The present-day U.S. military qualifies by any measure as highly professional, much more so than its Cold War predecessor. Yet the purpose of today’s professionals is not to preserve peace but to fight unending wars in distant places. Intoxicated by a post-Cold War belief in its own omnipotence, the United States allowed itself to be drawn into a long series of armed conflicts, almost all of them yielding unintended consequences and imposing greater than anticipated costs. Since the end of the Cold War, U.S. forces have destroyed many targets and killed many people. Only rarely, however, have they succeeded in accomplishing their assigned political purposes. . . . [F]rom our present vantage point, it becomes apparent that the “Revolution of ‘89” did not initiate a new era of history. At most, the events of that year fostered various unhelpful illusions that impeded our capacity to recognize and respond to the forces of change that actually matter.

Andrew Bacevich


Sunday, November 30, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, November 30, 2014

Taliban kill a foreign aid worker, his two children and an Afghan citizen in a raid on the offices of a foreign charity. The facility apparently belonged to a Calfornia-based organization called Partnership in Academics and Development. The children were teenagers.

After the attack, the latest of several in recent days, the Kabul police chief resigns. President Ghani is expected to make an address later today.

TOLO is reporting the new Kabul police chief will be Gen. Abdul Rahman Rahimi, who has been provincial chief of police for Balk.

A battle in Kandahar province is said to kill 19 insurgents and 3 ANA soldiers. As usual, there is no corroboration of the typically lopsided casualty count. The Taliban have yet to comment.

Taliban overrun an Afghan army base in Helmand and kill 14 ANA soldiers, according to local officials. [Locals are, in my opinion, usually a more credible source than federal agencies, with the Ministry of Defense being somewhat more believable than the Ministry of the Interior.  I generally do not link to MoI announcements. -- C]

Update on Mesopotamia: U.S. and allied warplanes conduct massive bombing campaign on the Syrian city of Raqqa, capital of the Islamic State. As many as 30 strikes are reported. No word as yet on damage or casualties.

Saturday, November 29, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 29, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban militants breached the perimeter of a huge former U.S. and British base handed over to the Afghan army last month and were fighting soldiers there on Saturday, officials said. The militants and army forces were exchanging sporadic gunfire on Saturday morning at Camp Bastion in the southern province of Helmand as fighting entered a third day, said Gen. Ayatullah Khan, commander of the army regiment in the area.

#2: A prominent Sunni Muslim leader from a religious political party was shot dead in a pre-dawn attack in southern Pakistan on Saturday, police said. Doctor Khalid Mehmood Soomro, a leader from the pro-Taliban Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazl (JUI-F) party in southern Sindh province was offering his morning prayers when unidentified gunmen entered the mosque and shot him dead.

#3: A senior politician was today killed in an early morning shooting in Pakistan's southern Sindh province. Khalid Mehmood Soomro, senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Islam Fazl (JUI-F), was leaving a mosque in Sukkur after morning prayers when he was targeted by unknown gunmen.

#4: Pakistan Army killed at least seven suspected militants and injured 12 others in airstrikes in the northwestern Khyber tribal region, a senior military official said

Friday, November 28, 2014

War News for Friday, November 28, 2014


U.S. seeks to build lean Iraqi force to fight the Islamic State


Reported security incidents
#1-3: Four police officers were killed and dozens of civilians injured Friday in three attacks, officials said, as a spate of deadly violence continued across Afghanistan.

#1: In the southern province of Helmand, a suicide bomber detonated a truck laden with explosives near a police checkpoint in the Nawzad district, killing four police officers and wounding five others, said Omar Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor, where the incident took place.

Tens of suicide bombers attacked on a military base in Shorabad district, Helmand province this morning. At first a suicide bomber exploded his improvised explosive device near entrance gate of military base and later on tens others with their heavy and light weapons clashed with militaries. A military commander of Helmand said BNA, the security forces succeeded to kill several assailants but clashes continue there so far. Yet, no casualties reported in the incident.

#2: A bomb went off inside a mosque during Friday prayers in the eastern province of Nangarhar, injuring more than 30 worshipers, according to provincial police. Seven of the injured were reportedly in critical condition.

#3: In the usually peaceful northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif, a bomb planted inside a cart wounded three civilians, police spokesman Sher Jan Durrani said.

#4: Taliban fighters staged an attack Thursday evening in an upscale district in the Afghan capital Kabul, injuring a Nepali guard. Witnesses described multiple explosions and bursts of gunfire in the Wazir Akbar Khan district, which contains numerous foreign embassies and compounds housing international agencies and companies — as well as the homes of some senior Afghan government officials. Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir said there were three explosions followed by extended gunfire. A Taliban spokesman said the intended target was a guesthouse in the district occupied by foreigners. The spokesman, speaking on condition of anonymity, refused to give further details, adding only that the target of the attack was, "enemies."

