Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Suspected US drone Missiles Kill 16 in Pakistan - 2xUPDATED

Suspected US drone Missiles Kill 16 18 in Pakistan - 2xUPDATED
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan -- Suspected U.S. drones fired four missiles at two compounds in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border, killing 16 alleged militants, Pakistani intelligence officials said Wednesday.
The strikes occurred just before midnight Tuesday in Bobar village in the South Waziristan tribal area, a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the media.
The two compounds were hit about 20 minutes apart, said the officials. It is unclear how many suspected militants were killed in each compound.

The area where the drone strikes occurred is very remote and has not yet been cleared by the military, said the intelligence officials. There has been at least one strike in this area before.

read more: http://www.military.com/news/article/pakistani-officials-suspected-us-missiles-kill-16.html
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from other source: UPDATE1
Two U.S. drone airstrikes killed at least 16 alleged militants in north-western Pakistan, security officials said Wednesday.
Both strikes took place in South Waziristan, one of the seven tribal districts along the Afghan border where Taliban and al-QaIda fighters are based.
One drone fired two missiles at a center of the Pakistani Taliban, according to an intelligence official who requested anonymity.
"Eighteen minutes later another drone fired two more missiles in the same area at another Taliban center," he said.
"In both attacks 16 militants have been killed," he said.
The remoteness of the area accounted for the delay in reporting the news, the official said. The number and identities of casualties could not be confirmed independently as the area remains largely inaccessible for journalists and aid workers.
On Tuesday, five people were killed in another drone strike in the nearby district of North Waziristan.

Read more: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2011/11/16/130439/us-drone-attacks-kill-16-alleged.html#ixzz1dtC7xuT2
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Bill Roggio's cover: UPDATE2

US Predators kill 18 Taliban fighters in South Waziristan


US Predators struck again in Pakistan's lawless tribal agencies, killing 18 Taliban fighters today in an airstrike carried out by multiple drones in Pakistan's Taliban-controlled tribal agency of South Waziristan.
A swarm of five unmanned CIA-operated Predators, or the more deadly Reapers, fired a barrage of up to 10 missiles "into the sprawling compound in the Baber Ghar area" in South Waziristan, according to AFP. The strike took place less than two miles from the border with Afghanistan's Paktia province.
The identities of those killed have not been disclosed. Among those reportedly killed along with some members of the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan are several "foreign fighters," a term used to describe al Qaeda operatives. Although no senior Taliban or al Qaeda leaders have been reported killed, the mode of the strike - multiple drones firing a large amount of missiles - indicates the target was considered to be important.
The strike took place in an area of South Waziristan under the control of Mullah Nazir, a Taliban commander who also has expressed his affinity with al Qaeda.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2011/11/us_predators_kill_18.php#ixzz1dujjln9z

Valor awards go to MEDEVAC crew

Combined Joint Task Force 1 - Afghanistan
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan — A French platoon-sized element was guarding a small compound, Sept. 7, when an insurgent threw a grenade over the wall. 

“Yesterday was hell,” said Maj. Cyrille, a French medical officer in a Sept. 8 letter.

The explosion killed one, and injured one other. As insurgents continued to attack, another French soldier was shot through the throat.

Since they were almost a mile from the main supply route and the only way to get there was a treacherous journey by foot over rocky terrain, they called in an American helicopter to carry the injured soldiers out.

For their actions that day, four U.S. soldiers received Army Commendation Medals for valor, Nov. 11, for saving the lives of the two critically-wounded French troops in the Tagab Valley, Kapisa province.

The medical evacuation crew arrived overhead within minutes, only to find a battle still raging below. There was little hope the French soldiers would survive without their help.

U.S. Army Maj. Graham Bundy and Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher DeOliveira, both with C Company, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, made the decision to land.

“The only thing running through your mind at that point is that there are people down there who need our help,” said Bundy, of Holly Springs, N.C. “You have to get to them; you can’t fail.”

Sgt. Robert Wengeler, of Cheney, Wash., provided security while Staff Sgt. Erin Gibson, a flight medic, climbed out of the helicopter and ran to the patients. 

“I didn’t even think about the danger at the time,” said Gibson, of Covington, Ohio. “I just knew there were two hurt guys out there that needed my help and I had to get them on my helicopter.”

Gibson triaged the patients, had them loaded, and had the pilots lifting the wheels of the helicopter off the ground in less than four minutes.

“We witnessed the incredible courage of the U.S. Army as you made an air evacuation under fire only 200 meters from our position,” said Cyrille. “Because of your actions, our Soldiers are still alive.”

“When I heard what the crew did that night, I was in awe of their bravery and commitment to never leave a fallen comrade, whether it be American or not,” said Col. T.J. Jamison, commander, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. “These soldiers truly exemplify the warrior ethos.”

Gibson has a much more modest view of what happened.

“Really, I’m just doing my job like any soldier” said Gibson.
Col. T.J. Jamison (left), commander, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, awards Maj. Graham Bundy, commander, C Company, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, the Army Commendation Medal with "V" device.  Bundy and three other crewmembers were awarded the medals, Nov. 11, for rescuing two critically-injured French soldiers while under fire in the Tagab valley Sept. 7.

