War News for Thursday, March 07, 2013

US to equip Afghan army with drone capabilies: Gen. Mattis


Reported security incidents
#1: At least five suspected militants were killed during a security forces operation in the northwestern tribal region of Orakzai. The militants were killed in the tribal region’s Ghundamela area after which security forces took control of the insurgent hideout.

#2: Separately, in Orakzai’s Nadirmela area, a remote-control bomb attack targeted a security forces vehicle, killing one security man and wounding three others.

#3: Pakistani security forces swooped down militant hideouts in Orakzai Agency, killing at least 12 and taking control of one their bastions in the region, FP News desk reported on Thursday. Sources said that five militants were killed in clashes as troops advanced in Ghunda Mela to take control of their stronghold. Seven others were killed when forces launched operation in Nadir Mela after a blast struck security forces’ vehicle which killed one soldier and injured three others.

#4: Two people were wounded as two bomb blasts rocked Herat city, the capital of Herat province 640 km west of Kabul, on Thursday, police said. The first blast took place next to the office of provincial governor and close to a sport stadium at 11:10 a.m. local time and the second one happened a few minutes later on the road leading to the Herat airport, deputy to Herat police Abdul Hamid Hamidi said. "In both the incidents the terrorists planted explosive devices on two motorbikes and detonated by remote control which injured two people, both civilians," Hamidi told Xinhua. The first blast near a sport stadium where a public gathering was supposed to be held left two injured, but the second blast targeted a police van on the road harmed no one, the official stressed.

#5: According to local authorities in western Farah province of Afghanistan, at least 12 Afghan national police officers were killed or injured following an explosion in this province. The officials further added the incident took place in Khak-e-Safid district, killing at least 3 police officers and injuring 9 others. A local security official speaking on the condition of anonymity said Taliban militants had planted a land mine inside the field of opium in Khak-e-Safid district. He said the blast took place while Afghan police officers were busy with destroying the opium fields, killing two Afghan police along with an Afghan national army officer. In the meantime the security official in Farah province said at least 3 militants were killed and 5 others were injured following a separate gun battle in this province.

War News for Wednesday, March 06, 2013

FBR given two weeks time for recovery of ISAF containers' losses

U.S. not to leave Afghanistan: Ambassador to Pakistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Sixteen Afghan soldiers and policemen have been killed by the insurgents in the Warduj district of remote northern Badakhshan province, an official said on Wednesday. The Taliban had seized 23 security personnel following an ambush on a joint convoy of the army and police in the Ghani area of the district three days ago, the governor’s spokesman said. Abdul Maroof Rasikh told an Afghan news agency that 16 of the captives were later shot dead and their bodies handed over to area residents. Most of the victims were army troops, he said. Mohammad Khawar, the district chief, said the remaining seven security personnel had been set free as a result of intervention from local elders. After consulting local authorities, he indicated an operation would be launched shortly to clear the district of the Taliban.

#2: The police on early Wednesday morning foiled a massive terror bid by recovering a 40 kilogram bomb from a rickshaw and defusing it timely on Saryab Road in Quetta. According to sources, the police cordoned off the area after getting information about presence of a suspicious rickshaw near hospital on Saryab Road. The bomb disposal squad arrived on the spot and recovered a 40 kilograms’ bomb from the rickshaw and successfully defused it.

#3: Two Italian soldiers and an Afghan interpreter were injured on Wednesday in a bomb attack on a military patrol in the western Afghan province of Farah. The three were taken by helicopter to a United States camp hospital at Farah with arm injuries and are not said to be in a serious condition. The soldiers are part of the Italian contingent in the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

#4: According to local security officials in north-eastern Takhar province of Afghanistan, an Afghan kid was injured following a suicide bomb blast in this province. The incident took place around 3pm local time after the suspected suicide bomber detonated his explosives inside a residential house. Provincial security commandment spokesman Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai confirming the report said the incident took place in the 3rd district of Takhar city.

War News for Tuesday, March 05, 2013

Reported security incidents
#1: Units of Afghan police have killed 11 Taliban militants during a series of operations and arrested 19 others over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Tuesday. During the operations which carried out in Kandahar, Nangarhar, Laghman, Zabul, Paktiya, Uruzgan, Herat and Helmand provinces, the police also discovered a number of arms and ammunitions, the statement added. It did not say if there were any casualties on the police personnel.

#2: Up to four insurgents have been killed and eight others detained in different operations carried out by Afghan forces and the NATO-led coalition troops, in the latest raids against insurgency in the war-hit country, the coalition forces said on Tuesday. "An Afghan and coalition force killed four insurgents and wounded three others during a security operation in Ghaziabad district, Kunar province, yesterday," the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a press release.

#3: On Monday, four Afghan border policemen and a civilian were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off in Khost city, capital of eastern Khost province 150 km southeast of Kabul.

#4: Afghan interior ministry officials on Tuesday announced to foil a deadly attack on Afghan parliament after discovering and seizing around 15 rounds of missiles from capital Kabul. The officials further added that the militants were looking to carry out attack on an opening ceremony of the Afghan parliament and the missiles were planted in Char Asiab area.

