War News for Thursday, June 21, 2012

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, June 20th. News reports that a suicide bomber attacked a check point in Khost province killing 3 American soldiers, an Afghan interpreter, two police officers and seventeen civilians and wounding 32 other civilians.


Reported security incidents
#1: A NATO aircraft made a forced landing in eastern Afghanistan on Thursday, causing no casualties, the military alliance said in a statement. "An International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) aircraft made a forced landing in eastern Afghanistan today," and "All personnel on the aircraft were recovered and there were no civilian or ISAF fatalities," the NATO-led ISAF said in the statement.

An American helicopter has crashed in Khost province in southeast Afghanistan, one day after a bomb attack killed 21 people in the province.

#2: Up to 20 Taliban insurgents have been killed in operations carried out by Afghan forces and NATO- led coalition troops within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Thursday morning. "Afghan National Police (ANP), army and Coalition Forces launched 13 cleanup operations in Kabul, Nangarhar, Laghman, Kandahar, Helmand, Zabul, Uruzgan, Logar, Paktia and Farah provinces, killing 20 armed Taliban insurgents over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates to media.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province at least 21 militants were killed following NATO air raid in this province. Provincial governor spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi confirming the report said the air raid was conducted after coalition forces were engaged by militants at Wata Pur and Mangoi districts.

War News for Wednesday, June 20, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, June 19th.


US killing of pakistani civilians by drones illegal: UN -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Jun 7 said the killing of civilians by the US assassination drones in Pakistan is illegal and in violation of human rights.


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber has killed at least four civilians in the eastern Afghan province of Khost, officials say. The attacker was targeting a military convoy belonging to Nato-led forces. An Afghan television channel said the blast happened as US troops were carrying out vehicle checks. There are no reports of any military casualties.

#2: Afghan national police in conjunction with the NATO-led troops have eliminated 17 anti- government militants across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Wednesday. "Units of national police backed by army and the NATO-led coalition force have killed 17 armed rebels in Helmand, Zabul, Ghazni and Khost provinces over the past 24 hours," the statement stressed.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province at least 21 militants were killed following NATO air raid in this province. Provincial governor spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi confirming the report said the air raid was conducted after coalition forces were engaged by militants at Wata Pur and Mangoi districts. Mr. Wasifi further added Afghan security forces and civilians did not suffer any casualties following the air raid.

#4: International Security Assistance Force in eastern regions of the country on Tuesday confirmed a coalition forces drone crashed in eastern Kunar province. ISAF media office in eastern Afghanistan said the drone crashed on Tuesday morning at Sarkano district in Ganjgal area.


DoD: Pfc. Jarrod A. Lallier

War News for Tuesday, June 19, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, June 18th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan officials say a mine laid in a road has killed eight civilians in the country's south, including women and children. The governor's office in Helmand province says the eight were driving Monday in Musa Qala district when their car hit the explosives.

#2: Seven attackers have been killed after storming a base of the Nato coalition in Kandahar province, southern Afghanistan. The attackers breached the outer security of the base in Shah Wali Kot district, but were then killed by guards at the compound. Initial reports suggested that at least one foreign worker was killed and two other foreigners were wounded, but this was not confirmed.

#3: Afghan authorities say militants have attacked a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, killing three policemen and wounding six others. Kandahar province spokesman Javid Faisal says militants attacked the checkpoint in Kandahar city around 6 a.m. Tuesday. A gunbattle between the police and insurgents lasted for an hour.

#4: Earlier Tuesday, seven Taliban insurgents were killed when they launched an attack on a NATO military camp in neighboring Shah Wali Kot district, police chief of the district Padshah Khan told Xinhua. At least 10 soldiers with the NATO-led coalition or International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) were injured in the attack at around 3:30 local time, he said. Meanwhile, the ISAF press office in Kandahar city confirmed that one of the coalition's camp was attacked Tuesday morning but did not provide details.

#5: A total of 27 Taliban insurgents have been killed and seven others detained in joint cleanup operations carried out by Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition troops in different provinces within the past 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said on Tuesday morning. "Afghan police, army and NATO-led coalition troops launched 10 cleanup operations in Kabul, Kunar, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Kunduz, Faryab, Badakhshan, Zabul, Paktika and Farah provinces, killing 27 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining seven other suspects over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.

