News of the Day for Sunday, July 19, 2009

Mainly Iraqi Shiite Muslim pilgrims gather at the Imam Musa al-Kadhim Mosque in the Kadhimiya district of northern Baghdad. Hundreds of thousands of pilgrims thronged a Baghdad shrine on Saturday to commemorate a Shiite saint in a key test for Iraq's security forces less than three weeks after the US military withdrew from cities across the country.
(AFP/Ahmad al-Rubaye) The violence associated with the event this year was less than in recent years; Iraqi forces are claiming this as a success. See below. -- C

Reported Security Incidents

Baghdad

Three civilians injured, several stores damaged in bomb explosion in Abu Ghraib.

In a separate explosion in Abu Ghraib, a bomb planted near a police checkpoint kills an Iraqi soldier and injures a second soldier and two police.

Mosul

Gunmen assassinate a civilian amputee in front of his house. The man had no arms. No motive is given. One suspects he was a veteran of some sort of combat, or had survived an earlier attack. But as he is as yet unidentified the story is mysterious. - C

Man throws a grenade at Iraqi soldiers accompanying a U.S. patrol. U.S. forces open fire and wound him, he is taken into custody.

Kut

A group of masked gunmen kill a civilian, later injure a police officer who pursued them.

al-Mada'in, south of Baghdad

Sahwa leader Mahmoud al-Jabalawi is killed by a roadside bomb.

Other News of the Day

Ninevah Operations Command imposes a curfew on the "left coast" of Mosul Saturday through mid-day Sunday. This is how VoI is describing the eastern part of the city. The Tigris flows through Mosul. The specific reason for the action was not announced publicly.

On the occasion of the murder of Sahwa leader Mahmoud al_Jabalawi (see above), Sunni Parliamentarian Amr al-Hijal accuses the Shiite-led government of failing to protect them, calls national reconciliation an "empty slogan."

Iraqi authorities arrest a man who they say has confessed to Saturday's mortar attack on U.S. base in Basra. (It's amazing how quickly they always seem to confess in Iraqi custody. - C) The Iraqis say he belongs to an Iranian-backed militia.

Kurds, Arabs argue over the presence of Peshmerga forces in Mosul. Could this have something to do with the curfew? Just speculation. Excerpt:

Kurdish Peshmerga militias have the right to remain in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, an Iraqi Kurdish general on Sunday said in defiance of the Arab nationalist governor there. General Jabar Yawar, a spokesman for the Kurdish Regional Government's Ministry of Peshmergas, said Governor Athil al-Najifi had overstepped his authority when he recently promised to eliminate Peshmerga paramilitary fighters from Nineveh province, of which Mosul is the capital.

'Al-Najifi's recent statements reflect his personal views, and possibly the opinion of his political bloc, but do not necessarily reflect the position of the constitutional authorities of the federal government in Iraq or its laws. His statements are unenforceable,' Yawar told the German Press Agency dpa.

'The Kurds have no doubt that the situation in Mosul ... has changed,' al-Najifi told dpa a week before US soldiers' withdrawal from Iraqi cities last month. 'They will come to grips with the changed situation. 'I expect that the Kurds will withdraw from the city and there will be a single security force in the city, with not a single Kurd or Peshmerga in it,' he said.

AP's Deb Riechmann and Bushra Juhi discuss the ongoing scandal over mistreatment of prisoners by the Iraqi authorities. Excerpt:

Iraqi officials outraged by the abuse of prisoners at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison are trying to contain a scandal of their own as allegations continue to surface of mistreatment inside Iraqi jails.

Accounts of Iraqis being beaten with clubs, blindfolded and coerced into signing false confessions are attracting increased attention partly because the United States is getting out of the prison business in Iraq. The U.S. has transferred 841 detainees into Iraq's crowded prison system, and more are on the way.

Allegations of mistreatment have persisted since 2005, when U.S. troops raided an Interior Ministry lockup in a predominantly Shiite area of southeastern Baghdad and found scores of emaciated prisoners. The matter returned to the spotlight after the June 12 assassination of Sunni lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, an outspoken advocate of prisoner rights.

The issue is a test of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's commitment to the rule of law and to reconcile with the Sunni minority, who account for most of the prisoners held in security cases. Sunnis say they are being unfairly singled out by security forces run by al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.

