News of the Day for Sunday, March 27, 2011

Reported Security Incidents

Mosul

Policeman injured by IED attack on a patrol.

Gunmen kill an electrician. No motive or explanation is offered.

Baghdad

Nine civilians injured by IED in Iskan district.

Other News of the Day

McClatchy and the Center for Public Integrity find that the Pentagon's 5 year, $17 billion effort to develop technical means to counter roadside bombs has failed. Excerpt:

In February 2006, with roadside bombs killing more and more American soldiers in Iraq, the Pentagon created an agency to defeat the deadly threat and gave a retired four-star general the task of running it.

Five years later, the agency has ballooned into a 1,900-employee behemoth and has spent nearly $17 billion on hundreds of initiatives. Yet the technologies it has developed have failed to significantly improve U.S. soldiers' ability to detect unexploded roadside bombs and have never been able to find them at long distances. The best detectors remain the low-tech methods: trained dogs, local handlers and soldiers themselves.

Jalal Talabani, in the guise of Iraqi president, is visiting Iran, where he says the two nations share a common experience of struggling against dictatorships [sic] and calls for strategic ties.

Meanwhile, Iraqi PM Nuri al-Maliki says intervention by Sunni neighbors in Bahrain could ignite a sectarian war. Speaking to the BBC Arabic service, he said 'We did not move to support the Shias in Bahrain but we called for interference in Bahraini affairs to be stopped and don't want to make it a sectarian issue. Because if it happens, it will be like a snowball, it will get bigger if it is ignored ... The region may be drawn into a sectarian war.' Uh oh. Is that a threat?.


Afghanistan Update

Taliban kidnap dozens of off-duty policemen in Kunar province. The men were unarmed and in civilian clothing, traveling from Nuristan for leave after completing training. The Taliban give the number of people seized as 50, though other accounts have slightly fewer. Note that the Taliban must have had intelligence info that led them to the target. -- C

Although other reports have it that an official decision has yet to be made, the WSJ reports that Kabul bank will be liquidated next month. As you may recall, the bank was essentially looted by cronies of president Karzai. This AP story gives more background info.

But, you don't have to be Afghan to be corrupt. Two U.S. soldiers are charged with embezzling precisely $1,297,959.31 in vendor payments owed to an Afghan company. Edwin Vando and Juan Lamboy Rivera worked at camp Eggers in 2009, overseeing payments to commercial vendors.

Well, this hardly ever happens: A provincial governor in Afghanistan’s dangerous south said yesterday that seven civilians were accidentally killed when a NATO helicopter fired on two vehicles believed to be carrying Taliban fighters. The incident happened Friday in Helmand province. The dead included 2 women and 3 children. Five other civilians were injured.

Afghan activist Malalai Joya speaks in Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts (where Cervantes lived until last month and where I'm still trying to sell my condo, in case anyone is interested). A former member of the Afghan Parliament who was expelled for "insulting" fellow lawmakers, she was initially denied a visa to come to the U.S. "She said she did not fear a US troop withdrawal, which Obama has said would occur by 2014. “We have three enemies: the warlords, the Taliban, and foreign occupation. When the occupation ends, we’ll only have two.'"

War News for Saturday, March 26, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, March 26th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An Iraqi soldier has been killed and seven other persons, including security elements, have been wounded in different violation acts in Baghdad on Saturday, according to Iraqi security sources. “A group of unknown gunmen opened fire on an Iraqi Army patrol in west Baghdad’s Hurriya district, killing a soldier and wounding another soldier and a civilian, whilst the gunmen flew away to an unknown destination,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A bomb attached to the car of a university professor killed him and wounded three others, including his wife, when it went off in al-Nisour Square in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Diyala Prv:
#1: doctor survived a life attempt on Friday in Diala, while an army force seized a weapons depot in the province, a security source said. “A sticky bomb went off on Friday (March 25) on the main road in Jalawlaa, Khanaqin, northeast of Baaquba, targeting the vehicle of a doctor in Jalawlaa hospital, seriously injuring him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “A civilian has been injured in an explosion of an IED, stuck to a truck, loaded with gas tubes, that blew off in Baaquba, the center of Diala Province on Saturday,” Lt. Brigadier Jassim al-Rube’i told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diwaniya:
#1: Six missiles landed on a U.S. base and a headquarters of the Iraqi army’s 8th Division in the city of al-Diwaniya on Friday but there was no word of casualties or losses, an Iraqi military source said. “Three rockets landed on Camp Echo of U.S. forces, (3 km) west of Diwaniya, while three others hit the headquarters of Iraq’s 8th Division, (4 km) west of Diwaniya, but no casualties or losses were reported,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Gunmen shot dead an off-duty Iraqi army lieutenant near his house in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Western forces have accidentally killed civilians in an air attack in the Afghan province of Helmand, after mistaking them for Taliban fighters. Nato said it ordered the attack on Friday, after hearing that a Taliban leader and several of his subordinates were travelling in two vehicles. Troops later found an unspecified number of dead and wounded civilians at the scene in Naw Zad district.

