War News for Thursday, April 21, 2011

MNF-Iraq (OND) is reporting the death of a U.S. sailor from a non-combat related incident presumably aboard the USS Enterprise on Tuesday, April 19th.

The French MoD is reporting the death of a French ISAF soldier from an IED attack south of Kapisa, Afghanistan on Wednesday, April 20th.


Sacramento woman killed in Iraq

Report: Iranian engineers freed in Afghanistan

Taliban Fan Fears of Infiltration in Afghan Forces

Iraq is a US colony ruled by an Islamic regime, Saadi Youssof


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: The head of the Iraqi parliament's anti-graft committee narrowly escaped assassination Thursday, according to his political bloc, which is loyal to radical Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. Baha al-Araji had been leaving his home in the predominantly Shiite north Baghdad neighbourhood of Kadhimiyah in the morning when three gunmen in an unmarked car pulled up and began firing silenced pistols at him, an official with the Sadrist bloc said from its headquarters in Najaf. "After a car chase, the three gunmen were caught" by Araji's bodyguards, added the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

#2: “Unknown gunmen attacked alcoholic beverages store in al-Jihad neighborhood in western Baghdad and opened fire on it, injuring three persons, including the store’s owner,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: “An explosive charge went off in al-Tahrir tunnel in al-Tayaran square, central Baghdad, wounding four persons and damaging a civilian car,” he added.


Samarra:
#1: A child was killed and four more were wounded on Thursday in an assassination attempt of president of the Samarra Criminal Court, a source from the Samarra Operations Command said. "A roadside bomb went off in al-Aamroushiya region, central Samarra, southern Tikrit, targeting the motorcade of Judge Shihab Ahmad al-Aadzawi, who survived the attack, while a child was killed and four others, including three bodyguards, were wounded," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: The director of oil products distribution department in Ninewa was wounded on Wednesday by gunfire in eastern Mosul, a security source said. “Unknown gunmen opened fire this evening on Mohammad Younis Ismail, the director of the oil products distribution department in Ninewa, in al-Methaq neighborhood, seriously injuring him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Gunmen in a speeding car shot dead a civilian in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, a police source said.

#3: Gunmen attacked a police checkpoint, killing two policemen, in western Mosul, a police source said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Three policemen have been killed and six others wounded in a bomb explosion in eastern Afghanistan, officials say. The bomb was planted inside a van which was transporting members of the Afghan National Police in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar province. The policemen were on their way to work when the blast occurred. The Taliban said they carried out the attack.

#2: (?) About 90 rebels and civilians have been killed in NATO-led military operations in the Logar and Kunar provinces in Afghanistan, local officials and Taliban sources say. At least 70 Taliban rebels were killed in Logar, 65 km south of Kabul, and 17 others were killed in NATO air bombings on a village in the eastern Kunar province. According to Kunar governor Fazlullah Wahidi, one woman and two of her kids died in the attack.

TWO Afghan women were killed in an operation in eastern Afghanistan that also left 17 insurgents dead, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said today. Local officials had previously said that two women and a child died in the fighting late Tuesday in the Dangam district of Kunar province. "The security forces returned fire, killing the insurgent and what turned out to be two women he was hiding behind," an ISAF statement said. It added that during the operation, ISAF troops "killed 17 insurgents including foreign fighters and detained one suspected insurgent while searching for an Al-Qaeda senior leader".

#3: Gunmen on motorcycle attacked and torched two tankers carrying fuel for Western forces in Afghanistan in Bolan, 70 km (43.5 miles) east of Quetta, in Pakistan's southwestern Baluchistan province, paramilitary officials in the region said.

#4: At least 12 militants were killed in an operation launched by the Pakistani armed forces in the country's northwest tribal area on Wednesday, reported local Urdu TV channel Ajj. According to the report, the Pakistani army shelled the hideouts of militants in Mohmand Agency with helicopter gunships. During the clashes, one soldier was also killed and six others were injured. The report failed to say at what exact time and in which specific area the military operation was carried out.


MoD: Captain Lisa Jade Head

DoD: Petty Officer 3rd Class Micah Aaron Hill

DoD: Pfc. John F. Kihm

War News for Wednesday, April 20, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier at the Queen Elizabeth NHS Hospital in Birmingham U.K. on Tuesday, April 19th. The soldier was wounded in a demining operation in the Nahr-e Saraj (South) District, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Monday, April 18th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A bomb targeting a police patrol wounded three people, including one policeman, in Baghdad's central al-Mesbah district, an Interior Ministry source said.

