War News for Fridaay, March 07, 2014

Pakistan ready for military operation if Taleban talks fail


Soldier suicides --

Initial findings, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, are unsettling. Suicide rates among soldiers doubled from 2004 to 2009, during the height of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, to as many as 30 per 100,000 troops.
Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2014/03/07/Soldier-suicides.html#4bFCHj4FrOeQcy9g.99

Initial findings, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, are unsettling. Suicide rates among soldiers doubled from 2004 to 2009, during the height of the U.S. presence in Afghanistan and Iraq, to as many as 30 per 100,000 troops.
Read more at http://www.toledoblade.com/Editorials/2014/03/07/Soldier-suicides.html#4bFCHj4FrOeQcy9g.99

Reported security incidents
#1: An Afghan provincial official says a motorcycle bomb was remotely detonated in a crowded market in the country's south, killing five people and wounding eight. Omar Zawaq, the spokesman for the governor of southern Helmand province, says the motorcycle exploded on Friday in the center of the market in Marjah. It's a resitive district, about 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

#2: Afghan security forces raided a Taliban hideout in eastern Laghman province, killing five militants on Thursday, a local official said. "Units of national security stormed a Taliban hideout in Badpakh district Thursday morning killing five rebels including a commander named Mullah Hazrat and his brother named Khayal," spokesman for provincial administration Sarhadi Zawak told Xinhua.


UK/MoD: Sapper Adam Moralee has died in Afghanistan

War News for Thursday, March 06, 2014

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from a non-combat injury at camp bastion, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Wednesday, March 5th. Here’s the ISAF release.


Reported security incidents
#1: A NATO airstrike on Thursday killed at least five Afghan soldiers in one of the most devastating incidents of friendly fire in the war’s 12-year history. The troops were killed at an outpost in volatile Logar Province, about 50 miles outside of Kabul, according to both U.S. and Afghan officials. It remains unclear how the accident occurred, and officials said it was currently under investigation. Aside from the five soldiers killed, another seven were wounded, according to provincial spokesman Mohammad Darwish.

District governor Khalilullah Kamal, who has visited the scene, said the strike was carried out by a US drone, according to BBC.

#2: A clash in Daimardad District, Maidan Wardak Province, killed two militants, including a commander, and injured six others, governor's spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.

#3: Separately, a clash in Shah Walikot District, Kandahar Province, killed five Taliban militants, the governor's house said in a statement.

#4: Meanwhile, a roadside bomb in Bala Balok District, Farah Province, wounded three policemen

#5: Afghan security forces raided a Taliban hideout in eastern Laghman province, killing five militants on Thursday, a local official said.

#6: Afghan security forces in operations against anti-government militants raided a house in Saripul province, 350 km north of Kabul, early Wednesday, killing two militants and capturing a Taliban judge, Inspector General Police of the province said. "Acting on tip off, units of police raided a house outside provincial capital Saripul city at 03:30 a.m. local time today and captured a Taliban judge named Mullah Zukria,"Noor Habib Gulbahari told Xinhua.

War News for Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: A roadside bomb on Wednesday killed six soldiers in Pakistan's troubled northwest, officials said, the latest violence to hit the country since a ceasefire between the government and Taliban insurgents began. The remote-controlled device hit a convoy of the paramilitary Frontier Corps as it was moving from the town of Hangu to Kurram district, one of seven tribal areas along the Afghan border where militants have strongholds. A security official in Peshawar, the main city in the northwest, told AFP the blast killed six soldiers and wounded eight.

#2: About seven policemen were killed following a Taliban armed attack on a security checkpoint in northern Afghanistan's province of Faryab overnight, sources said on Wednesday. "Militants numbered 10 or 12 launched an attack on Afghan Local Police (ALP) checkpoint in Unbiggi area of Qaisar province at midnight, leaving seven ALP cops killed," the district governor Abdul Jamil Seddiqi told Xinhua.

#3: Two civilians were killed and 10 others sustained injuries in two blasts in Faryab province with Maimana as its capital on Tuesday evening, provincial police chief Toryali Abdyani said Wednesday. "A mine planted by anti-government militants went off in Badghisi village of Khaja Sabzposh district Tuesday evening, and when people gathered to know what happened there, the second blast occurred killing two civilian villagers and wounding 10 others," Abdyani told Xinhua.