There is no shortage of antiques in Iraq, but no-one is buying:

"The story of Iraq is here if you care to look closely," Abdul-Kareem Yahya, a 51-year-old father of five, said from behind a desk at his downtown antique shop. Behind him sat Ottoman-era swords, engraved silver trays and a tea set bearing the image of Iraq's last king. . . . Yahya said the lack of business for antique shops reflects Iraq's isolation from the rest of the world and the still tenuous security situation. While he and other dealers say the pullout of U.S. soldiers from Baghdad last week under an agreement with Iraq's government removes one magnet for insurgent attacks, they concede they're not soon likely to see a rush of tourists to buy their wares.

Iraqi forces claim success as only 3 people are killed and 30 injured in violence during the annual pilgrimage to the shrine of Imam Moussa Al-Kadhim. BBC's Gabriel Gateouse writes "In most countries this would be considered a tragedy. In Iraq, it is counted as a success." Security measures included a partial curfew and multiple cordons of security forces around the area.

Afghanistan Update

Sixteen civilians are killed, others injured in a helicopter crash on takeoff from NATO base at Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. No further details are available as of 8:26 am ET.

Suicide bomber kills 2, injures others (the story is written in a confusing way, total casualties are unclear) in Torkham, Nangarhar province. According to another source, total injured was 7.

Australians identify a soldier killed on Saturday morning in an explosion in the Baluchi Valley as Private Benjamin Renaudo, 22 years old.

Quote of the Day

The Anti-War Movement in America, Canada, and Britain has virtually become a non-entity. . . . Thus President Obama had no one to oppose him when he decided to send more troops into Afghanistan. He did this to make his first term as “successful” as that of his predecessors, assuming that the time-tested American definition of success still holds good: America must be engaged in a war to be successful.

Dr. Muzaffar Iqbal

War News for Saturday, July 18, 2009

The Washington Post is reporting the deaths of two U.S. Airmen when a F-15E crashed in the Nawur district of Ghazni province, Afghanistan on Saturday, July 18th. Here's the air-force release.


July 16 airpower summary:

"We killed too many civilians," says U.S. military chief:

Striking jump in mental illness found in Iraq, Afghanistan veterans:

Iraq Restricts U.S. Forces:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A helicopter from private military contractor Xe crashed outside Baghdad on Friday, killing two crew members and leaving two other injured, a company spokeswoman said. The MD-530 "Little Bird" went down Friday morning at Butler Range, a training facility outside Baghdad, said Stacy Capace, a spokeswoman for the company formerly known as Blackwater. An investigation into the crash is under way, and it was not known whether there was any hostile fire in the area at the time, Capace said.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted pilgrims in Saidiyah neighbourhood, southern Baghdad at 8.30 p.m. Friday injuring three pilgrims.

#3: A roadside bomb targeted pilgrims in Niairiyah, New Baghdad at 9 p.m. Friday injuring five pilgrims.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted pilgrims in Zafaraniyah neighbourhood, southeastern Baghdad, at 9 p.m. Friday killing one pilgrim and injuring six others.

#5: Nine Shi'ite pilgrims where wounded by a roadside bomb in New Baghdad district, eastern Baghdad, police said.


Kut:
#1: Policemen found the body of a girl in her 20s in eastern al-Kut city on Friday, a security source said. “The body, showing signs of having been shot, was found in the open and most probably she was killed today (July 17),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: A large Scania vehicle exploded inside a factory in western Kirkuk on Friday, leaving three persons killed, a source from the city’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC) said. “Workers were conducting maintenance on a Scania vehicle inside a factory in Debis, (40 km) western Kirkuk, when the vehicle exploded, killing three citizens,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Two Iraqi soldiers on Saturday were injured in an explosive charge blast that targeted their vehicle in western Mosul city, according to a security source. “This morning, an improvised explosive device (IED) hit an Iraqi army patrol vehicle in 17 Tammuz neighborhood, western Mosul, wounding two patrolmen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Friday A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi Army patrol wounded two soldiers and a civilian in northern Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb in Al-Karma, 15 kilometres (10 miles) east of Fallujah, killed three people and wounded six, police Colonel Hafiz Muklif said. Those killed were the son of Naeem Saleh al-Halbusi, the deputy chief of a Sunni militia opposed to Al-Qaeda, and two bodyguards, Muklif said. Halbusi was injured in the attack.

#2 A second roadside bomb in the town (Al Karma) killed two people and wounded two, the police officer said.

#3: Three civilians on Saturday were injured when an explosive device detonated inside a garage in northern Ramadi city, the third blast to hit Anbar province today. “Today, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off inside a garage near Ramadi Public Hospital in northern Ramadi city, wounding three civilians who were close to the scene of the blast,” a security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted young men playing a football game on the neighbourhood green in Cheffa neighbourhood, southern Fallujah at 4.30 p.m. Friday injuring nine yound men, four of whom are critical.


