War News for Wednesday, February 09, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, February 9th.


US customs officer killed in Afghan blast - David Hillman

UNHCR, WHO ink healthcare services agreement for Afghan refugees


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: "An IED blew up in central Baghad's Waziriya district, wounding two civilians that were driven to a nearby hospital," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: He said that another IED went off in eastern Baghdad's Jamila district, wounding two other civilians, who were also driven to a nearby hospital, giving no further details.

A bomb wounded six people in Jamila in eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Car bombs ripped through the oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk on Wednesday, killing seven and wounding up to 80 people in the heart of a region of long-simmering ethnic tensions. Three blasts struck outside the headquarters of the Kurdish intelligence forces known as the Asayish, on a highway and near a gas station in southern Kirkuk, located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Qadir said the bomb along the highway targeted a police patrol led by a top commander, Col. Ahmed Shamerani, but he was not hurt in the blast. But two policemen were among the dead, while five police and eight Asayish officials were wounded.

#2: Security forces found a body of a kidnapped person, who had been kidnapped yesterday in central Kirkuk, a source from the joint coordination center said on Tuesday.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Tuesday in two explosions in west of Mosul, according to a security source. "Two explosive charges went off consecutively on Tuesday targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Shefaa neighborhood, west of Mosul, injuring two civilians," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "One of the wounded is in critical condition," he added.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A South Korean base in the city of Charika, Afghanistan came under attack on Tuesday night, local time, after a visit by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin. Seoul's Joint Chiefs of Staff said on Wednesday that five rocket propelled grenades were fired at the newly built military base in Parwan province at around 7:30 p.m. The military said three fell inside the base while two others landed outside, but there were no casualties or damage and Defense Minister Kim had already left before the attack occured.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Aaron M. Swanson

War News for Tuesday, February 08, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, February 7th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, February 8th.

NATO is reporting another death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, February 8th.


Karzai: NATO reconstruction bases have to go

British soldier David Dalzell ‘shot by accident in Afghanistan as he and pal cleaned rifles’

US suspends Pak bilateral contacts


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Iraqi Defense Ministry officer Major General Dr. Ihsan Ali was killed in a blast due to a bomb planted at his house’s door in Al Ghazaliya region. His car was set ablaze and his house was damaged in the bombing, Alsumaria News reported.

The security source also said that another IED blew off in the same venue of the attack, after the arrival of Army and police forces to the area, wounding two soldiers, a policeman and a civilian.

#2: Gunmen raided a house in Al Moushahada region, northern Baghdad, on Tuesday and forced the owner and his son to go outside where they opened fire on them and killed them on the spot.

#3: In another incident, the same source said that "two Katyusha rockets fell in Baghdad's Tigris River, in front of the Green Zone," giving no further details.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near the offices of the Iraqiya political coalition, wounding two security guards and a civilian, in Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad, police said.


Iskandariya:
#1: A police officer and a woman were killed in two improvised explosive device (IED) blasts in Babel on Monday, a local security source said. “Two IEDs went off near an Iraqi police patrol on the main street in al-Iskandariya district, (50 km) northern al-Hilla city, leaving a police officer in the rank of captain killed after his vehicle was destroyed,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The blasts also left a woman who happened to be near the attack scene killed,” he added.


Taji:
#1: "An IED, was launched against a U.S. Army patrol in northwest Baghdad's Taji area, close to the Municipal Council's office on Monday night, causing material losses only," the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A roadside bomb targeting a municipal government vehicle wounded two government workers in Taji, 20 km (12 miles) north of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Mosul:
#1: Two policemen were wounded in an attack with an improvised explosive device (IED) in western Mosul city on Monday, a security source in Ninewa said. “An IED blast targeted a 7th Emergency Police patrol in 17 Tammuz neighborhood, western Mosul, today (Feb. 7), leaving two policemen wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “One of the two policemen is seriously injured,” he added, not giving further information about the incident.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Blasts targeted police working in Afghanistan on Tuesday, killing at least one policeman, officials said. The officer was killed in Balkh province in northern Afghanistan when an improvised explosive device struck a police vehicle. "One police has been killed and three others were injured," a local police spokesman said.

