War News for Saturday, January 07, 2011

Airman on the mend after losing limbs in Afghanistan

5 million illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan, NA told

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 7, Jan. 6th.


Reported security incidents
#1: Local authorities in southern Afghanistan on Saturday said, at least two private security guards working for a road construction were assassinated by unknown gunmen in southern Uruzgan province. The officials further added, another security guard was also injured during the incident which took place at Sarmorghab area in Tarinkowt district of southern Uruzgan province. According to officials, the private security guards were providing security for a GTZ project in this province. Provincial criminal chief Gen. Gulab Khan confirming the incident said, at least two security guards were killed and another one was injured during the incident.

#2: Militants fired three rocket-propelled grenades at a Pakistan army camp in the town of Miramshah in the North Waziristan tribal region, military officials said. There were no casualties.

#3: Militants set off explosives next to a gas pipeline in the Jaffarabad area of the southwestern Baluchistan province late on Friday, damaging a 20-foot section of the pipeline, security officials said on Saturday.

#4: A roadside mine killed four auxiliary policemen and wounded one in Shindand district of western Herat province on Friday, said Mohammad Nabi, a district governor in Shindand.


Geo/MoD: Corporal Shalva Pailodze

War News for Friday, January 06, 2011

NATO is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Thursday, January 5th.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, January 6th.

NATO is reporting the deaths of four ISAF soldiers from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Friday, January 6th.


Karzai Demands US Hand Over Afghan Prisoners

Rockets hit Green Zone as Iraq marks Army Day

Baghdad Bombings Kill 78

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 6, jan 5th

Aswat Al Iraq/ 'Latest News'


Reported security incidents
#1: The security forces killed five suspected militants in Orakzai tribal region on Friday, official sources said. Sources said that security forces pounded militant safe-houses in Mamozai and Khadizai areas of upper Orakzai region, destroying at least two hideouts.

#2: Seven people including six children lost their lives as a bomb went off in Uruzgan province 370km south of Afghan capital Kabul on Friday, police said. "The gruesome incident happened in the bazaar of provincial capital Trinkot at around 03:00 p.m. local time as a result seven people including six children were martyred on the spot," police spokesman in Trinkot city Mohammad Farid Aael told Xinhua. Four more children sustained injuries in the deadly incident, he added. The explosive device was planted inside a garbage bucket along a road in Trinkot bazaar, he said, adding the insurgents apparantly wanted to target security forces but it exploded claiming seven lives including six children.

#3: An Italian soldier in Afghanistan was injured Friday when a bomb exploded nearby, Italian military sources said. The soldier, whose injuries are not life-threatening, was on foot patrol when he was struck by the blast in the western part of the country, according to commanders from the Italian contingent of the NATO mission. The bomb was the second in three days to injure an Italian soldier in western Afghanistan. A private was hurt Wednesday when an IED (roadside bomb) went off as his convoy drove past in the district of Gulistan, where Italian troops are stationed.

War News for Thursday, January 5, 2011

Seven years after sieges, Fallujah struggles

Four blasts kill 29, wounds dozens in Iraq's capital

Jury selection to begin for last Marine accused in Iraq killings

Pakistan border closure leaves Canadian supplies stuck in Afghanistan


Reported security incidents
#1: Attackers gunned down a local government official on his way to a mosque in southern Afghanistan, authorities said Thursday, in the latest hit on a government figure. Haji Fazel Mohammad was shot on his way to evening prayers Wednesday in the volatile district of Sangin in Helmand province, the governor’s office said. The attackers escaped. Mohammad served on the local council for Sangin.

#2: Armed men seized a Red Cross worker from the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Thursday, police and the organization said. Local police officer Nazir Ahmed Kurd said his initial information was that the man was a British health worker. But an intelligence official in the city said the man was Yemeni. The official didn't give his name because he is not allowed to be identified in the media.

#3: Pakistani militants today killed 15 security force members they kidnapped a month ago on the Afghan border. The men's naked, bullet-ridden bodies were dumped in Shiwa, in the north Waziristan region, in a fresh blow to attempts by the government to stage peace talks with insurgent factions. Constabulary commander Ali Sher confirmed the men had been killed and said his men had been sent to the area to recover the bodies. In a statement, the Pakistani Taliban said the murders were in retaliation for an army operation on Sunday in the region that killed several militants, including a prominent commander.

#4: THREE Australian soldiers have been wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Afghanistan. The incident occurred during an operational mission on January 2, about 60km northwest of the Multi-National Base at Tarin Kowt in Oruzgan Province, the Australian Defence Force revealed in a statement on Thursday.

