The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier from small arms fire near Sangin, Helmand province, Afghanistan on Sunday, November 15th.
NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, November 13th.
NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF soldier in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Friday, November 13th. An American civilian contractor also died in the attack.
Friends React To Local Soldiers Death (this article refers to two other Marines who died in the same blast. We don't have any triple death releases and are waiting confirmation from the DoD before adding any of the three reported deaths to the count.)
Georgia Sends Troops to Afghanistan:
US wants to destabilise Pakistan, Afghanistan: Jamaat-e-Islami:
U.S. Asks More From Pakistan in Terror War:
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Two Iraqi soldiers on Monday were killed and six others were injured in an explosive charge blast in the capital Baghdad, the Iraqi police said. “Unknown gunmen planted an improvised explosive device (IED) near the concrete barriers close to an army checkpoint in al-Mansour neighborhood, western Baghdad,”
Diyala Prv:
#1: An owner of a gas station on Monday was kidnapped by armed men near Diala’s Baaquba, according to a local security source. “Today, a group of gunmen broke into al-Burj gas station, al-Salam district (15 km north of Baaquba) and took its owner, Khaleel Majeed, to an unkown destination,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Abu Ghraib:
#1: Gunmen killed at least 13 people in a Sunni village west of Baghdad, dumping their bullet-riddled bodies in a cemetery, Iraqi security officials said Monday. The dead included relatives of a leading figure in the local branch of the influential Iraqi Islamic Party, according to local police official Waleed al-Zubaei. He added that all 13 had been shot in the head, possibly execution-style, as well as elsewhere in their bodies.
Gunmen dressed in Iraqi army uniforms launched two execution-style attacks west of Baghdad on Monday, killing 13 members of a tribe who took up arms against Al-Qaeda, a villager and security official said. The gunmen swarmed into Seadan village, about 20 kilometres (10 miles) from Baghdad before dawn and ordered six residents out of their houses, lined them up in a field and shot them dead, said Mohamed al-Zubaie, a resident. The assassins then entered the home of Attala Ouda al-Shuker, a leader in the Sahwa (Awakening) movement of Sunni tribesmen who joined US forces in 2006, and shot dead three of his sons and four other relatives, Zubaie said. "They killed three of his sons and four cousins," he said, adding that all those killed were members of the Zubaa tribe.
Hawija:
#1: A car bomb exploded on Monday in central Kirkuk, leaving unspecified number of casualties, according to the KDPD chief. “The booby-trapped car went off on Monday (Nov. 16) at the center of a popular marketplace near al-Huwaiyja garage in central Kirkuk,” Brig. Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: One civilian has been injured when a thermal bomb detonated in downtown Mosul, a local security source said on Monday. “Last night (Nov. 15), a thermal bomb went off at a police checkpoint on al-Farouq St. (downtown Mosul), wounding one civilian who was close to the scene of the blast,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: Two civilians on Monday were injured in an explosive charge blast in Mosul city, according to a local security source. “This morning, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Raas al-Jaada area, downtown Mosul, wounding two civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. The explosion did not target military personnel, the source noted.
#3: Iraqi army forces on Monday defused two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near an oil well in Mosul, according to a local security source. “An Iraqi army force has dismantled two improvised explosive devices (IEDs) near an oil well in al-Qayara district, southern Mosul.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: Five civilians on Monday were injured in an explosive charge blast in Falluja, according to a local security source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) planted by unknown gunmen detonated today near a house in Albo Alwan village, western Falluja, wounding five civilians
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Afghan police in volatile Kandahar province say militants have attacked a police checkpoint in southern Afghanistan, killing as many as eight police officers and wounding at least three others. Police say militants assaulted the checkpoint overnight from several directions. Authorities say they are searching for the attackers.
#2: Insurgents fired two rockets Monday into a crowded market northeast of Kabul where the head of French forces in Afghanistan held a meeting with tribal elders. The attack killed three children and wounded 20 other people, the French military said. Capt. Michel, who can only be identified by his first name according to French military policy, said the attack appeared to have targeted Brig. Gen. Marcel Druart, who met in the marketplace with elders from the Tagab Valley to discuss a major French offensive there. Two Chinese-made Chicom rockets landed about 12 yards (meters) away from the meeting. The general was not hurt, Michel said. French officers said none of the wounded were NATO troops.