#2: In the capital Kabul, there was an explosion in a traffic police vehicle in a congested area of the city centre, but no casualties. "It was a small blast in a traffic police vehicle," said Mohammad Zahir, the city's criminal investigation police chief said.

At least two people were injured when a blast rocked Cinema Pamir area in downtown Kabul Tuesday afternoon, police said. "A magnetic mine was planted under a traffic police vehicle and detonated at around 2:30 p.m. local time, injuring two people," a police official who declined to be identified told Xinhua. However, he did not say if the injured were police or civilians.

#3: "A roadside improvised explosive device exploded as an army vehicle passed by in Janikhel town, killing two soldiers and wounding four others," a senior military official told AFP. An intelligence official confirmed the incident and casualties, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of Peshawar, the capital of the northwest.

#4: Just north of Peshawar, another roadside blast struck a police van, killing one policeman in the Mithra area. Police official Muhammad Ejaz said three other policemen were injured.

#5: On the outskirts of Peshawar, a bomb planted in a NATO oil tanker exploded in a massive ball of fire, destroying 16 vehicles including three other tankers used to supply NATO forces, police said. "The bomb was planted in a NATO oil tanker. Sixteen vehicles were completely destroyed in the fire caused by the explosion," police official Shafiullah Khan told AFP. Six people were hurt and six nearby shops damaged in the fire, Khan said. The tankers and other vehicles were parked at the time of the explosion and had been due to continue the journey into the lawless tribal district of Khyber and across the border into Afghanistan, he added.

#6: Suspected tribal militants blew up two major natural gas pipelines in Pakistan’s southwest on Tuesday, forcing the suspension of supplies to the strategic region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, officials said. “We have suspended gas supply to the province as the pipelines are on fire,” Inayatullah Ismail, a spokesman for Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) that supplies gas to the southern parts of the country told Reuters. Ismail said he was unsure how long it would take to extinguish the fire and resume gas supplies.

#7: The twin explosions followed a late Monday night attack on four transmission pylons in the Bolan area, suspending power supplies to around half of the province’s 30 districts. A spokesman for the government-owned power company said that electricity to some parts of the provincial capital of Quetta had been restored, but the rest of the districts had been “in complete darkness for the last 24 hours”.

#8: Evading security checks, a suicide bomber wearing an explosive vest entered the customs compound in Kandahar on Monday and detonated the vest as several U.S. soldiers were emerging from their armored vehicle in the compound's courtyard. The blast killed an American and Afghan civilian and wounded five other people including two of the soldiers, according to Afghan and NATO security forces and the U.S. Embassy. It was the fourth suicide bombing of the year in Kandahar province. Officials said the dead Afghan was an interpreter, and the American was an adviser to the customs office. Their identities were not immediately disclosed. "At the time, I heard a big explosion and saw American bodies were lying on the ground bleeding," said Mohammed Shoib, the customs office's director of control. "Then some other Americans came and started helping them, and then a helicopter landed inside the customs compound and took away the dead and wounded."


DoD: Cpl. Lucas T. Pyeatt

War News for Monday, February 07, 2011

J.P. Morgan Execs Killed In Iraq

Bulgaria sends 200 troops to Afghanistan

In Eastern Afghanistan, at War With the Taliban’s Shadowy Rule


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An IED blew up today (Monday) against an Iraqi Army patrol in east Baghdad's Sadr City, wounding two of the patrol's soldiers and two civilians, who were driven to a nearby hospital," he said. One of the patrol's vehicles was damaged, along with a number of other vehicles close to the venue of the blast the source added.

#2: He said that another explosive charge blew up targettomg a government vehicle, carrying two employees in west Baghdad's al-Amal al-Shaabi district, wounding both persons



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: An official in southern Afghanistan's largest city says a suicide bomber has struck near a NATO convoy in Kandahar. Zalmai Ayubi, the spokesman for the Kandahar provincial governor, says there are casualties in Monday's blast near the Kandahar customs house. It wasn't immediately clear if anyone was killed. In the capital, Kabul, NATO says the multinational force has a report of an explosion in Kandahar and is investigating.

