Washington Post is reporting the deaths of nine soldiers in a helicopter crash in the Daychopan district, Zubal province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, September 21st. CNN is reporting these are American soldiers and two others were wounded in the crash along with an American civilian and an Afghani Army soldier. Here's the ISAF release.
U.S. troops switch to the attack mode in Iraq 'to defend themselves'
NPR audio: Sporadic Mortar Attacks Rain Down On Baghdad
Opposition Sees Gains After Afghan Voting
After Afghan Vote, Complaints of Fraud Surface
Three shot on Army base near El Paso
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: (Monday) One policeman was killed and five others were wounded in a car bomb explosion in southern Baghdad on Monday, the Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) announced. “A car crammed with explosives went off targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Sidiya region, southern Baghdad, killing a policeman and injuring five,” the BOC said in a statement received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. A security source had said earlier that a car bomb went off near an army vehicle patrol in al-Sidiya region, injuring seven soldiers.
#2: “A Katyusha rocket landed on the Tigris River, without damage,” the BOC added.
#3: An employee of the Culture Ministry was wounded on Monday in a sticky bomb blast in western Baghdad, a security source said. “A bomb, stuck to the car belongs to the Culture Ministry, went off at 8:30pm near al-Mulla Howeish mosque in al-Rabiaa street, al-Jameaa neighborhood in western Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#4: Six bodyguards of former parliament’s speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, were wounded Monday when a mortar shell hit his house in Baghdad, an official source said. “A mortar shell hit the house of former Parliament’s Speaker, Mahmoud al-Mashhadni, inside the Green Zone in central Baghdad, ” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#5: Five cleaning labors were wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb went off in central Baghdad. “The blast took place in the Tayiaran Square, central Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#6: Three civilians and one policeman were wounded on Tuesday when a roadside bomb went off in southeastern Baghdad. “The blast targeted a police patrol in the Baghdad al-Jadeeda neighborhood, southeastern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#7: A roadside bomb on Tuesday hit a U.S. convoy in southern Baghdad. There is no information so far about casualties or damage. “The blast occurred on the highway in the al-Daura neighborhood, southern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not mention further details, but explained that U.S. forces sealed off the blast area. For his part, the Media Adviser of the U.S. Army in Iraq, Nadir Suleiman, denied that U.S. forces have been targeted in Baghdad today.
#8: One policeman was wounded on Tuesday in two separate blasts in southern and western Baghdad. “A roadside bomb went off today targeting a police patrol in the al-Daura neighborhood, southern Baghdad, wounding one policeman,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#9: “A sticky bomb attached to a civil servant’s car, who works for the Baghdad Provincial Council, went off today in the al-Amiriya neighborhood, western Baghdad, causing no casualties or injuries,” the source added.
Tarmiya:
#1: Unknown gunmen on Tuesday killed a member of the al-Tarmiya local council, northern the Iraqi capital. “The gunmen on today’s dawn raided the victim’s house in the al-Tarmiya, northern Baghdad, and opened fire on him,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Kirkuk:
#1: An Iraqi police official says a roadside bomb in a restive northern city has killed two Iraqi soldiers. Col. Sherzad Murfali says the blast on Tuesday targeted an army patrol on the outskirts of Kirkuk, which is the center of a power struggle between Iraqi Kurds and the central government in Baghdad.
Mosul:
#1: A policeman was killed on Monday by unknown gunmen in central Mosul, according to a police source. “A policeman was killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in al-Midan region, central Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Eight Pakistani militants have been killed in a military offensive on their hideouts in the country's northwest tribal region, near the Afghan border. Pakistan's military gunship helicopters backed by artillery pounded militant positions in the Spairket area of central Kurram Agency on Monday, leaving eight militants dead and seven others injured, a Press TV correspondent reported. The operation comes after five people were killed and ten others injured in an exchange of fire between warring Mangal and Bangash tribes in Kurram.
