News of the Day for Sunday, May 15, 2011

Reported Security Incidents

Baghdad

Three members of one family killed in an armed home invasion. No indication of motive as of now.

Four people are injured by an explosion near the National Theater in Karrada.

VoI reports four separate Katyusha rocket attacks:

* Six people are injured when a rocket falls on a garage in al-Tayaran square.
* Three are injured by a rocket that falls on the highway in Jadririya.
* Four are injured by a rocket that falls near a mosque and a filling station.
* A fourth rocket falls harmlessly into the Tigris.

However, Reuters reports that one person was killed and nine injured when nine rockets fell in the Green Zone. (That's a pretty big event for VoI to miss!)


Xinhua reports on three separate attacks on police by gunmen equipped silenced weapons.

* Gunmen injured a traffic officer in al-Shaab. He returned fire and killed one of the attackers.
* Lieutenant Colonel Mahmoud Nawaf from the Interior Ministry was injured in an attack on his car in Abu Dsheir.
* A intelligence officer was injured in al-Nisour square.

Mosul

Two people are killed and three injured in what appears to be a neighborhood feud.

An off-duty police man is injured by a roadside bomb in Hammam al-Alil township south of the city.

Tuz Township, south of Kirkuk

Six police are injured by a roadside bomb.

Turkey-Kurdistan border region

Turkish government says soldiers killed 12 PKK members who were entering Turkey. Separately, a Turkish soldier is killed by a land mine. The PKK ended a six-month cease fire in February.

Other News of the Day

For you conspiracy theorists out there (and after all, there really are conspiracies, a helicopter, hired by police, landed at the scene shortly after the body of Dr. David Kelly was found and departed after five minutes. The Daily Mail obtained flight logs but "Significantly, the flight log has been heavily redacted, making it impossible to know who was on board or what its exact purpose was. The flight was not mentioned in oral evidence at the Hutton Inquiry, set up by Tony Blair to investigate Dr Kelly’s death." (For those who do not recall, Dr. Kelly was named as the primary source of a report that the Blair government had lied to the public about Iraqi weapons in making the case for war. He was found dead shortly thereafter, and his death ruled a suicide; but many have doubts. Follow the link for details.)

A navy biomedical investigator believes that inhalation of microscopic dust particles may be responsible for unexplained illnesses of many Iraq veterans. The Defense Department (surprise!) denies there is any problem.

PM Nouri al-Maliki issues a threat to Muqtada al-Sadr should the government decide to extend the U.S. troop presence in Iraq an al-Sadr oppose the decision. Al-Sadr responds with a sermon in which he says ""We appeal to all Iraqi people to expel the U.S. troops from Iraq through demonstrations and marches. We will not accept the occupation's troops staying, not even for one day after the end of this year."

Afghanistan Update

A NATO soldier is killed by an IED in southern Afghanistan. No further information as of now.

A police official says NATO forces opened fire on a group of girls age 8 to 15 in Kunar province, killing one and injuring four. NATO says it is investigating.

Leaked documents reveal that NATO forces have made extensive use of white phosphorus weapons in populated areas, a practice forbidden by international conventions.

The Pakistani legislature passes a resolution asking the government to consider ending the transport through Pakistan of supplies for NATO forces in Afghanistan.

John Kerry is visiting Afghanistan and Pakistan as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee winds up hearings on the Afghanistan war. A movement is growing in congress to wind down the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan. Kerry's position on this question is likely to be influential.

War News for Saturday, May 14, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, May 13th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a shooting incident from an Afghan policeman at an Afghan National Civil Order Police compound in Helmand province on Thursday, May 12th.


Four American Lives and $4 Billion Wasted on Afghanistan War Since Bin Laden's Death


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1-2: In Baghdad, eight people were wounded mostly policemen in two consecutive bombings. The first explosion targeted the car of Interior Ministry Major in Al Ghazaliya region. The second explosion detonated few minutes later targeting police forces who rushed in to the incident site. In Al Saadun Street, an alcohol store was damaged due to a bombing.