#2: Gunmen disguised as soldiers killed a local government chief on his way to work in Afghanistan's volatile east Monday, according to officials. The acting chief of Khost province's Bak district was shot by four men wearing Afghan national army uniforms as he was driving from his home to the office at about 9 in the morning, provincial police chief Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai said. Mobarez Zadran, a Khost government spokesman, identified the official as Sayed Mohammad. He said Mohammad also served as the district's head of administration.

#3: Militants fired rockets and bullets on a police patrol van in northwestern Pakistan on Monday, killing one officer and injuring seven others, one of them critically, police said. The incident, claimed by the Taliban, took place in Balyamina village, 10 kilometres (six miles) west of northwestern Hangu, a town regularly suffering from sectarian violence and a Taliban-linked insurgency. "One policeman was killed and seven others wounded, one of them critically when militants fired five rockets and shot at their van patrolling the village," police spokesman Fazal Naeem told AFP. A senior local police official, Abdul Rasheed, confirmed the incident.

#4: Two Nato oil tankers were destroyed following an attack by unidentified persons in Mitri area of Balochistan on Monday. Official sources said three oil tankers carrying fuel for Nato troops stationed in south-western Afghanistan were on their way to Kandahar via Quetta. Two of these tankers caught fire as unidentified persons opened fire on them in Mitri area, some 200 kilometers southeast of Quetta. Although the tankers have been completely destroyed, no casualties have been reported.

#5: Two Afghans hired by a Singapore-based engineering firm were killed last week by "friendly fire" from NATO-led security forces in Afghanistan's Helmand province, the company said Monday, AFP reported. A third Afghan employee of the Central Asia Development Group (CADG) was seriously injured in the incident on February 3, CADG spokesman Matthew Goldthwaite said in an email to AFP. "On February 3, 2011, a CADG vehicle, carrying four of CADG's Afghan national staff were caught in kinetic activity between ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) forces and insurgent forces on Highway 1 near Spin Masjid Bazaar, near Gereshk in Helmand Province," he said. "As a result of this exchange, two of the passengers were killed, one passenger was seriously wounded (and) the fourth passenger was unharmed. "CADG was informed that ISAF have accepted responsibility for this incident... We believe it's friendly fire."

#6: At least 11 people were injured on Sunday evening in a bomb blast in Pakistan's southwestern province of Balochistan, local media reported. According to the reports, a bomb exploded near the office of a local land officer in the city of Hub in Balochistan. The blast injured 11 including two children.


MoD: Ranger David Dalzell

MoD: Warrant Officer Class 2 (Company Sergeant Major) Colin Beckett

News of the Day for Sunday, February 6, 2011

Reported Security Incidents

Baghadad

Sticky bomb injures 2 civilians in al-Rashied market in Doura.

Mosul

Roadside bomb attack on an Iraqi army patrol injures 1 soldier.

Falluja

Bomb attack on a funeral procession kills Hamid al-Halbousi, the chief of al-Halabsa clan in al-Anbar province, and injures 2 other tribal leaders on Saturday evening.

Samarra

Explosion near he al-Askari Imams shrines injures 6 Pakistani and Iranian pilgrims, plus 2 Iraq police and 1 civilian.

Balad

Car bomb near a shrine injures 5 Iranian pilgrims and 2 Iraqis. Note: The VoI dispatch on the incidents in Samarra and Balad also states there were two deaths, but does not specify where.

Other News of the Day

PM Nouri al-Maliki says he will not seek another term in 2014, and calls for term limits on his successors. He denies this has anything to do with recent protests over poor government services, unemployment, and food shortages.

And speaking of food shortages, wheat prices in Iraq have tripled recently. The government blames inexperienced import companies for failing to secure supplies for which it had contracted, and promises the problem will be resolved shortly. Note that 60% of Iraqis depend on government food rations.

