War News for Thursday, June 14, 2012

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a small arms/grenade (rpg?) attack in the north of Nahr-e Saraj district. Helmand Province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 13th. Here’s the ISAF release.


French Afghanistan pull-out starts 'within weeks': Hollande

Iraq bombs kill 72 Shia pilgrims, police

Pakistanis blame CIA for fresh polio cases

U.S. expands secret intelligence operations in Africa


Reported security incidents
#1: A US drone today targeted a building in the heart of the restive North Waziristan tribal region of Pakistan, killing at least three militants, officials said. The unmanned spy planed fired two missiles at the building in the market of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan Agency, described by US officials as a hub for Taliban and Al Qaeda elements. Officials were quoted by TV channels as saying that three militants were killed. A local journalist said on phone from Miranshah that the US drone carried out the attack at 3.30 am. The building was destroyed and the strike damaged a nearby hotel and several other structures. The identity of the militants killed could not immediately be ascertained. This was the second drone strike in the same region in nearly 10 hours. Four militants were killed when a drone attacked a vehicle near Miranshah yesterday evening.

#2: AN Australian soldier has been wounded in Afghanistan after the vehicle he was travelling in struck a roadside bomb. According to Defence the soldier, from Mentoring Task Force-Four, was wounded during a coalition supported patrol in the Charmestan Valley of Uruzgan province on 12 June. Acting Chief of Joint Operations Rear Admiral Steve Gilmore said an Australian Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle struck the improvised explosive device which was concealed on the track.

#3: Army Spc. Matthew Krumwiede  was near Kandahar, an area she said has been described to her as a hot zone during recent days. According to information she received Wednesday evening, Matthew was on patrol Tuesday morning local time when there was some enemy contact. While his outfit was setting up some kind of security he stepped on a the pressure plate of an improvised explosive device.

#4: An explosion rocked Jowzjan province of northern Afghanistan on Thursday morning, leaving 11 people injured, according to Afghan police. "A remote control bomb was set off in Karte Dostom area of Sheberghan, capital of Jowzjan province, at around 7 o'clock local time today, leaving 11 people injured, " Azizullah, police chief of Jowzjan province, told Xinhua, adding that the explosion was apparantly targeting Haji Dastagir, a tribal elder in the area who is among the injured with his two sons.

#5: At least 11 Afghan national army soldiers injured across the country during the past 24 hours. Afghan defense ministry following a statement on Thursday announced, 11 Afghan national army soldiers were injured in militants’ attacks and roadside bomb explosions in various provinces of Afghanistan. The source further added Afghan national army soldiers were injured in militants attack at three main provinces of Afghanistan including Kunar, Ghazni and Kandahar provinces of Afghanistan.

#6: In a separate statement ISAF announced Afghan and coalition forces killed three insurgents and detained five during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, June 13. Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces killed three insurgent during a small arms engagement in Watahpur district of eastern Kunar province.

War News for Wednesday, June 13, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 12th.

NATO is reporting another death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 12th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 13th.

U.S. troops return to Afghanistan's "lost province"

Govt to discuss change in Bulgaria’s participation in Afghanistan and ALTHEA operation

Bombs kill 56 during Iraq pilgrimage

Days After an Order to Restrict Them, Afghanistan Calls for Airstrikes to End


Reported security incidents
#1: Unknown gunmen on Wednesday morning killed Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) local leader Afzal Khan in Kanju area of Swat, Geo News reported. According to police, the attackers ambushed Afzal Khan as soon as he left his house that left him severely injured.

#2: Afghan police and army, backed by NATO-led coalition forces, have killed 16 Taliban insurgents and detained 14 other suspects within the past 24 hours, the country' s Interior Ministry said Wednesday. "Afghan police, army and coalition forces launched seven joint cleanup operations in Kabul, Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz and Zabul provinces, killing 16 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining 14 others over the past 24 hours,"the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates to media.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Paktiya province at least 21 Afghan civilians were killed or injured following an explosion in this province. The officials further added the incident took place on late Tuesday evening at Gardiz city near the branch of Kabul Bank. An official at the provincial hospital said at least 1 person was killed and 20 others were injured following the explosion and were taken to the hospital for the treatment purposes.


