War News for Monday, August 18, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: Armed oppositions carried out two attacks on Arza district, Logar province, but fortunately defeated by Afghans security forces. Deen Mohammad Darwish spokesman of Logar governor told BNA, at least 750 enemies of our country orders by their Pakistani bosses attacked on Arza district of Logar province, as a result of clashes with heroes of Afghan security forces sustained heavy casualties, in which 13 of them were killed and 23 others wounded. According to the source, during the clashes three policemen injured.

#2: Seven kidnapped de-miners were released from grip of Taliban. Shafiq Nang spokesman of Ghazni governor said BNA, the 7 abducted de-miners were released following mediation by the local tribal elders. The de-miners were abducted by Taliban militants from Kabul-Kandahar highway on Friday and the main motive behind their abduction is not clear so far.

#3: A total of 16 Taliban militants including two local commanders have been killed since Sunday night in the northern Kunduz province as clashes going on between security forces and insurgents in parts of the province, officials said Monday. "Security forces launched cleanup operations in Gultapa area outside provincial capital Kunduz city and Gumbaz area in Imam Sahib district last night and so 10 rebels have been killed there," provincial police spokesman Sayed Sarwar Hussaini told Xinhua.

#4: Meanwhile, six more Taliban fighters were killed in Aqtash area of Khanabad district, Kunduz province as their hideouts came under air attack on Sunday night, a local official said. "Six Taliban rebels were killed as their hideouts was attacked by unmanned plane on Sunday night in Aqtash village of Khanabad district," Hayatullah Amiri, the governor of Khanabad district told Xinhua.

#5: A businessman was shot dead by unknown gunmen in capital Kabul on Monday morning.

#6: At least 4 Afghan national army soldiers were martyred following improvised explosive device (IED) attack, defense officials said Monday. Gen. Zahir Azimi, spokesman for the Ministry of Defense (MoD), confirmed that the four Afghan army soldiers were martyred during the past 24 hours.

#7: In the meantime, Gen. Azimi, said at least 38 Taliban militants were killed during operations by Afghan national army soldiers. He said the militants were killed during separate operations in six different provinces of Afghanistan in the past 24 hours.

News of the Day for Sunday, August 17, 2014

Eleven de-miners are abducted in Ghazni province, on the road from Kandahar to Kabul. Their whereabouts are unknown.

Pakistani military fires 126 rockets into eastern Kunar province, according to the local police. Although the report in Khaama does not mention any damage, Tolo reports 3 houses destroyed.

The center for prevention of Malaria and Leishmaniasis in Kabul (which is actually a treatment facility) is attacked with a rocket, which strikes a vehicle parked in the yard. Officials fear that people will not come for treatment out of fear of further attacks.

A recount of 6,000 ballot boxes designated by the candidates begins. The results are expected to be decisive. Each candidate was allowed to select 3,000 ballot boxes that they believed may have been originally miscounted in their opponent's favor.

Ministry of the Interior rejects the recent SIGAR report on the disappearance of tens of thousands of weapons, claiming that "precise and accurate information is available with the ministry regarding the weapons and other equipment supplied to Afghan police forces. The statement further added that the ministry uses latest tools and equipment to keep record of the weapons and military equipment including vehicles supplied, disappeared and depreciated." [I presume this is similar to the tools and equipment they use to report that dozens of Taliban are killed every day with zero government and civilian casualties. Yes, they issued another such report today, I won't link to it.]

Afghan troops rescue three Indian engineers who had been abducted by Taliban in Logar. However a fourth Indian national remains in captivity.

Afghan government is running out of cash and will have difficulty paying salaries next month. According to this story, by some unclear mechanism, the disputed presidential election has deprived the government of revenue. In fact the government is dependent on foreign donations.

And meanwhile in Mespotamia, U.S. warplanes support peshmerga in an effort to retake the Mosul dam. Note that president Obama has stated that the only role of U.S. air power in Iraq will be to protect U.S. facilities and personnel. I suppose you could stretch that to cover this action since, if the dam were to collapse, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad would be flooded.