#2: Road-side mine blast kills at least 6 employees of a road construction company in the central Parwan province on Tuesday morning. The incident occurred at 11:00am on Tuesday in the province's Shinwari district when the six men were on their way from Charikar, the province's capital, to Ghorband district, the Police Chief of Parwan told TOLOnews.
#3: Afghan and coalition forces killed at least 11 insurgents in southern Kandahar province in a two-day operation that ended on Monday, ISAF said.
#4: Afghan and coalition forces killed three insurgents in eastern Nangarhar province on Monday, ISAF said.
#5: Afghan and coalition forces killed two insurgents in northern Baghlan province on Monday, ISAF said.
MoD: Trooper Andrew Martin Howarth
MoD: Sergeant Andrew James Jones
DoD: 1st Lt. Scott J. Fleming
DoD: 1st Lt. Eric Yates
DoD: Staff Sgt. Jaime C. Newman
DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Ronald A. Grider
DoD: Spc. Timothy L. Johnson
DoD: Pfc. Barbara Vieyra
DoD: Maj. Paul D. Carron
DoD: Spc. Joshua A. Harton
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
War News for Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, September 20, 2010
War News for Monday, September 20, 2010
The British MoD is reporting the deaths of two British ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing in the Lashkar Gah district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Saturday, September 18th. Here's the ISAF release.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related cause in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, September 18th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, September 18th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, September 18th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, September 20th.
At least 23 soldiers killed in Tajikistan ambush
UK hands over violent Afghan district to U.S. troops
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Two mortar rounds landed inside Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Monday, but police did not say whether they caused injuries or damages. The Green Zone, formally known as the International Zone, houses Iraqi government offices and the U.S. Embassy.
#2: Elsewhere, a car bomb exploded at an Iraqi army patrol in southwestern Baghdad, wounding seven soldiers, police said.
“A car bomb went off today targeting an Iraqi army patrol in the al-Saydiya neighborhood, southern Baghdad, wounding seven soldiers, and damaging one of the patrol’s vehicles in addition to a number of nearby buildings,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Two roadside bombs went off in a synchronized way within the same car bombing location, wounding three civilians,” the source added.
#3: In addition, a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol in another southwestern Baghdad neighborhood, injuring two bystanders, police said.
Two civilians were wounded on Monday when a roadside bomb went off targeting a police patrol in southwestern Baghdad. “The blast took place on the major road through al-Amil neighborhood, southwestern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#4-5: Two roadside bombs went off on Monday in western and southwestern Baghdad, leaving no casualties.
#4: “A roadside bomb went off today in the al-Bayaa neighborhood, southwestern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#5: “A roadside bomb went off today in the al-Amiriya neighborhood, western Baghdad,” the source added.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb went off and killed a civilian and wounded three others, on Sunday, in northern Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Four Polish servicemen sustained light wounds during motor attacks on the Warrior and Ghazni bases in south east Afghanistan where they were stationed, Saturday. Another soldier was hit when his unit was ambushed during a patrol.
#2: At least one paramilitary trooper was killed and another three injured on Monday morning as a group of militants attacked a check point in northwest Pakistan, local sources said. Sources said that unidentified militants attacked a security check point in Salaipatti of Bajaur, a tribal area near the border with Afghanistan.
#3: Afghan authorities said Sunday that they recovered the bodies of three election workers kidnapped Saturday during parliamentary balloting marked by violence and reports of widespread fraud. The election workers were abducted Saturday morning as they were taking ballots to a polling station in the northern province of Balkh, provincial spokesman Munit Ahmar said.
#4: A suspected U.S. drone fired three missiles at a house in northwestern Pakistan, killing five alleged militants in the 14th such attack this month — the most intense barrage since the airstrikes began in 2004. The house belonged to a local militant and was located in Datta Khel, a town in the North Waziristan tribal area.
#5: Four anti-government militants were killed as they came under air attack in the southern Ghazni province on Monday, police said. "Four Taliban rebels were busy in planting mines on a road in Arzo area when the international forces aircraft dropped a precious bomb, killing all on the spot early today," provincial police chief Zarawar Zahid told Xinhua. Arzo village is outside provincial capital Ghazni city which often used by security forces.
