News of the Day for Sunday, May 19, 2013

Police chief Abdul Ghani, who led an anti-Taliban campaign in Farah, is shot dead outside his house by gunmen on motorcycles.

Ten more police are killed in two additional attacks. Attack on a security post in Ghazni kills 6, and a second attack in the same area wounds 4. In Nangarhar, 4 police are killed in an roadside bomb attack.

Clash in Ghazni province said to kill one ANA and 5 rebels.

Taliban said to suppress an uprising against them in Ghor province, unverified claim is made that they have beheaded 15 people.

President Karzai to make 3 day trip to India starting Monday. In a move likely to further inflame tensions with Pakistan, he plans to ask for military aid.

AFP discusses the failure of parliament to ratify the presidential Emergency Violence Against Women decree. Conservative lawmakers objected to the ban on child marriage and more generally argued that it is contrary to Islamic law. The president says he will try to rally support and get the bill passed later.

British documentary examines the state of Afghanistan. "As the US and British forces plan to leave Afghanistan by 2014, 'This is What Winning Looks Like' investigates the current state of the country, shining a light on the disturbing ineptitude of the forces in power, as well as rampant child and drug abuse, suicide bombings, and rising casualties and death rates."

Remember Iraq? David Hirst in the Irish Times does:

[I]n this “democratic” Iraq, one community, the majority Shias – or, more precisely, one man, prime minister Nouri al-Maliki – have emerged just as dominant, within the ruling apparatus, over the other two as Saddam and his Sunnis were in the former, despotic Iraq. Maliki’s is essentially a Shia regime. And though he may be an “elected” ruler, he has turned into not much less of a despot than Saddam himself. Consummate manipulator of the grey areas of constitution and law, he has amassed a positively Saddam-like array of personal powers. 

On April 23rd, there came what may prove to have been a fundamental turning point. Government forces stormed a sit-in in the northern town of Hawija, resulting in 50 deaths, while helicopter gunships bombarded alleged Sunni insurgents in villages roundabout. The operation may have been designed to deter any resort to violence on the protesters’ part by hitting them first – and hard. If so, it had the opposite effect, and what Maliki calls the [Sunni] “sectarian conspiracy” began preparing itself for real war. 

War News for Saturday, May 18, 2013

The DoD is reporting a new death of an ISAF soldier previously unreported by the military. Sgt. 1st Class Trenton L. Rhea died in a drowning incident in a combat situation in Kandahar, Afghanistan on Wednesday, May 15th.

 

Family members believe a Utah County soldier missing in action in Afghanistan has been killed.
The family of Cody Towse said they were notified by a military representative Tuesday that their son was standing near an improvised explosive device when it went off, causing a massive blast.

Afghan parliament fails to pass divisive women's law

Blasts Kill Dozens of Iraqis as Sectarian Tensions Boil


Reported security incidents
#1: An official says motorcycle-riding gunmen have shot dead a police chief who led an anti-Taliban campaign in western Afghanistan in front of his house. Abdul Ghani was leaving his driveway in his car when the two raced up and opened fire in Farah province.

#2: Two bombs hidden in a motorcycle and a car exploded inside an elite gated community linked to the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday evening, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70 near the southern city of Kandahar, an official said. The blasts happened inside Aino Mina, a housing complex on the northern outskirts of the city that was developed in part by Mahmood Karzai, the president's younger brother. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but striking inside a powerful symbol of wealth and influence would be a publicity coup for the Taliban insurgency. Both the car bomb and the motorcycle were remotely detonated within minutes of each other while parked next to a restaurant area where families were dining, Kandahar government spokesman Javeed Faisal said. He had earlier said there was only one blast.

#3: Unidentified gunmen killed two Pakistani transporters in Bati Kot area of Afghanistan, some 35 kilometers from the Torkham border, sources said on Friday. They said a trailer (HR-8210) taking armoured personnel carriers was on its way to Afghanistan when it was ambushed at 8:30pm in Bati Kot area near Torkham border. The truck driver, identified as Anwar Khan, son of Zaman, a resident of Manyakhel in Jamrud tehsil, and his helper Tawab, son of Murad Gul, a resident of Mirdadkhel in Landikotal, were killed on the spot. The truck was also damaged in the attack, the sources said.