Maliki denies a report by Human Rights Watch that he operates a secret prison where detainees are tortured. Well, he wasn't likely to confirm it -- C

Without any fanfare, the government has started to restore the crossed swords monument constructed by Saddam. They present this as a move to reconcile with the past rather than suppress historical memory. Iraqi-born architect Kanan Makiya says, "I am glad it is being restored, not because it is a great work of art but because it is such a perfect symbol of the Baathist experience. It is vulgar, but vulgar in an unspeakably horrible, terrible - and therefore unique - way."

Afghanistan Update

British soldier killed by an IED in Helmand. The soldier, from 3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment, was attempting to secure an area in the north of Nad-e Ali when he was hit by the improvised explosive device Saturday.

At the global security conference in Munich, Karzai says the transfer of responsibility for security from international to Afghan forces will begin on March 21, which is the Afghan new year. What this will mean in practice, if anything, is unclear. -- C

Karzai also criticizes the practice of the international community of bypassing his government in the delivery of aid. At the same time, he appears to admit that the government is incompetent and corrupt. His argument seems to be that building an effective civil infrastructure requires that aid be directed through the government. I'm not sure how that will go over, but it is a true dilemma. -- C

Quote of the Day

Arab opinion is so hostile to Washington’s policies that a majority (57 percent) think regional security would be enhanced if Iran had nuclear weapons. Still, “there is nothing wrong, everything is under control” (as Marwan Muasher describes the prevailing fantasy). The dictators support us. Their subjects can be ignored—unless they break their chains, and then policy must be adjusted.

Noam Chomsky

War News for Saturday, February 05, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a combat related accident in the Nad-e Ali District, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Friday, February 4th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, February 5th.


7 killed in plane crash in Sulaymaniya


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Gunmen wearing military uniforms killed a former army officer in Al Dora region, southern Baghdad.

#2: Three policemen and a civilian were wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near a police patrol north of Baghdad on Friday, a security source said. “An IED went off on Oman bin Abdulaziz street in al-Aadhamiya neighborhood, north of Baghdad, near a police patrol, leaving three patrolmen and one civilian wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Several bombs (mortars?) exploded in Muthanna airport in western Baghdad, according to al-Iraqiya satellite channel. “A number of explosions heard today due to detonating bombs by security forces in Muthanna airport in western Baghdad,” the channel said in breaking news.

#4: One civilian was killed on Saturday by gunmen in eastern Baghdad, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a civilian in al-Mashtal region, eastern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, without giving further details.


Diyala Prv:
#1: An employee at the Electricity Ministry was wounded in a bomb explosion at his house’s gate, western Baaquba, a police source told Alsumaria News.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Four Iraqi soldiers including a Major officer were seriously wounded in a bombing targeting their patrol in Al Zaydan region, southern Abu Ghraib District, western Baghdad.


Mosul:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in eastern Mosul city on Friday, a local security source said. “An IED went off near an Iraqi army patrol in the neighborhood of al-Muthanna, eastern Mosul, leaving a soldier wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Militants shot dead four men for alleged spying and dumped their bodies outside a northwestern Pakistani town on Saturday, police said. Police said they found four bullet-riddled bodies with notes from militants in their pockets outside Karak, a northwestern town near the lawless North Waziristan tribal district where Taliban militants are active. "We found bodies of four men, they had been killed by shooting and notes in their pockets said they were spying for Indian and Jewish intelligence agencies," district police chief Sajid Mohmand told AFP.

#2: A bomb planted in a car exploded Saturday killing three passengers and wounding two pedestrians in a tribal area on the border with Afghanistan, officials said. The bomb, which was on a timer, exploded in a moving car at Barqambarkhel village in the Khyber tribal district, they said. "Three people were killed and two pedestrians were wounded when a time bomb planted in a car exploded," Khyber's top administrative official Shafirullah Khan told AFP.

#3: A US helicopter has crashed in Khaki Jabbar distruic near Kabul province in Afghanistan with no reports yet on the possible fatalities in the incident. Witnesses said on Saturday that Afghan police have cordoned off the scene of the crash. The cause of the incident and the number of casualties are still unknown, the correspondent said.

