War News for Thursday, July 09, 2009

The Associated Press is reporting the death of a U.S. soldier while on a combat reconnaissance patrol in an undisclosed location in Farah Province on Wednesday, July 8th.

The Associated Press is reporting the deaths of another two ISAF soldiers in a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday,July 9th. We suspect these to be American Marines.


July 6 airpower summary:

US releases 5 Iranian officials:

Roadside Attacks in Afghanistan Hit New Record: The total number of incidents with roadside bombs, also called improvised explosive devices (IEDs), hit 736 in June, which set a record for the fourth straight month. Incidents have risen from 361 in March, to 407 in April and 465 in May, records show.

Rules of battle change for Danish forces in Afghanistan:

UNESCO: considerable damage done to Babylon:

BBC: In pictures: UK and US offensives in Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: In Baghdad, two separate improvised bombs exploded near a market in Sadr City, the Shiite neighborhood that has been targeted regularly. Those bombings killed at least 7 and wounded 20 others, security officials reported.

#2: Four people were wounded by a bomb planted on a bicycle in the al-Shurta al-Raaba district in southwestern Baghdad, police said.

#3: A bomb planted on a minibus wounded two people in the Saidyia district of southern Baghdad, police said.

#4: Senan al-Shabibi, survived an attempt on his life Thursday afternoon in central Baghdad, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off on the man road in Sabaa Qusour (seven palaces) region in al-Karada neighborhood, central Baghdad, while the motorcade of Senan al-Shabibi was passing, injuring two of his bodyguards and three passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: Four civilian on Wednesday were killed or wounded when an explosive charge hit their car on a main road near Baaquba city, a security source from Diala province said. “An improvised explosive device (IED) hit a civilian vehicle on the main road linking Jalawlaa to al-Saadiya district, killing one of the passengers and wounding three others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: A roadside bomb killed two civilians and wounded five others on Wednesday in Abu Ghraib, on Baghdad's western outskirts, police said


Hilla:
#1: Wednesday In Hilla, south of Baghdad, the police said, a suicide bomber detonated himself at a wedding party, killing 3 people and wounding 20.

#2: An officer has been killed a few minutes before his wedding, along with two civilians, while 18 others were injured when a car bomb exploded in Babel province, according to a local police source. “On Wednesday, an army 2 nd lieutenant was killed a few minutes before his wedding when a booby-trapped car went off near his house in al-Maseeb district (45 km north of Hilla),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The blast killed two other men and injured 18, the source noted, adding that most of the wounded were relatives of the married couple.


Kirkuk:
#1: Wednesday Gunmen shot and injured a member of the local infrastructure police just south of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: On Wednesday, a roadside bomb wounded three policemen in central Kirkuk, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Elsewhere in Iraq on Wednesday, two car bombs exploded near Shiite mosques in Mosul, killing 12 people and wounding 30 others, the police reported.

#2: A roadside bomb was planted on the doorstep of a house in Ras al Jada neighbourhood, western Mosul, injuring the father of the family.

#3: Two car bombs went off simultaneously at 8 p.m. Wednesday, the first in Ba'wiza, that claimed the lives of 12 civilians and wounded 28 others and the second in al Gubba, an adjacent neighbourhood in northern Mosul, that injured seven civilians.

#4: Wednesday An Iraqi soldier was killed at an army checkpoint in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#5: Police open fired in Mosul, killing one civilian in a car, police said. It was not immediately clear why the police fired.

#6: One police was wounded when gunmen opened fire on a checkpoint in Mosul, police said.

#7: Gunmen opened fire on Iraqi soldiers, wounding one, police said.


Zummar:
#1: Wednesday Two civilians were killed when their car exploded in Zummar, north of Mosul in Nineveh province. Police said they may have been transporting explosives.


Tal Afar:
#1: In the deadliest attack, two suicide bombers, working in tandem, detonated explosives in Tal Afar, about 40 miles west of Mosul, the capital of the volatile Nineveh Province where violence has raged almost without interruption despite improved security. The first bomber, wearing a vest of explosives, targeted two security officials outside the court that handles terrorism cases. The explosion occurred early Thursday morning in the city’s center, and as crowds gathered afterward, the second bomber struck. At least 34 were killed in those two blasts and 64 wounded, according to preliminary reports from security officials in the region.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two civilians on Wednesday were killed and seven others were wounded when two Katyusha rockets landed on a residential area in Anbar province, according to a local medic. “Two rockets fired from an unknown direction at al-Haswa area near Karmat al-Falluja (29 km east of Falluja), killed two persons and wounded seven others, including a three-year-old child,” a medic from the Falluja Hospital told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A deadly bomb explosion has claimed the lives of more than two dozen people, including children, on a crowded road south of the Afghan capital. The incident occurred on Thursday when an explosive-laden truck blew up 30 kilometers (19 miles) south of Kabul in Logar province, killing 25 people including many school children, Afghan officials said. The truck, loaded with firewood, apparently overturned deliberately overnight about Mohammad Agha district and was detonated as authorities were trying to remove it. "In the explosion today 21 civilians and four policemen have been martyred," said provincial police chief Ghulam Mustafa Mohsini, adding that four others including three students and a civilian were wounded.