#5: Three armed militants were killed and another arrested in clashes by security forces in Maidan-Wardak province. The clashes occurred during several operations of security forces in different region of Sayeedabad and Chak districts of Maidlan-Shaher. According to media office of Maidlan-Wardak province, in the clashes three armed militants lost their lives and another arrested

#6: Taliban militants have kidnapped at least ten civilians in northern Sar-e-Pul province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, the civilians were abducted late on Wednesday evening between Balkhab and Kohistanat districts.

Thursday, November 27, 2014

War News for Thursday, November 27, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: At least one British diplomat was killed Thursday after a large explosion damaged a convoy of foreign embassy cars in Kabul, police said. The suicide attack killed five people and wounded 33 others, including at least four children, said Hashmat Stanikzai, Kabul's police chief. An explosive-laden car was detonated as a foreign embassy convoy was passing by in the 9th District police zone, said interior ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqi.

#2: A Shia cleric was killed in a drive-by shooting in Islamabad on Wednesday, a private news channel reported. According to the police, Allama Nawaz Irfani, a prominent leader of Majlis Wahdat ul Muslimeen (MWM) , was targeted on way to Islamabad from his home town Parachinar in the limits of Golrah Police Station.

#3: At least five Taliban militants were killed following military operations by Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers in southeastern Ghazni and Southern Helmand provinces.


DoD: Sgt. Maj. Wardell B. Turner

DoD: Spc. Joseph W. Riley

Wednesday, November 26, 2014

War News for Wednesday, November 26, 2014


Command Sgt. Maj. killed in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: A US drone strike killed at least eight suspected militants in Pakistan`s restive tribal belt on Wednesday, security officials said. The unmanned aircraft hit a compound in Kund Sar village, 60 kilometres (40 miles) south of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region which borders Afghanistan

#2: Gunmen opened fire on a team of polio vaccinators in Pakistan's restive southwest on Wednesday, killing four of them and forcing authorities to halt an immunisation drive, officials said. The incident happened on the eastern outskirts of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province.

#3: "Up to 35 militants were killed and 11 others injured during military operations and clashes in three provinces over the past 24 hours,"the ministry's spokesman General Zahir Azimi said in his twitter account. Three Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were killed in a roadside bombing attack over the same period, Azimi said.

#4: A roadside bomb struck a military vehicle in Uruzgan province, southern Afghanistan, on Wednesday, killing an Afghan soldier and injuring another, a local official said.

#5: At least three Taliban insurgents were killed following a drone strike by NATO-led coalition forces in eastern Laghman province.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Michael A. Cathcart

Tuesday, November 25, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 25, 2014


NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an enemy attack an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, November 24th. News reports that either a magnetic or a roadside bombing attack was carried out in Kabul killing two American soldiers and wounding an undetermined number of civilians.


Reported security incidents
#1: Early on Tuesday, a remote-controlled bomb exploded on the city's outskirts as a bus carrying Afghan army personnel passed by, said Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry. Seven of the bus passengers were injured.

#2: A later blast shook houses in the Wazir Akbar Khan area of the city, which is home to embassies, international media offices and aid groups, but there were no casualties, police said. a grenade blast in the diplomatic quarter caused no casualties but led to the arrest of a suspect, officials said.

#3: At least three militants were killed and several others reported injured in US drone attack here on late on Monday. Sources said that unmanned US spy plane targeted a compound in Nazian area near Pak-Afghan border. Four missiles were fired on the compound resultantly it was razed to ground.

#4: In another blast which occurred at 05:00 p.m. local time in Dasht-e-Archi district of the northern Kunduz province on Monday six persons, all civilians, were killed and five others injured, police said. "Anti-government militants placed explosive device inside the cavities of a motorbike and exploded it in the bazaar of Dasht-e- Archi district at around 05:00 p.m. local time Monday as a result six civilians were killed and five others injured," police spokesman in the province Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told reporters.

#5: 37 armed oppositions were killed following several clearing operations led by Afghan security forces in different parts of the country in the last 24 hours.

#6: At least three policemen martyred in a roadside mine explosion in Logar province this morning.
Deen Mohammad Darwaish Logar Acting governor spokesperson reported BNA; the incident took place while national police forces went to Dehnaw district to investigate the death case of Haji Den Mohammad Nabi a tribal elder of Mohammad Agha district. Darwaish added, their vehicle hit a roadside bomb while returning from the mentioned district and caused martyring of 3 police.

#7: Mine blast in Maiwand district of Kandahar province killed 2   Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers and wounded 4 others.

Monday, November 24, 2014

War News for Monday, November 24, 2014


British personnel leave southern Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan officials say a suicide bomber has killed at least 50 people during a volleyball tournament in the country's east. The match in the Paktika province district of Yahya Khel had drawn a large crowd. At least 80 more people were wounded in the attack and are being treated in various medical facilities in Kabul, the capital.

#2: Taliban gunmen wounded a polio health worker in northwest Pakistan on Monday, at the start of a fresh campaign to vaccinate children against the crippling disease, officials said. Two attackers fired bullets at the vaccinator as he came out of a health center in Shabqadar district in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.