#2: Gunmen opened fire at a police patrol, wounding one policeman in the Hurriya district of northwestern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said

#3: Istabraq al-Shouk, deputy minister of construction and housing, escaped unharmed when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in northern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said. The source said four passers-by were wounded in the incident.

#4: Two bombs killed three people and wounded 10 others when they went off in Baghdad's northeastern Sadr city slum, an Interior Ministry source said.

#5: A bomb targeting a police patrol wounded two people, including one policeman, in Khilani square in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#6: Armed men using silenced weapons killed an Iraqi policeman in Baghdad's southwestern Jihad district, police said.

#7: A roadside bomb went off in Palestine Street in northeastern Baghdad, wounding two civilians and an Iraqi soldier, an Interior Ministry source said.


Nassiriya:
#1: A bomb exploded on Tuesday by gunmen near a U.S. convoy in northern Nassiriya, according to chairman of the Thi-Qar council's security commission. "A bomb exploded on Tuesday targeting a U.S. convoy in Albu Halala region between al-Shatra and al-Nasr districts, northern Nassiriya, without causing casualties," Sajad al-Asadi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kut:
#1: A policeman was killed on Tuesday when his colleague shot him in northern Kut, according to a security source. “A policeman shot and killed his colleague using a Kalashnikov near Kut-Baghdad checkpoint in northern Kut,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tikrit:
#1: In Salahudin province in the north of Baghdad, a booby-trapped car parked in central the provincial capital city of Tikrit detonated at about 7 a.m. (0400 GMT) near the convoy of Faisal al- Azzawi, chief judge in the Salahudin's Court of Appeal, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Azzawi escaped the attack unharmed despite damages to his vehicle, but four of his bodyguards were wounded by the blast, the source said.


Mosul:
#1: Gunmen killed a high school student in southeastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: An employee of Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission in Mosul escaped unharmed when a bomb attached to his car exploded just south of Mosul, police said.

#3: The bodies of two men were found near a town southwest of Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#4: A Peshmerga element was killed on Tuesday by gunmen in eastern Mosul, according to a security source. "Unknown gunmen opened fire on a Peshmerga element from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) in al-Shuhadaa neighborhood, eastern Mosul, killing him instantly," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#5: A kurd and two Shabaks were kidnapped on Tuesday by gunmen in western Mosul, according to a security source. "An unknown armed group kidnapped a Kurd and two Shabaks on Tuesday afternoon in al-Maash market in western Mosul," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb exploded near a police patrol, wounding four policemen and two civilians, in Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, according to a spokesman for the governor of Anbar province.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Two insurgents were killed when one of the homemade bombs they were constructing exploded in Zormat district in southeastern Paktia province overnight, the Afghan Interior Ministry said.


DoD: Spc. Paul J. Atim

DoD: Spc. Charles J. Wren

DoD: Pfc. Joel A. Ramirez

DoD: Capt. Charles E. Ridgley Jr.

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Charles L. Adkins

DoD: Staff Sgt. Cynthia R. Taylor

DoD: Sgt. Linda L. Pierre

DoD: Spc. Joseph B. Cemper

War News for Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Secret memos expose link between oil firms and invasion of Iraq


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Separately, three policemen and two bystanders were wounded by a roadside bomb in Baghdad on Tuesday. The bomb was planed near a security checkpoint outside Iraq’s Finance Ministry.

#2: In Baghdad, a sticky bomb attached to the car of Abdul Amir Hussien, director general in the Education Ministry, detonated in the morning and killed him while he was driving in Baghdad southern district of Doura, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Two bystanders at the scene were also wounded by the blast which destroyed the victim's car, the source said.

#3: A roadside bomb wounded Naseer al-Chaderchi, a politician who ran unsuccessfully for parliament last year, along with two of his bodyguards and three bystanders, in Baghdad's northern district of Adhamiya, an Interior Ministry source said.