#3: A suicide bomber on Monday blew up a car packed with explosives near a college in Pakistan's Peshawar, killing four people. The bomber struck in a suburban road as children were going to school in the northwest city, devastating a mosque, destroying two rooms at a boys' college and bringing down one wall of a police station, witnesses said. "The death toll is four and there are 26 injured," doctor Zafar Iqbal at the Lady Reading hospital told AFP. One child was among the dead with four wounded. Witnesses said that a pick-up vehicle sped towards the police station and exploded nearby, leaving much of the building in ruins as ambulances raced through the streets in the densely populated suburb of Budh Ber.
#4: The helicopter of Germany’s new Defence Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg was almost hit by the Taliban in Afghanistan, where he had gone to visit German troops. On Friday, Guttenberg’s helicopter narrowly missed the heavy machine gun and tracer firing from Taliban, as it flew in convoy with two others above Kunduz province. The Minister in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s new centre-right government was not hurt as his helicopter zigzagged through the sky with troops on board returning the fire.
#5: A few days back, a German helicopter had received a direct hit from Taliban guns on its fuel tank and was forced to make an emergency landing.
#6: Afghan and NATO-led troops killed six insurgents and detained 15 in several operations in various parts of the country on Sunday, the Afghan Defence Ministry said.
#7: Three insurgents were killed when a roadside bomb they were planting exploded in Kandahar's Panjwai district on Sunday, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. It said one suspect was detained.
#8: Taliban insurgents beheaded two kidnapped Afghans in western Farah province on Sunday after accusing them of assisting the government, police chief Faqir Ahmad Askar said. Three others who had also been kidnapped were released, he said
Monday, November 16, 2009
War News for Monday, November 16, 2009
Sunday, November 15, 2009
News of the Day for Sunday, November 15, 2009
Reported Security Incidents
Mosul
IED attack on Iraqi army patrol in western Mosul injures 3 soldiers. All three have been transported to a hospital.
A child and five other civilians are injured by a bomb explosion. The VoI story says the child was playing with the device.
al-Saadiya, near Khanaqin
Two brothers injured by IED.
Kirkuk
The Health Department says it has buried five bodies of unidentified men who were "terrorists." This rather mysterious announcement does not say how the men died or why they are presumed to be terrorists. Hmm.
al-Neda, Diyala Province
Roadside bomb attack on a minibus kills 1, injures 3. One of the wounded passengers is in critical condition.
Jedidat al-Shatt, near Baquba
Three police injured by a roadside bomb. The bomb also destroys several buildings. According to this Xinhua report, security forces also detained 13 suspects in Diyala during the day.
Other News of the Day
Iraqis accuse British soldiers of torture and abuse inspired by U.S. actions in Abu Ghraib prison. A huge scandal is erupting in the UK over multiplying allegations. There has been a great deal of reporting on this issue in the British press, but Robert Verkaik of The Independent appears to have first broken the new allegations made by attorney Phil Shiner on behalf of 33 complainants. Excerpt:
Disturbing graphic allegations of sexual and physical abuse of Iraqi civilians by British soldiers are among 33 new torture cases being investigated by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
The fresh claims include allegations that female and male soldiers sexually abused and humiliated detainees in camps in southern Iraq, prompting comparisons with the torture practices employed by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
In one case, British soldiers are accused of piling Iraqi prisoners on top of each other and subjecting them to electric shocks, an echo of the abuse at the notorious US detention centre that came to light in 2004.
Lawyers and human rights groups warned yesterday that the British Army may face hundreds of claims of sexual and physical abuse after it was revealed the MoD was investigating the 33 cases.
Meanwhile, a British mercenary accused of killing two of his colleagues is set to be tried under Iraqi law. His family is bidding to have him returned to the UK for trial. His trial in Iraq has been postponed due to the destruction of the Ministry of Justice building by a truck bomb.
A huge epidemic of birth defects and early childhood cancer in Fallujah appears to be a legacy of war. Clusters of infant tumors have also been noted in Basra and Najaf. (I note that neural tube defects are among the abnormalities noted. These actually may be attributable to maternal malnutrition. Not that that's any excuse. -- C) Martin Chulov of The Guardian reports. Excerpt:
Doctors in Iraq's war-ravaged enclave of Falluja are dealing with up to 15 times as many chronic deformities in infants and a spike in early life cancers that may be linked to toxic materials left over from the fighting.
The extraordinary rise in birth defects has crystallised over recent months as specialists working in Falluja's over-stretched health system have started compiling detailed clinical records of all babies born.