#3: At least 40 Taliban militants were killed and 15 others were injured following military operations by Afghan national security forces in various provinces of the country.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, November 23, 2014

The Wolesi Jirga (lower house of parliament) overwhelmingly approves Bilateral Security Agreement with U.S. and the Status of Forces Agreement with NATO. The agreement allows U.S. forces to be stationed in Kabul, Parwan, Balkh, Kandahar, Paktia, Herat, Nangarhar and Helmand provinces, and exempts foreign troops from Afghan law.

Khaama press has a slightly different vote count, for some reason, and incorrectly calls the vote "unanimous" although there were a few no votes. President Ghani now calls for Senate approval.

Drone strike is said to kill 6 militants in Nuristan province.

District chief and 3 other police are injured by a roadside bomb in Enjil, Herat province.

Taliban attack a police outpost in Ghazni, killing 3.

Three ANA soldiers are killed in a bomb attack but MoD gives no specifics.

Three Taliban killed in a gun battle in Faryab.

Reuters has details on Obama's announcement that U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan will continue in 2015. According to Afghan commanders, Afghan forces are not capable of defeating the Taliban on their own. "The Taliban said it is undeterred by the U.S. announcement. 'They will continue their killings, night raids and dishonour to the people of Afghanistan in 2015. It will only make us continue our jihad,' Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujajhid said."

Update: Suicide bomber attacks the crowd at a volleyball match in Paktika province.
 At least 45 people are reported killed, 50 to 70 injured, some in critical condition. The attacker is said to have arrived on a motorcycle. Although public safety officials were present, most of the casualties are said to be civilians.


Saturday, November 22, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 22, 2014


US 'to expand' 2015 Afghanistan combat role


Reported security incidents
#1: An Afghan official says that one soldier and eight insurgents have been killed in an attack on an army base in the country's volatile east. Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi said the assault Saturday in Afghanistan's remote Nuristan province along the country's mountainous border with Pakistan lasted almost three hours. He says a large number of insurgents tried to overrun the base, but were turned back.

#2: Meanwhile in eastern Nangarhar province, police spokesman Hazrat Hussain Mashreqiwal said a car bomb killed one civilian and wounded two in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

#3: Soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 162nd Infantry "were conducting a security patrol when they were engaged by a lone gunman" on Saturday (15th) in Kabul, Maj. Stephen  Bomar said. "The soldiers subsequently returned fire, killing the gunman." One soldier was seriously injured and two sustained non-life-threatening injuries, he said, adding that "It is U.S. military policy not to release the names of the wounded."

#4: Four militants were killed and five others including a security person sustained injuries as clash flared up in Baghlan province with Pul-e-Khumri as its capital 160 km north of Kabul Friday night, a local official said Saturday. "A group of armed Taliban rebels raided a security checkpoint in Abqul area of Baghlan-e-Markazai district late last night, triggering a gun battle which lasted for a while leaving four militants dead," district governor Gohar Khan Babri told reporters. Five more persons including four militants and a security man sustained injuries in the firefight, he added.

#5: At least 19 Taliban militants were killed and 4 others were injured in military operations conducted by Afghan national security forces in the past 24 hours.

#6: A police official was killed and two others were injured in a magnetic bomb blast in eastern Nangarhar province this morning.

#7: A Taliban bomber blew up himself with own explosives while he was trying to plant an improvised explosive device (IED) in Herat province.

#8: At least five Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred following roadside bomb explosion, defense officials said Saturday. Gen. Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the Afghan soldiers were martyred in the past 48 hours.

Friday, November 21, 2014

War News for Friday, November 21, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: A U.S. drone strike killed six suspected militants in northwestern Pakistan, security officials said on Friday, as al Qaeda said two members of the group had been killed in a previous strike. Two missiles struck a house in Mada Khel village of the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border on Thursday night, said a security official based in the area.

#2: A bomb hit a passenger train in the restive southwestern Pakistan province of Balochistan yesterday, derailing it and wounding three passengers, officials said. The bomb in the Dasht region hit the moving Bugti Express about 30km before its final destination of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. The train was coming from the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.

#3: A bomb attached to a motorcycle struck an army vehicle in northwestern Pakistan on Friday, killing two soldiers, a police official said. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. The bomb exploded as the army vehicle was passing by on a road on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, said police official Roohullah Bangash.

#4: Afghan security forces have pressed on to clear the militants in restive provinces and killed 30 militants in the latest operations, the country's Interior Ministry said on Friday.

#5: According to recent reports, Pakistani forces fired tens rockets in different parts of Kunar and Nooristan provinces. A police commander in the east of the country said BNA, the attacks had no casualties but inflected financial damages to residents of the area. A tribal elder of Kamdish district of Nooristan province said that two civilians were wounded in the attacks.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

War News for Thursday, November 20, 2014


Romania to send 450 new troops to Afghanistan next year


Reported security incidents
#1: Four Taliban militants who attacked a compound housing foreign workers in the Afghan capital were killed Wednesday night in a failed assault there, police said, the latest violence targeting foreigners in the country. One attacker died when he detonated a vehicle packed with explosives near the gate of the Green Village compound in eastern Kabul, police chief Gen. Mohammad Zahir said. Police officers killed the other three attackers in a shootout, Zahir said. "There were no civilian or military casualties," Zahir said.