DoD: Pfc. Nathan T. Davis

DoD: Spc. Bryant J. Luxmore

War News for Tuesday, June 12, 2012

U.S. halts supply route talks with Pakistan

State Department, FBI Search for 4 Missing Afghan Women

Afghan heroin trafficker to be sentenced in DC


Reported security incidents
#1: A fresh bomb attack has claimed the lives of three Afghan civilians, including a child, and wounded five police officers in Afghanistan’s northern province of Balkh, officials say. The incident took place on Tuesday when a bomber riding an explosive-laden bicycle targeted a police patrol in a market in Chahar Bolak town, confirmed regional police spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmadzi.
#2: Earlier the same day, at least five other civilians, including women and children, were killed after a roadside bomb hit a minibus in the central province of Wardak. Provincial government spokesman Sahidullah Shahid said that two people were also wounded in the bomb blast.
#3: A Mesquite soldier was critically wounded in a multiple-grenade attack in Afghanistan. Sgt. Vincent Raila was injured in a grenade attack on June 1.

#4: A suicide bomber targeted an anti-Taliban tribal elder in Peshawar on Tuesday, killing two of his security guards and wounding two others, police said. The attack took place in Bazidkhel village on the outskirts of Peshawar in the Nasir Bagh area on the edge of the city. The presumed target, Muhammad Fahim, who heads a local anti-Taliban militia, was not in the vehicle at the time of the attack and so was not hurt, police said.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province two tribal elders were shot dead by Taliban militants at Nari district in this province. The officials further added the two tribal elders were assassinated by militants over espionage charges to Afghan intelligence, National Directorate for security. Nari district chief Haji Gul Zaman confirming the report said the deceased tribal elders Malik Akbar Khan and Mualem Hayatullah were members of the local provincial and development council.

#6: Afghan interior ministry following a press release on Tuesday announced at least 30 Taliban militants were killed following military operations by Afghan national police forces during the past 24 hours. The source further added Afghan national police forces conducted at least 6 military operations during the past 24 hours in cooperation with the Afghan national army, Afghan intelligence forces and coalition security forces. The operations were conducted at Baghlan, Kandahar, Zabul, Logar and Ghazni provinces of Afghanistan, interior ministry officials said.

#7: Afghan defense ministry following a statement on Monday announced at least 15 Afghan national army soldiers were killed or injured following militants attack and improvised explosive device explosion in southern and eastern Afghanistan. The source further added at least 3 Afghan soldiers were killed following insurgents attacks in southern Helmand province and eastern Kunar province and 12 others were injured.

War News for Monday, June 11, 2012

The DoD is reporting the death of a sailor. Master Chief Petty Officer Richard J. Kessler Jr. was found deceased in his berthing compartment on board USS Enterprise on Friday, June 8th. He was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

 

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, June 10th.

France to withdraw troops from France next month

The Taliban’s New Strategy


Reported security incidents
#1: Three bus passengers were killed and 12 others injured when a bomb planted in a parked motorbike exploded in Pakistan's insurgency-hit province of Baluchistan on Monday, officials said. The motorbike fitted with explosives had been left on the road linking the provincial capital Quetta with Iran, senior government official Naseebullah Bazai told AFP. The incident happened near Dreengar town in Mastung district, about 40 kilometres (25 miles) south of Quetta. "Three people were killed and a dozen others were wounded. It was a remote-controlled bomb," Bazai said, adding that the bus was badly damaged. "The target of the attack was not immediately clear," he said.
#2: The Afghan Interior Ministry says an ambulance struck a roadside bomb, killing a pregnant woman who was being rushed to the hospital and four of her family members. The statement says the ambulance was driving on a road Monday in the northern province of Sar-e-Pul when it hit the buried explosive. It says the dead included two women and two children.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/06/11/3224710/afghans-ambulance-hits-roadside.html#storylink=cpy

#3: Meanwhile, an official says another 4 civilians were killed in an attack in the east. Ghazni provincial spokesman Fazel Ahmad Sabawon says two women and two children died when a mortar fired by insurgents hit their home. He says the militants appeared to be aiming for a government building nearby, but missed their target. He says the incident happened in Ghazni province's Gilan district.           