#3: Unknown gunmen opened fire in a drive-by shooting on Saturday morning on an interior ministry recruit near his house in Al Shaab District, northern Baghdad. The recruit was wounded due to the shooting, a source told Alsumaria. The recruit however fired back using his gun and killed two gunmen, the source added.


Diwaniya:
#1: Two Katusha rockets fell on the outskirts of the U.S. Echo Camp west of southern Iraq’s Diwaniya city early on Friday night, but losses were not known, a security source said. “Two Katusha rockets fell on the outskirts of the U.S. Army’s Echo Camp, 3 km to the west of Diwaniya on Friday night, but losses were not known,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency on Saturday.


Amarra:
#1: An explosive charge blew off against a U.S. Army patrol in southern Iraq’s Amara city, without causing human or material losses, the Chairman of the Security & Defense Committee of Missan Province’s Council said on Saturday. “An explosive charge blew off this morning (Saturday) against an American Army patrol, in central Amara,” Sarhan al-Moussawi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, saying that the “incident did not cause any human or material losses.”


Al Dour:
#1: In Salahuddin, a mortar round targeted Al Dour District Police Directorate, a source told Alsumaria.


Kirkuk:
#1: Kirkuk Police Chief Brigadier Jamal Taher Baker escaped an assassination attempt targeting his convoy when he was checking the house of head of Turkman Front Arshad Salehi in central Kirkuk that was targeted by a missile attack in the morning. The explosion wounded two civilians while the missile attack destroyed the house completely. No casualties were reported.


Mosul:
#1: A former candidate for the Iraqi Parliament by al-Iraqiya List, led by former Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi, had been assassinated, together with one of her guards, in northern Iraq’s city of Mosul in Thursday, a security source said on Saturday. “Al-Iraqiya Parliamentary candidate for the previous elections, Raw’a Naf’e al-Ugeidy, was shot dead, together with one of her guards, close to her house in eastern Mosul on Thursday afternoon, when a group of gunmen opened fire on her, also wounding another of her guards,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A medical evacuation helicopter, marked with the universally recognized Red Cross symbol, came under attack by insurgents yesterday while medical providers attempted to recover a wounded service member in Sangin District, Helmand province. Insurgents opened fire on the evacuation helicopter as it approached the designated landing area near where the service member had been injured by an improvised explosive device. A combined Afghan and coalition dismounted patrol conducting clearing operations struck an IED resulting in one coalition soldier wounded. The combined force moved to a nearby area suitable for a helicopter landing, and called for medical evacuation.

#2: A rocket was fired early Saturday morning at a base in Afghanistan housing Korea's aid workers and troops in the country, but no casualties were reported. Seoul's foreign ministry said the rocket fell about 200 meters away from the wall surrounding the base.

#3: Suicide bombers killed 80 people at a Pakistani paramilitary academy on Friday. The bombers struck as the recruits were going on leave and 65 of them were among the 80 dead. Many wounded, looking dazed with parts of their clothes ripped away by shrapnel, were loaded into trucks.

#4: Hours after the bombing, a U.S. drone aircraft fired missiles at a vehicle in Waziristan on the Afghan border, killing five militants, Pakistani security officials said.

#5: Afghan soldiers, backed by NATO-led forces, killed eight militants elsewhere in the conflict-ridden country since Friday morning, a statement released by the Defense Ministry said here Saturday. "Soldiers of Afghan National Army (ANA) backed by international forces during operations over the past 24 hours have killed eight anti-government insurgent elsewhere in the country," the statement asserted.

#6: At least five NATO oil tankers bound for Afghanistan caught fire on Friday after a bomb planted beneath one of them exploded, but there were no casualties, officials in Pakistan said. A remote-controlled device planted under one of the tankers carrying fuel for NATO troops in Afghanistan went off, triggering a fire that engulfed four more tankers, local administration official Iqbal Khan Khattak said. The tankers were parked in the Torkham area of the Khyber tribal region near the Afghan border. Khattak said that a total of 21 tankers parked in the terminal, but the other vehicles were safe after being moved away from the blast site. A local intelligence official confirmed the incident and said there were no casualties.

