War News for Thursday, July 03, 2014

A Rogue State Along Two Rivers

Gunmen assassinates Yemeni security officer


Reported security incidents
#1: Taliban insurgents fired rockets into Kabul international airport Thursday, setting a hanger ablaze but no casualties were reported, officials said. The rockets landed on the military side of the airport  in a hanger containing spare parts as military flights were halted.
#2: The bodies of two men were found in a drainage in Lahore's Liaquatabad area on Thursday. Police said the victims had been tortured before being killed.

#3: At least two children were killed and eight injured in a bomb blast Afghanistan Thursday, the interior ministry said. A mine planted by the enemies of peace (militants) on a ground in Gulran district of Herat province went off at 08.30 a.m. when a group of children were playing

#4: At least 44 Taliban militants were killed during military operations in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. Local security officials said the militants were killed during the operations in the past one week.


AU/DoD: Lance Corporal Todd John Chidgey

War News for Wednesday, July 02, 2014

NATO is reporting the death of an ISAF soldier from a non-combat related incident in an undisclosed location in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, June 30th. The Australian MoD confirms the death as an ADF soldier.

 

Reported security incidents
#1: Eight military personnel were killed and another 13 wounded when a suicide bomber attacked an air force bus in Afghanistan's capital today.

#2: Pakistani military helicopters have pounded militant hideouts in the country’s restive northwest in a continuing massive operation against pro-Taliban elements in the trial belt, killing at least 10 of them, authorities say. The government helicopters on Wednesday targeted militant positions in the Khar Warsak area, 12 kilometers north of Miramshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal region.

#3: At least eleven Taliban militants were killed following an airstrike by Afghan air force. Gen. Azimi further added that Mi-35 helicopters were used to target the Taliban militants during the air raid. He said an Afghan national army soldier was also killed following an imprivised explosive device (IED) explosion.

War News for Tuesday, July 01, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: About 27 Taliban militants have been killed during cleanup operations across Afghanistan as security forces continue to press the militants ahead of foreign forces withdrawal by the end of the year, said the Interior Ministry on Tuesday. Afghan army, police and intelligence agency carried out several cleanup operations in Kunar, Kunduz, Badakhshan, Balkh, Zabul and Helmand provinces.

#2: At least two Pakistani soldiers were killed and another injured when militants attacked a vehicle belonging to security forces in the restive North Waziristan tribal region, media reports on Tuesday said. The military vehicle was targeted in the areas between Kajori and Ippi villages in Mirali tehsil.

#3:  Peshawar—As the Operation Zarb-e-Azb, initiated some two weeks back against the insurgents in volatile North Waziristan Agency advances on the 16th consecutive day, the Pakistan Army Monday formally announced to have kicked off ground offensive against the militants in the region killing at least 15 more terrorists in parts of NWA. 

At least 412 militants and 17 soldiers have been killed so far in military operation in northwest Pakistan that was launched on June 15 against foreign and local terrorists hiding in the country's northwestern tribal regions bordering Afghanistan, officials said Monday.

War News for Monday, June 30, 2014

ISIS declares 'caliphate' stretching across Iraq and Syria


Reported security incidents
#1: The Taliban have established a foothold in southern Afghanistan in a 10-day battle against Afghan forces, locals said Sunday, as the army and police struggle to prove they can defeat the insurgents without NATO help. A coordinated assault by 800 Taliban fighters on police checkpoints and military posts began on June 19, with Afghan forces rushing to recapture parts of Sangin district in Helmand province.

#2: The Pakistani army has launched a major ground assault in North Waziristan's tribal areas. It comes after two weeks of air strikes on targets associated with the Taliban. Pakistani forces moved into the northwestern town of Miranshah, the capital of North Waziristan and a Taliban stronghold on Monday. In a statement, the military said it had found underground tunnels and bomb-making factories there.

#3: Units of Afghan police backed by the army have killed 14 Taliban militants during operations in Taliban former stronghold the southern Helmand province over the past 24 hours, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday.

At least 60 militants were killed during clashes with the Afghan national army (ANA) soldiers in various parts of Afghanistan.

#4: Eight Afghan military forces were martyred in Logar province last night. Abdul Hakim Ashaqzai police chief of Logar province told BNA, in clashes between armed oppositions and Afghan security forces, a National army and seven National police forces were martyred in Arza district, Logar province.

#5: The Pakistani military fired 21 more rockets in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, local officials said. The officials further added that the rockets were fired on Sunday night in Shegal and Dangam districts.

#6: At least three Taliban militants were killed following a US drone strike in eastern Kunar province.

#7: At least ten Afghan national army (ANA) soldiers were martyred in separate improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.

#8: The anti-government armed militants attacked a NATO military base with a rocket in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

News of the Day for Sunday, June 29, 2014

The National discusses deteriorating security in Paktia province, which borders Pakistan's North Waziristan tribal region. “After 8pm no one can walk inside the city of Gardez, villages are at war and the highways are not safe. That is all very obvious,” said Abdul Basid Sabawoon, a shopkeeper. “There is not an exact name for those responsible. Anyone can call themselves a Talib. Thieves, kidnappers and criminals are all called Talibs.”