Neurologists and obstetricians in the city interviewed by the Guardian say the rise in birth defects – which include a baby born with two heads, babies with multiple tumours, and others with nervous system problems - are unprecedented and at present unexplainable.
A group of Iraqi and British officials, including the former Iraqi minister for women's affairs, Dr Nawal Majeed a-Sammarai, and the British doctors David Halpin and Chris Burns-Cox, have petitioned the UN general assembly to ask that an independent committee fully investigate the defects and help clean up toxic materials left over decades of war – including the six years since Saddam Hussein was ousted.
AFP investigative report says Camp Bucca, where the U.S. held thousands of Iraqis, was a "breeding ground" for militants. Excerpt:
Iraq's Camp Bucca, the US-run jail where around 100,000 prisoners were kept over six years, was a breeding ground for the Al-Qaeda terror network, according to police and former inmates. Bucca, located in an isolated desert north of the border with Kuwait, was a school for scores of Takfiris, or Sunni extremists who usually ended up in Al-Qaeda, said Abu Mohammed, freed in 2008 after 26 months behind its bars.
"The illiterate and straight-forward people were the easiest prey for indoctrination," said the 32-year-old resident of Ramadi, the former insurgency stronghold 100 kilometres (62 miles) west of Baghdad.
snip
"The two suicide bombers and the majority of suspects detained after the twin bombings of August 19 against the foreign affairs and finance departments, which killed 95, were released shortly before from Camp Bucca," a senior interior ministry official told AFP.
"We reached the same conclusion for the double attack of October 25 which left 153 dead," the official said of the almost simultaneous blasts at the justice and public works ministries, after which 73 people were arrested.
Afghanistan Update
Two incidents in Nuristan leave Taliban and Afghan Army casualties. An attack on a NATO outpost is said to leave six attackers dead including a senior Taliban commander. Meanwhile three Afghan soldiers were killed and two injured in an attack on their camp.
French and Afghan troops launch an offensive in the Tagab valley just east of the capital, which is said to have been a base for attacks.
Helicopter of German Defense Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg comes under fire near Kunduz. There are no injuries.
Also in Kunduz, a roadside bomb injures two employees of a construction company.
Afghan MPs criticize Pakistan for its treatment of refugees from Afghanistan. Excerpt:
There are reports that some areas where Afghan refugees live have been destroyed by Pakistan Police and they have been warned to leave the country. “Even Afghans, who go by passports, face different kinds of treatment by the government of Pakistan.” Yonus Qanuni, speaker of Afghan parliament said.
“Afghans are illegally detained, they are taken hostage and are not allowed to walk freely, and they all are the violation of the protocol signed between two countries.” Shukria Barakzai, a member of parliament said. Meanwhile, some other MPs say that Afghans face the same problems in many other countries.
Patrick Cockburn reports that it is customary for Afghan soldiers to rape boys. I kid you not. Excerpt:
There was a horrified reaction across Britain last week when a 25-year old policeman called Gulbuddin working in a police station in the Nad Ali district of Helmand killed five British soldiers when he opened fire with a machine gun on them. But the reason he did so, according to Christina Lamb in The Sunday Times, citing two Afghans who knew Gulbuddin, was that he had been brutally beaten, sodomised and sexually molested by a senior Afghan officer whom he regarded as being protected by the British.
The slaughter at Nad Ali is a microcosm of what is happening across Afghanistan. It is why Mr Fox is wrong and General Eikenberry is right about the dangers of committing more American or British troops regardless of the way Afghanistan is ruled. Nor are the events which led to the deaths of the young British soldiers out of the ordinary. Western military officials eager to show success in training the Afghan army and police have reportedly suppressed for years accounts from Canadian troops that the newly trained security forces are raping young boys.
and we'll just give Cockburn the last word here . . .
Quote of the Day
[O]ne reason Afghan villagers prefer to deal with the Taliban rather than the government security forces is that the latter have a habit of seizing their sons at checkpoints and sodomizing them.
Patrick Cockburn
Saturday, November 14, 2009
War News for Saturday, November 14, 2009
Iraqis Claim Torture by British Soldiers: Ministry
Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not a Deal Yet:
Russian says troops kill 20 militants in Chechnya
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: A magnetic bomb stuck to a civilian car parked in front of the house of its owners blew up Friday evening in New Baghdad, eastern Baghdad, causing only material damages to the car.
#2: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi police patrol wounded two policemen in eastern Baghdad, police said.
#3: Gunmen in a speeding car shot dead a policeman and his brother in northern Baghdad's Shaab District on Friday night, police said.
