R.I.P. - Lance Cpl. Joshua D. Corral

DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
            Lance Cpl. Joshua D. Corral, 19, of Danville, Calif., died Nov. 18 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 3rd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Twentynine Palms, Calif.
            For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Division public affairs office at 760-725-8766.

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Explosions kills 3 Afghan civilians in Farah province

Monday, November 21, 2011 –
Local security officials in western regions of Afghanistan on Monday said, at least three Afghan civilians were killed following an explosion in western Farah province.

The officials further added, the incident took place early Monday in this province.

Provincial security chief for western Farah province Gen. Mohammad Ghous Malyar confirming the incident said, the incident took place after explosives which was attached to a motorcycle went off in the area killing at least 3 Afghan civilians.

The source further added, the main target of the explosion was the convoy of the Afghan national police forces which were crossing the area.

Gen. Malyar said, Afghan national police forces did not suffer any casualty as a result of the explosion.

No group including the Taliban militants have so far claimed responsibility behind the incident.

Local officials blame the Taliban militants for carrying such attacks, using roadside bombs and improvised explosive devices to target Afghan and coalition forces which normally leads to civilians casualties.

from KHAAMA press

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Dozens killed as tribal forces seize military barracks north of Yemeni capital

SANAA, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Dozens of people were killed and many wounded as anti-government tribal forces on Monday overran a barracks of the Yemeni Republican Guard in Nahm, 70 km north of the capital Sanaa, a local government official said.

The barracks is believed to belong to the Yemeni elite Republican Guard's 63rd Mountaineer Infantry Brigade, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The head of the brigade managed to escape, while dozens soldiers were held captive, the official said.
The government forces' warplanes were carrying out intense raids on the occupied barracks, while the tribal militiamen responded with anti-air weapons they seized from the base, he added.
No precise figures were currently available concerning the casualties.

Officials from the Defense ministry have confirmed that heavy clashes were going on between the Republican Guard's 63rd Mountaineer Infantry Brigade and opposition-led tribal militias in Bait Dahra district in northern Sanaa province.

The clashes since late Sunday followed the killing of a general of the Republican Guard during fighting with one of the elite's military base in Arhab district, which the Defense Ministry blamed the attack on the opposition forces.

The Defense Ministry said that the rebels were seeking to capture the military bases in northern Sanaa in bid to seize the Sanaa International Airport and northern entrances of the capital.
On Saturday, President Ali Abdullah Saleh warned his opponents of "harsh and decisive response if they continue to attack the Republican Guard forces."

The volatile regions have been the front-line of almost daily clashes between the rival forces since late May.

Yemen has been gripped by a political crisis since protests calling for an end to Saleh's 33-year rule which began in January.

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Al Qaeda linked suspect detained in New York city

Monday, November 21, 2011 –
According to US officials, Jose Pimentel, 27, a Dominican-born convert to Islam, was on the verge of testing his homemade explosives in a mailbox when he was arrested Saturday in a Manhattan apartment.

Jose Pimentel, 27, is in custody after authorities say he intended to target U.S. military personnel who had served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Police say he also intended to strike U.S. postal facilities and police in New York and Bayonne, New Jersey.

New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly identified the suspect as a follower of Anwar al-Awlaki, a radical American-born cleric who rose to become a top figure in al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Pimentel allegedly tried to contact al-Awlaki directly, but never got a response.

New York Police Commissioner Raymond W. Kelly while speaking at a city Hall news conference said, “We had to act quickly yesterday because he was in fact putting this bomb together. It would have been not appropriate for us to let him walk out the door with that bomb.”

In the meantime, attorney for the man accused of plotting to detonate pipe bombs in and around New York says his client doesn’t match the profile of someone who would commit terrorism.

from KHAAMA press

more info and photos on Washington Post

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IED planters detained in Khost

Monday, November 21, 2011 –
According to local security officials in eastern Afghanistan, at least two militants were detained in eastern Khost province early Monday morning by security forces.

The officials further added, the two suspects were detained by Afghan security forces while they were planting improvised explosive devices in the area.

Provincial police chief for eastern Khost province Gen. Sardar Mohammad Zazai confirming the report said, the two suspects were detained by Afghan security forces in eastern Khost province while they were planting improvised explosive devices on the Khost-Bandar Ghulam Jan highways.