War News for Saturday, August 16, 2014

Rain-related incidents leave 18 dead in Peshawar

Reported security incidents

#1: The International Committee of the Red Cross in Afghanistan is trying to secure the release of five of their staff members who were abducted in the western Herat province, a spokesman said Saturday. The employees were traveling by road on Friday when they were detained by a local armed group, said Marek Resich, an ICRC spokesman.

 

#2: Two Border Security Force (BSF) soldiers were killed and two others were injured when terrorists attacked their convoy in Pulwama district of Jammu and Kashmir. The incident occurred on Saturday afternoon.

 

#3: A clash took place between armed rebels and Afghan security forces in Ghaziabad district of Kunar provinces in which tens of rebels killed. Gen. Abdul-Habib Sayedkhail police chief of Kunar said BNA, clash occurred last night between security forces and armed oppositions while armed rebels wanted to target Afghan security posts in Ghazibabd district. an ANA solider and a police were also martyred in the clash.

 

#4: Afghan security forces launching operations in some provinces of the country killed 42 armed rebels.

 

#5: At least 23 rockets were fired in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan in the latest spate of cross-border shelling from the other side of Durand Line. Provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Habib Syed Khel, said the rockets were fired on Friday night and landed in Marwara and Dangam districts.

 

#6: At least three policemen were killed following an airstrike by NATO-led coalition forces in northern Parwan province of Afghanistan. Local government officiails, said the incident took place on Friday in Ghorband district of Parwan province.

War News for Friday, August 15, 2014

Georgian soldiers leaving base in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen armed with automatic weapons, grenades and wearing suicide vests attacked two military airbases in Quetta early Friday, leaving eight militants dead after security forces opened fire, officials said. Sarfaraz Bugti, the home minister of insurgency-hit Balochistan province, said that militants had tried to storm the Samungli airbase, used by the Pakistan Air Force, and Khalid military airbase, both in the provincial capital Quetta, but had failed to penetrate either perimeter.

#2: At least four suspected militants were killed on Friday when security forces opened fire on an explosives-laden vehicle in the Fort Slope area of Bara tehsil in the Khyber tribal region. Security forces signaled a suspicious vehicle which was approaching their base, directing it to stop but opened fire on it after the vehicle failed to accord with the directive.

#3: At least three Afghan policemen have been killed and four others wounded in a bomb attack in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Laghman, APA reports. According to a statement released by the provincial government, the blast took place in the Baad Pukh district of the province, located 260 kilometers (161 miles) east of the capital, Kabul, at around 05:00 a.m. local time (0030 GMT) on Thursday when a vehicle touched off a buried explosive device.

#4: The Taliban insurgents executed five civilians on charges of spying for the government in southern province of Helmand on Friday morning, police said.

#5: The head of electoral campaign of Gul Aqa Shirzai candidates in the first round of presidential election in Helmand province was killed by armed gunmen. Abdul Malik was targeted by two gunmen and lost his life in Sofyan village, Lashkarga city. Eyewitnesses said that the attackers riding motorcycle and after the attack fled the site.

#6: Six people including a police were wounded in explosion of a bomb in Jalalabad city, capital of Nangarhar province this morning. The explosion occurred while a convoy of officials of the first security precinct of Jalalabad was passing the area. Hazrat Hosain Mashriqiwal police spokesman of Nangarhar said BNA, in the explosion, the head of first security precinct of Jalalabad city with his three bodyguards and two civilians wounded.

#7: An explosion occurred close to Ahmadabad district’s bazaar in Paktia province today. According to reports a convoy of security forces was targeted in Machlagho village in the incident.

#8: At least eight people including the district police chief for Spin Boldak were killed following infighting among the policemen in Kandahar. According to local government officials, the incident took place late Thursday night in Spin Boldak district.

War News for Thursday, August 14, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan officials say at least three police officers have been killed by a roadside bomb in eastern Laghman Province. A spokesman for the provincial governor said four other officers were wounded when the blast hit a police vehicle in Badpakh district on August 14.