#4: Gunmen in a speeding car shot and wounded the interior ministry's economic crime unit chief, Brigadier General Wadhah Nasret, in central Baghdad on Friday, police said
Diyala Prv:
#1: Two policemen were wounded in clashes that erupted between the Iraqi police and the Iraqi army in the district of Baaquba on Friday, a security source in Diala said. “Clashes broke out on Friday in the area of al-Ghalibiya, Baaquba, between personnel from the Diala Police Department’s Major Crimes Unit and Iraqi army soldiers.
#2: Four people were wounded when a bike bomb went off near a café in central Baaquba city on Friday, a security source in Diala said. “The number of casualties from the explosive bike attack is initial,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not give further details.
Iskandariya:
#1: A police force detained a man who was trying to wage an attack inside al-Iskandariya souk (outdoor market) north of al-Hilla city, with his shoes that contained TNT, according to the Babel police chief. “The police arrested a terrorist who carried a bag with a pair of shoes inside containing TNT and a timer,” Maj. General Fadel Raddar told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Kirkuk:
#1: One civilian man was killed by an unidentified gunman in central Kirkuk on Saturday, according to a source from the city’s Joint Coordination Center. “An unidentified man opened fire from his gun at a local resident in the Grand Souk (outdoor market) near al-Shohadaa bridge in central Kirkuk, killing him instantly,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “Police patrols from the Azadi police station who rushed to the scene found out that Jumaa Mohammed, born in 1973, a local resident of al-Shurja area, was shot down by an unidentified gunman who managed to escape to an unknown place,” he added.
Mosul:
#1: Unidentified gunmen shot down a 13-year-old Christian boy in eastern Mosul city and escaped to an unknown place on Friday, a Ninewa police source said. “The boy was playing near his Christian family’s house in al-Tahreer neighborhood, eastern Mosul, when the gunmen attacked him,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Al Anbar Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeting an Iraqi army patrol wounded three soldiers in Garma, 30 km (20 miles) northwest of Baghdad, police said.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: A suicide bomber has attacked a police checkpoint in the Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday, killing at least five people, officials said. Unconfirmed reports put the death toll at seven with at least 25 others injured. Local media said a car laden with explosives had been driven into the checkpoint in the Pushta Khara area. Government official Sahibzada Muhammad Anis said the car exploded as police went to search it, AP news agency said.
#2: Pakistan's security forces killed seven militants during the last 24 hours in the Taliban strongholds of South Waziristan tribal agency, the army said in a daily press release on Saturday. The army said four troops were injured in clashes with militants as the operation in the northwest tribal area steadily progressed towards the Taliban base in South Waziristan.
#3: Four Taliban militants and three civilians were killed as a clash erupted between Taliban militants and government troops in Herat province, west of Afghanistan, a local official said Saturday. "The clash erupted Friday night when Taliban attacked a patrol team of international troops from a house in Shindand district and the troops returned fire killing four rebels," Lal Mohammad Omarzai, the governor of Shindand, told Xinhua. Three more civilians including a man from the same house were killed and three children got wounded, Omarzai added.
#4: Afghan and the NATO-led forces eliminated seven Taliban insurgents and detained three others in Wardak province, 40 km west of the capital city of Kabul, a private television channel reported Saturday. The joint operation was carried out in Nurkh district on Friday when a group of militants were poised to attack a police checkpoint, as a result seven Taliban fighters were killed, the Tolo television said in its news bulletin.
Friday, November 13, 2009
War News for Friday, November 13, 2009
Rebuilding Its Economy, Iraq Shuns U.S. Businesses:
Former U.S. Diplomat Got Stake in Iraqi Oil:
OIL BILLIONS AND WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION IN IRAQ:
Germany to send more troops to Afghanistan:
Brown: 5K More NATO Troops for Afghanistan:
One option: Get out of Afghanistan:
Afghan Enclave Seen as Model to Rebuild, and Rebuff Taliban:
Another Afghan war: Media leaks spark administration fight:
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Unidentified gunmen shot dead a secondary school headmistress in eastern Baghdad on Thursday without apparent reasons, police said. “The gunmen opened fire at Safaa Abdulamir al-Khafaji, a principal of the al-Maali secondary school, right off the school gates in al-Ghadeer neighborhood, southeastern Baghdad, killing her instantly.
#2: A roadside bomb targeted civilians near Khullani Square, central Baghdad at 3 p.m. Thursday, injuring three young men.