#2: A rocket fired by militants slammed into Afghan eastern Assadabad city, leaving one person dead and injuring six others on Thursday, police said.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

War News for Wednesday, November 19, 2014


Germany and Italy to keep up to 1,350 soldiers in Afghanistan



Reported security incidents
#1: A grenade attacked killed two policemen and wounded another in Charsadda on Tuesday, police said. The incident happened in the Shabqadar area of the district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province. Two men riding a motorbike threw a hand grenade on a police vehicle patrolling the area, killing two policeman and wounding another one,” said district police chief Shafiullah Khan.

#2: Security officials said military planes pounded positions of the banned Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Nakai and Kukikhel areas of Tirah valley, killing seven militants and destroying three of their hideouts. The claim could not be independently verified.

#3: Meanwhile, sources in Mehraban Kalay of Tirah valley said that a man was publicly killed by militants on a charge of spying.

#4: A suicide car bomb rocked Shinkai district in the southern Afghanistan's Zabul province on Wednesday, leaving the bomber dead, provincial police chief Ghulam Sakhi Rogh Liwanai said. one police was slightly injured in the blast.

#5: At least 91 armed oppositions were killed following clearing operations led by Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) during the last 24 hours in several provinces of the country.

#6: In a drone attacks of NATO forces in Kunar province 4 armed rebels killed including two commanders.

Tuesday, November 18, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 18, 2014


850 (German) troops 'to stay' in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: A Taliban attack, involving at least one suicide bomber, targeted a foreigners' compound in Kabul early on Tuesday, killing four people in the latest fatal blast to hit the Afghan capital. Two Afghan security guards were among the four killed, said the ministry. Three civilians were also wounded in the attack, which involved three attackers, including the truck's driver.


Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

#2: Also Tuesday, in eastern Khost province, a woman died when the van she was travelling in hit a roadside bomb, said Mubariz Mohammad Zadran, spokesman for the provincial governor. Another 13 people, including children, were wounded.

Read more here: http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/11/17/4331987/at-least-2-dead-in-attack-in-kabul.html#storylink=cpy

#3: At least two people, including a child, were killed and five children injured in a roadside blast in the Nasti Kot area of Pakistan's Kurram tribal region on Tuesday, a media report said. According to officials, an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the roadside in the region's Parachinar district, was detonated as a school van passed by, killing the driver and a child, Dawn online reported.

#4: The bodies of four persons killed by gun shots were found dumped in gunny sacks in Risalpur area of Nowshera district here on Tuesday.

Monday, November 17, 2014

War News for Monday, November 17, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Airstrikes and ground clashes between security forces and militants in North Waziristan Agency early Sunday left four soldiers, including an army major, and 34 militants dead. Four soldiers were killed and at least eight were missing after insurgents using rockets and grenades stormed a checkpoint in the remote border region of North Waziristan Agency, security sources said. Eleven men were wounded and between eight and 10 were missing, they said.

#2: An outspoken female Afghan lawmaker survived a suicide bombing attack on her vehicle on Sunday, suffering slight wounds, but three civilian bystanders were killed, a police spokesman said.

#3: In a clash between armed Taliban and security forces in Takhar province, six armed Taliban was killed and 12 others wounded yesterday evening. The Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that the attack took place by Taliban militants on a police check post in Khwajah Ghar district in northeastern Takhar province.

#4: Nine armed oppositions were killed by Afghan National Army forces operation in Kunduz province last night.

#5: Student of a school and an engineer were martyred and three other students wounded in a blast in Maidan-Wardak province.

#6: Taliban militants launched a massive offensive with the involvement of some 400 fighters against Balablok district in the western Farah province, 695 km west of Kabul, on Monday, gun battle continues, a private television channel Tolo has reported.

#7: Three local police personnel were injured as a roadside bomb struck their vehicle in Marawara district of Kunar province on Monday, provincial police chief Abdul Habib SayedKhili said.

Sunday, November 16, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, November 16, 2014


Suicide attack in Kabul on the car of Shukria Barakzai, a member of parliament and women's rights advocate, kills three people and injures 20. Barazaki escapes injury. Reports NYT's Rob Norland:

During the Taliban era, Ms. Barakzai, 42, helped run underground schools for girls. She had enemies on many sides, including powerful warlords. She famously remarked of her fellow legislators, “Our Parliament is a collection of lords. Warlords, drug lords, crime lords.” er husband, an unsuccessful candidate for Parliament, took a second wife without consulting her. Ms. Barakzai remained married to him, but began campaigning against the practice of multiple wives for Afghan men.

Two Afghan soldiers are killed by a roadside bomb  but the MoD gives no information as to location.