At least two pilots have been injured after a helicopter belonging to the US-led foreign forces crashed in Afghanistan's eastern district of Lateh Band near the capital Kabul. The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) has confirmed the incident, which took place on Saturday as the combat helicopter was escorting transport helicopters from a French base in the Surobi district of Kabul province back to the capital, a Press TV correspondent reported. According to eye witnesses, foreign troops have sealed off the crash scene and are looking into the incident, the correspondent added.

#4: A dozen anti- government militants were killed as security forces launched cleanup operation in Tagab valley of Uruzgan province 370 km south of capital Kabul, Juma Gul Humat the police chief of the province said Saturday. "Security forces raided Taliban hideouts in Tagab valley on Wednesday and during the operation wrapped up Saturday morning 12 insurgents had been killed,"Humat said.


DoD: Spec. Ryan A. Gartner

War News for Friday, February 04, 2011

Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Three civilians and one policeman were injured on Thursday in a bomb blast in central Baghdad, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device exploded near a police vehicle patrol in al-Qutn intersection in al-Waziriya region, central Baghdad, injuring three civilians and one policeman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A charred mutilated body found in a garbage can in Sadr City, eastern Baghdad, was of a young man in his 20s while a second body was found in an abandoned house in al-Kadhemiya area, north of Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: “In the Baghdad area of al-Aadhamiya, bomb squad experts dismantled an IED near a secondary school without incident,” he added.


Kut:
#1: An improvised explosive device (IED) went off near a U.S. convoy in the city of al-Kut on Thursday but no information about possible casualties or losses was available, a local police source said. “The explosive charge blast targeted a U.S. convoy at the entrance of al-Hai district, (40 km) south of Kut, but no one spoke of casualties or losses,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The U.S. forces cordoned off the scene after the blast,” he added.

#2: A school student was kidnapped on Friday in north of Kut while was heading for his teacher’s house, according to a police source. “Unknown gunmen kidnapped Jaafar Saaeed, 18, in al-Nuaamaniya district, while heading to his teacher’s house,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diwaniya:
#1: Iraqi police opened fire on Thursday to disperse hundreds of angry residents protesting against shortages of power, water and other services near the southern city of Diwaniya, wounding three, officials said. The crowd of about 1,000 tried to force its way into a local council building in the al-Hamza district south of the Diwaniya provincial capital, demanding improved food rations and more power and water. "The protesters threw stones at police. Police opened fire at them, wounding three," said Raad al-Zaidi, an adviser to Diwaniya Governor Salem Hussein. Protesters set tires ablaze, hurled stones and tried to storm the local police station, witnesses said.



Tuz Khurmato:
#1: A police chief in northern Iraq says the 8-year-old son of a local anti-terrorism chief was killed in a food market by gunmen aiming for his father. Tuz Khormato police chief Col. Hussein Rasheed said Friday that the target of the shooting was the chief of the city's anti-terrorism security squads. The father and two of his other children were wounded in the Thursday night shooting. The gunmen fled.

Separately, the chief of an anti-terrorism squad was shot and killed Thursday night in central Tuz Khormato, a town north of Baghdad. The official, Captain Abbass Nuri, driving in his car with his family when gunmen attacked occurred, police said. Two of his children were killed and his father was critically wounded.


Tikrit:
#1: A sticky bomb exploded on Friday morning on the vehicle of an intelligence officer in central Tikrit, without injuring him, a security source said. “A bomb, stuck to the vehicle of Colonel Ali Saleh, an intelligence officer of brigade 14, went off on Friday (Feb. 4), near the Tikrit educational hospital,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The blast left no casualties,” he added.

#2: A bomb planted in front of the home of a police captain whose brother is a member of parliament seriously wounded the officer's 13-year-old son, in central Tikrit, 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Up to eight people were killed and 19 others injured Thursday evening in three bomb attacks, including a suicide bombing, in central Ramadi, the capital of Anbar province, police source told Xinhua. The attack took place at about local time 7:15 p.m. (1615 GMT), when a sticky bomb attached to a civilian car parked on a main road in central Ramadi detonated, the source from the provincial operations command said on condition of anonymity. Minutes later, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest among a crowd of policemen and civilians who were attracted to gather to look at the site of the first blast, killing six and wounding 15 others, the source said. Among the victims of the second blast, three policemen were killed and three others wounded, the source said.