#6: Afghan and coalition forces killed five Taliban insurgents in northern Kunduz province on Sunday, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force said.
#7: Four Afghan soldiers received injuries as their vehicle ran over a mine in the eastern Khost province on Monday, an army officer in the province said. "A mine planted by militants struck a vehicle of national army, wounding four soldiers slightly in Musa Khil district at 01:00 p.m. today," Mohammad Israr told Xinhua. The vehicle was carrying ballot boxes to the provincial capital Khost city when faced the blast, but there was no damage to the ballot boxes, he emphasized.
DoD: Spc. Deangelo B. Snow
Sunday, September 19, 2010
News of the Day for Sunday, September 19, 2010
Reported Security Incidents
Baghdad
Car Bomb in a commercial district in Mansour kills at least 10, injures 10. The explosion apparently occurred near an AsiaCell store, a popular mobile phone provider. CNN says 58 people were injured in this explosion.
A second car bomb in Kadhimiya kills at least 19 and injures 53. Some reports say there were two bombs at this location, (while reported casualty totals in both bombings vary wildly. Typically, the reports with the highest casualty totals have later information, and are more accurate, so those are the ones I highlight.)
Three mortar shells land in the Green Zone. No word on damage or casualties. KUNA says they were Katyushas, and that one landed near the U.S. embassy.
A mortar shell also lands on the Babel Hotel, injuring 3 civilians.
Saleh Ali Hamad al-Ulwani, the tribal chief of al-Bu Ulwan clan, is killed by a sticky bomb in Abu Ghraib. One of his bodyguards is severely injured.
An IED in the market near al-Nahda garage in central Baghdad injures 3 people and causes severe damage to nearby stores.
A senior intelligence officer is severely injured by a sticky bomb in Salhiya, central Baghdad.
Other News of the Day
Kelly McEvers of NPR visits the village of Jubail, where earlier this week a raid by U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 7 people. (Don't worry, it wasn't a "combat" mission. And indeed, it doesn't sound much like combat to me.) Excerpt:
A boy pours guests small cups of Arabic coffee inside the funeral tent. Then Mahmoud Hassan, 43, walks reporters toward a house and shows them where he was sleeping when the raid began. "I was covered with a blanket, and they shot [at] me. They thought that I was dead," Hassan says. "Then immediately they got inside this room ... and started shooting. And I was there, watching them."
Hassan points to a smear of blood on the wall and an even thicker pool of blood on the floor. This is where he says his 70-year-old brother and three nephews were killed. "There was one small kid, he was in the fifth [grade]," Hassan continues. "They shot his father in front of him. Then they shot him dead also."
Hassan says both Iraqi and American soldiers did the shooting. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" shouts the otherwise reserved Hassan, when asked if he's sure that Americans took part. "The Americans were all over this house."
Afghanistan Update
Two British soldiers killed by an explosion while on a "ground domination" patrol [sic] in Lashkar Gah.
Voter turnout is said to be light amid insurgent violence and threats. The Interior Ministry reports 33 bomb explosions and 63 rocket attacks, which they dismiss as "insignificant." The overall take by Elisabeth Bumiller and Rod Nordland of the NYT is more pessimistic:
Many polling centers were largely empty for most of the day, in sharp contrast to presidential elections a year ago, when voters waited in long lines. And where there was voting, there were numerous reports of fraud, from vote buying to ballot stuffing. . . .
But the Free and Fair Elections Foundation, the independent Afghan monitoring organization, cited “widespread irregularities. Insecurity and violence shaped the voting process in large swaths of the country,” the group said in a statement late Saturday.
The full extent of any fraud may not be known for some time, if ever. The election, in which 2,500 candidates ran for 249 seats, was monitored by fewer than half the number of international observers than those who observed in last year’s balloting, and they were confined to provincial capitals because of safety concerns.
