkpost in a southwestern Pakistani town near the Afghan border, killing one civilian and wounding 13 others, police said. The bomb went off in the border town of Chaman in the troubled Balochistan province. Chaman is one of two major border crossings between Pakistan and Afghanistan, along with Torkham in the northwest, and is the main land route for NATO supplies crossing from Pakistan into Afghanistan.

#2: Gunmen shot dead a Sunni Muslim leader on Friday in the latest sectarian attack to hit Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore. The drive-by shooting took place as Shamsur Rehman Muawiya, chief of the Sunni extremist organisation Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jammat (ASWJ) for Punjab province, traveled by car to the northern Harbans Pura neighborhood.

#3: At least six people were killed in southwest Pakistan when security forces exchanged fire with suspected militants during an operation to recover abductees, officials said on Friday. The exchange of fire took place in the restive Baluchistan province, which is rife with ethnic insurgency and sectarian violence.

#4: At least five members of the Afghan forces were killed following an attack by Taliban militants in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. According to local authorities in Helmand province, at least two Taliban militants were also killed during the clashes which took place later Thursday night in Musa Qala district.

War News for Thursday, December 05, 2013

Guards battle armed men inside Yemen Defence Ministry -source


Reported security incidents
#1: Shortly after midnight on Nov. 29, a large rocket exploded in the barracks building where Albert Haas was sleeping, killing him and and a female civilian worker, Kenneth Haas said. Albert Haas' employer, AAR Airlift, of Palm Bay, Fla.

#2: Militants killed one policeman and wounded another in an attack on a checkpost in northwestern Pakistan, officials said on Thursday. The attack took place on the outskirts of Bannu town, in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which has seen several terrorist attacks in the past – many of them targeting security officials. “A group of up to five militants riding motorbikes attacked the checkpost late on Wednesday night, threw hand grenades and later opened fire, killing one policeman and wounding another one,” local police official Noor Wali said.

#3: At least six Afghan civilians were injured Thursday as a suicide bombing hit a foreign troops' convoy in Maiwand district of southern Kandahar province, said a provincial source.

At least 30 people have been reportedly killed or injured following a suicide attack in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan on Thursday. Mr. Faisal further added that a suicide bomber targeted a convoy of the coalition security forces in the busy market. The source further added that four coalition security forces were also injured in the attack.

#4: Meantime, a security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "four foreign soldiers and 10 Afghan civilians were wounded in the blast which took place at the busy marketplace at around 1:00 p.m. (local time) in Maiwand district, western of provincial capital Kandahar city."

#5: An explosion went off in Afghanistan' s capital of Kabul late Wednesday night, causing panic among the residents, witnesses and officials said early Thursday morning. Meantime, a security official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that "an explosion went off in Dar-ul-Aman road, near the parliament building. An investigation was launched into the incident and details will be public afterwards,"

War News for Wednesday, December 04, 2013

U.S. Halts Truck Shipments Out Of Afghanistan Via Pakistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Four civilians were killed Wednesday in a blast in the southern Afghan province of Kandahar, said a district governor.

#2: Twenty-seven Taliban militants were killed in military operations conducted by Afghan security forces since early Tuesday, the country's Interior Ministry said on Wednesday morning.

#3: At least nine police officers were killed or injured following an explosion in south-eastern Zabul province of Afghanistan. According to local security officials, the incident took place Tuesday in Arghandab district, leaving three police officers dead and 6 others injured. The officials further added that district security chief for Arghandab was also among those injured in the blast.

War News for Tuesday, December 03, 2013

New Taleban chief in Pakistan’s tribal areas

Kurds’ Oil Deals With Turkey Raise Fears of Fissures in Iraq


Reported security incidents
#1: A powerful blast rocked Marja district in the southern Afghan province of Helmand on Tuesday, killing two civilians and injuring 10 others, spokesman for provincial government Omar Zawak said. "The terrorists planted explosive device onto a motorbike and detonated it at 12:30 p.m. local time in a bazaar today leaving two civilians dead and injuring 10 others," Zawak told Xinhua. Meantime, an official on the condition of anonymity said that the terrorists exploded an explosive-borne motorbike by remote control to target a police van, causing no harm to police and all the victims are civilians.