From left to right, Maj. Graham Bundy, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Christopher DeOliveira, Staff Sgt. Erin Gibson, and Sgt. Robert Wengeler, all with C Company, 3rd Battalion, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade. All four Army Commendation Medals for valor Nov. 11 for saving two critically-injured French soldiers while under fire in the Tagab valley on Sept. 7.  
photos by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon

Four men in Birmingham were arrested

Nov.15., by DailyMail
Four men have been arrested on suspicion of travelling to Pakistan to undertake terrorist training and of raising funds for terrorist purposes.
They were arrested under the Terrorism Act today as part of a major ongoing investigation, police said.
Officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit detained the men at their homes in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham in the early hours of the morning.
A police spokesman said the suspects, aged between 19 and 24, had been arrested as part of Operation Pitsford, a large-scale inquiry which has already seen eight other people charged with a variety of offences.

'Today's arrests were pre-planned and not made in response to any immediate threat to public safety,' the spokesman said.
Officers were unarmed during the raids, he added, and detectives have an initial 48 hours to question the suspects before charging, releasing or applying for a warrant of further detention.

Al Qaeda captured the town of Al Khoud/Yemen

Yemen: Militants capture another city in south 

Sanaa, 15 Nov. (AKI) - Al-Qaeda militants in southern Yemen have captured the town of Al-Khoud in the southern Abyan province, according to news reports.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), the local branch of the terrorist group, resisted bombing since Monday afternoon by the Yemeni airforce, Xinhua news agency reported, citing unnamed sources.



Al-Khoud is the latest town to fall into militant hands following the capture of numerous other cities and town in Yemen's south.

About 12,000 insurgents fight for AQAP in in Yemen. The force has benefited from the government's entanglements with a popular uprising and an armed separatist movement.

Syrian soldiers killed...

By Associated Press, Published: November 15

Syrian soldiers killed as crisis spins out of Assad’s control

BEIRUT — Army defectors ambushed dozens of Syrian troops and regime forces gunned down civilians during one of the bloodiest days of the 8-month-old uprising, which appeared Tuesday to be spiraling out of President Bashar Assad’s control.
Up to 90 people were killed in a gruesome wave of violence Monday, activists said. The extent of the bloodshed only came to light Tuesday, in part because corpses lying in the streets did not reach the morgue until daylight.

Read more:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle-east/activists-say-intense-clashes-between-syrian-troops-and-defectors-kill-50-in-1-day/2011/11/15/gIQA4ZVgNN_story.html

 

 

American service member dies in Iraq

November 15, 2011|Associated Press

The U.S. military says an American service member has been killed while conducting military operations in central Iraq.
The military statement released Tuesday said the death occurred Monday. It gave no further details of the incident.
Violence has dropped dramatically across Iraq, but deadly bombings and shootings still happen nearly every day. Some officials have warned of an increase in attacks as the U.S. withdraws all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.
The statement said the incident is under investigation. The name of the deceased is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.

Nov. 16., 2011. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

2011-11-S-024
ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
 For Immediate Release

KABUL, Afghanistan (Nov. 16, 2011) — A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Haqqani network facilitator during an operation in Pul-e ‘Alam district, Logar province, Tuesday.
The facilitator participated in attacks, provided materials for building roadside bombs, and supplied weapons and ammunition to insurgent fighters in the Pul-e ‘Alam district.
The security force seized multiple weapons and military uniforms and detained several additional suspected insurgents during the operation.
In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:
South
A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained two additional suspected insurgents during a security operation in Kandahar district, Kandahar province, yesterday. The facilitator conducted attacks against coalition forces.
East
In Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban facilitator, yesterday. The facilitator supplies Taliban fighters with roadside bomb components and explosives.
A combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a weapons cache during an operation in Dowlat Shah district, Laghman province, yesterday.  The cache consisted of seven mortar rounds, one recoilless rifle, one AK-47 rifle, several grenades, improvised explosive device-making materials, and 180 rounds of small arms ammunition. All of the weapons were destroyed on site and no casualties or damages were reported as a result of the operation.
In Bagram district, Parwan province, a coalition security force received a tip from local residents resulting in the discovery of a weapons cache, yesterday.  The cache consisted of 58 mortars and artillery rounds.  All of the weapons were confiscated and destroyed by a coalition explosive ordnance disposal team. No civilians were harmed or property damaged as a result of the operation.
A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained two suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Jaghatu district, Wardak province, yesterday. The leader coordinates attacks against coalition forces in Jaghatu district.
In Behsud district, Nangarhar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of an al Qaida facilitator, yesterday. The facilitator transports insurgent fighters and supplies from Nangarhar to Kunar province. One machine gun and hundreds of ammunition rounds were confiscated during the operation.
A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained one suspected insurgent during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Rashidan district, Ghazni province, yesterday. The leader coordinates attacks against coalition forces.
In Nadir Shah Kot district, Khost province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force detained multiple suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Haqqani network facilitator, yesterday. The facilitator distributes weapons and roadside bomb materials throughout the region.

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