Diyala Prv:
#1: Three civilians were wounded in a bomb explosion in south of Khanaqin, while two suspected gunmen were arrested in a separate incident in southwest of the city, said a security source Friday. “An improvised explosive device went off on Friday (Nov. 13) near a civilian vehicle in Imam Weis region, south of Khanaqin, injuring three civilians.
#2: Othman Mohammed, commander of Sahwa (a U.S. backed militia now turned over to the government) in Khan Beni Saad, 15 km to the southwest of Baquba, was ambushed and killed by gunmen while on inspection tour of Sahwa checkpoints in his district, Thursday evening. One of his aids, who was with him in his car, was also killed.
Basra:
#1: Security forces found on Friday morning an amount of explosives in a train station in northern Basra, a security source said. “A security force found on Friday morning (Nov. 13) 20 mortar shells and some explosive materials in al-Artawiya train station, north of Basra,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The operation was launched in light of intelligence information,” he added.
Makhmour:
#1: Joint forces found on Friday a female body in northeast of Makhmour district in northern Iraq, an army source said. “A joint force of police and army personnel found on Friday (Nov. 13) the body of a 20-year-old girl on the Makhmour-Qayara road in Makhmour,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Two policemen were wounded when a hand-grenade blast targeted their patrol in eastern Mosul city on Thursday, a police source in Ninewa said. “A hand-grenade was hurled at the policemen’s patrol in al-Muthanna neighborhood, eastern Mosul, leaving two policemen wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion targeted the patrols of the 2nd Emergency Police Contingent,” the source said, adding the wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment.
#2: A civilian employee working for a weaving factory in Mosul was killed when gunmen opened fire at him near his house in al-Shurta neighborhood, in the northern part of the city,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#3: Meanwhile, the police found an unidentified body that showed signs of having been shot in the head and chest in the area of al-Sina’a al-Qadima, western Mosul.
#4: The same source said in another incident, a civilian man was severely wounded after gunmen opened fire at him in the al-Siha neighborhood, western Mosul.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1-2: At least 17 persons were killed and over 85 injured in two powerful suicide bomb explosions in Peshawar and Bannu districts on Friday morning, police said. The suicide bombers, who were driving explosive-packed vehicles, detonated themselves while trying to target the buildings of security agencies in both the gory incidents and killed at least 17 people most of them security personnel and wounded around 85.
#1: The first incident occurred on Artillery Road in front of Army stadium in Peshawar where a suicide car bomber exploded his explosive-packed vehicle close to the building of the country’s premier intelligence agency around 6:40am. Resultantly, 10 people were killed instantly and around 60 others injured. Police said that seven security personnel and three civilians are among the dead.
#2: In a similar incident, a suicide bomber targeted police station Bakakhel in FR Bannu by exploding his explosive-laden mini truck with the building of police station and killed seven persons including five police and FC personnel and injuring 25 others.
#3: A suicide car bomber attempting to strike an international military convoy on the outskirts of Kabul wounded at least 19 people Friday, including nine NATO service members, on a road that has become a frequent target. NATO said the assault occurred on the Jalalabad road, which is used extensively by international forces and is frequently attacked. In August, another suicide bomber targeted a NATO convoy there, killing at least eight people. The alliance said nine international service members and 10 civilian contractors were wounded in Friday's attack, which occurred near a logistics base for U.S. forces. The Interior Ministry said five civilians had been wounded.
#4: Separately, a land mine exploded near a police station in Logar province, south of Kabul, killing a member of the Afghan National Police and wounding an Afghan National Army officer Friday, provincial police chief Mustafa Mosseini said.
#5: Suspected Taliban militants on Friday torched five trucks carrying fuel from Pakistan to Nato forces in neighbouring Afghanistan, killing a driver, police said. The attack took place at Bolan pass, some 70 kilometres south of Quetta, the capital of oil and gas-rich Balochistan province bordering Iran and Afghanistan, where both separatists and Taliban militants are active. ‘A truck driver was killed and two others were wounded in the pre-dawn attack by around two dozen gunmen,’ Bolan district police chief Junaid Arshad told AFP. ‘There were about 13 tankers parked at a trucking station. Gunmen set five tankers on fire before fleeing,’ he added.
#6: At least six militants were killed while 12 soldiers lost their lives and two others were injured in the ongoing military operation in Pakistan's tribal area during the last 24 hours, an army statement said Friday. Exchange of fire took place between security forces and militants on Jandola-Sararogha axis, resultantly two soldiers lost their lives and two others injured, while six militants were killed, the Inter Services Public Relations said in a daily press release. On Shakai-Kaniguram axis, security forces conducted search operation in area around Torwam, cleared compounds and recovered cache of arms and ammunition. Ten wounded soldiers due to engagement with militants Thursday in the area succumbed to injuries.