#5: Two insurgents were killed during an operation by Afghan troops and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in the central province of Wardak on Tuesday, ISAF said. The operaton targeted a Taliban leader, the coalition said.

#6: Several insurgents were killed during an operation by Afghan troops and ISAF in central Ghazni province on Tuesday targeting a Taliban weapons facilitator, ISAF said.


MoD: Rifleman Sachin Limbu

War News for Wednesday, January 04, 2011

The British MoD is reporting the death of a British ISAF soldier at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham U.K. on Monday, January 2nd. The soldier was originally wounded from an IED blast somewhere in Afghanistan sometime in June 2010.


Mass grave found in Afghan army compound

NATO vehicles being moved to Karachi

NATO to pull $30bn worth of gear from Afghanistan

Two Britons with 'dozens of AK-47s' detained in Kabul

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 4, Jan 3rd.


Reported security incidents
#1: update Three bomb blasts in southern Afghanistan have killed at least 11 people and wounded many more. Afghan officials say all three attacks -- two by suicide bombers -- occurred in Kandahar city on January 3.

On Tuesday evening a suicide bomber detonated a tricycle in downtown Kandahar, killing four civilians and three policeman and injuring over a dozen, the police chief for the province General Abdul Raziq said. Earlier in the day, another suicide bomber set off an explosive-laden motorbike in the city centre, killing four children and one policeman, Raziq said. Sixteen others, including policemen and civilians, were injured. That attack was aimed at a mobile police post, he said. The latest blast, which no one has so far claimed responsibility for, happened just minutes after a smaller explosion, likely caused by an improvised explosive device, Raziq added.

#2: Eleven militants were killed on Wednesday when Pakistani gunship helicopters attacked their hideouts in the Jogi area of the northwestern Kurram tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, security officials said. The death toll could not be independently verified, and militants often dispute official accounts.

#3: Meanwhile, seven suspected militants were killed and one wounded on Wednesday as two banned groups clashed together in Khyber Agency, DawnNews reported. According to government sources, the incident took place in the Nari Baba area of district Landi Kotal. Twelve militants have been killed so far during the week as a result of infighting between the two rival groups.

#4: A remote-controlled bomb exploded in the Landi Kotal area of the northwestern Khyber tribal region, near the Afghanistan border, killing four people, including three policemen, and wounding six, security officials said.

#5: One Afghan civilian was killed and five wounded, including a policeman, in an explosion in the western city of Herat, the Ministry of the Interior said. The Ministry said police were investigating the blast in the Darwaza-E-Kabul area of the city.


DoD: Petty Officer 1st Class Chad R. Regelin

War News for Tuesday, January 03, 2011

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from an IED attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, January 2nd.


Panetta to Offer Strategy for Cutting Military Budget


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber driving a motorcycle killed four civilians and a police officer in southern Afghanistan's Kandahar city on Tuesday, police said. Gen. Abul Razaq, Kandahar provincial police chief, said the attack also wounded 16 people, including three police officers and six children. The bomber detonated his explosives at a police checkpoint, he said.

A suicide bomber on a motorbike attacked an Afghan police patrol in southern Afghanistan Tuesday, killing a girl and injuring a dozen people, officials said. The attacker drove into several police in Kandahar city, the capital with of the province with the same name, police chief General Abdul Razzaq said.

#2: A bomb exploded in the basement of a building on the busy Arbab Road of Peshawar, capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The chief of Khyber Teaching Hospital said it had received 24 injured victims

#3: A mortar shell was also fired at a busy market in Khyber, one of seven tribal districts near the Afghan border. District official Rehman Shah said three people were killed and another three injured in the attack.

#4: According to local authorities in north-eastern Afghanistan, at least two Taliban militants were killed following armed clashes in Kapisa province. The officials further added, the incident took place in Nejrab district of Kapisa province and at least four other militants were also detained during the incident. Nejrab district security chief Ata Mohammad Nazari on Tuesday said, the clashes between the militants and Afghan security forces started after the Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of the Afghan National Army.

War News for Monday, January 02, 2011

The Georgian MoD is reporting the death of a Georgian ISAF soldier from an IED attack in Helmand province Afghanistan on presumably on Saturday, December 31st.

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related incident in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Saturday, December 31st.


'Taliban won't attack Pak security forces'

Tapi gas pipeline project: Afghanistan blocks progress

Ship with Nato supplies berths at port

41 suicide attacks killed 606, injured over 1000 in 2011: CMC

FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, January 1, Dec 31st

In Afghanistan, Poppy Growing Proves Resilient


Reported security incidents
#1: A suspected U.S. drone aircraft fired two missiles into a vehicle in Mir Ali town in the North Waziristan region on the Afghan border, killing at least four militants, local intelligence officials said. Shortly afterwards, two more missiles were fired on militants who were busy in rescue work at the site of the first strike, killing four more insurgents.