#4: Gunmen in a speeding car using silenced weapons shot and wounded a policeman in central Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Mussayab:
#1: A member of parliament belonging to the Sadrists's; bloc escaped unharmed after a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy in central Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Police say gunmen stormed a house in a northern, ethnically mixed city in Iraq, killing three women who lived there. Police Col. Sherzad Mofaly says it’s not clear why the women were targeted in the attack late Monday in the city of Kirkuk. The women were Shiites from southern Iraq who recently moved to the city located 180 miles (290 kilometers) north of Baghdad. Mofaly says two were sisters, one was a teacher and the other was a lawyer. The third woman was a relative.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: An Iraqi civilian has died and another man was injured in an explosive charge blast, stuck to his car, in west Iraq’s Falluja city on Tuesday, a security source said. “A group of armed men, who stuck an explosive charge to a civilian man's car, blew up while he entered a government office in central Falluja, killing him and wounding another civilian, who was close to the venue of the blast,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least one person was injured Tuesday when a NATO oil tanker was burned out in southwestern Pakistan's Balochistan province. According to local media reports, some unknown militants opened fire at the container carrying fuel for NATO force in Afghanistan in Dasht area of Sibi district in central Balochistan. The oil tanker was destroyed and a driver was injured, reports said.

#2: A car bomb exploded outside a charity’s office, wounding two people in Quetta, police said on Tuesday. Ten houses were also damaged in the remotely-detonated blast in the capital of impoverished Balochistan province, which suffers from a separatist insurgency, sectarian violence and Taliban militancy. “Two passers-by including a woman received shrapnel wounds but they are out of danger,” senior police official Zaman Tarin told AFP.

War News for Monday, April 18, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, April 16th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, April 16th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Two powerful car bombs exploded near a security checkpoint at a crowded entrance to Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone on Monday, killing five people and wounding at least 15, a security official said. Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi said two suicide bombers struck during the morning rush hour in a line of vehicles queuing at the western entry to the Green Zone, where government buildings and foreign embassies are located in central Baghdad. The bombers' vehicles were packed with large quantities of explosives and blew up near two motorcades carrying a senior army commander and an official with Iraq's presidential council, Moussawi said. It was not immediately clear if they were the targets. In a statement, the media office of the Iraqi parliament said one of the explosions hit the motorcade of Amjad Abdul Hameed, an adviser to parliamentary speaker Osama al-Nujaifi. Hameed was not injured but one of his bodyguards was killed and three others were wounded, the statement said. The blasts destroyed an Iraqi army Humvee and set fire to several other vehicles at the scene. An Interior Ministry source said the explosions killed three people and wounded 20, including some Iraqi soldiers.

#2: Gunmen using silenced weapons raided a goldsmith shop, killing one person and wounding another in Baghdad's southeastern Ameen district, an Interior Ministry source said.

Three goldsmiths have been killed, together with a gunman, in an armed attack by unknown gunmen east of Baghdad, a security source said on Monday. “A group of unknown gunmen have opened fire on three goldsmith shops in eastern Baghdad’s al-Amin district, killing three goldsmiths and one of the attackers,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: Two roadside bombs wounded four civilians when they exploded in southern Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

Four persons have been injured in two explosive charges blasts in central Baghdad, raising the number of explosions in the Iraqi capital to four blasts over the past few hours of Monday, a security source said. “Two explosive charges, planted on the roadside in central Baghdad’s Jadiriya district, close to Baghdad University, blew off to wound 4 persons, and cause damage to a number of nearby shops and cars,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#4: Iraq’s Finance Ministry’s Director-General, Ali Abu-Naila, has escaped an assassination attempt in eastern Baghdad on Monday, a security source said. “A group of unknown gunmen opened fire on the motorcade of the Finance Ministry’s Director-General, Ali Abu-Naila and an advisor of the Central Bank, accompanying him, on southeastern Baghdad’s Mohammed al-Qassim highway on Monday, causing no casualties, but damaging Abu-Naila’s car,” the security source said.

#5: Two explosive charges blew up on Monday targeting two liquor shops in eastern and central Baghdad on Monday, a security source said. “Two explosive charges blew up on Monday morning, aimed at two liquor shops. One of the shops is in southeast Baghdad’s ‘New Baghdad’ district and the other in al-Nidhal Street, in the center of the city,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said that both explosions did not cause any casualties, but damaged a number of trade shops and civilian cars, close to the areas of the attacks.