DoD: Lance Cpl. Justin J. Swanson
Thursday, November 12, 2009
War News for Thursday, November 12, 2009
No ISAF service members were killed in the past 24 hours in Afghanistan.
Nov. 8 airpower summary: Nov. 7 airpower summary: Nov. 6 airpower summary: Nov. 5 airpower summary: Nov. 4 airpower summary: Nov. 3 airpower summary: Nov. 2 airpower summary: Nov. 1 airpower summary:
Lack of health care killed 2,266 US veterans last year:
US air supply drop turns deadly: (details on the two missing soldiers)
Afghan police burdened by military expectations:
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: Five civilians were wounded on Thursday in a bomb blast in central Baghdad, a police source said. “An improvised explosive device went off on Thursday afternoon (Nov. 12) near al-Wehda bank in al-Senaa street in central Baghdad, injuring five civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: A bomb attached to a car wounded four people in eastern Baghdad on Wednesday. police said.
Jurf al sakhr:
#1: Unidentified armed men stormed a checkpoint manned by members of a local Awakening Council group in the Jurf al-Sakhr area, some60 km south of Baghdad, killing two of the group members before they fled the scene, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Basra:
#1: Three detainees accused of terror cases escaped after a prison-break in Basra on Wednesday. “The break occurred in the al-Maaqal prison,” He said that the detainees were able to escape under the environment present in the prison when families come to visit the prisoners. “The three detainees are linked to armed militias in Basra, and were awaiting trial,” the source said.
Balad:
#1: Gunmen killed a policeman and wounded three others at a checkpoint near Balad, 80 km(50 miles) north of Baghdad on Wednesday, police said.
Kirkuk:
#1: Gunmen wounded a policeman in a drive-by shooting on Wednesday in southern kirkuk, 250 km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, police said.
Mosul:
#1: An Iraqi policeman on Wednesday was injured in an explosive charge blast in Mosul, according to a local security source. “On Wednesday, an improvised explosive device (IED) targeted a police patrol vehicle in al-Yarmouk, western Mosul, wounding a police lieutenant,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Gunmen killed a Pakistani working at the Iranian Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday, adding to security fears in the country as it presses an offensive against the Taliban along the nearby Afghan border. The attackers opened fire on Abul Hasan Jaffri while he was in a car near his home in a central part of Peshawar, said police official Mohammad Kamal. Jaffri, who was the director of public relations at the consulate, died at a military hospital. The gunmen escaped after the shooting.
#2: The latest fighting in South Waziristan killed 22 militants and five soldiers, the army said in a statement Thursday. The information is nearly impossible to verify independently since Pakistan has blocked access to the battle zone.
#3: Militants have attacked a South Korean company operating in Afghanistan three times in recent months, an official said Thursday, as Seoul prepares to send troops to the troubled country to protect its citizens. Militants carried out two separate attacks last month on two roads the company is building, a Foreign Ministry official said. They burned an excavator, other heavy equipment and two jeeps while stealing documents, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing department policy. He also said four militants attacked a storage facility used by the company, exchanging fire with about 10 Afghan police last week before fleeing.
#4: A Norwegian freelance journalist kidnapped a week ago in eastern Afghanistan was released Thursday along with his Afghan interpreter, the Foreign Ministry said. The two men were abducted near the border with Pakistan, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Ragnhild Imerslund said. Both were released after "Norwegian authorities worked very hard and intensely" to secure their freedom, Imerslund said. She declined to name the men or their abductors. The Norwegian news agency NTB identified the journalist as Paal Refsdal, a 46-year-old veteran war journalist who reported from Kosovo during the Balkan conflict and from Afghanistan during the Soviet Union's invasion in the 1980s.
#5: A German soldier was injured Wednesday as a clash erupted in Chardara district of Kunduz province in north Afghanistan, a spokesman with German troops in the province Nasir Alkozai said. "Coalition forces and Afghan soldiers launched a cleanup operation in Qasab and Gulbagh villages of Chardara district this morning and one German soldier has been injured," Alkozai told Xinhua. He also added that the operation will continue until the area is secured. But he did not comment if there were any casualties on the insurgents. Meantime, locals say that a mine planted by Taliban insurgents struck an Armored Personnel Carrier (APC). However, officials are reluctant to make comment.