Provincial police chief Mustafa Khan said the truck had overturned late Wednesday as it traveled the main road from Logar to Kabul. After police arrived to clear the road on Thursday morning, militants apparently remotely detonated a bomb planted in the back of the truck among the timber, he said.

#2: In the southern province of Zabul, Afghan and coalition troops battled Taliban militants who attacked a government center in Suri district early Thursday. Fifteen insurgents were killed and another was detained, said provincial police chief Abdul Rehman Sarjang. No casualties were sustained among Afghan and foreign troops, Sarjang said.

#3: Anti-government insurgents fired two rockets on Faizabad, the capital of northeast Badakhshan province of Afghanistan, spokesman of provincial administration Abdul Marouf Rasikh said Thursday. "One of the rockets, fired from unknown location, landed close to the office of election commission, but fortunately caused no loss of life and damage," Rasikh told Xinhua.

#4: U. S. drones launched two missile attacks on Taliban targets in the South Waziristan tribal region yesterday, killing at least 45 militants in the latest in a barrage of strikes close to the Afghan border, intelligence officials said. The army said the top Taliban commander in another area of the northwest, the scenic Swat Valley, was wounded in a Pakistani airstrike. It gave no more details.

#5: Pakistani jets killed 12 suspected militants in South Waziristan on Thursday, intelligence officials said. The jets pounded suspected Taliban hideouts in four villages Thursday in Ladha and Kani Guram areas of the South Waziristan tribal region, near the Afghan border, four intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity. Two of the officials said 12 militants were recovered from destroyed houses where they were staying. The other officials confirmed the bombing runs, but had no details of casualties.

#6: A blast killed five soldiers and wounded six on Thursday when a paramilitary vehicle hit a land mine in the southwestern province of Baluchistan, where separatists have been fighting for decades for greater autonomy, security officials said.

#7: A remote-controlled bomb went off close to a vehicle carrying security forces in northwestern Bannu town, wounding six soldiers, police said.

#8: Government forces killed five Taliban insurgents during a clash in a remote district of eastern Nuristan province, a local official said.

#9: Taliban militants killed two police and injured two more in an overnight assault on a police post in peaceful northern Afghan province of Samangan, said on official on Thursday. Azizullah Rahman, the deputy of provincial police chief, told reporters that a group of anti-government militants Wednesday night raided one police post in the outskirts of Hibak, capital of Samangan province, killing two police and injured two others.

#10: Air raids against suspected hideouts of Taliban militants in Ghazni province, south of Afghanistan, however, claimed the lives of eight civilians including two women, a member of the Provincial Council Abdul Nabi said Wednesday. In talks with media, Nabi added that the raids took place at 3 a.m. local time (2330 GMT) in Gero district during which eight non-combatants were killed. The victims, he added, include two women, two children and four men. However, the U.S.-led Coalition forces admitted in a statement that "during this engagement, a ricocheting round killed a civilian female."

War News for Wednesday, July 08, 2009

Photo: Desert storm: Satellite spots dust storm that choked Iraq: (Click on photo for larger view)


The British MoD is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an explosion near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 7th.


Ainsworth defends Afghanistan helicopter shortage:

Oregon Marine gravely wounded: He is the fourth Marine to suffer double amputations from an Afghanistan roadside bomb in the past month.

Finland to send more peacekeepers to Afghanistan:

Iranian-Kurd refugees moved to Iraq-Syria border:

Iraq group calls for further attacks on U.S. troops:

Citing Sandstorm, Officials Shut Down Iranian Capital:


Reported Security incidents:

Mosul:
#1: A woman was wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in western Mosul, a police source said Wednesday. “An explosive charge went off late Tuesday (July 7) in Nables neighborhood in northern Mosul, wounding a woman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded a civilian in Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded a woman in Mosul, police said.

#4: Seven people were wounded on Wednesday in a hand grenade blast in central Mosul, a police source said.“A gunman threw a hand grenade on a police vehicle patrol in Ghazi street in central Mosul Wednesday (July 8), injuring seven persons, including two policemen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft system crashed in southern Afghanistan July 4. The crash was not due to hostile fire.

#2: Two Australian soldiers from the Townsville-based 3rd Brigade, deployed to Afghanistan as part of the 2nd Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force, have been wounded in an incident involving an Improvised Explosive Device. The soldiers were travelling in a Bushmaster Protected Mobility Vehicle when it was struck by a large road-side bomb yesterday (7 July 2009) at about 10am (approximately 15.30pm AEST).