Six children are reported killed by a rocket attack in Kunduz, according to the government. However, according to other reports the children were actually playing with an unexploded rocket.
U.S. soldier killed Sept. 17 by an RPG attack in Kandahar is identified as Spc. Deangelo Snow, of Saginaw, Mich., assigned to the 526th Brigade Support Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
Charges are filed in the case of 5 U.S. soldiers accused of killing Iraqi civilians for sport. "According to statements given to investigators, members of the unit - 3rd Platoon, Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment - began talking about forming a "kill team" in December, shortly after the arrival of a new member, Staff Sgt. Calvin R. Gibbs, 25, of Billings, Mont. Gibbs, whom some defendants have described as the ringleader, confided to his new mates that it had been easy for him to get away with "stuff" when he served in Iraq in 2004, according to the statements."
Quote of the Day
It seems to me that only jingoistic blindness can account for the belief that it is "obscene" to compare the American architects and enablers of the attack on Iraq and the worldwide torture regime (among other crimes) to "killers and terrorists." The former are the latter, by definition.
Glenn Greenwald. (Warning: Annoying popup.)
Saturday, September 18, 2010
War News for Saturday, September 18, 2010
The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Sgt. Ryan J. Hopkins died at the Brooke Army Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas on Friday, January 8th 2010. He was injured from a vehicle accident in Baghdad, Iraq on Saturday, October 4th, 2008.
The DoD is reporting another new death previously unreported by the military. Sgt. John F. Burner III died from a non-combat related injury in Iskandayiya, Iraq on Thursday, September 16th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, September 17th.
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: An Iraqi soldier was killed and 11 people were wounded in an overnight double bomb explosions which struck the Iraqi army in a Sunni neighborhood in western Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source and a witness said on Saturday. The attack took place at about 11:00 p.m. on Friday (2000 GMT) when a bomb exploded in Baghdad's western neighborhood of al- Khadraa near a crowd of Iraqi soldiers and civilians who gathered near a previous explosion at the scene, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Six soldiers were among the wounded people, the source said.
An Iraqi soldier was killed and five others wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in al-Khadraa neighborhood, western Baghdad, on Friday, a local Iraqi police source said. “A stun charge went off near a gathering of civilians and military persons, followed by an IED blast that left a policeman killed and five military servicemen, including two officers, wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion also left four civilians injured,” the source added.
#2: Two policemen were wounded in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in northern Baghdad on Friday, a local security source said. “An IED went off near a police patrol in the area of al-Adhamiya, northern Baghdad, leaving two policemen wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#3: An official at the interior ministry’s passports affairs department was killed in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in western Baghdad on Friday, a local Iraqi police official said. “An IED attached to the official’s vehicle went off near al-Sa’a restaurant in al-Mansour area, western Baghdad, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#4: A roadside bomb went off in Athamiyah neighbourhood, north Baghdad, Friday, without causing any casualties.
Hawija:
#1: Two people were killed and nine others, including a policeman, wounded in a bicycle bomb blast in al-Huweija district, southwestern Kirkuk, on Friday, a senior police officials said. “A bicycle bomb went off near a police patrol in central Huweija, (65 km) southwest of Kirkuk, leaving two local residents killed and nine others, including a patrolman, wounded and causing damage in the site,” Brig. Sarhad Qader, the director of the Kirkuk Districts’ Police Department (KDPD), told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Kirkuk:
#1: One unidentified body was found in Kirkuk city, Friday. It was covered with gun-shot wounds.
Mosul:
#1: An army force shot dead a gunman and arrested four others in a raid searching for wanted persons in eastern Mosul city on Friday, an Iraqi military source said. “A force from the Iraqi army’s 2nd Division stationed in Mosul, acting upon intelligence tip-offs, killed a gunman during a raid on a hideout in al-Zahraa neighborhood, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: An off-duty soldier was killed by gunmen in a marketplace in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source in the provincial police operations centre said.