Former president Karzai accuses U.S. of promoting extremism in the region. "Speaking during an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Karzai said senior U.S. officials would tell him that neighboring Pakistan was harboring terrorists responsible for attacks inside Afghanistan but urge him not to raise the issue with Pakistani leaders. He said the United States “has been both encouraging the thief to steal and the house owner to safeguard his house.” [He has a point. -- C] But . . . 

President Ghani meets with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif in Islamabad, where the two subsequently make some non-specific statements about cooperation against extremism.



Update:  U.S. casualty reported yesterday is identified as Sgt. 1st  Class Michael A. Cathcart, of Bay City Michigan. Died Nov. 14 in Kunduz of small arms fire. He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.



Saturday, November 15, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 15, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an enemy attack an undisclosed location in northern Afghanistan on Friday, November 14th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Three Georgian soldiers serving in a peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan were injured in a suicide bomb attack. Georgia’s Ministry of Defence released a statement Nov.15 that said three members of the Georgian Armed Forces were patrolling the Bagram Air Base territory when a suicide bomber blew himself up.

#2: At least three Afghan border policemen and 10 militants were killed after Taliban militants attacked security checkpoints in the country's eastern province of Kunar Saturday morning, police said.

Hundreds of armed Taliban attacked on military and civil foundations of Nari district, Kunar province this morning. According to reports, clashes continue between assailants and military forces in several regions of Nari district. Eyewitness said that hundreds of Pakistani and Afghan Taliban militants are involved in the attack.

#3: At least six militants were killed and eight others captured on Saturday during raids in Pakistan's restive southwestern Balochistan province. "The raids took place in the mountainous region of Bolan district where insurgents and militants are believed to have safe hide outs," a security official said.

#4: Three armed commanders of Taliban were killed in clashes of ANA forces in Kapisa province the other day. Qari Sharbat, Qari Neyazullah and Qri Shaker were targeted by ANA forces in different parts of Tagab district and lost their lives. Eight people affiliated to Taliban group were also wounded in the clashes.

#5: former provincial representative of Herat and one of prominent Islamic scholar in the west of the country was killed by unknown gunmen late yesterday night. Shaikh Azisullah Najafi targeted by unknown gunmen and lost his life in Herat city.

#6: At least five militants were killed following a US drone strike in eastern Kunar province on Friday, local security officials said Saturday.

#7: At least 40 Taliban militants were killed and 10 others were injured following military operations in the past 24 hours.

Friday, November 14, 2014

War News for Fridayy, November 14, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Jet strikes killed at least 30 suspected militants and destroyed a number of insurgent hideouts in the North Waziristan tribal region. According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), foreign militants were among the 30 who were killed when jet fighters carried out airstrikes in North Waziristan's Dattakhel area. The area is off-limits to journalists, making it impossible to independently verify the exact numbers and identity the dead.

#2: A policeman was killed on Friday when armed men attacked a checkpost in Quetta's Hana area.
Police sources told Dawn that four armed motorcyclists resorted to indiscriminate firing at a police checkpost in the Nasarabad area of Hana.

#3: Unknown gunmen shot dead a prominent cleric in western Herat province of Afghanistan late on Thursday, local officials said.

Thursday, November 13, 2014

War News for Thursday, November 13, 2014


Bulgarian Soldiers to Depart for NATO's New Mission in Afghanistan

Soldier broken by war silenced by death

Photos:  Car bombing targets a foreign troops' military convoy in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan police say a suspected suicide bomber was killed by international forces in eastern Afghanistan on November 13 when he tried to attack a convoy of NATO-led troops. Hazrat Hosein Mashraqiwal, a spokesman for police in Nangarhar Province, said the attacker was killed by foreign troops before he could get close to the convoy

#2: At least five militants were killed Thursday in a clash with fighters belonging to a peace committee in Pakistan's Khyber Agency. According to officials, the Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) militants attacked the Tauheedul Islam peace committee volunteers in the Narai Baba area of Tirah Valley, Dawn online reported.

#3: Hospital officials and eyewitnesses say at least four displaced people and nine police officers have been injured in a clash during which police opened fire as a crowd jostled for rations at a camp in northern Pakistan.

#4: At least one civilian was killed and five others injured in a bomb attack in southern Afghan province of Kandahar on Thursday, police said. The blast took place at around midday at the Spin Boldak District bazaar when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted in a handcart was detonated, killing one and injuring five, the provincial police spokesman Zia Duranni told Xinhua.

#5: Earlier on Thursday morning, three civilians were killed and another injured when an IED went off inside a house in Kandahar city, capital of Kandahar province, Duranni said.

#6: At least two civilians were killed and another injured following an explosion in a market in Shindand district of western Herat province this noon.

#7: At least one civilian was killed following the second suicide attack on NATO forces convoy in eastern Nangarhar province on Thursday. According to local government officials, the incident around noon in Behsud district of Nangarhar province.

#8: At least four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred following roadside Improvised Explosive Device (IED) attack. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the four ANA soldiers lost their lives in the past 24 hours. No further details were given regarding the exact location of the incident.

Wednesday, November 12, 2014

War News for Wednesday, November 12, 2014


RAF Tornados complete Afghan combat mission


Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone strike on a sprawling Taliban hideout in a northwestern tribal region bordering Afghanistan killed six militants yesterday, two intelligence officials said.