#4: Four Taliban militants lost their lives as their bomb went off prematurely in Afghanistan 's Paktika province, 155 km south of capital Kabul, Sunday night, spokesman for the provincial administration Mukhlis Afghan said Monday. "Four Taliban insurgents were busy in planting a bomb on a road in Jani Khil district last night to target security forces but the device went off prematurely killing all the four on the spot," Afghan told Xinhua. Three of the dead insurgents are Pakistani nationals, he added.

#5: Up to 33 Taliban insurgents have been killed in military operations carried out by the Afghan force and NATO-led coalition troops within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Sunday morning. "Afghan police, army and coalition forces launched 10 joint cleanup operations in Kabul, Laghman, Parwan, Helmand, Uruzgan and Farah provinces, killing 33 armed Taliban insurgents over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

#6: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province district intelligence, national directorate for security (NDS) chief for Dangam was shot dead by unknowng gunmen on Tuesday. Provincial governor spokesman Wasifullah Wasif confirming the report said Dangam district NDS chief Hajji Ghulam Habib was assassinated by unknown gunmen today. Mr. Wasif further addded he was shot dead by unknown gunmen while he was meeting a local civilian.

#7: According to local authorities in northern Kunduz province at least 3 people including an Afghan child was killed following an explosion in this province. The incident took place late Monday afternoon in Imam Sahib district. Imam Sahib district chief Imanuddin Quraishi confirming the report said the incident took place inside a house where suspected militants were busy to manufacture improvised explosive device. Mr. Quraishi further added an Afghan kid along with 2 suspected militants were killed following the incident.

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/06/11/3224710/afghans-ambulance-hits-roadside.html#storylink=cpy

Fr/MoD: l’adjudant-chef Thierry Serrat

Fr/MoD:  le maréchal des logis-chef Stéphane Prudhom

Fr/MoD:  le maréchal des logis Pierre-Olivier Lumineau

Fr/MoD: le brigadier Yoann Marcillan

DoD: Cpl. Anthony R. Servin

DoD: Pfc. Brandon D. Goodine

DoD: Master Chief Petty Officer Richard J. Kessler Jr.

News of the Day for Sunday, June 10, 2012

As it is confirmed that four NATO troops killed by a suicide bomber on Saturday were French, new French president Francois Hollande dispatches his defense minister to Afghanistan and vows to begin withdrawing French troops next month. Of five soldiers who were also wounded in the attack in Kapisa province, three are in critical condition.

Following the death of 18 civilians in a NATO airstrike in Logar province on Wednesday, president Karzai summons NATO commander John Allen to the presidential palace. Karzai says the action was in violation of the strategic agreement between NATO and Afghanistan; Allen pledges that NATO will no longer conduct air strikes on Afghan homes.

Taliban order schools closed for three days in Baraki Barak, the district where the fatal air strike happened. Most schools did close in response to the order.

A civilian is killed in Kunar province in a barrage of 20 rockets, which the provincial governor and residents say were launched from across the border by the Pakistani military. "Residents of eastern Kunar province believe that Pakistan is trying to foment insecurity in the country. Parliamentary members from the neighboring province of Nangarhar joined the cause Kunar residents, saying that according to Afghanistan's long term strategic agreement with the US and other western countries, it was their duty to help defend Afghanistan against outsiders' attacks." Note: The United States heavily finances the Pakistani military. -- C

Fire that destroys a school in Kabul is believed to be arson.

A Pakistani woman is held in connection with poisoning of schoolgirls in Takhar province. She was working as a physician but may have been doing so fraudulently. Now that's kinda strange. -- C

U.S. sets up a radio station in Kunar province, allows uncensored political discussion by callers.

War News for Saturday, June 09, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related injury in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, June 8th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier in an IED blast in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, June 9th.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of four ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, June 9th. News reports that 4 French soldiers died in Kapisa province possibly by a suicide bomber. Five additional soldiers were wounded in the attack.

