War News for Monday, August 4th, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb killed a Pakistani religious leader and two of his guards during a celebration at a northwestern shrine on Monday, police said, as officers prepared for a militant backlash over a continuing military operation. Monday's bomb attack took place as a crowd of thousands gathered at a Sufi shrine near the city of Dera Ismail Khan where the religious leader, Faqir Jamshed, was presiding at a function.

#2: Four Afghan army soldiers were killed and four others wounded in a bomb attack in the outskirts of the national capital of Kabul on Monday morning, the Defense Ministry confirmed. "Four Afghan National Army (ANA) personnel were martyred and four wounded following a roadside bombing in southern outskirts of Kabul. The army personnel were on their routine patrol in an army armored vehicle when the incident took place at around 7:45 a.m. local time," the ministry said in a statement.

#3: Seven Uzbek terrorists and two army soldiers were killed during the clearance of the Miramshah to Datta Khel road, a military spokesperson said on Monday.

#4: Units of police in coordination with the army personnel have killed 86 Taliban militants during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, Interior Ministry said in a statement released here on Monday.

#5: Nine armed Taliban were killed and another wounded in Kunar province last night. According to police chief of Kunar province to BNA, nine armed insurgents were killed in drone attack of foreign forces and another wounded.

#5: Two consecutive explosions inflected financial damages in Nangarhar provinces last night.

News of the Day for Sunday, August 3, 2014

Electoral audit process resumes after a 7 hour delay due to non-participation by candidate Abdullah. The Independent Electoral Commission finally decided to proceed without his approval.

A NATO service member dies of non-combat injuries in eastern Afghanistan. No further information as of now.

One civilian killed, 1 civilian and 8 police injured when a police car strikes a roadside bomb in Nangarhar.

A joint Afghan and ISAF counteroffensive begins in Hesarak, Nangarhar after 1,000 insurgents launched attacks on Friday. ISAF is said to be providing air support for the operation. Six insurgents are said to have been killed, but the Taliban deny that.

Taliban in Helmand are said to have diversified their income sources through control of mining operations and collection of electric bills. (Really.)

Jean Mackenzie in Global Post gives us some highlights of the latest report of the Special Inspector General for Afghan Reconstruction. It's a laugh riot, hence the title, "Seven Insane Problems Outlined . . ." Example insane problems: Most of the $1.57 worth of buildings the Army Corps of Engineers constructed for the Afghan military are fire hazards due to unsafe foam insulation. Information that qualifies an Afghan national to be designated a terrorist and killed does not prevent said individual from doing business with ISAF. Opium poppy cultivation has been increasing and now represents 15% of GDP despite more than $7 billion spent to suppress it. Just read it. I'll skip ahead to corruption:

So, with more than $104 billion in reconstruction efforts at stake, what is the United States doing about corruption? SIGAR is succinct: “There is no comprehensive US strategy or guidance on combating corruption.”

Meanwhile, back in the cradle of civilization, IS captures three small towns and an oil field in the north  which had been garrisoned by peshmerga. This includes the town of Wana near the Mosul dam. Apparently this is territory the Kurds seized recently after the collapse of the Iraqi 2d Division and they chose not to invest heavily in defending it. Still, this is the first IS victory over peshmerga and suggests they have real military capability.

Uh oh: Iraqi state TV says IS has seized control of the Mosul dam. I was not expecting that. Also, I was mistaken about the towns they captured -- they have long been in Kurdish control. The situation with the dam could get very ugly very quickly. Good news: Fortunately, earlier reports that the Mosul dam was in the hands of IS were apparently false; the peshmerga still control it. Bad news: Peshmerga now say ISIS does control the Mosul dam.

Further update: The town of Sinjar, which fell to IS, is predominantly Yazidi. The Yazidi follow a pre-Muslim faith and IS considers them devil worshippers. Tens of thousands have fled on foot toward Kurdistan. The peshmerga say they were forced to abandon the town because they had run out of ammunition. Since relations between Baghdad and Irbil have soured, they no longer receive arms and ammunition from the central government and have been begging the world community for munitions. They say this was a tactical retreat and they will try to reclaim the territory if they can re-arm.

War News for Saturday, August 2, 2014

US drone strikes in Pakistan

Polio's Surge In Pakistan: Are Parents Part Of The Problem?

The Hidden Costs Of Fighting Polio In Pakistan

Taliban In Pakistan Derail World Polio Eradication


Reported security incidents
#1: One security official was killed in Bajaur Agency when militants attacked a security forces’ checkpost in border area of Mamond Tehsil, on Friday. According to ISPR, a group of militants entered Pakistani territory from Afghanistan’s Kunar province and attacked the border post in Ghakhai pass area. The assault was carried out using heavy weaponry, killing one FC official.

#2: At least three militants were killed on Saturday in Pakistan's North Waziristan region. The militants were killed in an operation conducted by security forces in the Mir Ali area, Dawn online reported.

#3: Eight people, including three security personnel, were killed in parts of Charsadda district in targeted attacks and other incidents during last four days.

#4: In a separate attack, two paramilitary soldiers were killed and several others injured when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Dera Bugti, a town in the country's southwest Balochistan province.