#3: A district in Afghanistan's restive east was in danger of falling into Taliban hands after pitched gunbattles with insurgents killed at least eight police, a senior official said on Wednesday. The fighting erupted late on Tuesday in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nuristan bordering Pakistan, where authorities are also battling a growing Taliban insurgency. Another eight police were kidnapped during gunbattles lasting several hours, Nuristan's governor Jamaluddin Badr said. "The district headquarters is with the government, but if we do not get reinforcements it will fall to the Taliban," Badr told a Reuters reporter in eastern Afghanistan by telephone. Officials said 21 Taliban fighters were killed in the battle. The Taliban said on a website that they had surrounded the building. They said only four of their fighters had been killed. The Defense Ministry in Kabul said an additional 130 soldiers and police would be sent to Barg Matal to help counter the Taliban attack.

#4: US-led coalition forces killed an Afghan woman and several militants in an operation in southern Afghanistan. The civilian woman was killed by "a ricocheting round" when coalition forces targeted militants in several compounds in Ghazni province on Tuesday night, the US military said in a statement.

#5: In another incident, Taliban militants torched 12 vehicles of a road construction company in the northern province of Kunduz on Tuesday night, Mohammad Omar, the provincial governor, said. He said no one was hurt in the incident, but two employees of the company were missing, raising fear that they could have been kidnapped by the attackers.

#6: In yet another US drone strike, at least nine suspected Taliban insurgents were killed and several others injured in South Waziristan on Wednesday. Unmanned Predator aircraft fired two missiles targeting a militant hideout in Karwan Manza area of the region killing nine people on the spot besides wounding several others, The News reports. This is the fourth such attack in the region in less than a week, where the government has announced an all out military offensive against the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud.

#7: A blast occurred near a police colony in northwest Pakistani city of Peshawar on Wednesday, killing one person and injuring several others, local TV channel reported. Eyewitness said that a suicide bomber blown himself up on Nasir Bagh road near a police colony in Peshawar, the capital city of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), according to the private channel TV GEO News.

#8: Four militants were killed including two commanders and 34 others were apprehended in northwest Pakistan in the military operation during last 24 hours, an army press release said on Wednesday. Security forces carried out search and sweep operation in selected houses in Swat and Bunnu district in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). Militants commander Muhammad Rasol and Akram were killed while 34 suspected militants were apprehended along with a large quantity of arms and devices.

War News for Tuesday, July 07, 2009

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers in a helicopter crash in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, July 6th. The DND/CF and British MOD reports that two Canadians and one British soldier died in a Canadian CH-146 Griffon helicopter crashed during take-off in Forward Operating Base in Tarnak Va Jaldak, Zabul Province, Afghanistan.

NATO is also reporting the death of an ISAF soldier during an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, July 6th. Media reports this to be an American soldier.


June 26 airpower summary: June 27 airpower summary: June 28 airpower summary: June 29 airpower summary: June 30 airpower summary: July 1 airpower summary: July 2 airpower summary: July 3 airpower summary: July 4 airpower summary: July 5 airpower summary:

Iraqi oil revenues up in second quarter: Oil exports averaged 1.885 million barrels a day during the quarter, up slightly from 1.8 million barrels a day in the first quarter.

Eisenhower strike group hands off Afghanistan mission:

Kyrgyz leader approves US deal for Manas base:

Iran shuts offices, cancels flights due dust from Iraq:

12 killed, 100 others injured in series bombings in S Philippines:

KELLY’S BOOK OF SECRETS: (This one is worth the time to read)


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Insurgents driving a speeding car opened fire using pistols fitted with silencers upon a checkpoint manned by Iraqi army in Waziriyah neighboorhood, north Baghdad, wounding two servicemen and one civilian.


Amarra:
#1: Six Katyusha rockets have landed on an emergency police headquarters in Missan province, causing no casualties or damage, according to a security official. “The attack occurred last night (July 6),” Staff Brig. Sadeq Abdulazeem al-Hilw told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The rockets fell within the perimeter of the headquarters, the brigadier explained, adding that no casualties or damage resulted.


Diwaniya:
#1: A tribal official on Tuesday survived an assassination attempt when an explosive charge targeted his vehicle in southern Diwaniya, according to a local police official. “A sticky improvised explosive device (IED) targeted the vehicle of the director of the tribal affairs office, Maj. Gen. Marid al-Hassoon, in front of his house in al-Hamza al-Sharqi district (30 km south of Diwaniya city),” Lt. Col. Aamer Abdulaema told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Hassoon was not inside his car when the device exploded,” the source explained.


Dalouiya:
#1: Unknown gunmen attacked a U.S. vehicle patrol in east of Dalouiya on Monday, an Iraqi army source said. “Unknown armed men fired a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) on a U.S. vehicle patrol in al-Mashrouaa village, east of Dalouiya,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The was no immediate word on casualties.


