U.S. soldier killed in Nangarhar on Wednesday is identified as Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, 27, of Monticello Utah. He was a Special Forces soldier assigned to the Utah National Guard’s B Company, 1st Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group. He was killed, and 11 others injured, when trying to clear a building that was wired with explosives.
The National Security Council will meet with the president at Camp David, to come to a decision on the future strategy for Afghanistan. Military leaders want to increase the U.S. troop commitment, but it appears that some in the White House oppose them.
Iraq
Airstrike by unidentified forces kills 2 civilians and injures another in a village in Anbar.
Announcement from Operation Inherent Resolve on recent air strike activity. They claim to have destroyed only military targets. Activity in Iraq and Syria is occurring at the pace of about 15-20 sorties per day.
Kurdistan officials are holding fast to a Sept. 25 date for the independence referendum, although they could conceivably delay if Baghdad guarantees agreement to a later date.
BBC reports on current conditions in Mosul. It's still too dangerous for many to return to west Mosul due to booby traps and unexploded ordinance. Neighbors no longer trust each other.
The Pentagon hopes to declassify the location of known unexploded ordinance in Mosul to aid in the recovery effort.
PM Abadi concedes that Iraqi forces committed atrocities in Mosul and promises prosecution.
Friday, August 18, 2017
Update for Friday, August 18, 2017
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2 US soldiers killed, 5 more wounded in possible ISIS attack in Iraq | 13 Aug 2017 | Two American soldiers have been killed and five more wounded during an operation in northern Iraq. Though the military has said they were taking part in "combat operations," initial reports said the deaths were not from "enemy contact." The troops were taking part in operations against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
https://www.rt.com/usa/399498-american-soldiers-killed-iraq-isis/
Iraqi forces carrying out tortures in Mosul mostly supervised by US – security official
The Iraqi military, who were filmed torturing and abusing civilians, are “mainly supervised by US commanders,” a member of the Baghdad Security Committee, has said, telling RT that American military personnel have “some type of immunity” in such cases.
Saad Al-Muttalibi was responding after damning photos by freelance photographer Ali Arkady were released to the media. The pictures show Iraq’s elite Emergency Response Division (ERD) in Mosul torturing and abusing their captives suspected of having links with Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS/ISIL).
“It is a war and a war is a horrible thing… It is a fact of war that innocent people will pay with their lives. Such action [torture and abuse] by army is definitely unsanctioned by the [Iraqi] government. We have a number of officers either facing trial or spending prison sentences here in Baghdad because of human right violations,” he said.
https://www.rt.com/usa/399498-american-soldiers-killed-iraq-isis/
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