#7: Two Afghan policemen were killed during separate clashes with insurgents in Rashidan district of Ghazni province, southwest of Kabul, provincial police chief Delawar Zahed said. Two insurgents and one policeman were also wounded in the fighting.


DoD: 1st Lt. Demetrius M. Frison

War News for Thursday, May 12, 2011

Kurdish rebels kill police officer in attack - agency


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: In Baghdad, a roadside bomb struck a vehicle belonging to the Ministry of National Security in al-Ghazaliyah district in western the capital, wounding two ministry employees aboard, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. Iraqi security forces rushed to the site of the first blast, but another roadside bomb exploded near their vehicles and wounded two policemen and a soldier, the source said.

#2: In a separate incident, a bomb detonated at a liquor store in Bab al-Sharji district in downtown Baghdad, wounding a civilian and damaging the store, the source said.

#3: In eastern Baghdad, a roadside bomb went off near a U.S. military convoy in Baladiyat district, the source said without giving further details.

#4: Five casualties were reported in north-east Baghdad following an explosion in the area, security sources said today (Wednesday). The source told Aswat al-Iraq that "a bomb exploded in Palestine Street, wounding five civilians."


Mussayab:
#1: Police found the bodies of two men with gunshot wounds in the town of Mussayab, 60 km (40 miles) south of Baghdad, a Babil province police official said.


Hilla:
#1: Police found the body of a teenager bearing signs of torture in a town near the city of Hilla, 100 km (60 miles) south of Baghdad, a Babil province police official said.


Tikrit:
#1: The Director of Tuz township’s Nationality Certificates Office Director in Salahal-Din Province has been injured in an explosive charge blast in his car on Thursday, a police source said. “An explosive charge, stuck to the car of Tuz township’s Nationality Certificates Director, Lt.
Brig. Madih Nouri, blew of under his car in the city of Tikrit on Thursday, seriously injuring him,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Kirkuk:
#1: Iraqi police say a lawmaker from the Sunni-backed Iraqiya bloc escaped an assassination attempt in the ethnically mixed city of Kirkuk. Police Brig. Gen. Khattab Omar says bombs exploded Thursday morning near the house of Arshad al-Salehi, a Turkomen member of Iraqiya. Al-Salehi and his family were in the house at the time but suffered no injuries.

A mortar round landed in the early morning on the house of Arshad al-Salihi, a Member of Parliament and head of a political group represents the Iraqi Turkoman minority, destroying part of his house, a local security source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

#2: Hours later, two people were wounded in central Kirkuk when a roadside bomb struck the convoy of Major General Jamal Tahir, a chief police in Kirkuk, while he was visiting the house of Arshad al-Salihi which was attacked by a mortar round earlier in the day, the source added.


Mosul:
#1: A roadside bomb went off near a police patrol on Wednesday, wounding three policemen and one civilian, in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: One Afghan civilian was killed and nine were wounded when a bag packed with explosives exploded near a shop in Khost city, capital of southeastern Khost province, provincial police chief Abdul Hakim Eshaqzai said. He gave no further details and it was not immediately clear what had been the target of the bomb.

#2: U.S. missiles killed at least five alleged militants Thursday in a tribal region along the Afghan border. Two Pakistani intelligence officials said Thursday's drone-fired missiles hit a vehicle in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan, an al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold that has been subject to frequent missile attacks.