Casualty Reports:

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Government warplanes flattened a suspected Taliban hide-out in the northwest early Saturday, killing nine associates of Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud, intelligence officials said. Early Saturday, fighter jets destroyed hide-outs of Mehsud's deputy Hakim Ullah in the Orakzai region, part of Pakistan's lawless tribal belt. It was unclear whether Ullah was present at the time, said two intelligence officials who sought anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media.

#2: A car packed with explosives rammed an army vehicle in troubled southern Afghanistan Saturday, killing three soldiers, the latest attack in a surge of violence ahead of the nation's presidential polls. Three other troopers were wounded in the suicide attack in Shahjoy, an insurgency-wracked district in the province of Zabul, the defence ministry said in a statement.

#3: Two villagers and three insurgents were killed when villagers tried to stop the Taliban attacking a home of an Afghan army officer in the Achin district of Nangarhar province east of Kabul overnight, provincial government spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said. Eleven Taliban fighters were detained by the locals, including eight from neighbouring Pakistan, he said.

#4: A joint operation by Afghan and Western troops backed by air strikes killed eight Taliban fighters in the Barg Matal district of Nuristan province near the eastern border with Pakistan on Friday, provincial governor Jamaluddin Badr said.

#5: Afghan and Western forces killed ten Taliban militants after their patrol came under fire in the Pech district of Kunar province in the east, the U.S. military said in a statement.

#6: Three Afghan army soldiers were killed and three wounded when a car packed with explosives was detonated near their military vehicle in the southern Shah Joy district of Zabul province in the south, the Defense Ministry said.

#7: A roadside bomb attack killed one Afghan soldier and wounded three more in the Gereshk district of southern Helmand province on Friday, Defense Ministry said.

#8: Afghan security forces killed two insurgents, wounded two and detained one more during a battle in the Arghandab district of Zabul province in the south of the country on Thursday, the Defense Ministry said





Adam Palmer, lay recovering from injuries he suffered Tuesday in Iraq. Adam Palmer told his mother his condition: a fractured leg and arm that doctors have not set because they are meticulously pulling shrapnel from his body one piece at a time every other day and cleaning his wounds. The depression in his voice was even tougher to swallow. The injuries were caused by an improvised explosive device (IED).

Aaron Obitts, 19, is recovering from injuries he sustained in a land mine explosion that occurred last month while he was serving in Afghanistan. On June 10, Obitts sustained injuries to his foot and spine when his military vehicle was struck by a land mine, just over two weeks after he was sent overseas. "The explosion blew the engine block off completely and threw even our mine-resistant ambush protective vehicle in the air," Obitts said. "I heard Nelson screaming because he had a severe compound fracture to his ankle." Obitts himself suffered two fractured lumbar vertebrae after the vehicle landed on the ground, as well as a broken left foot that occurred while he was trying to get out of the vehicle.

War News for Friday, July 17, 2009

MNF-Iraq is reporting the deaths of three Multi-National Division - South soldier in an indirect fire attack at Contingency Operating Base Basra, Iraq on Thursday, July 16th.

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier in an IED attack near Gereshk, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 16th.

The Canadian DND/CF is reporting the death of a Canadian ISAF soldier in an undisclosed attack in the Panjwayi District, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on Thursday, July 16th.


July 15 airpower summary:

Tajikistan military kill gunmen near Afghan border:

RAF helicopter built using half of chinook captured in Falklands:

Fort Hood Soldier Refuses Deployment to Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: In Baghdad, a bomb planted under a bridge killed a married couple who were among hundreds of thousands of Shiite pilgrims heading to a holy shrine. The bomb, which exploded around 2:30 a.m. Friday, was planted beneath a bridge in eastern Baghdad. Twelve others were wounded, according to police and medical officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to talk to the media.

#2: An anti-bomb squad personnel on Thursday defused an improvised explosive device (IED) in eastern Baghdad, an Iraqi police source said.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded four Shi'ite pilgrims near Baghdad's southern district of Doura, police said. The pilgrims were heading to the Imam Moussa al-Kadhim shrine in north Baghdad.

#4: A roadside bomb targeted pilgrims in Bayaa neighbourhood, southwestern Baghdad, wounding five pilgrims.

#5: A roadside bomb targeted civilians near a billiard parlour in Amil neighbourhood, southeastern Baghdad, wounding two young men.