Reported security incidents
#1: At least four policemen were killed when undefined gun men opened fire at them here on Saturday morning. According to details, two armed motorcyclists shot at policemen while they were patrolling the railway track in the Sariyab Road area. The firing killed all four policemen on the spot.

#2: Afghan Interior Ministry following a press release on Saturday announced at least 11 Taliban militants were killed following military operations by Afghan police forces during the past 24 hours. The source further added Afghan police forces conducted at least 8 military operations along with the Afghan army, Afghan intelligence and coalition security forces in Helmand, Zabul, Ghazni, Paktika, Herat and Farah provinces of Afghanistan.

#3: In a separate incident two suspected militants were killed while planting roadside improvised explosive device at Marjah district of southern Helmand province. Anti-government armed militant groups yet to comment regarding the reports.


DoD: Capt. Scott P. Pace

DoD: 1st Lt. Mathew G. Fazzari

War News for Friday, June 08, 2012

The DoD is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier. Pfc. Vincent J. Ellis died at Landstuhl, Germany Monday, June 4th. from a small arms fire/IED attack on Forward Operating Base Salerno, Khost province, Afghanistan on Friday, June 1st.

 

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, June 7th.

Suicides are surging among U.S. troops

Saddam Hussein aide executed in Iraq

As Al Qaeda Loses a Leader, Its Power Shifts From Pakistan

DOD Identifies Units for Upcoming Afghanistan Rotation


Reported security incidents
#1: At least 14 prisoners, including insurgents, are still at large after militants attacked a jail in the Afghan province of Sar-e Pol, officials say. Three inmates were killed and 28 injured in gun battles between prison guards and Taliban fighters late on Thursday night. About 30 prisoners fled but officials say they have recaptured 16. A powerful blast reportedly blew a hole in a prison wall shortly after darkness fell. The militants then launched a co-ordinated attack from three directions, local media report.

#2: Army Pfc. Adam Zitzer, 20, of Sheboygan, and serving in the 4-73rd Cavalry Task Force 3 Fury Bravo Troop, was wounded in Afghanistan late Wednesday night when a roadside bomb exploded by his troop's Humvee. 12 people were wounded in the blast, but no one was killed. Zitzer's Humvee was second in his unit and took the brunt of the explosion.
#3: A convoy of 15 World Food Programme (WFP) trucks carrying humanitarian food supplies intended for schoolchildren was attacked by unknown assailants in Sheikh Ali district of Parwan province on the afternoon of Monday, 4 June. All of the contracted drivers are safe and accounted for, but three of the trucks and their contents were burned.

#4: A Walla Walla soldier based out of North Carolina was killed Wednesday in an attack in Afghanistan, his family said. First Lt. Mathew "Mat" Fazzari was killed by enemy fire while flying in his first tour in Bagram. Few details were available Thursday morning. The Department of Defense had yet to post information about the attack. The son of Greg and Susan Fazzari, he had been flying a helicopter on a surveillance mission, his mother said in an email. Fazzari was reportedly part of a scout team of engaged Kiowa Warriors, according to a blog post written by another pilot. Fazzari and a fellow pilot were reportedly flown to Forward Operating Base Ghazni — a Polish base with the nearest medical facility on the Ghazni province.

#5: At least 14 people were killed and over 36 injured in a blast that took place in Peshawar on Friday, DawnNews reported. The blast occurred in the city’s Gulbela area on Charsadda road targeting a bus of government employees. The bus, travelling from Peshawar to the nearby town of Charsadda, was completely destroyed in the explosion.

#6: According to reports Taliban militants on Thursday evening attacked the convoy of Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq Afghan parliament member. The incident took place in Maidan Wardak province in close to central Bamiyan province of Afghanistan. The exact location of the incident is unknown however reports suggest at least 4 security guards of Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq was injured following the incident. In the meantime Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq was flown out of the Bamiyan after his house was attacked by unknown gunmen in this province last night.


DoD:  Pfc. Vincent J. Ellis