#3: A suspected militant was killed in a gunfight when an Iraqi army unit raided a house in eastern Mosul, a media official in the 2nd Iraqi Army Division said. Four suspected militants were arrested and an explosives belt seized.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Rocket attacks by Taliban insurgents claimed two civilians' lives and injured two others in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province on the voting day on Saturday, police said. "One rocket fired by Taliban rebels hit the provincial capital Assadabad this morning, leaving one child dead and another wounded, " provincial police chief Khalilullah Ziae told Xinhua. Another rocket hit Asmar district, killing a woman and injuring a man, the official added.
Rocket attacks killed six people in eastern provinces Kunar and Nangarhar, and Takhar in the north, local officials said.
and three others struck the eastern city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, officials said. There were no reports of casualtys.
#2: Insurgents also fired a rocket near NATO headquarters in Kabul shortly before polls opened at 0230 GMT, but no casualties or damage were reported.
#3: Toryalai Wesa, the governor of Kandahar province said he survived a roadside bomb attack while visiting polling centres in the volatile region.
#4: A bomb attack at a polling centre in the eastern city of Khost -- not far from the Pakistan border -- wounded three people, while 16 Afghan security personnel were wounded in clashes in the north, local officials said.
#5: In a southern neighbourhood of Kabul, a roadside bomb exploded near a polling station 40 minutes before opening. Voting did not start because of the blast.
#6: The Australian Defense Department on Saturday confirmed that several hundred Afghanistan locals turned on Australian soldiers, after a rumor that Australian troops were burning copies of the Koran. According to ABC News, the Australian soldiers were conducting a regular burn-off of rubbish and documents in a pit north of the main army base near Tarin Kowt, when an angry mob of local men threw rocks and forced the soldiers back into the base. The Defense statement also said that one protester aimed an AK- 47 rifle at one of the coalition soldiers, who then shot the protester.
#7: A Taliban attack near a polling station in Afghanistan's north killed one Afghan soldier and six pro-government militiamen on Saturday, police said. "One national army and six Arbaki (militiamen) were killed in the attack," Baghlan's police chief, Abdul Rahman Rahimi, told reporters by phone. Five others were wounded in the attack in Baghlan province, which took place near a polling station and an adjacent security outpost.
DoD: Sgt. John F. Burner III
DoD: Sgt. Aaron K. Kramer
DoD: Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez
IT/DoD: Lieutenant Alexander Romans
Friday, September 17, 2010
War News for Fridayy, September 17, 2010
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 16th.
NATO is reporting the death of a second ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 16th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, September 16th.
NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, September 17th.
NATO is reporting the death of a second ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, September 17th.
Milton contractor killed in Afghanistan.. Alan Herzel, 48, of East Milton was killed on Sept. 6 while working to set up a remote forward base for military troops. Two other contractors also were killed in the mortar attack.
UN evacuates 1/3rd staff from Afghanistan
Two soldiers killed in al-Qaida ambush in Yemen
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Three unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad today; a young man in his twenties with gunshot wounds, near the date-syrup plant in Kathimiyah, northwest Baghdad. A man in his thirties with gunshot wounds, in Salhiyah neighbourhood, central Baghdad, and a 14-year-old boy with torture marks, without naming the neighbourhood.
Diyala Prv:
#1: In Diyala province, a member of government-backed Awakening Council group and his wife were shot dead when gunmen stormed their house at a rural area near the town of Abu Sayda, northeast of the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Kirkuk:
#1: Two policemen were wounded in a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) that targeted their vehicle north of Kirkuk city on Thursday, a local security source said. “An IED blast targeted a police vehicle near a fuel station north of Kirkuk, leaving two policemen, one of them an officer, wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Policemen shot dead two gunmen and arrested two others in clashes in western Mosul city on Thursday, according to a local police source. “Forces from the 1st Emergency Police contingent, acting upon intelligence tip-offs, on Thursday (Sept. 16) shot down two gunmen and arrested two others in clashes in Bab Sinjar area, western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Police forces found on Thursday an unknown corpse in western Mosul, a police source said on Friday. “Policemen found the bullet-riddled body late Thursday (Sept. 16) in al-Tenk neighborhood in western Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: The Taliban kidnapped 19 people associated with Afghanistan's parliamentary election, including a candidate, eight ballot officials and 10 campaign workers, officials said on Friday. The candidate was snatched in the eastern province of Laghman and the other 18 men in Bagdhis, in the northwest, provincial chiefs of the Independent Election Commission (IEC) told AFP. "Abdul Rahman Hayat, a candidate for the Wolesi Jirga (lower house), was kidnapped in Alishing district today at around 7:00 am (0230 GMT)," said Abdul Rahman Muhabat, head of the IEC in Laghman province.