#3: NATO says its troops and Afghan forces mistakenly killed a young girl and a man who turned out to be a police officer during an overnight raid in eastern Afghanistan. A NATO statement Thursday says a combined NATO-Afghan force was pursuing a Taleban leader in Nangarhar province’s Surkh Rod district on Wednesday, when a man came out of the targeted house threatening them with a gun. It says the troops killed the man and then discovered he was a police officer. The troops also shot at someone running out of the back of the compound who they believed had a weapon. The soldiers later realized there was no weapon and that they had killed “an unarmed Afghan female adolescent.” A neighbor, who goes by the name of Ayatullah, says the girl was 12 years old.

#4: Five people were killed in a cross-border clash between Pakistani tribesmen and Afghan forces on Thursday. Sources said that the clashes began after the Afghan National Army carried out unprovoked firing in the Lawa Mandi area on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Three of those killed are reported to local tribesmen and two Afghan army men, local security officials said. There has been no official confirmation on why the clash erupted and authorities are trying to control the situation.

War News for Wednesday, May 11, 2011

The French Defense Ministry is reporting the death of a French ISAF soldier from an IED blast in the Tagad valley, Kapisa province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 10th. No other casualties resulted from the attack. Here's the ISAF release. Some news reports a French navy corporal died.

NATO is reporting the death of a second ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 10th.


Murky Identities and Ties Hinder NATO’s Hunt for Afghan Insurgents, Report Says


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: update Three persons have been injured in an explosive charge blast, targeted against a motorcade of Baghdad Province’s Council Member, Yassin Mustapha on Tuesday, a security source said. “An explosive charge blew off in western Baghdad’s Amiriya district against the motorcade of Member of Baghdad Province’s Council, Yassin Mustapha, who escaped the attempt, whilst one of his guards and two civilians were injured,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: Five Iraqi civilians have been injured in an explosive charge blast in eastern Baghdad’s al-Sadr city on Wednesday, a security source said. “An explosive charge, planted on the roadside in east Baghdad’s al-Sadr city, blew off on Wednesday morning, wounding 5 civilians, who were driven to a nearby hospital for treatment,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Tikrit:
#1: Two policemen have been killed and another seriously injured in an explosive charge blast against their patrol in Tikrit, the center of Salahal-Din Province on Tuesday, a security source said. “An explosive charge blew off on Tuesday night against a local police patrol in central Tikrit, killing Two of its policemen and seriously wounding a third One, along with causing serious damage to the patrol’s car,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: A police officer of eastern Mosul’s police center has been injured in an explosive charge blast, a Ninewa security source said on Tuesday. “Colonel Zaid al-Umary, an officer in eastern Mosul’s al-Dawasa Police Center, has been injured in explosive charge blast in his car on Tuesday night,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He said Colonel Umary was injured and his car seriously damaged, while on leave,” adding no further details.


Al Zab:
#1: A checkpoint of Iraq’s al-Sahwa (Awakening) Force in Kirkuk Province has come under a rocket attack on Tuesday, a source of the Joint Coordination Center in the Province said. “A group of unknown gunmen have launched RPG-7 rockets on a checkpoint, belonging to the Zab township’s al-Sahwa (Awakening) Force, 85 km to the southwest of Kirkuk,” the source said. The source added that the raid did not cause any human or material losses.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: About 100 Taliban fighters on motorcycles attacked a northern Afghan village working to join the government-sponsored local police program against the insurgency, killing a villager and 17 militants. The Tuesday evening attack sparked a gunfight that raged intensely for two hours and then continued with sporadic shooting until just before dawn on Wednesday, said Abdul Aziz Ghyrat on Wednesday, the police chief for Jawzjan province. "They targeted Abduraman village. The people there planned to join the local police and the Taliban had heard about this plan," Ghyrat said. The villagers in Abduraman fought to fend off the attack themselves until reinforcements arrived in the form of Afghan police, army and NATO air support, Ghyrat said. At the end of the fighting, one villager and 17 militants were dead, he said. Among the dead militants was a local Taliban commander who had led bombings and attacks in the region, he added.