#4: A roadside bomb struck police vehicle in Uruzgan province with Trinkot as its capital 370 km south of Kabul on Wednesday killing two police and wounding another, a local official said. "A mine planted by Taliban rebels in Sarakala area outside provincial capital Trinkot hit a police vehicle at 10:10 a.m. local time today leaving two police dead and injured another," the official told Xinhua but declined to be identified, saying authorized officials would brief the media after investigation.

War News for Tuesday, March 04, 2014

The DoD is reporting the death of an ISAF airman which was previously unreported by the military. Master Sgt. David L. Poirier died from a non-combat related incident in an undisclosed location on Friday, February 28th.

 

War Deaths Top 13,000 in Afghan Security Forces -- This may not seem to be so bad but when wounded are taken into account the ASF has lost around 50k from their forces mostly within the last three years. Most units are likely not combat reliable from the lack of experienced people. – whisker

President Karzai says Afghan war fought in West’s interest


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen attacked four vehicles carrying NATO supplies for Afghanistan in northwestern Khyber tribal agency on Tuesday, killing two people, officials said. The vehicles came under fire in the Jamrud area of Khyber, one of seven districts that make up Pakistan's semi-autonomous tribal belt, as they were on their way to Afghanistan. “The four containers were on their way to Afghanistan when four gunmen riding two motorbikes opened fire at them in Jamrud, killing two helpers and wounding one driver and one helper,” a senior local administration official, Jehangir Azam Wazir, told AFP.

#2: Two women were killed while two men were seriously wounded Monday in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan's province of Paktika, authorities said.

#3: A bomb killed at least two paramilitary troops and wounded six others in a restive Pakistani tribal region bordering Afghanistan, officials said on Monday. The incident happened in Sadokhel area of Khyber tribal region where Taliban and Lashkare Islam groups are active. “An improvised explosive device planted along the roadside went off as two vehicles of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) passed by, killing two soldiers and wounding six others,” senior local administration official Muhammad Tayyab Ali said.

#4: The Afghan Interior Ministry on Tuesday said that the country's security forces have eliminated seven Taliban militants during a series of military operations since early Monday. "Afghan National Security Forces launched several cleanup operations in Laghman, Kandahar and Paktiya provinces, killing seven Taliban militant members, wounding three militants and detaining six other rebels over the last 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.


DoD: Lance Cpl. Caleb L. Erickson

DoD: Master Sgt. David L. Poirier

War News for Monday, March 03, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen burst into a court in a busy shopping area in the heart of Pakistan’s capital today, killing at least 11 people in a suicide-bomb and gun attack likely to shatter any prospect of meaningful peace talks with Taliban insurgents. An explosion reverberated in central Islamabad just after 9 a.m., followed by bursts of gunfire. Police said at least 30 were wounded. A judge was among those killed.

#2: A bomb on Monday killed at least two paramilitary troops and wounded six others in the Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The incident happened in the Sadokhel area of Khyber Agency where Taliban and Lashkar-e-Islam militant groups are active. “An improvised explosive device planted along the roadside went off as two vehicles of paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) passed by, killing two soldiers and wounding six others,”

#3: Warplanes bombed the hideout of a militant leader, killing five insurgents, the military said on Sunday, only a day after the Pakistani Taliban declared a one-month ceasefire to pursue stalled peace talks with the government.
 
#4: At least five insurgents were killed when the security forces including police launched an operation in western province of Herat, police said in a statement Sunday.
#5: Two Afghan army soldiers were killed in two bomb attacks, the country's Defense Ministry said on Sunday. "Two Afghan National Army soldiers were martyred in two improvised explosive device attacks in Panjwai district of southern Kandahar province and Gereshk district of neighboring Helmand province," the ministry said in a statement.

#6: At least 27 Taliban militants were killed or injured following military operations conducted by Afghan national security forces in the past 24 hours.

#7: Anti-government armed militants abducted nearly 40 residents of Goshta and Lalpur districts in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, the residents were charged for supporting the government of Afghanistan by the anti-government armed militants

News of the Day for Sunday, March 2, 2014

Truck bomb under construction explodes prematurely in Puli Alam, Logar province, killing 13. A police spokesman says the dead included 9 militants, plus 2 women and 2 children. He says the militants included Pakistanis. (Implication is that the women and children are relatives of the owner of the home where the incident occurred.)

National Directorate of Security says it has foiled a suicide bomb plot in Kabul, and arrested 4 people.