Mosul:
#1: One civilian was killed on Monday by gunmen in western Mosul, a police source said. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a civilian in 17 Tamouz neighborhood in western Mosul on Monday (July 6),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One policeman on Tuesday was gunned down in front of his house in Mosul city, according to a local police source. “Today, two gunmen opened fire on a cop in front of his house in al-Rashidiya area, northern Mosul, killing him on the spot,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Relatives of the victims who were at the scene of the incident fired back at the gunmen, killing one of them,” the source noted.

#3: Gunmen killed a civilian inside a medical center in east Mosul around noon.

#4: Gunmen stabbed to death two policemen in east Mosul on Monday evening. They attacked later with machineguns a close checkpoint without causing any casualties.

#5: A gunman opened fire from his assault rifle on a police patrol in the Rasheriyah neighborhood in northern Mosul, killing two policemen, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Policemen in the patrol fired back and killed the attacker, the source said.

#6: In a separate attack, armed men attacked a police checkpoint in Muthanna neighborhood in northern Mosul, killing two more policemen before they fled the scene, the source added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Suspected US missiles slammed into a training camp run by Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud on Tuesday, killing at least 12 militants in the latest in a flurry of strikes against him and his followers, intelligence officials said. Five foreigners were among the dead in the attack in South Waziristan close to the Afghan border, the officials said, but their nationalities were not known.

#2: A grenade attack on a police convoy killed one Afghan civilian and wounded 34, including four policemen, in the eastern province of Khost, said Kochai Nasseri, a spokesman for the provincial governor.

#3: During the last 24 hours, 4 terrorists were killed including two terrorist commanders and 34 were apprehended in northwestern Pakistan's Swat and Bunnu districts, the Pakistani army said in a press release Tuesday.

War News for Monday, July 06, 2009

The British MoD is announcing the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Sunday, July 5th.

The Canadian DND/CF is reporting the death of a Canadian ISAF soldier. Master-Corporal Charles-Philippe died in a Quebec hospital on Friday, July 4th. He was originally injured in an IED strike in the Panjwayi District, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 23rd.

The AP is reporting the deaths of four ISAF soldiers in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in northern Afghanistan on Monday, July 6th. The governor of Kunduz province is quoted as saying American soldiers were targeted.

The Washington post is reporting the deaths of two more American ISAF service-personal in an IED strike in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, July 6th.


Taliban launch ‘operation’ against Marines:

Turkey: Four killed in explosion in southeast:

U.S. servicemembers withdraw from Iraqi cities, move to main installations:

Sandstorms plague Iraq and are getting worse:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi authorities say gunmen have killed five people in an attack on a security checkpoint in Baghdad. An army officer and an interior ministry official say the attack on the checkpoint in western Baghdad on Sunday night killed two Iraqi police officers and three soldiers.

Three Iraqi soldiers and two policemen have been gunned down at a security checkpoint in Baghdad, the worst such incident since US combat troops left the city, a defence ministry official says. The attack occurred just before midnight on Sunday in the western district of Al-Khadrah.

#2: Insurgents threw a hand bomb at a police patrol in Korneesh Street, central Mosul at noon Sunday, killing one policeman.

#3: And another hand bomb was thrown at another police patrol in the same street 30 minutes later injuring one police officer and one traffic policeman.

#4: An insurgent threw a hand bomb at a police patrol in Korneesh Street, central Mosul early Sunday evening, killing one police officer and injuring six civilians.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb hidden in a trash barrel targeted an Iraqi army patrol Saturday evening injuring three service members and destroying their vehicle.

Baquba:
#1: Nine civilians on Sunday were wounded when three explosive charges ripped through an internet café in Diala’s Baaquba city, according to a local security source. “This evening, three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) detonated inside an internet café in Nahr al-Hajiya area, downtown Baaquba, wounding nine civilians and causing considerable damage to the café,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Insurgents blew up a shop that sells entertainment CDs in central Baquba, early Sunday evening. The explosion severely injured six people including the two owners of the business, and completely destroyed the shop.


Makhmour:
#1: Iraqi army forces on Sunday found an unknown body belonging to a young man in northern Iraq, according to an army source. “The body, which bore signs of gunshot wounds, was found near al-Qasimiya village (27 km west of Makhmour),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: Security forces on Sunday defused three improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Kirkuk province, according to an informed source. “This morning, two explosive devices were found in al-Barghliya village, Huweija district (65 km southwest of Kirkuk),” a source from the Joint Coordination Center told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “During an early hour this morning, patrol vehicles found a third explosive charge in al-Muradiya village, al-Riyad district (45 km southwest of Kirkuk),” the source noted, adding that all of the devices were defused without causing any damage.

#2: Unknown gunmen have kidnapped a policeman near Kirkuk city, a source from the Joint Coordination Center said on Monday. “The kidnap occurred on Yayji-Kirkuk road (25 km southwest of Kirkuk city),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: A police official in Mosul said a car bomb on Monday targeted a police patrol but missed, killing an 18-year-old man and injuring eight other bystanders. He also spoke on condition of anonymity.