#2: A Frontier Corps (FC) personnel was killed and another was injured after their patrolling vehicle was bombed in the Saryab area of Quetta Thursday morning.

#3: A teenage boy was killed following cross-border shelling from the other side of Durand Line in eastern Kunar province. Provincial police chief, Gen. Abdul Habib Syed Khe, said at least 21 rockets were fired from the other side of Durand Line on Wednesday night.

#4: Unknown gunmen shot dead the campaign manager of former presidential contender Gul Agha Sherzai in southern Helmand province. The provincial government media office in a statement said Thursday that the campaign manager of ex-presidential runner Gul Agha Sherzai was shot dead by unknown gunmen riding a motorcycle.

#5: At least four civilians were killed following an explosion in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. According to local government officials, the incident took place late Wednesday in Khanshin district of Helmand province.


DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Samuel C. Hairston

War News for Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: At least 20 people were injured in an explosion in Pakistan's Quetta on Tuesday night, the media said. Superintendent of Police Imran Qureshi told Dawnonline that armed militants hurled a bomb in busy market in Quetta city in southwest Pakistan's Balochistan province.

#2: Taliban militants attacked Shibergan jail in the northern Afghan province of Jauzjan with Shibergan as its capital 390 km north of Kabul on Wednesday, triggering gun battle, deputy to provincial police chief Sayed Amanudin Hussaini said. "The police were going to shift 20 Taliban detainees and dangerous criminals from Shibergan jail to Kabul today morning when a Taliban detainee empowered a guard of the jail and snatched his weapon leaving other detainees to run away and take weapons," Hussaini told Xinhua. Police and other security personnel have surrounded the jail to re-arrest the detainees, the official added.

#3: Up to 80 militants have been killed in a series of military operations in Afghan provinces within the past 24 hours, said the country's Interior Ministry on Wednesday morning.

#4: As a result of a roadside mine explosion, two civilians wounded in Kunar province yesterday.

#5: The Pakistani militaries fired 37 rockets in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan yesterday. Abdul Habib Sayedkhail police chief of Kunar province said BNA correspondent, the rocket shells targeted Dangam and Shigal districts of the province. According to Sayedkhail, the attacks have not casualties, but four families left their homes.

War News for Tuesday, August 12, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, August 12th.

NATO warns Afghanistan of total pullout unless election deadlock ends


Reported security incidents
#1: The three policemen died when their patrol vehicle struck a bomb planted along the road in the district of Bahrami Shahid in southern Gazni province, according to the province’s deputy police chief, Asadullha Ensafi. A fourth policeman was wounded in the attack, Ensafi said.

#2-3: At least five people were killed and two injured in two separate incidents in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

#2: According to the police, the first incident of firing occurred in Dera Ismail Khan city when the victims were returning after attending a wedding function, Geo News reported. The assailants, who were waiting for their targets, ambushed the victims' car killing three people and injuring two. The victims included a policeman.

#3: Another incident occurred in Malangi Town where unidentified gunmen entered a house and opened fire at the residents killing two people.

#4: Three more civilians also lost their lives in Ghazni province as a mine planted by militants struck their motorbike Monday morning, according to the official.

#5: However, the security forces during cleanup operations launched Monday morning have killed 22 Taliban militants including two local commanders in Ghazni province, an army spokesman in the province Nazifullah Sultani said. There were no casualties on the security personnel, he said, adding the cleanup operations will continue till eviction of the militants from the district.

#6: "A group of Taliban rebels launched offensive against police checkpoints in Narai district, Kunar province Monday morning and police retaliated killing 12 insurgents on the spot," provincial police chief Abdul Habib Sayedkhili told Xinhua. "During the gun battle which lasted for a while, two civilians were killed and 28 others including 14 Taliban rebels, four police and 10 civilians sustained injuries," the official further said.

#7: Seven civilians including women and children were martyred in joined operation conducted by Afghan and foreign troops in Logar province.