#2: Afghan and coalition troops killed three insurgents in an operation in southern Kandahar province, ISAF said in a statement.
DoD: Sgt. Ryan J. Hopkins
DoD: Senior Airman James A. Hansen
Thursday, September 16, 2010
War News for Thursday, September 16, 2010
WZZM13 news is reporting the death of an American airman, Senior Airman Jimmy Hansen, from an apparent ordnance accident at Balad Airbase, Iraq on Wednesday, September 15th.
Former US security men deny Afghan civilian killings
Roadside bomb kills 9 aboard minibus in Turkey
Aid to Counter Al Qaeda in Yemen Divides U.S. Officials
Amnesty slams Iraq for 'torture'
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Baghdad Operations Command (BOC) forces managed on Wednesday to defuse seven bombs, the BOC said in a statement. “The forces defused seven bombs and confiscated an amount of weapons and explosions in the past 24 hours,” the statement added.
#2: A roadside bomb in southern Baghdad wounded four civilians, a Ministry of Interior source said.
#3: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol in northern Baghdad wounded two policemen and two civilians, an Interior Ministry source said.
Diyala Prv:
#1: A bomb attached to a vehicle wounded three civilians, including two women, in western Baquba, 65 km (40 miles) northeast Baghdad, police said.
Hilla:
#1: A US army patrol was subject to attack due to a roadside bombing near Alwa Al Makhdar, eastern Al Hilla, with no damages reported.
Samarra:
#1: A suicide bomber Thursday killed three militiamen allied with the Iraqi government and injured six, in the latest attack against security personnel in the country. The bomber was wearing an explosives belt and tried to break into a headquarters of Sahwa fighters in Samarra city, some 125 kilometres north of Baghdad. He blew himself up when security prevented him from entering the building, police officials said.
Kirkuk:
#1: Three policemen were wounded on Thursday in two explosions in southwestern Kirkuk, a police officer said. “Two bombs went off simultaneously on Thursday morning (Sept. 16) targeting a vehicle patrol of Kirkuk emergency police in the celebrations square in southwestern Kirkuk, injuring three cops, including a major,” Colonel Ghazi Ali told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: An employee working for the electricity power department was killed on Wednesday by gunmen in south of Mosul, a police source said. “The employee was killed on Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 15) when gunmen stormed his house in al-Qayara district in south of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Policemen found on Wednesday a body of an unknown man in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “Police forces found Wednesday evening (Sept. 15) a body of an unknown man in al-Maared region, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The body of a 30-year-old man bore signs of gunshot wounds to the head and chest,” he added, without giving further details.
#3: Two al-Qaeda militants were killed in a gunfight between police and armed men in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Tal Afar:
#1: Nineveh Operations Forces shot dead a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt targeting a checkpoint in Tal Aafar District.
#2: Another force disabled a car bomb that was parked on the street in Zimar District.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: One civilian was killed and four others, from the same family, were wounded when gunmen blew up their house in eastern Falluja on Wednesday, according to a police source. “Unknown gunmen blew up a house of an employee using bombs, TNT and C4 in al-Haswa region, eastern Falluja, killing the employee and injuring two women and two children,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A band of militants attacked a security post at a road construction site in troubled southeastern Ghazni province, killing five privately employed guards, provincial spokesman Ismail Jahangir said. Two other guards were wounded and another two missing, he said. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility in a telephone call, saying the missing guards had been involved in planning the attack and were with the militants.