#2: Sunday One policeman on Sunday was killed by unknown gunmen in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “The cop was killed while on duty in front of the electricity department in al-Faisaliya area, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Eight persons on Monday were injured when a booby-trapped car exploded in Mosul city, according to a local police source. “Today, a car bomb detonated in Wadi Hajar area, southern Mosul, wounding eight persons,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The blast did not target security personnel, the source noted.

#4: A traffic policeman on Monday was injured when unknown gunmen opened fire on him in Mosul city, according to a local police source. “Brig. Safaaldin Mahmoud from Ninewa’s traffic police was wounded while on duty in al-Darkziya area, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Sixteen Afghan nationals working for the UN-sponsored demining agency, who were kidnapped over the weekend, have been freed unharmed. The personnel from the Mine Detection and Dog Centre (MDC) -- which is part of the overall UN mine clearing agency in Afghanistan known as UNMACA -- were seized by unknown gunmen in Afghanistan's eastern Paktia province on Saturday. The provincial tribal chiefs were able to secure the release of the men late on Sunday after making contact with the kidnappers, Sherin Agha Ahmad Shah, head of the MDC in Paktia said on Monday. "The kidnappers were thieves and the tribal chiefs negotiated the release of the workers without any ransom or any deal," he told reporters, without giving further details.

#2: Separately, no further information has emerged about two Afghan employees working for Dutch aid agency HealthNet TPO (HNI) -- specialized in rehabilitating healthcare systems in war zones and disaster areas -- who the Afghan Health Ministry said were abducted in neighboring Khost province on Saturday.

#3: A suicide car bomber struck early Monday outside the main NATO base in southern Afghanistan, killing two civilians and wounding 14 other people. The bomber blew himself up near the gates of Kandahar Airfield, said Gen. Sher Mohammad Zazai, the top military commander for southern Afghanistan. Those wounded included 12 civilians and two Afghan soldiers, Zazai said. Initially police said four soldiers were wounded.

Troops engaged in small-arms fire with insurgents, NATO Lt. Commander Christopher Hall said in Kabul, but he did not have further details.

Two Afghan truck drivers were killed when a suicide car bomber blew himself up outside Kandahar Air Field, a major foreign military base in southern Kandahar province, Afghan army General Sher Mohammad Zazai said. At least 10 were wounded, he said.

#4: thousands of U.S. Marines in neighboring Helmand province mounted a major offensive against the Taliban. Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Helmand offensive is "the first significant one" since President Barack Obama ordered 21,000 additional troops to Afghanistan to try to reverse the militant gains. "We've made some advances early. But I suspect it's going to be tough for a while," Mullen told CBS News' "Face the Nation" on Sunday. The admiral described the goal of Marines' push as not just driving out the Taliban from areas they control, but securing the area to allow the Afghan government to operate.

#5: Afghan forces killed seven Taliban insurgents in a clash in southern Uruzgan province on Monday, a provincial police chief said. Two police officers were wounded. The Taliban could not be reached immediately for comment.

#6: Two Afghan soldiers were killed and seven wounded in a landmine blast in Paktia on Sunday, the Defence Ministry said.

#7: Fourteen militants were killed and few others were apprehended while four soldiers were injured in military operation in northwest Pakistan during last 24 hours, an army press release said on Monday. Security forces carried out search operation in Swat, Dir, Buner and Bannu district in North West Frontier Province (NWFP). 14 militants were killed and several others arrested during exchange of fire with security forces, and a large quantity of arms and devices were recovered, according to the press release.

#8: Two bombs exploded Monday at the main gate of a police office in northwest Pakistan, injuring a pedestrian and damaging the office, according to the local TV channel. According to police, the first bomb planted at the main gate of the police office in Tehsil Shabqadar of North West Frontier Province exploded on Monday morning, injuring a passerby and partially damaging the office, the private TV channel GEO reported. Police recovered another explosive planted at the same place and called bomb disposal squad but the bomb exploded. The office was severely damaged in the second bombing.

War News for Sunday, July 05, 2009

The British MoD is announcing the death of an ISAF soldier from small arms fire/RPG attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 4th.

The British MoD is announcing a second death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 4th.


Iraq hit by worst sandstorms in decades:

Attack in Pakistani Garrison City Raises Anxiety About Safety of Nuclear Labs and Staff:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Five civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in southwestern Baghdad on Saturday evening, according to a security source. “An IED planted by unidentified persons on the main road in al-Bayya neighborhood, west of Baghdad, went off, leaving five civilians wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near his patrol in central Baaquba city on Saturday, a security source in Diala said. “The IED ripped through Khreisan street, central Baaquba, on Saturday evening targeting an Iraqi army patrol. One of the soldiers on the patrol was wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diwaniya:
#1: Two Katyusha rockets landed in the environs of the U.S. forces’ ECHO camp in western Diwaniya during the early hours of Sunday but left no casualties or losses, the province’s council chief said. “Security forces rushed to the scene and imposed a security cordon on the rocket firing areas in the district of al-Sedeer, (15 km) south of Diwaniya,” Jubeir al-Juburi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tikrit:
#1: Saturday A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi police vehicle in central Tikrit. One policeman was injured.