Daniel Menard, a former Canadian general and now head of Aghanistan operations for the mercenary firm Garda, is expected to be released from jail in Kabul. He had been detained on gun smuggling charges. The company says this is an administrative dispute related to its licensing.

Afghan officials say 73 rockets were fired from Pakistan into Kunar province, causing property damage. No word on casualties.

Pakistan refuses to accept a requested visit from Hamid Karzai, tells him to send a delegation instead. This appears to reflect both Pakistan's unhappiness with his frequent accusations that they harbor Afghan insurgents (which happen to be true), with his harboring Pakistani insurgents, and his overall declining credibility and stature.

Internecine fight among Taliban in Ghor said to result in 4 deaths.

Local officials say many of the Pakistani refugees in Khost are armed. (A huge influx of refugees has followed fighting in Pakistan. Afghanistan and its provinces are ill equipped to deal with them.)

Five civilians are killed and 5 are injured by an IED in Farah province.

ANA claims victory in battle in Helmand province, saying Taliban failed to hold on to any territory. However, Taliban say fighting in Sangin continues. The ANA says it has been slowed in retaking territory by land mines.

Update:  No surprise, the ANA claim is evidently false. AFP reports Taliban control Barekzai and Bostanzai in Sangin, according to a tribal leader who had fled the area.

A massive fire destroys a wood market in Kabul. The cause of the fire has not been determined.

Iraq Update: Although the Iraqi government claimed yesterday to have retaken Tikrit (claims I abstained from linking) that was clearly not true, as air strikes on Tikrit continue along with ground fighting. According to AP, "The insurgents appeared to have repelled the military’s initial push for Tikrit, and remained in control of the city on Sunday, but clashes were taking place in the northern neighborhood of Qadissiyah, two residents reached by telephone said."

In further geo-political weirding, Iraq has taken delivery of 5 Russian Sukhoi-25 fighter jets. Although the U.S. has promised F-16s, they have never been delivered.

You knew it was coming. Kurdistan's Foreign Minister tells Yomiuri Shimbun that Kurdistan will hold a referendum on independence. 

News of the Day for Saturday, June 28, 2014

Taliban assault in Helmand province continues with attacks on police and government facilities. Focus of assault is Sangin, with additional attacks in  Now Zad, Musa Qala and Kajacki. However, more specific information on fighting and casualties is lacking, beyond the overall estimates of more than 100 Afghan forces and 50 civilian dead noted yesterday. WaPo has some interviews and background.

As usual, the Afghan Interior Ministry issues claims of Taliban dead only and does not say anything about government or civilian casualties. Today they claim 79 Taliban dead in various operations in the past 24 hours. There is no particular reason to believe this.

Massive demonstrations continue in Kabul  supporting Abdullah and his claims of electoral fraud. Abdullah has joined the demonstrations personally.

Some 65,000 Pakistanis have taken refuge in Afghanistan from fighting in North Waziristan, out of a total of half a million who have been displaced. This situation is unprecedented and it is unclear how the Afghan government can respond given the battle in Helmand and its paralysis in the face of the disputed election.

Meanwhile, in Iraq, government forces are mounting an effort to re-takeTikrit, amid competing claims by ISIL and Baghdad over their degree of success so far. [Fars and Iraqiya continue to publish extravagant claims of military success; these have repeatedly proven false in recent days so I am not linking to them. We'll have to wait a couple of days to see what's really happening. -- C]

Explainer: As for the ISIS/ISIL thing. The organization does not recognize the existence of Syria; it's name, in English, is best rendered as Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, the latter term referring to the region that includes Syria, Lebanon, and Palestine including of course the state of Israel whose existence they also do not recognize. The equivalent English term, which is a bit old-fashioned, is the Levant, which is why some people use the "L" instead of "S". So there you have it.

Kurdistan mobilizes retired peshmerga and expands recruiting. Their stated intention is solely to defend territory they already control, including Kirkuk which Kurdistan has vowed to retain, and not to reconquer additional territory on behalf of Baghdad. [In my view, this completes the de facto secession of Kurdistan, as the peshmerga are explicitly no longer functioning as a component of the Iraqi army. -- C]










    

News of the Day for Friday, June 27, 2014

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom. Sgt. Thomas Z. Spitzer, 23, of New Braunfels, Texas, died June 25 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, California.

Four police are killed and one injured in attacks on checkpoints  in Chamtal and Chahar Bolak districts, Balkh province, according to the provincial police chief. The Taliban claim 7 Afghan forces killed.

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan expresses concern about civilian casualties from ongoing fighting in Helmand. "the UN Mission is particularly concerned about the launching of mortars and grenades into populated areas which has resulted in civilian casualties, and calls on the parties to take all necessary measures to reduce harm to civilians from the use of these weapons." While the UN has documented 30 civilian deaths in the past week, note that yesterday local officials in Sangin district, where the fighting is concentrated, reported at least 50 deaths, as reported here and linked on this site yesterday.

Thousands march in Kabul in support of Abdullah's allegations of electoral fraud.

President Obama asks Congress for $58.6 billion to fund the war in Afghanistan. That probably sounds like a lot of money to you, but it's the smallest request in a decade.

Many believe that Karzai engineered the electoral debacle in order to hold on to power. That would include his brother Mahmoud.