#6: An Australian soldier from the 2nd Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-2) and three Afghan National Army soldiers were wounded yesterday (11 November 2009) when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated during operations in Southern Afghanistan. The Australian soldier, who received minor shrapnel wounds, is likely to return to duty within days.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
War News for Wednesday, November 11, 2009
No International Security Assistance Force service members were killed during the past 24 hours.
Military sees increase in wounded in Afghanistan:
Body of missing U.S. soldier found in Afghan river:
Blackwater Said to Pursue Bribes to Iraq After 17 Died:
Foreign aid worker held in death of Afghan boy:
157 Christians, Shabak, Yazedis killed in Ninewa in 2 months:
Obama considering 4 options for Afghanistan, sources say:
Reported security incidents
Samarra:
#1: One al-Qaeda gunman was killed and eight others were arrested in armed clashes that took place in south of Samarra on Tuesday, according to a security source. “A police force, backed by the U.S. troops, raided on Tuesday (Nov. 10) al-Saaywiya village, south of Samarra, where they clashed with an armed group,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The forces killed Hazem Samier, Abu Janah, al-Qaeda leader, and arrested eight others,” he added.
Irbil:
#1: Gunmen killed a kurdish security member in Makhmour area in south Erbil on Tuesday evening.
Kirkuk:
#1: In a separate incident, a local security source said that gunmen used a grenade to attack a citizen’s house in Kirkuk. “The citizen works for the Transportation Ministry and his house is in a neighborhood near al-Safa mosque,” the source said. He said that the blast left damage to the house in addition to a nearby Chevrolet vehicle. The source did not mention further details.
#2: Two civilians were wounded on Tuesday in a sticky bomb explosion in western Kirkuk, a police officer said. “A bomb, stuck to a civilian vehicle, exploded in Teba market in western Kirkuk at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday (Nov. 10), injuring two civilians and damaging the vehicle,” Brigadier Sarhad Qader told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#3: Unknown gunmen fired a rocket on Wednesday in southwestern Kirkuk with no word on damage, a source from the joint coordination center said. “The rocket was fired from Wahed Hozayran region behind al-Zahraa mosque in southwestern Kirkuk on Wednesday (Nov. 11),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “There is no immediate word on damage caused by the rocket,” he added.
#4: A civilian was killed and two others were wounded by an adhesive bomb that was stuck to a civilian car in downtown Kirkuk city on Tuesday evening.
Mosul:
#1: SWAT personnel have mistakenly opened fire on a civilian in downtown Mosul, a local security source said on Tuesday. “The incident occurred in al-Midan area, downtown Mosul,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The wounded has been taken to the hospital and is currently in a stable condition, the source indicated.
#2: Gunmen opened their fire upon a civilian killing him in Prophet Younis neighborhood in downtown Mosul city on Tuesday afternoon.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Helicopter gunships shelled militant hide-outs in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 10 suspected fighters after the Taliban murdered two paramilitary soldiers at an outpost in the area. The attack on the outpost in Mohmand, one of Pakistan's semiautonomous tribal areas, was the latest staged by militants in retaliation for an army offensive against the Taliban's main stronghold in Pakistan's northwest. Dozens of militants armed with automatic weapons and rocket launchers attacked the paramilitary outpost just outside Bai Zai town in Mohmand before dawn Wednesday morning, said an intelligence officer and local government official. Two soldiers were killed in the attack and three injured, they said.
At least 10 Pakistani security personnel went missing after Taliban militants attacked their convoy in a lawless tribal region on the Afghan border, officials said Wednesday. "Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of 52 paramilitary Frontier Corps troops early Wednesday morning in Ghanam Shah area of Mohmand tribal region," top local administration official Amjad Ali Khan told AFP. "We are in contact with 40 troops, while 10 are still missing and the bodies of two soldiers were found in Ghanam Shah," he said.
#2: Two civilians were killed and three wounded when a suicide car bomber attacked a convoy of NATO troops in the Shah Joy district of southern Zabul province, said deputy provincial governor Gul Shah Ali Khail. An ISAF spokesman said they were aware of an incident in Zabul in which there were casualties and they were investigating.
#3: An Afghan woman was shot dead when Afghan soldiers opened fire after their convoy hit a roadside bomb in northern Takhar province, said provincial police chief Ziauddin Mahmoodi. Three soldiers were wounded in the blast, he said.