#2: Two civilians were killed when their motorcycle was hit by a roadside bomb in Shamalzai district of southern Zabul province on Friday, the Interior Ministry said.

#3: One child was killed and four civilians were wounded when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives in Spin Boldak district of southern Kandahar province on Friday, the Interior Ministry said.


MoD: Major Matthew James Collins

MoD: Lance Sergeant Mark Terence Burgan

War News for Friday, March 25, 2011

Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Three civilians were wounded in an improvised explosive device blast on al-Nidal street in central Baghdad on Thursday, a local security source said. “A roadside IED went off on al-Nidal street, near the Baghdad souk (outdoor market), central Baghdad, leaving three civilians wounded and a parked vehicle damaged,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An army force seized on Friday 16 Katyusha rockets in northwestern Baghdad, official spokesperson of the Baghdad Operations Command said. “A force from the 22nd brigade of the 6th division of the Iraqi army seized 16 Katyusha rockets ready to be launched in the square between al-Houriya region and al-Aadl neighborhood, northwestern Baghdad,” General Qassem Atta told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were killed and three injured when a bomb went off on a main road in the western part of Mosul, located some 400 kilometres north of Baghdad. 'The bomb was targeting police patrols which pass through this road frequently,' Mohamed Al-Jabouri, head of Mosul's security operations, told the German Press Agency dpa.

#2: In a separate incident late Thursday, three gunmen were killed in clashes with the police in Mosul, among the most ethnically-diverse and dangerous cities in Iraq. Insurgents mount near-daily attacks there.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Meanwhile, in the western city of Ramadi, gunmen blew up the house of a journalist on Friday. The attack left seven members of his family, including three children, injured.

#2: Three civilians were wounded on Friday in a roadside bomb explosion in central Falluja, according to a security source. “The bomb exploded this morning near al-Rafidyeen Bank, central Falluja, injuring three civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A roadside bomb killed two children Friday in eastern Afghanistan. One more child was injured in the attack in the east, which took place in the Behsood district of Nangarhar province, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, spokesman for the provincial governor. The explosives were hidden in garbage near a main road frequented by Afghan and foreign troops, he said, adding that an investigation was under way.

#2: Also on Friday, a joint Afghan and German military patrol was hit by a roadside bomb in the Chardarah district of Kunduz province, said Gholam Muhaiyuddin, the district police chief. 'One policeman was killed and a police vehicle was destroyed in the attack, but there were no other casualties among the Afghan or foreign forces,' he said.

#3: Gunmen attacked a minibus carrying mostly Shiite Muslims and killed eight people on Friday in a stretch of northwestern Pakistan. The gunmen who carried out the ambush in the Bagan area of the Kurram tribal region also kidnapped 18 people from the bus, said Javid Khan, a local administrator. The bus was attacked as it was travelling on the main road that runs through Kurram that connects the main town in the region, Parachinar, with Peshawar, the capital of nearby Khyber Pakhtunwkha province, said Khan. Five people were wounded in the attack, said Khan. The bus was mostly carrying people from the Toori tribe, one of the main Shiite tribes that struck the peace deal, he said. A similar attack killed nine people in mid-March who were travelling on the road from Parachinar, a Shiite-dominated town.