War News for Monday, June 18, 2012

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Monday, June 18th.

Attack on U.S. outpost in Afghanistan worse than originally reported  -- A June 1 attack on a U.S. outpost near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border was much worse than originally disclosed by the military as insurgents pounded the base with a truck bomb, killing two Americans and seriously wounding about three dozen troops, officials acknowledged Saturday.

Suicide bomber kills south Yemen army chief


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan authorities say a remote-controlled bomb has killed five people in eastern Afghanistan.

Hussain Khan Sanjani, the leader of the provincial council in Kapisa province, says Monday's explosion killed an Afghan local police commander along with his son, two body guards and one civilian. He says 17 other people were wounded in the blast, which occurred around 11 a.m. in a bazaar in Tagab district.

#2: At least four students were killed and many injured by a bomb blast which hit a university bus in the Pakistani province of Balochistan, officials say. Police say the bomb was planted on a vehicle parked in a suburb of the provincial capital, Quetta.

#3: Afghan security forces, backed by the NATO-led coalition troops, have eliminated 15 Taliban insurgents and detained six other within the past 24 hours, the Afghan Interior Ministry said on Monday. "Afghan police, army, NDS or Afghan intelligence agency and Coalition Forces launched 14 joint cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Baghlan, Faryab, Sari Pul, Kandahar, Helmand, Nimroz, Uruzgan and Ghor provinces, killing 15 armed Taliban insurgents and detaining six other suspects over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates to media.


DoD: Sgt. Nicholas C. Fredsti

DoD: Sgt. Joseph M. Lilly

DoD: Spc. Trevor A. Pinnick

MoD: Corporal Alex Guy

News of the Day for Sunday, June 17, 2012

A rocket hits a home in Wazi, eastern Paktika province, killing at least 6 civilians, including children. It was apparently intended to attack a security checkpoint.

Afghan defense ministry says 3 Afghan soldiers killed,11 injured in various incidents around the country in the past 24 hours. They also announce having seized a few weapons. And I do mean an unimpressive haul. You could probably come up with a bigger arsenal by raiding the members of our local volunteer fire company. C

Heavy fighting between government forces and Taliban is reported in northern Kunduz. No reports so far on casualties.

A Taliban leader in Kandahar province is said to have been captured in a joint Afghan-NATO operation.

 In an unusual public statement, the Taliban have praised India for resisting U.S. calls to get more involved in Afghan security. They apparently see Leon Panetta's recent trip to India as part of a U.S. exit strategy, and seek to reassure India that they will not allow Afghanistan to become a base for Pakistani militants targeting India.

The attack on June 1 on a U.S. outpost near the Pakistan border was much worse than originally reported. At the time, ISAF merely reported that an attack on Forward Operating Base Salerno in Khost province had been successfully repelled, without mentioning any casualties. In fact the attack included a 1,500 pound truck bomb. It killed 2 U.S. troops and an American civilian contractor, and 5 Afghan civilians, seriously wounded three dozen U.S. troops and more lightly injured 100. It is unclear why the facts about this incident were withheld for more than two weeks.

As Canada draws down its forces in Afghanistan, it is unable to extricate military equipment due to the closure of the Pakistan border.

Thousands of tonnes of equipment including armoured vehicles, guns, ammunition and combat uniforms have already been airlifted out of the country. However, an estimated 400 containers remain stranded in secret locations throughout southern Afghanistan. . . . Thousands of tonnes of equipment including armoured vehicles, guns, ammunition and combat uniforms have already been airlifted out of the country. However, an estimated 400 containers remain stranded in secret locations throughout southern Afghanistan.

Pakistan closed NATO's main transit route from the port of Karachi in November following an air attack on the country's border that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers. Supply trucks have sat idle in Afghanistan since then. "It's engineering stores, it's spare parts, it's camp stores, defensive stores, things of that nature. This is equipment that we want to bring back to Canada," Brig.-Gen. John Mackay told CTV News.

Iraq Update

Since U.S. forces have left Iraq, Americans have forgotten all about the country. Come to think of it, they've pretty much forgotten about Afghanistan even though U.S. troops are still there and still getting killed. But all is not well in "liberated" Iraq.