#2: Two civilians were killed and another injured in an explosion in Shindand town in Afghanistan's western Herat province Wednesday, police spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi said.

#3: At least 19 militants including some top commanders were killed on Wednesday and five of their hideouts were destroyed in aerial strikes by Pakistani military jets in volatile Khyber Agency in the country’s northwest tribal region.

#4: At least five policemen were killed when some unidentified insurgents attacked a police check point in the northern Afghan province of Badakhshan overnight, police said on Wednesday morning.

#5: French inmate was critically injured after he was stabbed by another prisoner in a jail in northern Faryab province yesterday. Head of Maimana city prison, Sardar Mohammad confirmed that the French national was employee of Red Cross and critically injured by another prisoners following the attack. The employee of the Red Cross wounded while he wanted to distribute winter cloths to inmates of the prison Mohammad further added that the assailant was identified as Arsalan who confessed for attacking the French inmate.

Tuesday, November 11, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 11, 2014


Troops from Hungary, Iceland, Ireland and Italy leaves Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: The gunfight erupted overnight at a checkpost of the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) in Shireendara area of Orakzai district, one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions on the Afghan border. “More than 50 militants attacked the checkpost. Two soldiers embraced shahadat [martrydom] while 15 terrorists were killed in an exchange of fire,” a senior security official told AFP. He said six soldiers also sustained injuries in the attack, adding that the militants fled after the FC troops retaliated.

#2: Elsewhere, one soldier was killed and another wounded when a roadside bomb went off near their vehicle in the northwestern town of Bannu on Tuesday, a security official said.

#3: Separately, a bomb planted on a roadside in restive Bajaur tribal district’s Chargoo village bordering Afghanistan killed two tribal security force personnel and wounded three others, local government official Sohail Khan told AFP.

#4: At least 10 militants were killed overnight after Afghan army helicopters carried out an airstrike in Kunduz province, an official said on Tuesday.

#5: At least three security personnel who were guarding a polio vaccination team were killed today in a bomb blast in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region.

#6: Jalalabad capital of Nangarhar province came under rocket attack this morning, leaving at least one civilian dead and three others injured.

#7: At least 19 Taliban militants were killed and 11 others were injured following military operations in the past 24 hours.

Monday, November 10, 2014

War News for Monday, November 10, 2014


Bagram Jail Handed Over To Afghan Forces



Reported security incidents
#1: Monday, a suicide bomber killed at least seven local police, including a senior commander, outside the main police station in Logar province, an hour's drive south of Kabul, according to an Afghan Interior Ministry statement.

#2: The second blast targeted a police vehicle carrying police instructors in eastern Jalalabad city, near the border with Pakistan. Three policemen were killed in the attack, caused by explosives hidden under a rickshaw and detonated remotely, officials said. No civilians died, they said.

#3: On Monday, a third explosion caused by a magnet bomb wounded several civilians near a university in a residential part of Kabul. The apparent target of the attack was security forces driving in vehicles, police said.

#4: At least six people were killed during an exchange of fire in Pakistan's North Waziristan region, the military said Monday. The clash took place during a clearance operation late Sunday, Dawn online reported. According to officials, the victims were four militants and two soldiers.

#5: According to national defense ministry press office to BNA, the ANA forces conducted a military operation aiming to clear the regions from existence of insurgents in the outskirts of Shahwalikot district, Kandahar province, in which eight Taliban militants were killed and four others wounded.

#6: The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the three soldiers were martyred during their security duties. No further details were given regarding the exact location of the incident.

#7: At least 4 Taliban militants were killed following their own car explosion (full of explosive device) in Helmand province late on Sunday.

Sunday, November 9, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, November 9, 2014

Suicide bomber attacks office of the Kabul police chief, killing one officer and injuring six. The office is on the third floor of the heavily fortified police headquarters. The Taliban have claimed responsibility. The New York Times has a more detailed account, and also reports on two additional attacks, one a bomb attack on an army bus which appears to have injured at least one civilian. Details of the third are not yet available.

U.S. forces are destroying temporary structures at Bagram air base as they prepare to leave. So far they have demolished 1,800 buildings. More permanent buildings will be retained for use by the smaller force that remains.

The splintered remains of each building are scooped into dumper trucks that make endless journeys back and forth to a tipping site on the edge of the base.

Dubbed “Mount Trash-more” after Mount Rushmore ― the U.S. mountain carved into the faces of former presidents ― the dump is opened to Afghan companies who salvage what they can from the debris.
Ministry of Defense claims 16 Taliban killed in Helmand, makes no mention of government or civilian casualties.

Three militants manage to kill themselves while planting an IED in Wardak province.