Three passenger buses were kidnapped on Friday by unidentified militants from semi autonomous tribal area located in the northwest of Pakistan, local media reported, quoting official sources. According to local Urdu TV channel Dunya, the three passenger buses with some 45 people on board were abducted by unidentified militants from Kurram agency of the Federally Administrated Tribal Area of Pakistan.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Joshua S. Gire

DoD: Pfc. Michael C. Mahr

War News for Thursday, March 24, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the deaths of two British ISAF soldiers from an IED blast in the Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 23rd. Here's the ISAF release.

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III died from a non-combat related incident aboard on the USS Enterprise on Tuesday, March 22nd. He was supporting OEF.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: One civilian was killed and seven more were wounded in an explosive device blast in southern Baghdad, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Wednesday (March 24) in al-Ariefiya street in Jisr Diala region, southern Baghdad, killing a civilian and wounding seven, who were carried to al-Zaafaraniya hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Two civilians were wounded in northern Baghdad on Wednesday by an improvised explosive device, a security source said. “The bomb exploded near al-Nadaa mosque in al-Waziriya region, northern Baghdad, injuring two civilians, who were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: An employee of the electricity ministry was killed and two more were wounded in a sticky bomb explosion in northern Baghdad, a security source said Wednesday. “A bomb, attached to a civilian vehicle, went off in al-Houriya city, northern Baghdad, killing the employee and injuring two,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: An official in the Municipalities Ministry was killed by armed men while he was driving his car in Baghdad's northeastern Sadr City slum, an Interior Ministry source said.

#5: Major General Ahmed Obeidi, head of the 6th Iraqi Army Division, died in a hospital on Tuesday from wounds sustained on Sunday when gunmen shot at his car in Palestine Street, northeastern Baghdad, an Iraqi army source said.


Mussayab:
#1: Two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off in Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Wednesday by a double explosion in central Kirkuk, a police officer said. “Two explosive charges went off on Wednesday evening (March 23) targeting an emergency police vehicle patrol on the Baghdad road near al-Hajja Sabriya mosque, central Kirkuk, injuring two passing civilians,” Colonel Ghazi Ali told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

An improvised explosive device (IED) targeting a police brigadier general wounded two civilians when it went off in central Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, Kirkuk police operations room said. The operations room said a second IED targeting the same brigadier general wounded five firemen who were at the scene to extinguish a fire caused by the first explosion.


Mosul:
#1: Two policemen have been injured in an armed attack by unknown gunmen in western Mosul on Wednesday, a Ninewa security source said. “Two policemen have been injured on Wednesday by gunmen fire close to Al-Sham Gate in western Mosul,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: A policeman was killed on Wednesday by gunmen in southwestern Mosul, a security source said. "Unknown gunmen opened fire on a policeman in front of his house in al-Maamoun neighborhood, southwestern Mosul, killing him instantly," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Federal police killed a civilian on Wednesday by mistake in western Mosul, according to a security source. "The police killed the civilian by mistake near a fuel station in al-Shefaa neighborhood, western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. "The forces opened fire on the victim while attempting to enter the fuel station in the wrong way," he explained.

#4: One civilian was wounded on Wednesday in a bomb explosion in central Mosul, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device went off on Wednesday afternoon (March 24) targeting a police vehicle patrol in al-Farouq street, central Baghdad, injuring a passing civilian,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion left no casualties among policemen,” he added.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Two policemen were wounded when a roadside bomb targeting a police patrol went off in central Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Police in northwestern Pakistan say a suicide bomber has struck outside a police station, killing at least five people and wounding 25 others. Authorities said the blast Thursday killed one police officer and four civilians in Pakistan's Hangu district, near the Afghan border. The explosion destroyed part of the police station and damaged several surrounding houses.

#2: Authorities said three rockets hit different parts of Quetta, the capital of southwestern Baluchistan province, killing four people and wounding at least 15 others. A police officer was among the dead.

#3: In northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials say two roadside bombs killed a man near the provincial capital, Peshawar, while the second bomb targeted a police patrol, wounding at least six police officers.

#4: Hours earlier, in Bolan district east of Quetta, gunmen on motorcycles attacked three NATO oil tankers carrying fuel for troops in neighboring Afghanistan and set them ablaze before fleeing the scene. There are no reports of casualties.