Basra:
#1: Three Multinational forces were wounded in a Katyusha attack on Thursday night that targeted a military base of the MNF at the Basra international airport, a security source said Friday. “Four Katyusha rockets hit the military base of the MNF at the Basra international airport on Thursday night (July 16), injuring three soldiers,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: A civilian was wounded in an attack by a hand grenade on a Multi-National Force patrol in southwestern Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said. “A MNF patrol was attacked by a hand grenade on Thursday (July 16) in al-Saray neighborhood in al-Huwaiyja, southwestern Kirkuk,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Gunmen in a car wounded a civilian when they opened fire on people in a village southeast of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#3: Gunmen wounded a civilian when they shot at him on Thursday in central Kirkuk, police said.


Shirqat:
#1: A bomb attached to a police car wounded a policeman in the town of Shirqat, 300 km (190 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Mosul:
#1: A policeman was wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in Mosul city on Thursday, a local security source in Ninewa said. “A sticky IED attached to the vehicle of a policeman working in the protection of of the Ninewa police director general went off in Sadeera village, al-Shurqat district, south of Mosul, leaving him wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tal Afar:
#1: An explosive charge went off in northern Talafar but left no casualties, a source from the district’s police said Thursday. “The charge was left in an uninhabited part of al-Nasser neighborhood, northern Talafar (60 km) west of Mosul city,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: In Karmah, two bombs exploded around 3 a.m. Friday near the house of police Capt. Bahjat Khawam. The bombs were planted under the police officer's car and near a gate to his house. The police officer's 12-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old granddaughter were killed in the attack. Khawam, who works in Karmah police station, and other six family members were wounded.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: government official says militants launched two attacks on oil tankers in northwest Pakistan carrying fuel supplies to NATO forces in neighboring Afghanistan. One bystander has been killed. Local official Rashed Khan says one attack took place in Jamrud in the Khyber region on Friday when a roadside bomb hit one truck and set it ablaze. The second incident took place in Landi Kotal also in the Khyber region. Khan says a bomb set on a timer exploded as an oil tanker drove by damaging the truck.

#2: A roadside bomb tore through a vehicle in southern Afghanistan on Friday, killing 11 civilians, ncluding five children, a border police official said. A British solider died in another explosion. The bomb exploded in Kandahar province's Spin Boldak district as the civilians were traveling toward

#3: Afghan and foreign forces killed 11 Taliban insurgents during a joint operation and air strikes in the Waze Zadran district of southeastern Paktika province overnight, district chief Abdul Wali Zadran and NATO officials said.

#4: A suspected U.S. missile strike in a Pakistani tribal region killed at least five alleged militants Friday, officials said, showing America's unwillingness to abandon the tactic even as Pakistani officials say it could interfere with army offensives in the northwest. The missile strike hit a house in Gariwam village in North Waziristan, said two intelligence officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to media on the record.
Local government official Anayat Ullah also confirmed a missile had hit the village, while resident Ahmad Raza said he heard Taliban in the area saying five of their comrades were dead.


Casualty Reports:

Royal Air Force senior aircraftsman Michael Goody, 24, almost lost his leg when his convoy was blown up in Afghanistan. He was half-way through his first seven month tour of Afghanistan when he was hit by the homemade bomb, in October. "The force of the blast overturned the vehicle we were in, and I was trapped underneath it for three hours. "The whole of the lower part of my left leg was shattered: it was like washing powder."

Marine Sgt. Kyle Shanley, 25, was thrown from the turret of his unit’s transport vehicle when it triggered an improvised explosive device Friday while attempting to evacuate previously injured Marines in Helmand Province, his mother, Carin, said Thursday. “His jawbone was fractured, and his cheekbone was crushed. I guess right now he has a black eye, of course. They say he looks like the one side of his face is shrunken in. He is being flown today to the Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, where his family will meet him and doctors will discuss the reconstructive surgery he will receive. Four of the six Marines in Shanley’s vehicle were injured, Carin said.

Marine Joshua J. Bouchard, 26, suffered a devastating injury to his lower back when an improvised explosive device went off near his position at the head of a convoy in southern Afghanistan. Members of his family arrived Monday at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany in time to see Joshua as he came out of surgery, according to the Marine's sister, Irene Bouchard, of Amherst. Bouchard lost his left leg below the knee, broke his right arm and received shrapnel in his right leg and left arm, Irene Bouchard said.
The attack July 8 killed two Marines with Bouchard's unit, the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade, and injured three, including Bouchard.