#2: A roadside bomb struck a police van in Afghanistan's southern Zabul province, leaving three police dead and injuring three others on Tuesday, deputy to provincial governor Mohammad Jan Rasoulyar said.

#3: A senior Taliban leader was killed along with four other militants following a drone strike by coalition security forces in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.

War News for Monday, December 02, 2013

US military halt logistic support to some Afghan military units


Reported security incidents
#1: At least four Afghan police officers have been killed and 17 people injured by a suicide truck bomber in eastern Afghanistan. District police chief Abdul Ghafour was among those injured on December 2. The attack occurred at the entrance of a district police base in Wardak Province, southwest of Kabul.

#2: Pakistani Intelligence officials say gunmen attacked a security convoy near a checkpoint in a tribal region close to the Afghan border, killing three soldiers and injuring two others. Two intelligence officials say the gunmen struck in the Bazai area of the tribal region on Saturday evening, opening indiscriminate fire on the convoy taking food supplies to the checkpoint.

#3: Seven students were wounded in a bomb blast inside education faculty of Nangarhar University.
The blast occurred at 11:30am this morning when most of the students were leaving the faculty. Primary investigation by police shows that the bomb was placed in vehicles’ parking site in a motorcycle. Ahmad Zeya Abdulzai spokesman of Nangarhar governor said BNA; seven students were wounded in the explosion.

#4: Three militants were killed and nine others wounded in a series of military raids carried out by the Afghan security forces within day, said the country's Interior Ministry on Monday. "Afghan National Police (ANP) supported by the army and the National Directorate for Security (NDS) conducted several anti- terrorism operations in Helmand, Farah, Paktika, Logar, Kandahar, Balkh, Badakhshan and Kunar provinces in the past 24 hours. As a result three armed Taliban members were killed, nine wounded and 12 others were arrested," the ministry said in a statement.

#5: Taliban militants and Afghan national security forces suffered heavy casualties during heavy clashes in western Badghis province of Afghanistan, local officials said.

News of the Day for Sunday, December 1, 2013

Five people, including a child, are killed by a roadside bomb in Musa Qala district, southern Helmand Province.

Interior Ministry says 15 militants killed in various operations in the past 24 hours. As always, they report no government or civilian casualties, and as always, I don't believe them.

Ministry of Public Health reports a 38% increase in HIV/AIDS cases this year as compared with last year. However, I must comment on this. Afghanistan has among the weakest public health systems on earth. The prevalence of diagnosed cases -- by which I presume they mean people who have tested positive for antibodies to the HIV virus -- is determined much more by the availability and utilization of testing than it is by the actual prevalence of the virus. The WHO estimates that only 30% of infected people have been diagnosed but I don't see how they can possibly know that. The epidemic is said to mostly be related to injection drug use.

UN officials express concern about growing threats and violence against AIDS workers in Afghanistan.

Three Pakistani Frontier Constabulary are killed and 2 injured in an attack on their convoy near the Afghan border. Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility.

Human Rights Watch says International Criminal Court should expedite its investigation of war crimes in Afghanistan. The ICC has found that crimes have been and are being committed, and that it is not clear that the government is taking sufficient action to prevent and prosecute crimes. However so far the ICC has taken no action of its own.

Gen. Dunford calls President Karzai to apologize for a drone attack on Thursday that killed one civilian and badly injured two others. "Citing civilian casualties from so-called "night raids" on Afghan homes by U.S. special operations forces, Karzai has delayed signing the 10-year agreement even after agreeing to the proposed 24-page text. He indicated that he considered Thursday's airstrike sufficient cause to scrap the accord altogether. Karzai said a child was killed and two women badly wounded in the airstrike, and coalition officials did not dispute him."