#6: The Adviser to the Iraqi Parliament speaker has escaped an assassination attempt by a booby-trapped car explosion, a Parliament statement announced on Monday. “The Adviser to Iraqi Parliament Speaker Amjad Abdul-Hamid has escaped an assassination attempt, when a booby-trapped car blew up in west Baghdad’s Qadisiya district on Monday,” the Parliament’s source said in a statement, a copy of which was received by Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The source said that one of Abdul-Hamid’s bodyguards was killed and three others suffered serious injures, caused by the explosion.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A bomb attached to a car wounded an off-duty army captain and three passengers in central Falluja, 50 km (32 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.

#2: Two roadside bombs wounded three civilians on Sunday when they exploded in central Ramadi, 100 km (60 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide attacker entered the Afghan Defence Ministry in Kabul, shot dead two Afghan soldiers and wounded seven others, Defense Ministry spokesman Zaher Azimy said. He said the bomber was shot dead before he could set off the explosives attached to his body.

#2: A powerful landmine exploded under a police vehicle, killing six officers and seriously wounding two more in Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul on Monday, provincial police chief Delawar Zahed said.

#3: Armed men have kidnapped 12 Iranian engineers in Western Afghanistan, as insecurity continues in the war-torn country despite the long-term military presence of US-led forces.

#4: A local official in Khost province was killed and three of his family members injured following a roadside bomb struck their vehicle on Sunday, provincial police chief Abdul Hakim Ishaqzai said Monday. "A senior provincial official Khayal Mohammad was killed and three members of his family sustained injuries Sunday evening when his car ran over a mine," Ishaqzai told Xinhua. The incident happened outside provincial capital the same name Khost city, he further said.


DoD: Spc. Joseph A. Kennedy

News of the Day for Sunday, April 17, 2011

Reported Security Incidents

Baghdad

Gunmen invaded the home of a Shiite family living in a Sunni area and killed all 4 at about 1:00 pm Saturday. The dead are a 16 year old boy, a 14 year old girl, and their parents. Although it is not known whether the attack was motivated by sectarian animus, it is reminiscent of the violence during 2005-2007.

Three rockets launched from southern Baghdad fall on the airport. No information as to damage or casualties at this time. Separately, the Iraqi army discovered a launch pad with rockets aimed at the Green Zone.

Also, a civilian is injured by a roadside bomb in the Tunis district.

The bullet ridden body of a policeman is found in the Shaab district.

Tarmiyah, north of Baghdad

A roadside bomb hits an Iraqi army patrol, killing one soldier and injuring 2 others.

Ramadi

Bomb attack on the director of traffic police for Anbar province causes no casualties, but damages his vehicle. Separately, a police officer is injured by a roadside bomb in central Ramadi.

Kirkuk

Sticky bomb kills a man from Ramadi who was working in Kirkuk. The story describes him as a "contractor," it is unclear what that means. Reuters describes him as a "businessman." Separately, a roadside bomb injures and employee of the city's medical department.

Other News of the Day

Syrian authorities claim they seized a truckload of weapons in an attempted smuggling from Iraq. There is no explanation as to where they might have been going. One good guess might be Kurdish militants. -- C

Kuwaiti Airways is seeking Iraqi assets in compensation for equipment stolen during the 1991 war. UN protection of Iraqi assets against such claims expires June 30.

U.S. Speaker of the House John Boehner visits Baghdad, meets with PM al-Maliki. No doubt advises him to cut taxes on the wealthy. -- C

Afghanistan Update

NATO announces three more troop deaths that occurred on Saturday, bringing the total that day to 8. The additional deaths resulted from 2 separate roadside bomb incidents. The nationality of the troops was not disclosed.

Further details emerge on the incident yesterday at FOB Gamberi in which 5 NATO troops, four Afghan soldiers and an interpreter were killed. The perpetrator had joined the Afghan army one month ago. He detonated a suicide vest during a meeting. He was a Taliban agent.

War News for Saturday, April 16, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, April 15th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of five ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, April 16th. various news reports that a suicide bomber wearing an Afghan Army uniform attacked a base near Jalalabad, Nangarhar province. Four Afghan soldiers were also killed and 4 afghan soldiers and four Afghan translators were wounded in the attack.


In Afghanistan, Kandahar police chief Mohammad Mojayed killed by suicide bomber

Australian soldier classified as a battle casualty after 2010 IED strike


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: Gunmen opened fire at a police patrol and killed one policeman in the southern Baghdad district of Ilaam, an Interior Ministry source said.