The source further added, the detained suspects have been handed over to Afghan national directorate for security officials in this province.

Taliban militants frequently use improvised explosive device and roadside as the weapon of their choice to target Afghan and coalition forces.

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Senior Taliban commander killed in Ghazni province

Monday, November 21, 2011 –
According to Afghan security officials in eastern Afghanistan, a senior Taliban commander was killed in eastern Ghazni province late Sunday night.

Provincial national directorate for security chief in eastern Ghazni province Syed Amirshah Sadat confirming the report said, the senior Taliban commander was killed in Shahliz village of eastern Ghazni province following a joint military operation by Afghan and coalition forces on Sunday night.

The source further added, the senior Taliban commander who was killed during the joint military operation was recognized as Mullah Abdul Wakil, who was considered to be an influential Taliban commander in eastern Ghazni province.

Syed Amirshah Sadat said, the death of Mullah Abdul Wakil, the senior Taliban commander will have a positive impact on the security situation in this province.

Taliban militants group yet to comment regarding the incident.

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Mila Kunis keeps her date with Afghanistan vet

Mila Kunis made a Marine's YouTube wish come true on Friday night, when the actress kept her promise to be his date at the Marine Corps Ball in Greenville, North Carolina.

Kunis attended the event at the Greenville Convention Center with Sergeant Scott Moore, Access Hollywood reported. The event was closed to media.
Moore invited Kunis to the soiree in a YouTube video posted in July, from a base in Afghanistan.

"Hey, Mila. It's Sergeant Moore, but you can call me Scott," he said in the video. "I just wanted to take a moment out of my day to invite you to the Marine Corps Ball on November 18 in Greenville, North Carolina, with yours truly. So take a second, think about it and get back to me."
A message left with Kunis's publicist in New York was not returned on Sunday.
Their date took place less than a week after Kunis' "Friends with Benefits" co-star, Justin Timberlake, escorted a Marine Corps combat instructor to a ball in Richmond, Virginia.
Timberlake, who publicly encouraged Kunis to accept Moore's invitation, received a similar proposal soon afterward from Corporal Kelsey De Santis. On his website, the singer-turned actor called the November 12 Marine Corps Ball he attended with De Santis "one of the most moving evenings" of his life.

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How Aussie shot ANA traitor

thanks to Mickk from ApacheClips

"Out of all the people that were here, I was the only one who wasn't shot. They all went down,'' Cpl Searle said.

About 40 Australians live on the base built to block the flow of insurgents from Kandahar province into Oruzgan where most of the Australian contingent is stationed.

Cpl Searle said the Afghan soldiers had been dismissed by their commanding officer and as the Australians turned to walk back to their compound the gunfire began.

"That's when the rounds started cracking out,'' Cpl Searle said.

I had my back turned, so the rounds were coming from behind me. I hit the ground straight away, looked to my left and saw splashes everywhere, ripping straight past me, probably missed me by a metre. So I crawled to my right about three or four metres, turned back around to the direction the rounds were coming from, identified him, cocked my weapon, shot him.''

It was later discovered that the Afghan soldier, a four-year veteran of the Afghan National Army, had 156 rounds left in his machinegun's 200-round magazine and another 80 in his pockets when Corporal Searle and a wounded Australian sergeant shot him.

''As I was crawling I knew blokes had been shot, and I could actually feel the percussion coming out the muzzle of his weapon, as this bloke was only 10 metres away,'' Corporal Searle said. ''At that stage, I thought I'd been shot too, because I knew he'd let a couple of big bursts go, and I thought there's no way I can't not have been shot. So after I shot him, I was patting myself down, because I knew everyone else had been shot, looking for where the wound would be. When there was nothing I just started treating guys.''

Captain Duffy and Corporal Birt were killed instantly, as was the interpreter, but Lance-Corporal Gavin was still alive. (later died of wounds).

Other Australian soldiers sprinted the 100 metres from their compound and joined Corporal Searle in frantically treating the wounded, rushing them on stretchers to the nearby medical hut. Corporal Searle says the combat medics ''stole the show'' in the minutes after the attack with their work on the seven wounded soldiers, who were flown first to a US military hospital in Germany, and later to Australia.