War News for Thursday, July 16, 2009

July 14 airpower summary:

July 13 airpower summary:

Wounded troop numbers surge: Since the start of June Britain has sustained 109 serious or fatal casualties. (19 dead 90 wounded by this count)

Oil for NATO smuggled back to Pakistan: Asim:

Bush’s phantom guard unit heads to Iraq: (this is worth reading)


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A bomb explosion struck Shiite pilgrims in central Baghdad on Thursday, wounding eight worshippers who were heading to the capital's northern holy neighborhood of Kadhimiya to commemorate the death of a Shiite Imam, an Interior Ministry source said. The attack took place in the morning near the Talaie Square in Hifa Street, while crowds of Shiite pilgrims were traveling on foot on their way to the tomb of Imam Musa al-Kadhim in northern Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Eighteen people were injured Thursday in an explosion that targeted a minibus transporting Shiite pilgrims to a holy shrine to commemorate the death of a revered imam.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded six pilgrims on Wednesday evening in Baghdad's central Maamoun district, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb explosion claimed 5 people's lives in Baghdad on Wednesday night, police source said. The police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that a roadside bomb was detonated near a funeral gathering in the Shiite dominated neighborhood of Sadr City, eastern Baghdad. The blast killed five people and wounded 28 others.


Basra:
#1: "Anti-bomb squad managed to defuse three bombs; two on the international road between Safwan and Umm Qasr, south of Basra, and the third was found near al-Kazeza bridge, north of the city,” he added.


Mosul:
#1: Three policemen were wounded Thursday by a car bomb explosion in western Mosul, a police source said.“A car crammed with explosives went off Thursday (July 16) near Mosul-Talafar garage, western Mosul, injuring three policemen,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The police found the car bomb before the incident, but unknown gunmen detonated it remotely,” the source added.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: An Iraqi Emergency Force killed a policeman while attempting to detain him in in his home in Garma neighbourhood, 20 km to the north of Fallujah, Thursday morning.

#2: The Iraqi security forces shot dead a suicide bomber driving a car bomb in Halabsa intersection in western Fallujah, Thursday. The car bomb was later detonated under control



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Four members of a family were killed and a dozen others sustained injuries as a house was attacked from the air in Taliban former stronghold Kandahar early Thursday, owner of the house Hajji Nematullah Khan said. The upset Khan who took the injured members of his family to Mir Wais Hospital in Kandahar city the capital of Kandahar province said the bombardment occurred this morning in Shah Walikot district. "It was early this morning that aircraft of foreign troops raided his house in Tawala village killing four people including a child and injured 12 others including four men and eight women and children," Nematullah Khan told newsmen at the hospital.

#2: Taliban militants attacked a military supply convoy in southern Afghanistan, sparking a gunbattle that killed 21 insurgents and three border police, a provincial official said Thursday. The convoy was targeted Wednesday soon after it crossed the border from Pakistan, said Hamidullah Zhwak, a spokesman for the governor of Paktika province. He said it was guarded by more than 80 private security guards, and he had no reports that any of them were killed or wounded.

#3: Meanwhile, international and Afghan forces killed two insurgents who helped mount bomb attacks in eastern Afghanistan, NATO forces said.

#4: A UN official working in a camp for displaced civilians in the Pakistani city of Peshawar was killed during a failed kidnapping attempt , UN and Pakistani officials said. "A national staff of UNHCR at the Kutcha Gari camp has been a victim of a kidnapping attempt that turned into a shooting," UN spokesman Janos Tisovszky told AFP by telephone. "He was shot in the chest several times and he was rushed to hospital," he added. Another UN spokeswoman, Stephanie Bunker, said the official died. Four unidentified gunmen opened fire on the UNHCR vehicle and fled after the attack, a senior Pakistani police official told AFP. "A senior UNHCR field officer's car was fired at. He sustained injuries and later died in the hospital," said the official, Abdul Ghafoor Afridi.

#5: A suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden station wagon into a police convoy in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, killing three police, the Interior Ministry said. Four other police officers were wounded in the morning attack in Nimroz province's Khashord district, the ministry said in a statement.

#6: A pilotless plane, apparently a reconnaissance one, crashed in northern Afghan province of Kunduz in the wee hours of Thursday, a local official said. "Very early this morning, a drone hovering Chardara district was crashed in Khawja Kafter village but fortunately caused no loss of life and property," governor of Chardara district Abdul Wahed Omarkhil told Xinhua.

#7: One Afghan soldier was killed and three wounded in a clash with insurgents in the Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar province, the Defence Ministry said. An unspecified number of insurgents were also killed, the ministry said.

#8: A roadside bomb killed one Afghan soldier and wounded one in the Gereshk district of southern Helmand province on Wednesday, the Defence Ministry said.