#4: Taliban militants ambushed a military convoy late Thursday in Pakistan's troubled northwestern city of Peshawar, killing two soldiers, security officials said. The incident took place as the convoy passed through Matani village on the outskirts of Peshawar, the main town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan which is rife with Taliban and Al-Qaeda-led militancy. "Militants opened fire on the military vehicles, two soldiers died and one sustained injuries in the attack," a military official in Peshawar told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media. A second security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and told AFP that troops had cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

#5: A roadside bomb struck a tractor in the Yahya Khil district of Paktika province on Saturday, killing a civilian and injuring five others, spokesman for provincial administration Mukhlis Afghan said. "The tragic incident happened in Yahya Khil district at 07:00 a. m. local time and as a result the tractor driver was killed on the spot and five others including a mother and three children were injured," Mukhlis Afghan told Xinhua.

#6: An Afghan border police guard was killed and three others were injured during the first explosion which took place in eastern Khost city of Afghanistan. Provincial security chief Mohammad Yaqoub said around six Afghan civilians were also injured following the blast.


News: Civ. Michael Robert Bradford

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Trenton L. Rhea

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey C. Baker

DoD: Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling

DoD: Spc. William J. Gilbert

War News for Friday, May 17, 2013

New issue of al Qaeda magazine may have been hacked -

I never even imagined there was such a thing as an Al Qaeda magazine but with the digital age it doesn’t surprise me. – whisker

Reported security incidents
#1: update: Two NATO drivers were killed when gunmen opened fire on supply trucks passing through northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, local officials said. The News quoted local official Asmatullah Wazir as saying, that the first driver was killed in the Jamrud area of Khyber by two motorcycle-borne gunmen.

#2: In a separate attack, gunmen opened fire on another NATO supply truck in a suburb of Peshawar, killing its driver, senior police official Muhammad Faysal Murad said. Murad said the truck was empty and had returned from Afghanistan after delivering supplies.

#3: Eleven insurgents have been killed in military operations in eastern Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ( ISAF) on Friday morning. "Afghan National Security and Coalition Forces killed 11 insurgents, detained three suspected insurgents, discovered one weapons cache and found and safely cleared seven improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East said in a press release. The operations were conducted in Ghazni, Laghman, Nangarhar, Paktika and Wardak provinces, the release added.

#4: At least twelve persons were killed and dozens other injured when two blasts hit two mosques in Malakand before the Friday prayers, FP News desk reported. According to Levies sources, twin blasts hit mosques in Bazdara Bala area of Malakand Agency where 12 persons were killed and 25 others wounded.

#5: About four people were killed in blast which ripped through the weapons market of Mir Ali Bazaar, North Waziristan. According to officials, the security forces rushed to the scene soon after explosion took place in morning and the blast could be result of stored explosive material in weapon market. They also added that investigations were undergoing to find nature of blast. A fire broke out in the market because of the explosion.

War News for Thursday, May 16, 2013

NATO is reporting the deaths of four ISAF soldiers from a roadside bombing attack in an undisclosed location in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, May 14th.

 

NATO is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers from a suicide roadside bombing in Kabul, Afghanistan on Thursday, May 16th. Four contractors were also killed in the blast. News reports that a suicide vehicle attacked a NATO convoy which also killed and wounded numerous Afghanis.

Reported security incidents
#1: Gunmen on Thursday killed the driver of a NATO supply truck driving through northwest Pakistan near the Afghan border, local officials said. The shooting took place in the Jamrud area of Khyber. "Two gunmen on a motorcycle fired at a NATO truck and killed its driver," local government official Asmatullah Wazir told AFP.

#2: At least 17 government armed oppositions were killed during a clearance operation launched by the Afghan security forces in some areas of eastern Nangarhar province, an official said Thursday. Provincial police chief, Hussain Mashreqiwal told Wakht News Agency that the Afghan security forces including police, army and NDS have attended the operations coordinated with the coalition troops that launched in some districts of the province, he said.