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Gunmen on Sunday torched three Nato containers in Pakistan's Quetta

QUETTA: Gunmen on Sunday torched three trucks carrying supplies for Nato troops in Afghanistan in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan, officials said.

Gunmen on a motorbike fired at the vehicles and then set them on fire after pouring petrol on them in the Dasht suburb of the provincial capital Quetta, local police official Ismail Sumalani told AFP.
There were no casualties in the attack, which happened when the trucks had stopped at a roadside tea stall, he said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack but the Taliban has in the past said they carried out similar attacks to disrupt supplies for more than 130,000 US-led international troops fighting in Afghanistan.

Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants frequently launch attacks on Nato supply vehicles in the northwest and southwest regions of Pakistan, which border landlocked Afghanistan.
Most supplies and equipment required by foreign forces in Afghanistan are shipped through Pakistan, although US troops increasingly use alternative routes through Central Asia.

more photos: http://news.xinhuanet.com/english2010/photo/2011-11/20/c_131258754.htm

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10 militants killed in NW Pakistan

Nov.20.,2011 - PESHAWAR: Security forces clashed with armed insurgents in Orakzai Agency on Sunday:
At least ten terrorists were killed and four injured during an operation in the Orakzai Agency.
According to media reports, security forces shelled the hideouts of terrorists in Mamozai, Addu Khail and Mir Khail areas of Orakzai Agency, killing ten and injuring four.
Sources said that during a search operation in the Tasa locality of Orakzai Agency, some terrorists offered resistance and opened fire on security forces, injuring a soldier. Security forces fired heavy artillery in retaliation. The exchange of fire continued for several minutes and resulted in the death of eight terrorists.
Security forces have accelerated action against terrorism in Orakzai Agency and about 100 extremists have been killed and dozens injured in recent weeks. Forces are also dismantling suspected hideouts during operations.

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Nov. 20., 2011. - ISAF Joint Command Evening Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan — A coalition security force discovered a weapons cache while conducting a patrol in Marjah district, Helmand province, today.

The cache consisted of 700 7.62 mm rounds, nine 9 mm rounds, two AK-47 assault rifles, and five magazines. The weapons were seized by the security force to be destroyed at a later date.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

In Maiwand district, Kandahar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache while conducting a patrol today. The cache consisted of 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of marijuana, which was destroyed at the scene.

East

A combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a weapons cache in Bagram district, Parwan province, after receiving information from a local national leading them to the discovery. The cache consisted of 17 80 mm mortar rounds, which were destroyed at the scene. There were no reports of casualties or damages as a result of the mission.

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Suicide bomb attack injures 2 in Logar province

Sunday, November 20, 2011 – According to local security officials in eastern Afghanistan, at least two Afghan civilians were injured following a suicide bomb attack in eastern Logar province on Sunday.

Officials in the ministry of interior affairs of Afghanistan following a statement confirmed the incident and said, the incident took place around 3:15 pm local time in eastern Logar province.

The statement further added, the suicide bomber detonated his explosives using a motorcyle near the provincial compound in eastern Logar province on Sunday.

No group including the Taliban militants have so far claimed responsibility behind today’s suicide bomb attack.

According to local security officials, an investigation has been started in this regard.

The taliban-led insurgency have been rampant since the group announced its summer offensive earlier this year and vowed to carry out insurgency attacks agains the coalition and Afghan forces including key Afghan government officials.

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Mysterious explosion: Iranian commander died during missile testing

STR/AP - Iranians carry the flag draped coffin of a member of Revolutionary Guard, who was killed in an explosion at an ammunition depot west of Tehran on Saturday together with 16 other Guard members.

TEHRAN — A mysterious explosion at an Iranian military base last week was caused when a test of an experimental intercontinental ballistic missile failed, the brother of a senior Revolutionary Guard Corps commander who was killed in the incident said Saturday.
The commander, Gen. Hassan Tehrani Moqadam, was killed Nov. 12, along with 20 other members of the elite corps, at a site 25 miles southwest of Tehran that officials have described as one of the Islamic Republic’s main missile bases. At his funeral, Moqadam was called the “founder” of Iran’s missile program.

read more:  at Washington Post

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