Meanwhile, back in liberated Iraq, amid amid a spate of car bombs in Baghdad which killed a reported total of 31 people, one of the dead is said to be a British citizen. According to this account, he was actually the attacker, but more mainstream media have yet to report this. U.S. Central Command says it carried out airstrikes against a meeting of IS leaders in Mosul. There are rumors that IS leader Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi was killed, but there is no confirmation.Britain's Chief of Defence Staff warns, however, that the death of any individual will have little effect on the viability of the organization. Iraqi forces are attempting to retake the town of Baiji and are said to have entered the center of the city. Recapturing the town would be a step toward re-opening the country's largest oil refinery, which is nearby and under siege.


Saturday, November 8, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 8, 2014


Putin: Ready to support Afghanistan after NATO exit


Reported security incidents
#1: Late Friday night, militants attacked security forces in the Spin Qamar region of the tribal area, 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, government administrator Khalid Khan said. The gun battle raged for several hours and soldiers found the 17 bodies, all identified as militants, early Saturday morning in three different locations, Khan said.

#2: At least six people were killed and four others injured on Friday night in twin blasts in Pakistan 's northwestern tribal region of Mohmand Agency, local media reported. According to the report, the first blast hit two members of the pro-government Peace Committee, who were riding on a motorcycle in the Chinari village of Safi Tehsil at the border with Afghanistan.

#3: Four Taliban militants were killed and seven others sustained injuries as a car bomb went off outside Helmand's provincial capital Lashkar Gah 555 km south of Kabul on Saturday, provincial police chief Juma Gul Humat said. "A group of Taliban militants driving an explosive-laden car planned to detonate it in the provincial capital Lashkar Gah, but the car exploded accidentally in Mukhtar Qala area outside the provincial capital at around 11:00 a.m. local time today," Humat told Xinhua.

#4: At least 23 militants were killed following military operations led by Afghan National Army (ANA) forces, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) said.

Friday, November 7, 2014

War News for Friday, November 7, 2014


Afghan soldiers dying at record rate in Taliban fight:  --  This year 4,634 have been killed in action, compared to 4,350 in 2013.

Demolition derby at huge US base as Afghan exit quickens

New NATO chief in Kabul as combat mission wraps up

More Than 600 Reported Chemical Exposure in Iraq, Pentagon Acknowledges



Reported security incidents
#1: At least five suspected militants were killed and 10 injured Friday when forces targeted hideouts in Pakistan`s Khyber Agency. According to officials, artillery and mortars were fired in the Sipah and Akakhel areas, Dawn online reported.

#2: Unknown gunmen opened fire on security personnel in Bannu on Friday and killed a policeman while another sustained injuries, Geo News reported Friday. According to police, the incident occurred in Miryan area od Bannu when the armed assailants opened fire on two policeman who were standing outside their house. Resultantly, one cop was killed and the other got injured who was shifted to Bannu District Hospital.

#3: At least 11 civilians who were murdered by Taliban militants in southeastern Paktia province have been identified as government employees. According to local government officials, the individuals were on their way in Zurmat district when they were captured by Taliban and were shot dead. The provincial police chief Zalmai Orya Khel said the dead bodies of the slain individuals were found on Thursday morning from Mamozai area.

Thursday, November 6, 2014

War News for Thursday, November 6, 2014


NATO secretary general visits Afghanistan, vows continued support after troops withdraw

U.S. drone strike kills 2 al-Qaida suspects in Yemen's south

ANSF Starts Operation In Kunar


Reported security incidents
#1: Two soldiers were killed and at least 50 others were injured when a bus carrying Frontier Corps and Khasadar personnel collided with an oil tanker in the outskirts of Peshawar, private media reported on Thursday.

#2: Taliban insurgents killed 10 civilians on Wednesday night in Paktia province, local officials said Thursday. Provincial Police Chief Zalmai Oriakhail, while confirming the incident, said that the people were killed in Zurmat district of the province.

Wednesday, November 5, 2014

War News for Wednesday, November 5, 2014


US military watchdog says army lost 420M dollars worth of equipment in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Security forces killed five militants and destroyed four of their hideouts in Tirah Valley of Khyber Agency on Wednesday. According to security sources targeted militant hideouts in  Drewand, Aarinam Wanra, and Zor kaley areas of Tirah Valley, killing five militants.

#2: In the latest violent event, five children were injured as a bomb exploded in Rustaq district of the northern Takhar province on Wednesday, police said.

#3: Meanwhile, security forces in operations against Taliban militants have killed 28 insurgents and injured 47 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here Wednesday.

#4: A group of Taliban militants launched coordinated attack on government compound in Shindand district of western Herat province late on Tuesday. Security officials confirmed that heavy gun battle continue between the Afghan forces and Taliban militants.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

War News for Tuesday, November 4, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: Armed militants killed a tribal leader in Balochistan’s Noshki district on Monday. Levies sources said militants on a motorcycle opened fire at Sardarzada Wali Khan Mengal and killed him on the spot.

#2: Two bomb blasts killed four people on Tuesday in a restive northwestern Pakistani tribal area where the army is fighting militants, officials said. The bombs went off at Painda Cheena village in the lawless Khyber tribal district, where the army is mounting an operation against the Taliban and other militant groups. In the first bombing two paramilitary soldiers and a civilian were killed, while the second blast, at the same place, killed another civilian during rescue work.