Ten people are injured by a suicide bomb attack in Kandahar city. (The only place I could find this was Wakht, which generally has nearly indecipherable English, but as far as I can tell nobody was killed -- including, apparently, the attacker.)

AP's Deb Reichman discusses the case of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was captured by the Taliban on June 30, 2009. While the U.S. has negotiated for his release, it appears he left his post intentionally and could be charged as a deserter. The story dances around the suggestion that under the circumstances, his freedom may not be a high priority for the U.S.

NATO supply route from Pakistan via Turkham re-opens following a court order. The crossing had been blockaded for 3 months in protest of U.S. drone attacks.

Twelve taliban escape prison in Kandahar using a forged document. Their names were somehow added surreptitiously to a list of prisoners legitimately scheduled for release.

Much news from Pakistan. Thirteen people are killed in attack on a polio vaccination team in Jamrud. (This is a big problem for the planet, folks. If the polio virus gets loose, most children in areas where it has long been eliminated are no longer  immunized.) Three Frontier Corps troops are killed and 7 injured by an IED in Kalat. However, Pakistani Taliban announce a one-month ceasefire to resume negotiations suspended after the killing of 23 FC prisoners. The Prime Minister is conferring with military leaders over whether to honor the suspension of hostilities.

And, back in Iraq, the violence goes on. Six members of security forces are killed in towns north and west of Baghdad, familiar places from Today in Iraq -- Baiji, Balad, Hawijah. Five are killed and 25 injured as the Iraqi army shells Fallujah, "indiscriminately," according to a hospital spokesman. Gunmen attack employees of the electric company in Mosul, injure 2. Somewhat conflicting numbers on the death toll in February, but tallies range from 703 to 790. The lower, UN figure, excludes deaths in Anbar, for some reason. This is down from January (3 fewer days, of course), but 3 times the toll from last year.

War News for Saturday, March 01, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED blast in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, February 28th.

Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: At least five militants were killed while eight others were wounded in a military operation in Afghanistan's western province of Herat, a police chief said on Saturday. "The military raid was carried out by army and police in Obe district, west of the provincial capital Herat city. No soldier was hurt in the operations, he noted.

#2: Militants killed 12 members of the security escort for a polio vaccination team in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, detonating a roadside bomb before opening fire on their convoy, according to officials. The attack lasted an hour and when rescuers approached the scene the gunmen also attacked them, according to Khan Faraz, an official in the Jamrud area of Khyber, a rugged tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Around a dozen wounded were taken to hospital, but others died on the road waiting for help to arrive, he said. Another official, Assistant Political Agent Jehangir Azam, said all the casualties were members of the levies or Khasadar, both locally recruited government-backed militias. They were providing security for the health workers.

#3: Ten militants were killed in fresh military operations since early Friday, said the Afghan Interior Ministry on Saturday. "In the past 24 hours, several anti-terrorism operations were conducted by the Afghan National Police, the army and the National Directorate for Security (NDS) in Kunar, Nangarhar, Baghlan, Sari Pul, Jawzjan, Logar and Helmand provinces. As a result 10 armed Taliban members were killed, one wounded and five others were arrested," the ministry said in a statement.

#4: Three security personnel were killed and six injured in a blast that targeted their vehicle in Balochistan province of Pakistan today. The Dawn online reported the security personnel were on a routine patrol in Kalat district, when a remote controlled bomb targeted their vehicle.

#5: Elsewhere, a security official said six insurgents were killed in Sui area of the (Balochistan) province in a clash with paramilitary troops.

An army spokesman told Al Jazeera on Saturday that the fighters were planning to blow up gas pipelines in the restive area.

#6: Afghan forces have launched a military operation in northern Baghlan province to clear insurgents before the holding of the April elections, local officials said on Saturday. The military operation began in Dushi district of the province and very soon the operation will begin in other parts of the province, said Gen. Aminullah Amarkhil, Provincial Police Chief.

#7: Four members of the Taliban insurgent group were detained following a night raid operation in northern Afghan province of Takhar overnight, the provincial police spokesman said on Saturday.

#8: At least 5 suspected militants were killed following a drone strike by coalition forces in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, local officials said. The air raid was carried out in Ghaziabad district where at least 21 Afghan soldiers were killed during an attack by Taliban militants last week.

#9: Coordinated suicide attacks and explosions were foiled by Afghan intelligence in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.