#2: A group of unknown armed men have attacked a Federal Police patrol in northern Baghdad’s Kadhimiya district, wounding a policeman and escaping to an unknown destination,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: He said that an explosive charge blew off close to a petrol filling station in central Baghdad’s Karrada district, targeted against a motorcade of Director-General of Iraq’s Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research, wounding 3 civilians and damaging 2 cars.


Kirkuk:
#1: A sticky bomb attached to an Iraqi army vehicle seriously wounded an Iraqi officer in southern Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, the Kirkuk police operations centre said.


Kut:
#1: The Wassit morgue received the unidentified body of a young man found dumped in the open north of al-Kut city and showing signs of having been shot, a morgue source said on Friday. “The al-Zahraa Hospital morgue in Kut received today (April 15) the body of a young man found by security forces in the district of al-Dabbouni, (75 km) north of the city,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb went off at an Iraqi army checkpoint close to a mosque and wounded four people, including two soldiers, in eastern Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.

#2: A grenade thrown at a police patrol wounded a policeman in western Mosul, police said.

#3: A roadside bomb went off near an Iraqi army patrol and wounded one officer in northern Mosul, police said.


Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A sticky bomb attached to the car of a police lieutenant-colonel cut off part of his legs when it exploded in the town of Khaldiya, 83 km (50 miles) west of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide bomber attacked an Afghan army base near the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing four Afghan soldiers and wounding eight, a Defence Ministry spokesman said. There were also foreign casualties he said, without giving details. A spokesman for NATO-led forces confirmed there had been casualties but declined to say how many were dead or wounded.

A Taliban suicide bomber wearing a military uniform hit an Afghan army base near the city of Jalalabad, the Afghan defence ministry said. Coalition officials said five foreign troops died but gave no more details. Four Afghan soldiers and four translators were said to be injured. the attack was one of the deadliest in months against foreign troops. It took place shortly after 0730 (0330 GMT) when the bomber approached the gate of the military base and detonated his explosives. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, adding that the attacker was a "sleeper agent" who had served in the army for at least one month before launching his attack.

#2: Two civilians were killed, and three others wounded when the rickshaw they were travelling in hit a roadside mine in western Farah province on Friday afternoon, the Ministry of the Interior said in a statement.

War News for Friday, April 15, 2011

UN confirms 34 killed at Iranian exile camp in Baghdad

CIA will not halt operations in Pakistan: Official

Radioactive Japanese cars seized in Russia's Far East (off topic)


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: An Iraqi Army officer was wounded in a bombing that targeted a military patrol, western Baghdad, a security source told Alsumaria. A policeman was wounded in a bombing that targeted a police patrol in Al Mikanik District, Dora region.

#2: The body of a woman with gunshot wounds in the head and the chest was found in Al Sheala region. Another body of a man with gunshot wounds was found in Al Hurriya region, northwestern Baghdad.


Diyala Prv:
#1: One soldier was killed and another one was wounded by a sniper fire on Friday in the city of Baaquba, a security source said. “A sniper opened fire on a military control tower on the road between Diala and Kirkuk in al-Aadim district in Khales, northern Baaquba, killing a soldier from the 5th division of the Iraqi army and injuring another one,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: Two persons were wounded in a blast that targeted their vehicle in Kirkuk on Thursday, according to a source from the city’s Joint Coordination Center (JCC). “An improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted a civilian vehicle in southern Kirkuk, injuring two, one of them working for the National Security Center in the city and the other is an employee at a cotton ginning plant, and damaging their car,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Meanwhile, unidentified persons hurled a hand-grenade on the house of the assistant director of the public notary in al-Shurja area, northern Kirkuk, causing damage to the building, the source said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Forty Afghan would-be policemen who were kidnapped by the Taliban last month were freed unharmed Friday, officials said. The men were abducted in the troubled eastern province of Kunar, which borders Pakistan, while travelling back from neighbouring Nuristan, where they had unsuccessfully sought work with the Afghan Local Police (ALP). A Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, added: "Our eastern shura (local council) agreed to free them after assurances by local elders that they will not work for the police."

#2: Bomb blast rocked Afghan Kandahar town on Friday killing provincial police chief, an official said. "A terrorist dressed in police uniform strapped explosive device in his boy blew himself up inside police department leaving the police chief Khan Mohammad Mujahid dead," the official told Xinhua, but declined to give his name saying authorized official would brief media after investigation


DoD: Spc. Donald L. Nichols