#2: Unidentified gunmen in southwestern Pakistan have destroyed two NATO tankers carrying fuel for US-led foreign troops in war-torn Afghanistan. The assailants opened fire at two NATO oil tankers and then set them on fire in Balochistan province of Pakistan on Wednesday morning, a Press TV correspondent reported. The NATO tankers were going to Karachi from Quetta when militants attacked and completely destroyed them near Ghanja Dori area of Mastung town.

#3: At least 5 people have been killed in a U.S. drone missile attack in South Waziristan, intelligence officials said on Tuesday. The missiles struck a vehicle around Tuesday noon in Bghtar, a village near Angor Ada, a bordering area with Afghanistan, the officials said. According to official, U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles at a vehicle, killing at least 5people and injuring seven others. Identities of deceased were not known immediately.

#4: Gunmen kidnapped three Turkish nationals who were working on a construction project in Logar province, south of the capital Kabul, on Monday, provincial police chief Rogh Lewanai said.

#5: Afghan and coalition troops killed 17 insurgents during an operation in the Qushtapa district of northern Jawzjan province, said Abdul Lateef, a senior Afghan army official.

#6: A helicopter made emergency landing in Nuristan province on Wednesday, wounding four persons, provincial police chief Shams Rahman Zahid said. "The incident happened at 11:00 a.m. local time in nearby provincial capital Parun and four people aboard sustained injuries, "Zahid told Xinhua. All those injured are Afghans, he said. However, he did not provide more details.


DoD: Sgt. Ken K. Hermogino

War News for Tuesday, May 10, 2011

The Romanian MND is reporting the death of a Romanian ISAF soldier from an IED blast in Zabul province, Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 10th. Here's what we believe is the ISAF release.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, May 9th.


U.S. in limbo over Iraq troop presence


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A sticky bomb detonated in a four-wheel drive vehicle carrying Salam Abdullah Ibrahim, managing director of the cement factory in Zaafaraniyah, killing him, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The incident occurred in the morning when Ibrahim was driving to work in Baghdad's southern district of Doura, the source said.

#2: In a separate incident, Yassin Mostafa al-Janabi, member of Baghdad Provincial Council, escaped unharmed when a roadside bomb struck his convoy while moving in Baghdad's western district of Ameriyah, wounding a bodyguard and a passerby, the source added.

#3: Also in Baghdad, a roadside bomb ripped through al-Shaab district in northern the capital and wounded two civilians, he said.

#4: Three people were wounded on Monday in a bomb explosion in southeast of Baghdad, a security source said. “An improvised explosive device went off near a vegetables store in al-Ghadier region, southeast of Baghdad, wounding three people,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Diyala Prv:
#1: In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, four men and a woman were wounded in two roadside bombs and a sticky bomb attacks in and near the capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, a source from the provincial operations command told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.


Tikrit:
#1: Separately, an explosive expert policeman was wounded while he was defusing a roadside bomb on a main road south of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, the source added.


Samarra:
#1: A civilian has been killed and three others injured when a group of unknown gunmen tossed a hand-grenade on a checkpoint in Samarra city on Monday, according to a police source. “A group of unknown gunmen, have tossed a bomb from a fast car on an Iraqi police checkpoint in central Samarra on Monday night, killing a civilian and seriously wounding thee others, including a policemen,” the police source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Shirqat:
#1: In Salahudin province, a roadside bomb went off near a car carrying Lieutenant Colonel Nadhim Hussien Nasir, chief of al- Shirqat police station, seriously wounding him, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast took place as Nasir was driving to work outside the town of al-Shirqat, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source said.


Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen in a speeding car opened fire and killed an off-duty policeman in the city of Kirkuk, police said.