Kirkuk:
#1: Unidentified gunmen kidnapped an employee of the Daqquq Public Hospital in Kirkuk, a source from the Joint Coordination Center said. “The Dumez police station was reported that a local resident was kidnapped on Saturday evening by unidentified gunmen in a golden Opel vehicle in the area of al-Askari, southern Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Police found the body of a man with bullet wounds to the head and chest in Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, on Saturday, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A booby-trapped car parking near a police office in central Mosul detonated in the morning, wounding four people and caused damage to the office building, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The wounded from Sunday’s earlier car bomb blast in southern Mosul rose to 14, including two policeman, one of them in the rank of first lieutenant, a security source in Ninewa said. “The number of wounded from a car bomb blast that was parked near the citizenship department in southern Mosul rose to 14,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: In a separate attack, an attacker hurled a hand grenade at a police vehicle in the city, wounding a policeman and five civilians, the source said.

#3: A policeman was killed when a hand-grenade was thrown at his patrol in central Mosul city in the second incident of its kind on Sunday, a security source in Ninewa said. “An unidentified person hurled a hand-grenade at a police patrol on al-Corniche street, central Mosul, killing a policeman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani fighter jets bombed suspected Taliban positions in a tribal region that could end up the focus of a future military offensive, killing as many as six people Sunday, intelligence officials said. The airstrikes hit several homes in parts of North Waziristan, the two intelligence officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media. The officials said six people died and several were wounded. They did not say if the dead were militants.
Two local residents, however, said two people were killed and seven injured, and that all the victims were tribesmen. The witnesses, Shanawat Khan and Akhtarullah, told The Associated Press via phone that three local tribesmen's homes were hit in the Degan village area.

#2: But overnight Sunday, an army camp in Angoor Ada, a part of the region purportedly under Nazir's control, came under attack, prompting retaliatory fire from security forces, two other intelligence officials said. No casualties were immediately known.

#3: At least three security personnel were killed and six others were injured during the last 24 hours of the ongoing operation in Pakistan's northwest, according to a military press release Sunday. Security forces conducted search operation south of Kotah near Bari Kot in the Swat valley of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP). During exchange of fire with militants, it said, three soldiers were killed.

#4: Also, suspected militants attacked the Chakmalai army camp in South Waziristan with rockets and gunfire, wounding six soldiers. Security forces repulsed the assault with mortars and heavy artillery, said the two officials, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

#5: gunmen in the east abducted 16 mine-clearing personnel working for the United Nations, officials said Sunday.

The workers, who were de-mining an area between Logar and Paktia, were either taken by unknown gunmen or voluntarily went with their de-mining truck, said Gen Azizullah Wardak, the provincial police chief in Paktia. Only their abandoned ambulance was found. No other details were immediately available.

#6: Troops from a US Marine company in Afghanistan have been under almost constant fire since entering the country with 4,000 other troops during the week. Since flying in by helicopter to Mian Poshteh in Helmand province, troops from the 2/8 infantry battalion have been held down by insurgents. The 200 Marines are still fighting to hold position and have had to call in helicopter gunships for assistance. Taliban fighters have been using small arms, rocket-propelled grenades and rockets against the Marines.

#7: An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) helicopter conducted an emergency landing in a non-standard landing zone due to a mechanical failure today in Nangarhar province. An ISAF quick reaction force from a nearby forward operating base was dispatched to aid in site security and was assisted by Afghan National Policemen. No ISAF service members or other passengers on the aircraft were injured. The exact cause of the mechanical failure is currently under investigation.

War News for Saturday, July 04, 2009

The Canadian DND/CF is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED strike in the Zhari District, Kandahar province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 3rd. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.

CENTCOM is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine in an undisclosed incident while in combat operations presumably in Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Friday, July 2nd.

The BBC is reporting the deaths of two U.S. soldiers in an explosion in the Zirok district, Paktika province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 4th. Four additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.


Germany to send AWACS planes to Afghanistan:

Russia to Open Airspace to U.S. for Afghan War:

SKorea says North fires 7 missiles off east coast:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Four electricity towers went down Friday due to acts of sabotage with explosive charges that targeted the Baiji high-tension power line in western Baghdad, said the official spokesperson of the Iraqi Electricity Ministry.

#2: One civilian on Saturday was killed and 12 others were injured in an explosive charge blast that ripped through the capital Baghdad, according to a local police source. “On Saturday noon, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by unknown men detonated near a vegetables market in al-Yousifiya area, southern Baghdad, killing a civilian and injuring 12 others,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kut:
#1: A U.S. unmanned plane went down near al-Kut city, where U.S. and Iraqi military forces are searching for the debris, a Wassit police source said on Friday. “The drone crashed near the Delta Base of the U.S. forces, (7 km) west of Kut, on Friday afternoon,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on condition of anonymity.