#3: An explosion has been reported in eastern Paktia province, Gardiz city late on Monday, leaving 4 people dead and 27 others injured. Col. Zalmai Oryakhail police chief of the province reported BNA, the explosion took place, while improvised explosive device placed in a shop in-front of Azizi Bank in Gardiz city center of the province yesterday evening.

#4: At least two civilians were injured in Kunar province in the latest wave of cross-border shelling from the other side of Durand Line. According to local government officials, at least 17 rockets were fired in Dangam district late on Monday night.

#5: At least four Afghan National Army (ANA) soldiers were martyred in the latest spate of violence across the country. The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said Tuesday that the soldiers were martyred following improvised explosive device (IED) explosion and direct enemy fire.

Monday, November 3, 2014

War News for Monday, November 3, 2014


Reported security incidents
#1: An AFP report says that a deputy provincial governor in Kandahar in Afghanistan has been shot dead while he was attending a class at a university. According to the report, thirty-two-year-old Abdul Qadeem Patyall succumbed to his injuries after a gunman opened fire at him through the window of a classroom at Kandahar University. The incident took place late Sunday

#2: At least 45 people were killed on Sunday when a suicide bomber blew himself up near the Pakistani-Indian border, police said, just after a daily ceremony when troops from both sides simultaneously lower the two nations' flags.

#3: Unknown armed men shot dead a provincial judge in Ghor province with Firoz Koh as its capital 360 km west of Kabul on Sunday night, provincial governor Sayed Anwar Rahmati said Monday.

#4: A commander of local police forces was injured in Badakhshan province last night.

#5: Local officials in northeastern Badakhshan province have said at least 40 Taliban militants have been killed following military operations in Wardoj district.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

News of the Day for Sunday, November 2, 2014

A man is killed and five people are injured by a Taliban missile attack in Alishing, Laghman province. The attack apparently targeted a military outpost but went awry and hit a civilian house. Separately in Laghman, in Alingar district, an attack on a rickshaw killed two civilians. Khaama's accounts are slightly different, putting the injury toll at 6 in the first attack and saying the second attack targeted a car, not a rickshaw.

Police say they thwarted a car bomb attack in southern Helmand province.

Afghan parliament passes a draft law to ban recruitment of child soldiers. Apparently both the army and the national police have employed underage boys.

The Guardian reviews "The Underground Girls of Kabul," which describes the common practice of pretending that girls are boys, both because of the greater prestige of sons and the greater opportunities the girls gain. Progress for women in Afghanistan has largely been limited to urban areas.

Afghan special forces said to kill 4 militants in southern Kandhar with ISAF air support. However, it seems it was actually the ISAF air strike that killed the militants.

Here's your daily MoI claptrap. They're only claiming 17 kills today.






Saturday, November 1, 2014

War News for Saturday, November 1, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, October 31st.


170,000 flee Khyber operation

Four new polio cases; toll hits 235

Fanged deer pops up in Afghanistan, 60 years after its last appearance


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide car bomber killed at least 11 members of the security forces and wounded more than 20 civilians near a police checkpoint in eastern Logar province in Afghanistan on Saturday, local officials said.

#2-3: Five security forces personnel have been killed and four others injured in two separate militant attacks in Pakistan’s restive northwest, officials said on Saturday.

#2: The first attack took place in the Orakzai tribal district when militants attacked a security post. “Four security personnel were martyred and three sustained injuries in attack on their post at Sherin Dara in lower Orakzai,” a security official said, adding that 20 militants were killed as Pakistani forces responded.

#3: The second attack occurred in the Qamar Sar area of Bajaur tribal district, on the border with Afghanistan, when a vehicle carrying security forces was hit by an IED blast. “One person belonging to the security forces embraced martyrdom and another sustained injuries when their vehicle was blown up with an IED device,” local administration official Abdul Haseeb Khan said.

#4: Unknown armed men fired rockets at the camp of a construction company in Turbat, on Saturday. -- Note: this was outside the FATA areas where most of the insurgents activity is going on.  --  whisker  

#5: In an explosion 3 people including a national security employee wounded in Pul-e-Khumri city today. Zabiullah head of 1st precinct of Pul-e-Khumri (Baghlan province) told BNA, first explosion took place in sport stadium of the city which had no casualties, after five minutes the second explosion occurred in which 2 civilians and national security employee wounded.

#6: As a result of a road side mine blast, 3 Policemen martyred in Logar province this morning. Din Mohammad Darwish Logar acting governor spokesman said BNA, the blast took place in Barakibarak district while a vehicle of police hit a roadside mine.

#7: At least 12 anti-government armed militants were killed following military operations conducted by Afghan National Army (ANA) forces in Ghazni and Khost provinces.

#8: A suicide bomber was shot dead by Afghan security forces before he manage to carry out an attack in southern Kandahar province.

#9: At least 26 prisoners were injured following a rocket attack on Bagram detention facility, according to security officials.