Al Zab:
#1: A roadside bomb went off and wounded a teacher in the town of al-Zab near the city of Kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Tal Afar:
#1: One civilian was killed on Monday by gunmen in west of Mosul, according to a civilian source. "Gunmen opened fire on a civilian in Talafar, west of Mosul, killing him on the spot," the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Hundreds of insurgents launched a large-scale attack Tuesday against police in Afghanistan's remote Nuristan province, a part of the country that is largely controlled by the Taliban, officials said. Provincial police chief Gen. Shams-ul Rahman Zahid said about 400 Taliban fighters were involved in the attack, which started after daybreak, targeting checkpoints around a base housing police reserve units located about 11 miles (18 kilometers) south of the provincial capital of Parun. Zahid, the provincial police chief, did not say how many police were under attack or the size of the security force based in Nuristan although it is thought to be small.

#2: U.S.-led coalition forces in Afghanistan are striking back against the Taliban's annual spring offensive with helicopter raids targeting a key border area that has long served as a base for the insurgents. U.S. Army paratroopers with the 101st Airborne Division fly into a remote district of eastern Paktika province, bordering Pakistan. Bermel district is a key battleground in a new NATO plan for securing Afghanistan, 10 years after the U.S.-led invasion. In Bermel, the paratroopers spend hours tracking suspected Taliban and mapping their fighting positions. The Taliban respond with sporadic rocket fire. The Americans fire mortars in response. The two-day patrol ends with no casualties on either side, though six Americans died a few days earlier in a similar assault in neighboring Kunar province.


R/MND: Corporal Constantin Laurentiu-Lixandru

R/MND: Corporal Cătălin-Ionel Marinescu

War News for Monday, May 09, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in western Afghanistan on Monday, May 9th.


Reported security incidents

Baghdad:
#1: A roadside bomb in central Baghdad went off near a police patrol and wounded six people, including two policemen, police said.

Iraqi police and health officials say a roadside bomb has detonated near a police patrol in central Baghdad, killing two civilians. A police officer says seven people, including four civilians, were also wounded in Monday's blast in the capital's Firdous Square. A doctor at a nearby hospital confirmed the causality figures.

#2: A roadside bomb wounded seven people, including a policeman, in Sadr City, a district in northeast Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#3: Two civilians were wounded by a roadside bomb in Baghdad's southern district of Doura, an Interior Ministry source said.

#4: A sticky bomb attached to the car of Hassan Jasim, a leader at the Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council (ISCI), killed him in northeast of Baghdad, an Interior Ministry source said.

#5: A bomb planted in front of a liquor store in central Baghdad wounded the owner and burned down the shop, late on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source said.

#6: A Director General in the Iraqi Police has escaped an assassination attempt by an explosive charge blast against his motorcade that wounded 6 persons, including 3 of his guards, a Baghdad security source said on Monday. “Major-General, Sabah al-Shibly, the Director General of Police in Iraq, has escaped an assassination attempt, when an explosive charge blew off against his motorcade in central Baghdad’s al-Firdous Square, wounding six persons, including 3 of his guards and causing damage to several cars of the motorcade,” the security source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.


Mosul:
#1: A border policeman was killed in a clash with smugglers on the Iraqi-Syrian border late on Sunday in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.


Tal Afar:
#1: Gunmen using weapons equipped with silencers shot dead an electricity operator, late on Sunday in Talafar, about 420 km (260 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.



Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Militants attacked a group of police officers Monday in Afghanistan's Ghazni province, killing at least six of them and wounding four, officials said. The officers were hit by a roadside bomb and then came under fire not far from the police headquarters in Deh Yak district, a BBC report said. "The group of our police [was] leaving for the provincial capital of Ghazni," a security official told the BBC. "It was a shock because the attack took place so close to the district headquarters."

#2: A suicide bomber in Afghanistan has killed three civilians and injured five others in an attack near a government office, officials say. The blast took place close to the district government compound in Qarghayi, Laghman province, eastern Afghanistan on Monday. "Three civilians were killed and another five civilians were wounded in the suicide attack today," provincial spokesman Faizanullah Pattan said.