#2: A civilian man was shot down by unidentified gunmen who attacked his home in al-Kut city on Friday, a Wassit police source said. “Unknown gunmen stormed a house in al-Damuk, al-Kut city, and opened their machine-gun fire at the owner, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The dead man’s family said three masked gunmen attacked the house apparently not for the purpose of stealing,” he added.


Kirkuk:
#1: A body of a young man showing signs of having been shot was found in the southeastern Kirkuk on Friday, a source from the Joint Coordination Center in the city said. “The corpse was left in the area of al-Nasr neighborhood, near to a pharmacy in southwestern Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One policeman has been killed by unknown gunmen in southern Kirkuk city, a local police official said on Saturday. “Unidentified gunmen opened fire from a silencer-equipped pistol on an emergency policeman in southern Kirkuk, killing him on the spot,” Lt. Col. Kamel Ahmed told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Gunmen killed off duty Peshmerga soldier in northern Kirkuk, police said.


Mosul:
#1: Police found the body of a man with bullet wounds to the head and chest in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A civilian man was killed by unidentified gunmen in eastern Mosul city on Saturday, a security source with the Ninewa police said. “Unidentified gunmen opened fire today (July 4) on a civilian man working as a contractor in the area of al-Zuhour neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Gunmen killed a man as he left a mosque in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#4: A roadside bomb targeting Iraqi police patrol wounded one civilian in central Mosul, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani fighter jets pounded Taliban positions in the country's volatile northwest on Saturday, killing at least 12 suspected insurgents, security officials said, as the government kept up pressure on Islamist militants along the Afghan border. The government airstrikes hit three suspected militant positions in the Kurram region, part of the rugged, lawless tribal belt along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan, two security officials said. Twelve Taliban fighters were killed and many more were wounded, the officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. The military could not be immediately reached for confirmation.

#2: Elsewhere in the northwest, clashes between tribesmen and Taliban fighters left 16 people dead in the latest violence between pro-government tribal militias and insurgents. The fighting between tribesmen and militants took place in the remote Mohmand region, which also lies along the Afghan frontier. Dozens of fighters attacked the tribal militia after receiving a warning from a council of tribal elders to leave the area, a local government official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

#3: A roadside bomb tore through a police vehicle on Saturday in an insurgent attack in a southern Afghanistan flashpoint, killing seven officers, the interior ministry said. The incident took place in Registan district in Kandahar province, a hotbed for the Taliban-led insurgency, the ministry said. "A roadside bomb struck a police vehicle which resulted in the martyrdom of seven policemen," the statement said.

#4: A helicopter operated by a company contracted to carry food and other sustenance supplies for coalition forces made an emergency landing in the Paktika province of eastern Afghanistan today. The helicopter crew reported mechanical issues and landed in remote mountainous terrain. A second contractor helicopter that was nearby recovered the crew and returned them to base without incident. None of the crew were reported injured. A short time later, a small group of unidentified individuals were seen removing items from the helicopter and running away. Minutes later, the helicopter burst into flames, causing unrecoverable damage to the helicopter and its cargo.

#5: Twenty-six Pakistani soldiers were killed when a helicopter in which they were travelling crashed in the Orakzai tribal agency close to the Afghan border, a media report said Saturday.
The MI-17 helicopter crashed Friday due to a technical problem, the Online news agency said citing army officials. Media reports earlier said that Taliban militants shot down the helicopter. There were 30 army personnel on board. The helicopter was returning to Peshawar from Para Chinar when it went down in the Chappar Feroze Khel area.

#6: A roadside bomb killed one civilian and wounded another in northern Jawzjan province, the Interior Ministry said.

#7: Two Afghan soldiers were killed and four wounded when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb in southern Helmand's Musa Qala district on Friday, the Defence Ministry said.

#8: Afghan security forces killed two insurgents and detained two more during an operation in southwestern Ghazni province on Friday, the Defence Ministry said.

#9: Two Taliban insurgents were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded in the Delaram district of southwestern Nimroz province, the Interior Ministry said.

#10: A man driving explosive-laden car blew himself up next to Italian military convoy in west Afghanistan on Friday, provincial police chief Hekmatullah Alizai said. "The suicide bomber exploded his car very close to a convoy of Italian forces in Shindand district at 3 p.m. local time (GMT1030),killing himself and damaged an armored personnel carrier," Alizai told Xinhua. However, he did not say if there were any casualties on Italian forces but said two civilians died in the accident.