#5: A NATO helicopter gunship inadvertently killed two civilians while attacking suspected insurgents in the northern province of Khost, NATO announced Thursday. The attack targeted a Haqqani network leader in Tere Zayi district on Wednesday, according to NATO.


DoD: Petty Officer 1st Class Vincent A. Filpi III

War News for Wednesday, March 23, 2011

The DoD is reporting a new death unreported by the military. Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers died from a non-combat related incident at Camp Lemonier, Djibouti on Friday, March 18th. he was supporting OEF.


Afghans to Take Over Security in 7 Areas, Mostly Peaceful, by July


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: “A police major was killed today by gunmen, who used guns with silencers, near al-Douri restaurant in Palestine street, eastern Baghdad,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: “A police captain was killed in Sadr city in a similar incident in eastern Baghdad,” he added. (by gunmen, who used guns with silencers)

#3: “Two persons were wounded when gunmen opened fire on their car in al-Hussieniya region, northeastern Baghdad,” he noted.

#4: An Iraqi civilian has been killed in a blast of an improvised explosive device (IED), that was planted in his car in Baghdad on Wednesday, a Baghdad security source said. “An IED, planted in a car of a civilian in west Baghdad’s Amiriya district, blew off on Wednesday, instantly killing him,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Amarra:
#1: An armed man had been killed due to serious burns he sustained when he tried to fire a Katusha rocket on a military airport on southern Iraq’s Amara city on Tuesday, a security source said. “The General al-Sadr Hospital had received an armed man, suffering from serious burns when he tried to launch a Katusha rocket on al-Buteira Military Airport, 10 kms to the north of Amara on Tuesday,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: An Iraqi army soldier was wounded on Tuesday by a hand grenade explosion in western Mosul, a security source said. "The grenade was thrown on an army vehicle patrol in al-Islah al-Zeraai neighborhood, western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that the attacker escaped to an unknown place, while the wounded was carried to a nearby hospital for treatment.

#2: Two policemen were wounded on Tuesday as two mortar shells hit a police station in western Mosul, according to a security source. "Two mortar shells hit a police station in al-Najar neighborhood, injuring two policemen," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: One civilian was wounded on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in east of Mosul, according to a security source. “The bomb exploded in Baasheqa district, east of Mosul, injuring a civilian, who was carried to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, noting that he is in a stable condition.

#4: A child was wounded on Tuesday in a bomb explosion in west of Mosul, a security source said. “The child was wounded in an explosion in al-Mahlabiya district, west of Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, pointing out that the child was playing near his house when the explosion occurred.

#5: Gunmen wounded two off-duty policemen inside their vehicle in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#6: Gunmen in a car killed an off-duty policeman near his house in southwestern Mosul late on Tuesday, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A man riding his donkey cart was killed and two passers-by were wounded in a roadside bomb blast in the northwestern city of Peshawar, police said.

#2: Suspected militants targeted a police vehicle with a remote-controlled bomb in the northwestern town of Hangu, wounding six policemen, official Mir Chaman Khan said


DoD: Master Sgt. Jamal H. Bowers

DoD: Cpl. Brandon S. Hocking

War News for Tuesday, March 22, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, March 22.


US military says plane crashes in Libya


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A senior army officer and a policeman were killed and nine people injured by a series of attacks in Baghdad Tuesday, according to a source within Iraq's interior ministry. Lieutenant-Colonel Yussef Mohammad, based in the defence ministry, was killed while driving on an expressway in the east of the capital by a magnetic bomb that had been placed under his car.

#2: In central Baghdad's Karada district a policeman was killed and three others injured when their patrol was targeted by a bomb.

#3: In Zafraniya, a southern district of Baghdad, three people, including two soldiers, were injured by a bomb placed at the side of a main road.

#4: Elsewhere, in the eastern district of Sheikh Omar, three passers-by were injured by a device that exploded on the passing of a convoy carrying the finance ministry's administration director.