#3: Taliban militants have targeted and killed a former commander along with four others in Kunduz province, 250 km north of capital city Kabul, a local official said Monday. "Taliban rebels raided the house of Mullah Mohammad Nabi a former Taliban commander in Imam Sahib district and killed him along with four others Sunday night," Governor of Imam Sahib district Mohammad Ayub Hakmal told Xinhua.


DoD: Spc. Riley S. Spaulding

News of the Day for Sunday, May 8, 2011

Reported Security Incidents

18 people are killed, including 6 guards and Interior Ministry officers, and presumably 12 prisoners, in a high security prison in Baghdad when prisoners seize guards' weapons and attempt a mutiny. Among the slain detainees was Huthaifa al-Batawi, said to be responsible for the October 31 attack on Our Lady of Salvation church that killed 60 people.

Aswat al-Iraq reports on other incidents.

1. Attackers using silenced pistols kill an Interior Ministry officer in Maysaloun Square, and injure a female relative who is with him in his car.

2. A sticky bomb kills Director of south Baghdad’s Madaen Nationality Certificates Office, Major Ali Hadi Hassan.

3. A roadside bomb in Daura District kills one person and injures 3.

(This dispatch also states that "A detainee in one of the Interior Ministry’s directorates in Baghdad had attacked a policeman on Saturday night, captured his weapon, killing him and attacking 3 officers, one a lt.
Brigadier, another a major and the third a lieutenant, killing them all, before the police managed to kill him as well." However, I believe this is probably an early and incomplete report of the far more serious incident which eventually emerged.)

Hawija township, near Kirkuk

This dispatch is rather confusingly written, but I think what it's saying is that police entered a house in pursuit of a man wanted for a car bombing in April, and that the fugitive and a police officer were killed in the ensuing shootout.

Mosul

Roadside bomb injures 2 police officers.

Other News of the Day

The prison mutiny seems to have displaced all other events from most news coverage today. However, VoI does have two interesting reports. -- C

A U.S. Congressional delegation led by Nancy Pelosi meets with Nouri al-Maliki, who affirms continuing cooperation with the U.S. following withdrawal of U.S. forces. This is kind of cute. There is no consistent system for transliteration between the Arabic and Latin alphabets, which is why you will see all sorts of different spelling for people and places here. It's not our fault! Here's what the VoI dispatch actually says: "Maliki, who received a U.S. Congress delegation, led by former House Speaker and Leader of the Parliament Minority in the Congress, Nancy Pilocy, has confirmed necessity for the activation of cooperation between the United States and Iraq, in different fields, . . ." Turnabout is fair play. -- C

Muqtada al-Sadr has gone to Doha, at the invitation of Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin-Khalifa, to discuss regional developments.

One suspects the Emir is concerned about sectarian conflicts arising in the context of the Arab spring and hopes al-Sadr can help defuse such problems. In this context, I am going to break tradition here and provide the following dispatch from Syria, which seems quite ominous. -- C

The Syrian army attacks Sunni districts in the city of Banias, bypassing Alawite areas. "State authorities said Banias was a "centre of Salafist terrorism" and that armed groups had killed soldiers near the city. Salafism is an ultra-conservative brand of Sunni Islam. Civic leaders in Banias denied the accusation and said the government was trying to spread fear among Alawites, who occupy most senior positions in the army and security apparatus."

Afghanistan Update

Fighting between Afghan security forces and Taliban in Kandahar continues for a second day. The reported death toll from fighting on Saturday has risen to 25, with the government claiming all but 2 dead were Taliban and the Taliban denying the lopsided death toll. In fact, the Taliban claim to have killed more than 100 Afghan soldiers and police. This article from a leading Pakistani newspaper quotes the Taliban: "As many as 113 puppets including soldiers of NANA police force and other government employees and officials along with 3 NATO invaders were killed in different parts of Kandahar in Saturday’s operation conducted amid -Operation Badar’ as part of spring offensives launched on May 01, 2011." The renewed fighting apparently results from an attempt by security forces to clear a hotel the insurgents had used as a staging ground.

Taliban kill 4 policemen in Ghazni.