News of the Day for Friday, July 3, 2009

An Iraqi shop owner surveys the damage in a popular market in the center of the northern city of Kirkuk, 225 kms from Baghdad. Bombings in the lead-up to the pullback of US forces from Iraq's towns and cities, resulted in the bloodiest death toll seen in the conflict-hit nation in 11 months, official figures showed Wednesday. (AFP/Marwan Ibrahim)

Reported Security Incidents

Hilla

Body of a woman with bullet wounds to the head is retrieved from the Euphrates.

Reuters also reports three judges traveling together in a car wounded by gunfire Thursday evening.

Kirkuk

Car bomb Thursday evening near al-Zab police station, south of the city, kills 2, injures 9.

Other News of the Day

For those who haven't seen it yet, on Wednesday attorneys representing Iraq families in a lawsuit against Blackwater (now called by the unpronounceable name Xe) filed amended allegations in federal court including:

• the shooting of three Iraqi families in a mini-van that killed nine-year-old Akram Khalid Sa'ed Jasim and wounded his three-month-old sister, who was shot in the face, his mother, his father, and uncle in July 2007;


• the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Suhad Shakir Fadhil as she was driving home from work in the so-called Green Zone in February 2007;


• the shooting of Maulood Mohammed Shathir Husein, a 31-year-old married professor of veterinary medicine at the University of Baghdad in August 2005;


• the fatal shooting of 65-year-old Khalis Kareem Ali Al Qaysi, who was killed while he was being driven in Baghdad in March 2005;


• the severe beating of 35-year-old Iraqi photographer Safeen Hameed Ahmed Qadir in April 2008 as he took photographs at a Ford automobile branch in the Arbil province that was visited by a U.S. diplomat, and;


• the shooting of Husam Hasan Jaber, who was driving three passengers in Baghdad in a taxi cab he owns and operates.

VP Joe Biden is stuck in Camp Victory due to sandstorms, so he's been meeting with U.S. officials. He plans to meet PM al-Maliki later today, and President Jalal Talabani tomorrow.

Democracy Now! interviews Iraqi reporter Sahar Issa, and American reporter Jeremy Scahill. Very brief excerpt from Issa's remarks:

At the same time that [Iraqis] are happy to gain control over their streets and cities, there is a doubt in their hearts whether the Iraqi security forces are actually adequate to the task that is in front of them in the coming days, weeks and months of keeping the peace and keeping the population secure. This is at the bottom of the doubt that you see, is—is the Iraqi force actually adequate to the task?—that the Iraqi force is infiltrated by many. The Iraqi force has been formed upon somewhat sectarian lines. The Iraqi force also, because of the administrative corruption, has many people who have brought in their relatives, their friends, their neighbors, people who are not professional. . . .

[I]f you look back a little bit, you will find that with the height of violence that only started coming down in the beginning of 2008, and while human life was at stake, violence was like a blanket, cutting off a cross-section of what is really happening inside the Iraqi government, because everything was so clouded, people were hurt, they couldn’t look further than their lot.

But when the violence ebbed after the beginning of 2008, people started picking up the reins of their lives, looking around to see what was going on. And they found, horrendously, that the government is totally riddled with corruption. It is totally built on tribal and sectarian bases, where people have their relatives in very sensitive places simply to make the profit. And the confidence in Iraqis that they had at first when they went to elect their government, they lost this confidence. They said, “Then what is the difference, if it is going to be tribal again? What is the difference between this government and the past, even if it is elected, if it is going to use the same lines?”

And that is, of course, part of the problem, is that it is not a matter of just putting the government out there. The problem is this government needs to gain the confidence of the people. It needs to give them something that they can hold onto. It needs to look at their very difficult lives. They didn’t have electricity when the—you know, outside this building, if I walk out now, it is so hot, toys will melt in cars. To just to give you an idea, toys will melt in cars. That is the heat. And people don’t have electricity. After six years, they don’t have water in their homes.

Afghanistan Update

Marine advance into Helmand Valley continues with little resistance. "Troops are moving through towns and villages to “separate the population from the insurgents,” [Capt. Bill] Pelletier said. They fought “light skirmishes” with gunmen who then fled, he added."

Meanwhile British troops continue to secure territory between Helmand Province capital Lashkar Gah and the city of Gereshk.

The Ministry of Defense announces that one of two soldiers killed by a roadside bomb on Thursday was Lt Col Rupert Thorneloe, 40, the commanding officer of the Welsh Guards. He is the highest ranking British officer killed in action since the Falklands war. This article also describes the more powerful bombs the Taliban have developed of late. "The devices have been packed with up to 350kg of homemade fertiliser, triggered by mines or shells salvaged from old arms dumps. They have become so large that on one occasion a 65 tonne Leopard 2 tank was blown onto its turret by one of the bombs."

Two female candidates for president complain that lack of security hinders their ability to campaign.

Quote of the Day

This troop movement should not be confused with a troop withdrawal from Iraq. In reality, this is a small step toward Iraqi sovereignty as Iraqi security forces begin assuming greater control over security operations, but it is a long way from independence and a withdrawal of the U.S. military presence.

-- Dennis Kucinich