#9: A roadside bomb exploded in Ghazni province in south Afghanistan wounding seven personnel of the law enforcing agencies, a local official said Thursday. "The gruesome incident occurred in Dayak district Wednesday evening and five policemen and staffs of national intelligence service were injured," Ismael Jehangir, the spokesman for provincial administration, told Xinhua.

War News for Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Trend News is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers in a vehicle accident in the Daulatabad area, northwest Faryab province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 15th. One of the dead is being reported as Colonel Farooq Songar, Two additional soldiers were wounded in the incident.

Reuters is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in a roadside bombing in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 15th.


Airpower Summary for July 8: July 10 airpower summary: July 11 airpower summary: July 12 airpower summary:

11 Light Brigade to replace 19 Light Brigade in Afghanistan:

DoD Announces Upcoming Operation Iraqi Freedom Rotation:

DoD Announces Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation:

Helicopter reported shot down in Afghanistan:

Spanish soldiers quarantined in Afghanistan: Spain's Defense Ministry says 22 Spanish soldiers stationed in Afghanistan have been quarantined on suspicion of having swine flu.

Afghan War’s Buried Bombs Put Risk in Every Step:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Separately, one person was killed and nine others were wounded when a bomb exploded near an Internet cafe late Tuesday night in south Baghdad. The explosion in a Shiite enclave in the mainly Sunni neighborhood of Dora damaged the cafe and a nearby shop.


Mosul:
#1: Tuesday Gunmen killed two civilians in Al Amil neighborhood in western Mosul.

#2: Tuesday A roadside bomb targeted police vehicle in Mosul city. One police man was killed and three others were injured.


Al Anbar Prv:
Ramadi:
#1: A suicide bomber on Wednesday killed six people, including an Iraqi policeman, in an attack on security forces in a former insurgent stronghold in Iraq's western Anbar province, said police. The bombing occurred a few hours before a funeral march was held in the Iraqi capital to mourn two traffic policemen who were killed in a battle with gunmen on Tuesday. Wednesday's attack in the western city of Ramadi was carried out by a suicide bomber driving a minibus who struck a checkpoint of Iraqi soldiers and police, killing a policeman and five civilians, said a local police officer. Earlier reports said six policemen were among the dead. The attack injured an additional 19 people, including five police, said the officer in Ramadi, which is located some 70 miles (115 kilometers) west of Baghdad.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Pakistani troops killed 13 militants in the latest clashes in the Swat Valley, the army said Wednesday, underscoring the region's fragile security even as refugees displaced by fighting return home. One clash occurred near Kabal town, which lies across the river from Mingora, the Swat Valley's main city. Kabal was considered a likely hide-out of the Swat Taliban's leadership. In a statement chronicling its activity over the previous 24 hours, the army said security forces carrying out a search operation killed eight alleged militants, including two foreigners. One soldier died in the exchange of fire, the statement said. Five other suspected militants died in other clashes.

#2: Elsewhere in the northwest Wednesday, a roadside bomb exploded at a police checkpoint, killing a paramilitary soldier and a police officer and wounding six policemen, police official Imtiaz Khan said. No one claimed responsibility for the attack in the Bannu area, but Taliban fighters have often targeted security forces in the past.

#3: Two soldiers were slightly wounded when a Polish patrol was attacked yesterday in Afghanistan. The incident took place some 10 km north-west of Ghazni. Insurgents attacked the Polish troops during a routine patrol of the Ghazni province in the south east of the country. An exchange of fire occurred and the two soldiers suffered minor wounds from flying shrapnel. The insurgents managed to escape and hide in a nearby village.

#4: Police during a clash with militants in northern Baghlan province of Afghanistan killed a Taliban commander and captured two of his comrades, provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Syed Khili said Wednesday. "Mullah Ghayour was killed and two of his armed men were captured Tuesday night," Syed Khili told Xinhua. He also added that Ghayour was involved in storming Burka district and setting on fire the district headquarters couple of months ago. Taliban militants have not made comment.

#5: The two Newnan-based Georgia National Guard soldiers wounded last week in Afghanistan arrived in the U.S. on Sunday. Sgt. First Class Mark Allen and Specialist/Medic Charles Benson were on patrol in Afghanistan July 8 when they got into a fire fight. Allen was struck in the head, and Benson suffered wounds to his hands and legs.