War News for Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Afghan Commandos Step Up Their Combat Role


Reported security incidents
1: Two bombs exploded at a checkpoint outside a provincial governor's compound in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday, killing at least one police officer, an official said. The explosions struck in the early morning in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. The first bomb wounded a policeman, and the second was remotely detonated minutes later as police swarmed to the blast scene to secure it. The second explosion killed one police officer and wounded at least five policemen and three civilian passers-by who were on their way to a nearby park, said Ahmad Zia Abdulzai, a spokesman for the governor

#2: Thirty-five Taliban militants have been killed and 30 others wounded during operation across Afghanistan within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Wednesday afternoon. "Afghan police supported by the army and NATO-led coalition forces launched several cleanup operations in Kunduz, Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours. As a result 22 armed Taliban were killed, 23 wounded and seven other armed Taliban were arrested," the ministry said in a statement providing daily operational updates. Earlier on Wednesday, 13 Taliban militants were killed and seven wounded when the police forces conducted an operation in Kamdish district in the country's eastern province of Nuristan, the ministry added. It also said that a policeman was killed and another policeman was wounded in the operations which began at around 2:00 a.m. local time Wednesday in the province 180 km east of Kabul.

#3: Six insurgents have been killed and five others detained in military operations in eastern Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, said the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces Wednesday morning. "Afghan National Security and Coalition Forces killed six insurgents, detained five suspected insurgents, discovered one weapons cache and found and safely cleared five improvised explosive devices (IEDs) during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours," the ISAF's Regional Command-East said in a press release. The operations were conducted in Ghazni, Nangarhar, Nuristan, Paktia, Paktika and Parwan provinces, the release added.

War News for Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The Georgian MoD is reporting the deaths of three ISAF soldiers from an insurgent attack in an undisclosed location in Afghanistan. News reports that a suicide truck bomb killed three soldiers and wounded others at a fob in Helmand province on Tuesday, May 14th. Here’s the ISAF release.

Reported security incidents
#1: A bomb hidden in a parked motorcycle ripped through a crowded Afghan market in on Tuesday, killing at least three people, officials said. The motorcycle bomb hit a market in Safar, a village 70 kilometres (40 miles) from the district centre of Garamser in volatile Helmand province, said Omer Zawak, the spokesman for the provincial governor. Three people were killed and seven were wounded in the blast, said Zawak.

#2: The attack late Monday on the Americans was the second that targeted international troops in Afghanistan that day. According to NATO spokesman Maj. Bryan Woods, a suicide bomber rammed his vehicle into a U.S. Special Operation Forces convoy as it was returning to base after clearing land mines north of the Afghan capital, Kabul. Woods said there were no casualties in that attack in Kapisa province. He said as the bomber targeted the U.S. convoy, insurgents started firing at it. Qais Qadri, spokesman for the Kapisa governor, said one civilian was killed in the attack, but Woods could not confirm the civilian death, saying only that the special forces returned safely to their base "after engaging the enemy."

#3: Eleven Taliban militants have been killed, five wounded and eight others arrested in military operations in different Afghan provinces within the last 24 hours, the country's Interior Ministry said Tuesday morning. "Afghan National Police (ANP) supported by the army, intelligence agency and the NATO-led coalition forces conducted cleanup operations in Nangarhar, Parwan, Kunduz, Kandahar, Logar, Herat and Helmand provinces, killing 11 armed Taliban militants, wounding five and capturing eight other suspects over the past 24 hours," the ministry said in a statement.


GEO/MoD: Junior Sergeant Zviad Davitadze

GEO/MoD: Corporal Alexandre Kvitsinadze

GEO/MoD: Corporal Vladimer Shanava

War News for Monday, May 13, 2013

Afghans Say an American Tortured Civilians


Reported security incidents
#1: Afghan officials say a roadside bomb has hit a bus and killed 10 civilians, mostly women and children, in the south of the country. Kandahar province's police chief Gen. Abdul Raziq said the Monday blast wounded another 12 people in Maroof district, roughly 60 kilometers (36 miles) northeast of Kandahar city.

#2: Balochistan Inspector General of Police Mushtaq Sukhera narrowly escaped a suicide attack on Sunday that killed at least six people and wounded 46 others, officials said. IGP Sukhera had just entered his residence in Quetta when a suicide bomber in a vehicle laden with explosives blew themselves up outside. "At least two policemen, three paramilitary soldiers and one passerby were killed outside the inspector general's residence and 46 others were wounded," Home Secretary Akbar Durrani told AFP.

#3: According to reports at least two Afghan civilians were killed during a night time military operation by NATO-led coalition security forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan. Local officials in Kandahar province confirming the report said coalition security forces have also detained at least four Afghan civilians during the operation which was conducted in Arghandab district.