#5: At least 29 Taliban militants were killed during counter-terrorism operations in Afghanistan. The interior ministry of Afghanistan following a statement said Saturday that the militants were killed or injured during coordinated operations in the past 24 hours.

War News for Friday, August 1st, 2014

 40pc of weapons sent to Afghanistan are unaccounted for

Army deployment starts in Islamabad

Nearly half of identified drone strike victims in Pakistan are civilians: report


Reported security incidents
#1: The two militants were killed during an operation launched by army in Keran sector of Kupwara district on Thursday following a specific input about their movement in the area, the spokesman said. He said the militants were trying to exfiltrate from the Valley to PoK.

#2: Some unknown gunmen killed three persons including a woman in the Balochistan district on Friday here, Geo News reported. Levies Force said that the firing incident occurred at Join in Tehsil Prom, where unknown armed motorbike riders barged into a house and opened indiscriminate firing resulting in the death of three persons including a woman, while the assailants after the firing escaped from the scene.

#3: An armed trespasser has been killed on the Tajik-Afghan border in the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region. According to the press center of the State Committee for National Security (SCNS), officers from SCNS’s office in GBAO jointly with border guards on a routine patrol spotted a trespasser who was illegally crossing the border river in the Rushan district late Thursday (July 31). When security officers and border guards tried to detain the trespasser, the last opened fire at them.  The trespasser was reportedly killed by return fire.

#4: Unknown gunmen shot dead district mayor for Mohammad Agha in eastern Logar province of Afghanistan, local officials said. Provincial governor spokesman, Din Mohammad Darwish, said the incident took place late Thursday night after a group of gunmen attacked the residence of Mohammad Agha district mayor Saifullah.

War News for Thursday, July 31, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: Units of Afghan police backed by the army have killed more than two dozen Taliban militants during series of operations across the country over the past 24 hours, a statement of Ministry of Interior released here on Thursday said. "Personnel of police backed by the army during series of operations conducted in parts of Wardak, Nangarhar, Faryab and Kandahar provinces over the past 24 hours have left dead 25 Taliban insurgents," the statement said.

#2: The Pakistani military fired at least 118 rockets in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan, local officials said. The officials further added that the shelling started on Wednesday night from the other side of the Durand line.

War News for Wednesday, July 30, 2014

Reported security incidents
#1: Pakistani officials say the country's military forces have thwarted an attack on a checkpoint near the Afghan border, killing at least six militants and injuring nine others. Military officials said some 70 militants attacked the border post in the Dir tribal district in Pakistan's restive northwest, late on July 29.

#2: a military officer was mysterious assassinated in one of military bases in Badghis province yesterday. The officer was targeted while his security duty in Badghis-Herat highway and lost his life. A police commander of Badghis-Herat highway said BNA, the officer may be killed by his colleagues who were affiliated with the Taliban group.

#3: the national army forces started extensive operation in Sangeen district, Helmand province.
Spokesman of Helmand governor said that the operation started yesterday in Sangeen district of the province. He confirmed dead of 20 armed Taliban in the operation which Mullah Nasir so-called former district of Sangeen is among the dead. In the operation, a police officer was also martyred and four others wounded.

#4: At least 13 people including policemen were injured following an explosion in central Uruzgan province of Afghanistan. Local government officials said the incident took place in Tarinkot city, leaving two policemen and eleven civilians injured.

#5: Nearly 60 Taliban militants and 6 members of the Afghan security forces were killed during clashes in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. Provincial governor spokesman, Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, said clashes continued until Tuesday afternoon in Hesarak district. Abdulzai further added that Taliban militants launched attacks on security check posts early Tuesday morning.

War News for Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The DoD is reporting the death of Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Yeshabel Villotcarrasco who died from a non-combat related incident aboard USS James E. Williams in the Red Sea Thursday, June 19th.

US weapons for Afghans may end up with Taliban: Audit


Reported security incidents
#1: A suicide bomber Tuesday assassinated a powerful cousin of outgoing Afghan President Hamid Karzai, a major blow to the country's ruling clan that risks destabilizing the volatile south. Hashmat Karzai was in his fort-like home outside Kandahar city greeting visitors on the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr when the blast took place. The attacker, a man in his 20s who hid the explosives in his headgear, was allowed into the house as a guest, according to local officials. Hashmat Karzai and a bodyguard were killed on the spot.

#2: At least six people including two policemen were killed in firing at a provincial lawmaker's house in Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Lower Dir, local media reported. Geo TV said that some unknown gunmen opened fire at the house of member provincial assembly (MPA) Bakht Baidar in Chaqdara area of Lower Dir, a district located in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The MPA was not at his residence when the attack took place, but the firing left his brother, two policemen and three guests killed.

#3: Dozens of Taliban militants launched attacks on security check posts in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan early Tuesday morning. According to local government officials, the attack was carried out on secuity check posts in Hesarak district. Mashriqwal further added that both the Taliban militants and Afghan security forces suffered casualties during the ongoing clashes. However, he did not disclsoe further information regarding the exact number of casualties.


DoD: Boatswain’s Mate Seaman Yeshabel Villotcarrasco