#4: An Australian soldier is in a stable condition after receiving wounds when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated during operations in southern Afghanistan. The soldier with the 2nd Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-2) was part of a joint Australian and Afghan National Army (ANA) patrol, when they were targeted in an IED attack, north of Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan Province on the 10th of November.
DoD: Sgt. Charles I. Cartwright
DoD: Chief Warrant Officer Mathew C. Heffelfinger
DoD: Chief Warrant Officer Earl R. Scott III
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
War News for Tuesday, November 10, 2009
NATO is reporting the death of an American ISAF service personal in an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on presumably on Tuesday, November 10th.
Iraqi Cabinet approves Exxon Mobil-Shell oil deal:
Cop who killed five U.K. soldiers 'a hero' say locals:
What Drove Afghan Policeman to Kill UK Troops?
Two Czech elite troops sacked over Nazi symbols on their helmets:
Noam Chomsky & the WSM discuss politics over breakfast: (off topic but I like almost everything Chomsky writes. -- whisker)
Taliban vow tough guerrilla war in South Waziristan:
At Fort Hood, Some Violence Is Too Familiar:
TV footage shows Afghan insurgents with US ammo:
Reported security incidents
Baghdad:
#1: A magnetic bomb stuck to a civilian car detonated in New Baghdad, eastern Baghdad, Monday afternoon injuring one civilian.
Diyala Prv:
#1: In Diyala, an anonymous provincial police source told Xinhua that two civilians were wounded when a motorcycle bomb exploded near a primary school in the al-Mu'alamin neighborhood in western the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad.
Salah al Din prv:
#1: Four policemen on Tuesday were killed or wounded in an armed attack in Salah al-Din, according to a local security source. “On Tuesday, unknown gunmen opened fire on a National Police checkpoint in al-Rawashed area (3 km west of Balad district) in Salah al-Din province,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.The blast killed two police personnel and seriously injured two others, the source added.
#2: Two policemen were killed when unknown gunmen opened fire on a police checkpoint in the Aziz Balad area, some 100 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
#3: Separately, an Iraqi security force killed a suspected insurgent and detained eight people during a raid on the al-Mu'atasim area, some 110 km north of Baghdad, the source said.
Irbil:
#1: A captain from Kurdish security forces was killed by gunmen in central Arbil, a police source said on Monday. “Gunmen killed a Kurdish captain on Monday night (Nov. 9) in al-Mufti neighborhood in central Arbil,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Mosul:
#1: Three mortar shells hit central Mosul on Monday without causing casualties, a security source said. “Two mortar shells landed near the old jail region and Wadi Hajar in central Mosul, while the third shell hit al-Shaab school in the old jail region,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
#2: One civilian was killed on Monday by gunmen in central Mosul, a police source noted. “Unknown gunmen shot and killed a greengrocer in al-Nabi Younes region in eastern Mosul on Monday (Nov. 9),” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.
Afghanistan: "The Forgotten War"
#1: Ten people were killed and 15 wounded in a car bomb blast in the northwestern Pakistani town of Charsadda on Tuesday, police said. "We have reports of 10 people killed and 15 wounded," Malik Naveed, police chief for the North Western Frontier Province, told Reuters by telephone. "We are checking it now."
#2: Pakistan's security forces have taken full control of the town of Makeen, which is considered as the base headquarters of Taliban militants in the South Waziristan tribal agency, the army said Tuesday in a daily press release. The military said that the troops have killed nine more militants and apprehended one during the last 24 hours, bringing the total fatality to over 500, as the operation in the northwest tribal area steadily progressed towards the Taliban strongholds in South Waziristan.
#3: Two Afghan children were killed and over a dozen others of the same family were injured as a mortar mine fired by Taliban militants hit their house in Afghanistan's eastern Paktika province, spokesman for provincial administration Hamidullah Zhawak said Tuesday. "A boy and a girl were killed and 13 other members of their family got wounded as a mortar shot by militants hit their house in Yaya Khil district Monday night," Zhawak told Xinhua. The incident occurred after heavy gun battle erupted between Taliban militants and security guards escorting a convoy of a road Construction Company in the area, he added.
#4: During an engagement between Afghan and Australian forces and insurgents yesterday morning (9 Nov 09), an Afghan man received a gunshot wound to his lower left leg.
MoD: Rifleman Philip Allen
MoD: Rifleman Samuel John Bassett
DoD: Spc. Tony Carrasco Jr.
DoD: Spc. Aaron S. Aamot
DoD: Spc. Gary L. Gooch Jr.