#2: A NATO air strike killed eight militants in the northern province of Kunduz overnight, the military said. NATO’s International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said the strike and a ground operation targeted the Taliban district commander who was “actively planning attacks” during Saturday’s parliamentary elections. The chief of Chahar Dara district, where the strike happened, put the death toll at 12. “A group of armed opposition who were preparing to stage an ambush were spotted and targeted by ISAF from the air last night and 12 Taliban were killed,” said Abdul Wahid Omarkhail.
#3: In the volatile Arghandab district of southern Kandahar province, police said six Taliban were killed and another 16 injured in a raid on their hideout.
#4: In another Taliban-linked insurgency, a rocket fired from unknown location hit a residential area in Baraki Barak district of Logar province, 60 km south of the capital city Kabul in the wee hours of Thursday, left two children killed and five more civilians including a woman sustained injuries, district governor Mohammad Rahim Amin confirmed.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
War News for Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Parkersburg native killed in Afghanistan...William Glenn Allen, 51, of Munhall, Pa., died Sept. 6 while working as an electrician on the LOGCAP IV program in Howz-e-Madad in Kandahar province, according to Dyncorp International. Allen was killed at the time of the attack while two others later died of wounds received, according to Dyncorp. The others included Alan Herzel, 48, of Milton, Fla., who worked as a plumber foreman.
The Swat Valley, After the Flood -- photos
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: A civil servant working for the Iraqi Rebuilding and Housing Ministry was seriously wounded when he came under gunmen fire in western Baghdad. “The attack took place yesterday night in the al-Qadissiya neighborhood, western Baghdad,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Wednesday.
#2: Undersecretary of the Iraqi Labor Ministry, Nouri al-Halfi, survived assassination on Wednesday when a roadside bomb hit his motorcade in northeastern Baghdad. “The blast took place near the ministry’s building in the al-Wazeeriya neighborhood, northeastern Baghdad,” a local security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He explained that none of the persons who were in the motorcade were wounded in the blast, but two civilians who were nearby the explosion’s location were injured.
#3: Four civilians were wounded on Wednesday when a roadside bomb went off in central Baghdad. “The blast occurred in the al-Karada neighborhood, central Baghdad,” a local police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#4: Armed men in a speeding car opened fire upon a checkpoint in Karrada In Street, central Baghdad, Tuesday, injuring one national policeman.
#5: Armed men in a car opened fire upon the home of a Staff Colonel in the army in Saidiyah neighbourhood, south Baghdad, Tuesday, riddling his outer gate and his car with bullets, without causing any casualties. There were several threat notes left at the colonel's door during the past few weeks, said security authorities.
#6: Two unidentified bodies were found in Baghdad today, both in Abu Nowas Street, central Baghdad; the body of a young man in his twenties, with gun-shot wounds, and a man in his forties with signs of torture.
Babel Prv:
#1: “A force from the Division also defused two Katyusha rockets and their launching pads in the area of al-Tahiriya, north of Babel,” he added.
Mortar rounds slammed into Calsu military base in north Babil, Tuesday. No casualties were reported. The U.S. military conducted raid operations in the nearby neighbourhoods and found two Katyusha rockets.
Karbala area:
#1: One U.S. vehicle was devastated on Wednesday when a roadside bomb went off targeting a convoy of the Provincial Reconstruction Team (P.R.T) north of Karbala city. “The blast took place at the al-Husseiniya area, 20 km north of Karbala,” a local media source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He explained that U.S. forces cordoned the blast area.
Abu Ghraib:
#1: Armed men in a speeding car, using pistols fitted with silencers, shot and killed an employee of Iraqi Airways on the old Abu Ghraib main street, west Baghdad, Tuesday.
Dujail:
#1: Armed men in a speeding car shot and killed a man on his doorstep in Dujail district, to the south of Tikrit, Tuesday.