#2: Later, another roadside bomb went off near police vehicles outside the hospital of Ramadi where the victims of the earlier blasts were being evacuated by the police vehicles, destroying a police vehicle and killing two policemen aboard and wounding four others, the source added.

#3: Two brothers were wounded on Friday by unknown gunmen in southern Falluja, a security source said. “Unknown gunmen stormed the house of Professor Khamis Daham, specialized in the Islamic sciences, in al-Bu Hawaa region, central al-Aameriya district, southern Falluja and opened fire on the family inside it, injuring two of his sons,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The gunmen blew the house up after the attack,” he added.

#4: “Another armed group planted bombs around the house of a policeman and detonated it, but without leaving casualties,” the same source said.

#5: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol wounded five policemen and four civilians in the town of Ramadi, police said.

#6: Gunmen using silenced weapons killed a police officer at a security checkpoint in southern Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Two people were killed and at least one was injured in Afghanistan's southern province of Helmand on Friday when US-led foreign soldiers opened fire at a bus carrying civilians, a Press TV correspondent reported. NATO has issued a statement saying the incident took place when a foreign patrol was attacked, but failed to confirm which side has killed the people.

#2: In another incident, a bomb aimed at killing police forces, exploded near the market in Kandahar and killed one civilian and wounded three others including a woman and two children.

Officials and witnesses say a car bomb has exploded outside a house owned by the police chief in the southern province of Kandahar. It's the second attack on him this week. Interior ministry spokesman Zemeri Bashary says two women were wounded in Friday's blast. Dr. Irsan Khan of Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar says four people were wounded. Conflicting numbers of casualties are common in the immediate aftermath of explosions. The police chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid was inside the house but wasn't hurt by the blast.

#3: Local sources told Press TV that a policeman was shot dead by unknown gunmen in Kandahar early Friday morning.

#4: In another bomb blast in the northern province of Kunduz in Afghanistan on Friday, at least six civilians were killed and several others were injured.

#5: At least 20,000 people have fled fierce fighting between troops and militants in the Pakistani tribal region of Mohmand, officials and witnesses say. Many of the displaced are sheltering in temporary camps, the authorities say. Troops have been using helicopter gunships and heavy weapons to pound suspected militant positions for a week, according to residents. Pakistani officials say the army has sustained an unspecified number of casualties and that more than 70 insurgents have been killed in the fighting so far.

War News for Thursday, February 03, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack injury in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, February 2nd. The Australian DoD reports that an Australian soldier died on a foot patrol in the Tangi Valley in Uruzgan Province. A second soldier was wounded in the attack.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Police and health officials say a bomb has exploded in a mainly Shiite area in Baghdad, killing two Iraqi civilians. A police officer says the roadside bomb was planted on a highway in the eastern New Baghdad area. It exploded at about 8:30 a.m. Thursday. He says four people were wounded, including two traffic policemen.

Two civilians were killed and three more were wounded in an improvised explosive device blast in southeastern Baghdad, a security source said on Thursday. “An explosive charge went off on Thursday (Feb. 3) under the Baghdad al-Jadieda bridge in southeastern Baghdad, killing two civilians and injuring three, including a policeman,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An employee was killed on Wednesday and two more were wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “A bomb, stuck to a car of an employee of the Commerce Ministry, went off on Wednesday (Feb.2) in Qahtan square in al-Yarmouk region, western Baghdad, killing him and injuring two passing civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Meanwhile, police found a female body of a government’s employee in al-Bataween region, central Baghdad, the same source said.

#4: Four policemen and two civilians were wounded on Wednesday in two explosions in northeastern Baghdad, a security source said. “Two bombs went off this afternoon near a fuel station in al-Shaab region, northeastern Baghdad, injuring four policemen and two civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#5: An employee was killed on Thursday by gunmen in western Baghdad, according to a security source. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed an employee of Finance Ministry’s al-Rashied Bank using guns with silencers in al-Ghazaliya region, western Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, without giving further details.