War News for monday, March 04, 2013

3 Small Wars That Could Become the Next Vietnan


Reported security incidents
#1: Two Taliban militants were killed as they came in contact with security forces in Kunar province 185 km east of Kabul on Sunday, provincial police chief said Monday. "Some personnel of Border Police Force were on routine patrol in Marawara district yesterday evening when they came under Taliban attack and the police returned fire killing two militants on the spot," Habibullah Sayed Khili told Xinhua. There were no casualties on the police personnel, he contended.

#2: According to reports at least one Afghan woman was killed and two others were injured following shooting in capital Kabul city on Sunday evening. The incident reportedly took place in Kart-e-Seh area of Kabul city after security guards of Jamil Karzai, former Afghan parliament opened fire on a civilian vehicle. The vehicle was targeted by security guards of Jamil Karzai mistaking it to suspected militants.

News of the Day for Sunday, March 3, 2013

NATO admits that its forces killed 2 seven year old boys on Thursday in Uruzgan province. "The two boys were shot dead when they were mistaken for insurgents during an operation in the northwest of Uruzgan on February 28, ISAF commander, US General Joseph Dunford, said in a statement. "I offer my personal apology and condolences to the family of the boys who were killed." In response to the incident, president Karzai says that "The government has repeatedly stressed that the war on terrorism cannot succeed in Afghan villages and homes, but rather in its sanctuaries and safe havens outside our borders," referring to Pakistan. The incident is under investigation but the shooters appear to have been Australian soldiers who had earlier been attacked.

The Afghan Ulema Council strongly condemns a fatwa by Pakistan's leading clerics which endorses suicide attacks in Afghanistan. Excerpt:

The Pakistani clerics last week released a statement saying recently that if Muslims have no nuclear weapons, they can sacrifice their lives for the sake of God, suggesting that suicide attacks against the US forces in Afghanistan would be considered permissible. The National Coalition has described the Pakistani's statement as an historic betrayal that will not be forgotten, saying they have clearly indicated they support the insurgent groups who are involved in killing the innocent. "The Ulema Council, people and the government of Afghanistan should respond to these treacherous remarks by Pakistan. Such Fatwas are plotted to destroy Afghanistan," said Abdullah Abdullah, head of National Coalition.

Khaama has more on this story, including reaction by additional secular leadership. The Fatwa extends to Kashmir and Palestine as well as Afghanistan. A regional Islamic conference has been planned for Kabul, at which the issue of suicide attacks was to be discussed, but the Pakistani clerics have decided not to attend.

ISAF announces various operations, including the arrest of a Haqqani leader in Khost province and the arrest or killing of small numbers of Taliban in Kunar, Nangarhar, Logar, Kandahar and Kunduz provinces.

Tolo's Lotfullah Najafizada reports that Helmand is much more secure, but Taliban strongholds remain and people are concerned about the maintenance of security as long as the government remains weak and corrupt.

A commentary in India Times predicts Afghanistan will partition along ethnic lines once NATO forces withdraw. (Afghanistan's previous civil war, and the alliance formed by the U.S. to drive out the Taliban, were largely along ethnic lines. Given the continued weakness of the central government and the lack of a democratic culture in the country, this does not seem implausible. -- C)



 

War News for Saturday, March 02, 2013

blog:  How the US Decides Drone-kill People when it Doesn’t Know Who they Are (Currier)


Reported security incidents

#1: A suicide attack on the 205th Atal Military Corps headquarters was foiled in Afghanistan’s southern Helmand province on Saturday, an official said. The incident took place around 11am, Corps Commander Brig. Gen. Syed Waqif Shah said. The attacker exploded his explosive vest when security guards opened fire at him. As result of the explosion, the bomber was killed and one security guard wounded, the commander said.

 

#2: update Australian soldiers in southern Afghanistan shot dead two children tending cattle, local officials said on Saturday as the international coalition launched an inquiry into the incident. The two children, aged seven and eight, were killed on Thursday morning as Australian soldiers fought back after a Taliban attack in southern Uruzgan province, said provincial governor Amir Mohammad Akhundzada.

 

#3: Insurgents shot and killed two policemen at a market place in Indian-administered Kashmir, police said. A police statement said the assailants fled after Saturday’s attack near a bus stop in Handwara, a town 90 kilometres north of Srinagar.

War News for Friday, March 01, 2013

Black holes rapidly spinning and twisting spacetime


Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb killed nine people, mostly border policemen, Thursday in Afghanistan. The afternoon blast occurred in Dangam district of Kunar province, near Afghanistan's eastern border with Pakistan, according to a spokesman for the provincial government. Wasifullah Wasifi said seven border policemen and two civilians were killed, and two women were wounded in the attack.

#2: According to reports an incident allegedly involving civilian casualties has taken place during an Australian military operation in Afghanistan. (no real details just fluff - whisker)