#2: Three civilians were killed as a roadside bomb struck their car on Monday in Logar province, 60 km south of capital city Kabul, an official said. "The tragic incident took place outside provincial capital Pul- e-Alam at around 10:00 a.m. local time leaving three civilians including a child dead," spokesman for provincial administration Deen Mohammad Darvish told Xinhua.

#3: A suicide blast apparently targeted police post in Behsood district, Nangarhar province with Jalalabad as its capital 120 km east of Afghan capital Kabul on Monday, killing himself and wounding another, a local official said. "A man strapped explosive device in his body and was walking towards a police checkpoint in Behsood district at around 10:30 a. m. local time blew himself up on the way towards the police checkpoint as a result a child around was injured," governor of Behsood district Nematullah Khan told Xinhua.

#4: At least ten Afghan National Army service members were killed and injured in various incidents across the country. Afghan Defense Ministry officials following a statement said, at least three Afghan Army soldiers were killed and 7 others were injured. The source further added, Afghan soldiers were killed and injured following various incidents in Maidan Wardak, Nuristan and Laghman provinces. The officials also said, at least nine militants were also killed and injured during the Afghan national army operations. According to Ministry officials, at least 7 armed militants were killed and two others were injured during the operations in Tagab district at Kapisa province.


Geo/MoD: Corporal Besik Niniashvili

DoD: Spc. Pernell J. Herrera

MoD: Private John King

FR/MoD: L’adjudant-chef Mohammed El Gharrafi

FR/MoD: Le légionnaire de 1re classe Franjkovic

News of the Day for Sunday, January 1, 2012

AFP reviews the toll of war for foreign troops in Afghanistan in 2011, noting the deaths of 565, 417 of them American and 45 British. This is fewer than the 711 who died in 2010, but is the second highest since the war began. Without trying to give a number, AFP also notes that "it is Afghan civilians who have paid the highest price." While the U.S. claims that overall violence in Afghanistan declined last year, the UN says otherwise.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Afghan Taliban are "not necessarily an enemy," opening the way for the U.S. to join peace talks. President Hamid Karzai welcomes these remarks, and accepts a plan to open a Taliban diplomatic office in Qatar.

NATO formally hands over security responsibility to Afghan forces in Nad Ali, Nawa and Marjah.

France's Defense Minister, visiting troops in Afghanistan, supports talks with the Taliban.

However, the fractious nature of Afghan politics seems to be shown by remarks of International Relations Chief of the High Peace Council, Ismaiel Qasemyar, who says that if Taliban attacks within Afghanistan continue while Qatar is providing living expenses for the families of the Taliban delegation, Qatar and the international community will be guilty of supporting attacks on Afghanistan. (Yep, he apparently said that.)

And whatever hopeful news there is brings with it many challenges, As Jennifer Glasse reports for Al Jazeera. (Video)

Plot is foiled to assassinate the Chief of the Afghan Commission for Security Transition Dr. Ashraf Ghani Ahmadzai in Helmand Province, where he was visiting.

A 15-year-old Afghan girl was brutally tortured, beaten and locked in a toilet by her in-laws for five months after she refused to become a prostitute, it has emerged. This occurred in Baghlan province. Lest this be taken as one more indictment of Afghan cultural norms, she was rescued by police and they are making a serious effort to capture the perpetrators.

Iraq Update

Fortune teller injured by bombing in Kirkuk. (Unclear why he didn't anticipate this. -- C

Six Sahwa fighters killed in attack on a checkpoint near Baquba.

The movement for Sunni Arab autonomy continues to grow, here a report from the street.

Saturday, December 31, is now designated "Iraq Day,", commemorating the official deadline for U.S. troop withdrawal.

Tariq Hashimi is interviewed by Asharaq al-Awsat. He has unkind words for PM al-Maliki:

This man has detonated a crisis with clear political and sectarian dimensions. This man destroyed everything that we pledged to build over the past eight years. It has now become clear to all observers that the man is not a man of political accords. He does not believe in the independence or integrity of the judiciary. He does not want to accept any dissident voice. This is a very major problem. He has placed himself in a critical corner. But this discourse involves clear threats and extortion of the leaders in the Iraqi List. If Al-Maliki completes destroying the leaders of the "Iraqi", he will focus on the Kurdistan Province and precipitate a real confrontation in the future.