Two police killed, 26 injured in 2 bomb attacks in Salhudin Province.

Car bombs targetting Shiite pilgrims kill 32 people in Baghdad on Saturday.

Roadside bomb kills a Turkish security contractor, injures 3 others in Kirkuk.

Oh and BTW, Why exactly did this war happen in the first place?

Rupert Murdoch pushed Tony Blair toward war in Iraq, the ex-prime minister’s former head flak has written in the final installment of his diaries, it was revealed Saturday. Alastair Campbell’s diaries are being serialized in The Guardian. Campbell recalls that only a week before the British House of Commons voted in 2003 to send troops to Iraq, Prime Minister Blair received a call from the Australian-born media mogul, who pressed him to involve the U.K.’s military resources faster. “But [Tony Blair] and I felt it was prompted by Washington, and another example of their over-crude diplomacy,” Campbell writes. “Murdoch was pushing all the Republican buttons, how the longer we waited the harder it got.”

War News for Saturday, June 16, 2012

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

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

Reported security incidents
#1: At least 15 killed and dozens more injured after bomb explodes in Landi Kotal, near border with Afghanistan. Fifteen people have been killed after a car bomb exploded in a crowded bazaar in north-west Pakistan, according to government officials. The car bomb was detonated in Landi Kotal, a town in northwest tribal region of Khyber near the border with Afghanistan. Officials said 35 others were wounded in the attack and a number of shops and vehicles also badly damaged. Security officials said the target appeared to be a tribal leader allied with the government against the Pakistani Taliban, Reuters said, and warned that the death toll could rise.

#2: Afghan officials say three police officers have been killed in a roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan. Uruzgan provincial government spokesman Abdullah Himmat says the blast occurred on Friday night before in the province's Chinarto district. He says one other officer was wounded in the explosion.

#3: Afghan police backed by NATO-led troops have killed 18 armed anti-government militants over the past 24 hours across the country, Interior Ministry said in a press release Saturday. "The national police with the support of army and the coalition forces have killed 18 militants in Badakhshan, Helmand, Logar, Khost and Paktiya provinces over the past 24 hours,"the press release said.

#4: Afghan defense ministry following a statement on Tuesday announced at least 10 Afghan national army soldiers were killed or injured during the past 24 hours. The statement further added at least 3 Afghan national army soldiers were killed and 7 others were injured in militants attack and improvised explosive device attacks in southern and eastern Afghanistan. The incidents took place in Nuristan, Paktia, Logar, Ghazni and Helmand provinces of Afghanistan.

#5: According to local authorities in eastern Paktika province at least 34 insurgents were killed following military operations in this province. The officials further added the operations were conducted on Thursday and Friday in 4 different districts of eastern Paktika province.


MoD: Lance Corporal James Ashworth

War News for Friday, June 15, 2012

Reported security incidents
#1: An explosion at a marketplace in southern Afghanistan has reportedly killed at least 11 people and wounded 11 others. A spokesman for the Kandahar governor's office, Jawid Faisal, said the blast occurred on June 15 in the remote southeastern Maroof district of Kandahar Province. Faisal said it appeared the casualties were caused when an explosive device attached to a motorcycle was detonated.

#2: According to local authorities in eastern Nangarhar province at least 3 Afghan national police forces were killed following an improvised explosive device explosion. The officials further added the incident took place at Fateh Abad area in this province. Provincial governor spokesman Ahmad Zia Abdulzai said the incident took place after a vehicle of the Afghan police forces struck with a roadside bomb, killing three Afghan police and injuring another police officer.

#3: According to local authorities in eastern Kunar province, a suicide bomber attacked a military base used by Afghan and coalition security forces in this province. The incident took place on Thursday afternoon at Nari district after a suicide bomber detonated a car packed with explosives near the base. The officials further added at least one Afghan intelligence, National Directorate for security (NDS) official was killed and two other security officials were injured following the attack. Nari district chief Gul Zaman confirming the report said the attack was carried out by two suicide bombers while the local elders had gathered inside the military base to attend a tribal session.


DoD: Cpl. Taylor J. Baune

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Barett W. McNabb