#6: An Albany National Guardsman is recovering from wounds he suffered in Afghanistan last week. Medic Specialist Charles Benson of Albany suffered wounds to his hands and legs Wednesday. According to reports, Benson and other members of the 48th Brigade and the California National Guard were on patrol in an area south of Kabul, when they were involved in a fire fight. Benson and two other soldiers were wounded.

War News for Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The AFP is reporting the death of an Italian ISAF soldier in a roadside bombing near Farah Province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, July 14th. Three additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.

The Houston Chronicle is reporting the deaths of two U.S. Marines in a "hostile incident" in Helmand Prrvince, Afghanistan on Monday, July 13th.

MNF-Iraq is reporting the death of a Multi-National Division - Baghdad soldier from a medical condition in an unreported area of Iraq on Monday, July 13th.


July 13 airpower summary:

Helicopter Crashes in Afghanistan:

Moldova helicopter on NATO contract shot down in Afghanistan.
Some, but not all, of a six-man crew of Ukrainian nationals died in the morning incident, according to statement from the Chisinau air charter company Pecotox-Airi. A missile or rocket caused the crash, according to the report.

C.I.A. Had Plan to Assassinate Qaeda Leaders:

Sandstorm grounds US military boss in Iraq:

23 militants dead in clashes in NW Pakistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: The two police officers were shot dead while on patrol by armed men in the centre of the Iraqi capital, an interior ministry official said. One of the gunmen was killed in the attack.


Diyala Prv:
#1: In a town east of Baquba, meanwhile, a police officer's nephew was kidnapped and executed, a security official said.

#2: A gunman was wounded on Monday while planting an improvised explosive device in a village of the district of al-Saadiya, southern Diala province, a local security source said. “The gunman was wounded while planting his explosive charge in Hamrin village, north of Saadiya, (35 km) south of Khanaqin district,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Three civilians were wounded on Monday when two improvised explosive devices went off near a bridal procession in Baaquba city, an official security source in Diala said. “Two IEDs went off near a procession of several vehicles carrying well-wishers for a wedding party on the main street in New Baaquba neighborhood, central Baaquba, wounding three civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Police forces on Tuesday found an unknown body in a village near Baaquba, according to a local security source. “The corpse, found in Sharwin village, Shahraban district (45 km northeast of Baaquba), bore signs of gunshot wounds and was taken to the morgue,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.“The age of the victim ranges from 25 to 30 years. He is believed to have been killed during the past two days,” the source noted.


Mosul:
#1: "Last night, gunmen opened fire on a taxi driver inside a garage in al-Abaar neighborhood, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “Unknown gunmen shot down a civilian in Tal al-Romman area, western Mosul,” according to the same source.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An oil tanker carrying supplies for NATO forces caught fire on Monday when it was caught in an explosion in Hayatabad, police said.

#2: Also on Monday, an unidentified man shot Sub-Inspector Ijaz Haideri in the Kohati Gate area when he was walking to work. His son, Ali, told police at Shah Qabool Police Station that he had seen a man carrying a pistol running away from the scene.

#3: A government official says 23 militants were killed in clashes with a pro-government tribal militia in northwest Pakistan. Syed Ahmad Jan, a senior local administrator, said Tuesday the clashes took place in the village of Ambar in the Mohmand region, part of the lawless tribal belt along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. Jan said that four members of the tribal militia were wounded in the clashes, which began late Monday and continued through Tuesday morning.

#4: Separately, a roadside blast Tuesday hit a civilian vehicle in Uruzgan, another southern province, killing three people and wounded six others, according to an Interior Ministry statement. It said all the victims were civilians.

#5: Eight inmates, seven of them Taliban prisoners, escaped from a provincial prison after attacking guards in Zabul province in the south of the country on Monday night, senior police officer Ghulam Jailani said. A hunt for them was under way.

#6: Taliban insurgents killed an Afghan army soldier in the southwestern Bala Murghab district on Monday, the Defence Ministry said.

#7: Afghan soldiers killed an insurgent, returning fire in the Musa Qala district of Helmand Province on Monday, the Defence Ministry said.

#8: Afghan soldiers killed two Taliban militants and wounded three more when firing artillary at a militant position in the Rashidan district of Ghazni province on Monday night, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

#9: Afghan security forces identified and shot dead a suicide car bomber attempting to enter an Afghan army outpost in the southern Dand district on Monday, the Defence Ministry said. Six Afghan soldiers and an interpreter were wounded when the explosives in the car went off, it said

War News for Monday, July 13, 2009

CJTF - 82 is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, July 12th.

The Star Bulletin is reporting the death of a U.S. Marine at the Bethesda Naval Hospital on Friday, July 10th. Cpl. Matthew Lembke was originally wounded in an IED attack in Now Zad, Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Monday, June 22nd.