#5: A woman has been killed and her son was seriously injured, in an armed attack by unknown gunmen, targeted against her husband in central Baghdad, a security source said on Monday. “An unknown armed group opened fire on a government vehicle of an Oil Ministry employee in eastern Baghdad’s Palestine Street on Monday, killing his wife and seriously wounding his son, who was driven to a nearby hospital,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#6: "A roadside bomb exploded in Oqba bin Nafiaa intersection near the National Theatre targeting alcoholic beverages store, injuring two civilians and damaging the store," he said.

#7: "Two bombs exploded consecutively in al-Zaafaraniya region, southeastern Baghdad, near al-Ali al-Azeem mosque, near a police patrol, without causing casualties."


Kirkuk:
#1: A Sahwa officer was killed on Monday by unknown gunmen in southwest of Kirkuk, according to local police chief. “Unknown armed men opened their fire Monday evening (March 21) on Lieutenant Ibrahim Matar in Riyadh district, southwest of Kirkuk, killing him on the spot,” Brigadier Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: Two civilians were wounded on Monday by a bomb blast in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. “Two civilians were wounded on Monday (March 21) by a roadside bomb explosion in Dourat Hamam region, eastern Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Bulgarian soldiers at the Isaf/Nato air base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, have been attacked with missiles, the Bulgarian Defence Ministry said on March 21 2011. The airport is a frequent site of attacks by Taliban insurgents. The latest incident occurred over the weekend at 8.03pm Afghan time. There are about 300 Bulgarian soldiers in the base, as well as troops from a number of other countries. According to the Defence Ministry, there were no casualties.

#2: A suicide bombing rocked Afghan town in southern Uruzgan province on Tuesday, an official said. "A suicide bomber riding a motorbike blew himself up next to headquarters of Deh Rawad district at 11:00 a.m. local time today, killing himself," spokesman for provincial administration Ahmad Milad Madasir told Xinhua. There were no casualties except the bomber in the suicide attack as the bomber due to fear of identifying by police detonated his explosive device 100 meters away from the district headquarters, the official further said.


DoD: Staff Sgt. Mecolus C. McDaniel

DoD: Staff Sgt. James M. Malachowski

War News forMonday, March 21, 2011

The Washington Post is reporting the death of an American soldier from an IED blast in an unreported location in southern Iraq presumably on Monday, March 21st.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, March 20th.


Reported security incidents

#1: A high-ranking oil official has been shot dead in an attack in Baghdad, Iraqi media reported on Monday. Hussein Jamal Abdullah, Director-General of Iraq's State Oil Marketing Organisation (SOMO), was killed by an unknown group of gunmen near the Baghdad People's Stadium on Sunday, Aswat al-Iraq news agency reported.

#2: A colonel in the Interior Ministry was also killed in a separate attack near the Moussa al-Kadhim Mosque in northern Baghdad. The colonel's name was not reported.

Gunmen in a speeding car on Sunday killed an Interior Ministry colonel, Ali Jabar, when they fired on his car in eastern Baghdad, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb placed at the gate of a night club at Abu Nowas Street, in Karrada, caused massive damages to the club on Monday morning. No casualties were reported.

#4: Gunmen in a speeding car on Sunday wounded an Interior Ministry colonel, Emad Chyad, when they shot at his car in eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#5: Gunmen in a speeding car wounded a police lieutenant, Ali Ramiz, when they shot at his car in the Talbiya area of eastern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#6: A bomb attach to a vehicle on Sunday killed one civilian and wounded three in the Baghdad's southwestern district of Bayaa, an Interior Ministry source said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A bomb attached to an Iraqi military vehicle killed one soldier and wounded two in the Karma area, near Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Militants killed four men for allegedly providing the United States with information used in a recent drone attack that Pakistan claims killed many innocent civilians, Pakistani intelligence officials said Monday. Authorities found the bullet-riddled bodies of three Pakistanis and one Afghan in the North Waziristan tribal area with notes outlining their alleged role in the March 17 drone strike, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.

#2: Two suspected suicide bombers riding on a motor bike were killed near the northwestern town of Dera Ismail Khan when the suicide vest of one of them exploded accidentally, police said.

MoD: Private Daniel Prior

DoD: Cpl. Donald R. Mickler Jr.

DoD: Pfc. Rudy A. Acosta