Kurdistan:
#1: Border areas in the Iraqi Kurdistan region came under Turkish artillery fire on Tuesday, leaving five civilians wounded and causing material damage, according to an official source in the Kurdish peshmerga forces. “The Turkish artillery pounded the areas of Mezouri and Arkoush in Shirwan, on the Kurdistan borderlines, leaving five civilians wounded and causing financial damage to local residents’ property,” the source, who preferred not to be named, told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Iraqi officials say a roadside bomb has struck a bus carrying Iraqi soldiers, killing nine and injuring five more near the northern city of Mosul. Iraqi military and police officials say the blast hit the vehicle Wednesday afternoon on the highway between Mosul and the town of Tal Afar, 260 miles (420 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: U.S. and Iraqi forces launched a joint raid in the former insurgent stronghold of Fallujah early Wednesday, killing seven people, Iraqi officials said. On Wednesday, Iraqi special forces and American troops cordoned off a neighbourhood in the western part of Fallujah at about 2 a.m. before raiding several houses, police and hospital officials said. A security official in the city said the American and Iraqi forces took four of the dead bodies with them and the other three were taken by local police to the morgue. A U.S. military press officer, Staff Sgt. Kelli Lane, confirmed there was an Iraqi planned and led joint counter terrorism operation in Fallujah, but did not say what role the American forces played. She referred all other questions to the Iraqi government.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: US drones fired off a volley of missiles targeting Al-Qaeda linked fighters in Pakistan's northwest tribal belt Wednesday, killing 12 militants in the third deadly strike in 24 hours, security officials said. The pre-dawn attack was directed at the Haqqani network, officials said, a Pakistan-based group with links to both Al-Qaeda and the Taliban and one of the toughest foes for foreign forces in the war in neighbouring Afghanistan. Residents said the targeted houses had been rented out to militants by local tribesman Bacha Khan and were destroyed in the attacks, which caused panic in the village. The intelligence official put the number of missiles fired as 10, saying several drones came from all directions, while another said three miliants were also wounded in the strike.
#2: U.S. forces launched a major operation in southern Afghanistan early Wednesday in the district that gave birth to the Taliban movement, in what could be one of the most important offensives of the war. Thousands of U.S. and Afghan troops encircled and swooped into a belt of lush farm land in Zhari district, a sanctuary and staging post for the Taliban just west of Kandahar city known to foreign soldiers as “the heart of darkness.” Key insurgent-held villages such as Mukuan, Pashmul and Singesar are the target, areas essentially untouched by coalition forces since they entered Afghanistan in 2001. The operation began at 4 a.m. local time Wednesday, approximately 7:30 p.m. EDT Tuesday.
#3: A Polish soldier was badly wounded on Tuesday after the Warrior Base in Ghazni province, south east Afghanistan was shelled by insurgents. The soldier was taken by Mi-17 medical helicopter to a field hospital where he is currently under constant medical supervision.
#4: At least 13 people including 2 police, a woman and a child were wounded in an explosion in the western Herat province on Tuesday night. The incident happened near a sports stadium after Farhad Darya, a famous Afghan singer had just finished a music concert.
#5: An Afghan civilian was killed after ignoring several warnings from NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops to stop approaching a security perimeter in southeastern Paktika province on Tuesday, ISAF said.
#6: An ISAF air strike killed a Taliban commander in Maidan Wardak province, west of Kabul, on Tuesday, the alliance said. The commander, identified by ISAF as Hamdullah, was planning attacks in Kabul and surrounding provinces to disrupt Saturday's parliamentary elections, it said.
#7: A mine detonated by militants in Afghanistan's northern Kunduz province injured a soldier of NATO-led troops on Tuesday, a spokesman of the alliance in the province, Wessel said. "A group of German soldiers went to visit a bridge exploded by Taliban insurgents in Chardara district and suddenly a bomb planted by Taliban militants went off injuring a soldier," Wessel told Xinhua.