Iraq lashed by sandstorms and battling drought:

Iraqi Kurds Delay Vote On Expansionist Constitution - Speaker:

U.S. forces said to violate security agreement in Mosul:

Wave of Iraq church bombings stretches into third day:

Obama orders probe of killings in Afghanistan:

Cheney hid CIA torture from US Congress: Senator:

Pakistanis displaced by offensive return home:

Britain may send more troops to Afghanistan:


Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Seven persons on Monday were wounded in an explosive charge blast that occurred in southern Baghdad, according to an Iraqi police source. “A roadside improvised explosive device (IED) went off in al-Jadriya area near al-Zawya intersection, southern Baghdad, while a police patrol vehicle was passing the location,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Three patrolmen and four civilians were wounded in the explosion,” the source noted.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed one policeman and wounded 10 people, including four policemen, in the capital's central Karrada district, police said.

#3: A sticky bomb attached to a car killed the driver and wounded four others on Sunday in Baghdad's southern Saidiya district, police said.


Dhi Qar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a convoy carrying U.S. ambassador to Baghdad Chris Hill in southern Iraq, but the envoy was unhurt, the U.S. embassy said on Monday. Hill was traveling in Dhi Qar province, about 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, on Sunday when the bomb struck his convoy, U.S. embassy spokeswoman Susan Ziadeh said. "No personnel were injured or hurt. An investigation into the incident is taking place," she said.


Basra:
#1: The U.S. base at Basra International Airport on Monday was hit with Katyusha rockets, said a security source from the province. “Two Katyusha missiles hit the base, 25 km west of Basra,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.There was no word on casualties or damage.


Al Sharqat:
#1: A blast outside a local council meeting in northern Iraq wounded seven U.S. troops and a linguist, U.S. military officials said Monday. The incident Sunday in Salaheddin Province was the first known major attack on U.S. troops since U.S. combat troops completed their withdrawal from urban centers on June 30. Maj. Derrick Cheng, a spokesman for the U.S. military's Multi-National Division-North, said Sunday's explosion happened around 1 p.m. outside the Al Sharqat Qa'da council building. The troops were walking back to their vehicles after a meeting with district government officials about civil capacity projects to help the citizens in the region, Cheng said.


Mosul:
#1: Three children on Monday were injured in a car bomb blast that occurred in front of a Shiite mosque in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “During an early hour this morning, a booby-trapped car detonated in front of a Shiite mosque in al-Faysaliya area, eastern Mosul, wounding three children and causing damage to the mosque’s front façade,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The blast also caused damage to the nearby Virgin Mary Church, a building and two civilian vehicles, according to the source. “The blast occurred at 05:30 a.m. while U.S. personnel were leaving al-Nasr police department,” the source noted.

#2: One Iraqi soldier on Monday was killed when a sticky improvised explosive device (IED) targeted his car in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “The soldier was off-duty in al-Rashidiya area, northern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Rajab Khan, the district police chief of Jalriz in Wardak province, just south of the capital, was killed when his car was blown up by a roadside bomb, a provincial administration spokesman said. "Rajab Khan was driving... a remote-controlled bomb struck his car, killing himself and three of his bodyguards," Shahedullah Shahed told AFP. Another police was wounded in the blast.

#2: Six militants were killed and 10 injured in a gun battle with security forces at a check post in South Waziristan. According to official sources, the militants attacked the security check post at the Tyarza Gate and the forces retaliated. Security forces also pounded militant hideouts with heavy artillery in Srwakai, Maula Khan Sarai and Kothki areas.

#3: Earlier, one security man was killed and two injured in an attack on a security check post in South Waziristan's Daray Nashtar area. Militants attacked the check post with heavy weapons, resulting in a fierce retaliation by the army after they tracked the militants back to their hideouts.

#4: "In the first incident, which occurred at 8 a.m. local time, when a group of armed terrorists opened fire on police patrol team in Khashrod district and police returned fire killing three terrorists on the spot," the statement said.

#5: In another incident, also in the same district, police opened fired and killed a terrorist, said the statement.

#6: Two Taliban insurgents were killed as a clash flared up in a far-flanged area of the northern Kunduz province, provincial police chief Abdul Razeq Yaqubi said Monday. "Taliban insurgents attacked police patrol in Aisa khil village of Chardara district late Sunday night and police encountered, killing two insurgents on the spot and injuring another," Yaqubi told Xinhua. He also admitted that two police vehicles were damaged during the firefight.