#6: Two policemen and three civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in eastern Baghdad, a security source said on Thursday. “The bomb was detonated in al-Mashtal region, eastern Baghdad, injuring two policemen and three civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the blast caused material damage to a police vehicle.

#7: A sticky bomb attached to a car killed a father and wounded his wife and child near Yarmouk hospital in western Baghdad on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said.


Abu Ghraib:
#1: Two Iraqi soldiers were shot dead by gunmen in a village west of Baghdad on Wednesday, a local police source said. "Unidentified gunmen in their car opened fire from their silenced weapons on a checkpoint in al-Haswa village, part of Abu Ghraib area, some 20 km west of Baghdad, killing two soldiers," the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.


Samarra:
#1: In north of Baghdad, an Iraqi police force foiled a suicide bomb attack, forcing a suicide bomber to blew up his explosive vest, wounding two people, a source from the operations command of Salahudin province told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The incident, apparently, took place by chance as the police was chasing a stolen pick-up truck in al-Huwaish area, just west of the city of Samarra, some 110 km north of Baghdad, when the driver of the truck blew himself up instead of letting the police catch him, the source said. The incident is under investigation as the police believe that they have foiled a suicide attack on a target somewhere in the area, the source added.


Mosul:
#1: Unknown gunmen killed a police officer and injured a civilian on Wednesday in northwest of Mosul, a security source said. “A police captain was killed and an old man was wounded by unknown gunmen on Wednesday near Rabiaa district, northwest of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A university student was wounded on Wednesday by a random fire in northern Mosul, according to a security source. “An army soldier was shooting in the air to organize the traffic in al-Majmouaa al-Thaqafiya region, northern Mosul, injuring a university student,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Gunmen attacked and wounded an off-duty policeman near his home in southern Mosul, 390 km ( 240 miles) north of Baghdad, late on Tuesday, police said.

#4: Gunmen wounded a civilian in front of his home in eastern Mosul on Tuesday night, police said.


Rabea:
#1: Gunmen in a car killed a police captain inside his car and wounded a passenger in the northern town of Rabea, near the Syrian border, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A father and his young son were killed on Thursday when a bomb blew up their car in Afghanistan, police said. The incident near the northern city of Kunduz was the latest attack of the deadly Taliban insurgency that has gripped the country for the last nine years. "A father and his 10 or 12-year-old son who were driving to the city were killed," deputy provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Aqtash told media. He did not give details of any further injuries from the roadside blast.

At least five civilians, including two men and three children, have been killed as a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Kodnuz province in northern Afghanistan. "The tragic incident happened in Gortipa district at around 10:00 a.m. local time today, "deputy to provincial police chief Abdul Rahman Haqtash told Xinhua on Thursday. Police say the civilians were travelling in a pick-up truck when their vehicle hit a roadside bomb.

#2: Pakistani forces have bombarded residential areas in eastern Afghanistan. Aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force also homed in oon some police checkpoints across the border. The bombing was authorised by the Pakistan government one day after Afghan and Pakistani troops exchanged fire across border. One Pakistani soldier was killed and three others were left injured after the exchange. Afghanistan officials said the Pakistani jets targeted areas in Gushte district in Nangarhar province, where residential areas and government buildings were hit. No casualties have been reported.

#3: Security forces killed five militants in an exchange of fire in Lower Orakzai Agency on Thursday. Militants attacked a checkpost in Karghan Town of Lower Orakzai. One security official was martyred in the ambush. Security forces returned fire and killed five militants in retaliatory fire.

#4: Gunmen attacked two NATO tankers on the highway between Chaman and Quetta near the Afghan border on Thursday, killing a driver and injuring another, police said.

#5: Blast rocked Afghan capital Kabul on Thursday, an official said the blast was a military exercise. An official with the press department of Interior Ministry said that the blast was not a terrorist attack, rather a military exercise. "It was explosion of a shell happened in Polygon area of Pul-e- Charkhi district as army personnel often exercise there," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified. Meantime, a security official who declined to be identified, said, "The blast occurred in 9th district and investigation is underway to determine the reason and casualties if any."


A-DoD: Corporal Richard Atkinson