Thursday, December 15, 2011

8 militants killed in Afghan military operations

Thursday, December 15, 2011 –
Officials in the ministry of interior affairs of Afghanistan following a press release on Thursday said, at least eight militants were killed and three others following military operations across the country during the past 24 hours.

The source further added, the militants were killed in four separate joint military operations in Herat, Badakhshan, Khost and Helmand provinces.

According to officials in ministry of interior affairs, at least13 other insurgents were also detained during the operations.

In the meantime, officials in the ministry of defense of Afghanistan announced, Afghan army soldiers recovered a weapons and ammunitions cache in capital Kabul.

The officials further added, the weapons and ammunitions cache was recovered in Bagh-e-Daud in Company area of capital Kabul.
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Roadside bomb kills eight civilians in Farah province

Thursday, December 15, 2011 –
According to local authorities in western Afghanistan, at least eight Afghan civilians were killed following a roadside bomb explosion in western Farah province.

Farah provincial security chief Ghulam Ghous confirming the incident said, the incident took place on late Wednesday night after a civilian vehicle struck with a roadside bomb in Parchaman district of western Farah province, killing at least eight Afghan civilians and injuring three others.

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

Ghulam Ghous provincial security chief blamed Taliban militants for the incident saying that dozens of Afghan civilians have been killed as a result of roadside bombs in this province.
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Abducted police officers freed in Badakhshan province

Afghan Highway Police officers participate in ...Image via Wikipedia
Thursday, December 15, 2011 – Security officials in north-eastern Badakhshan province on Thursday announced the release of at least 10 abducted Afghan police officers.

Taliban militants following an ambush around a week ago kidnapped at least 10 Afghan police officers in Badakhshan province.

At least 3 Afghan police members were killed and 3 others were injured following the clashes.

Badakhshan provincial police chief Gen. Abdul Saboor Nasrati said, Afghan security forces launched an operation to rescue the abducted police officers after Taliban militants ignored several requests to free the officers.

Gen. Saboor further added, the abducted police officers were freed on Thursday morning following a joint military operation by Afghan national army, Afghan national police and Afghan National Directorate for Security forces in Wardaj district of Badakhshan province.

He also said, the abducted police officers were freed with suffering any casualties.
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8 family members killed and injured in Baghlan province

Thursday, December 15, 2011 – At least eight members of a family were killed and injured an armed men ambush in northern Baghlan province.

The incident took place while an Afghan family was returning to Pul-e-Khumri city from Nahrin district on Wednesday evening. At least three family members were killed and five others including women and children were injured during the incident.

Head of the Nahrin security commandment Gen. Barat Khan confirming the incident said, the armed men managed to flee the area and are being approached by Afghan security forces.
Gen. Barat Khan further added, the family members were attacked by a close relative, the nephew of the deceased family head and Afghan security forces have managed to arrest at least two of the suspects involved behind the incident.

Officials in Nahrin district hospital said, at least one of the wounded family member is in a critical condition and has been transferred to Pul-e-Khumri hospital for further treatments.
The officials also said, the father of the family along his two sons was killed while the mother along with her children was injured.

The wave of armed violence has dramatically increased across the Nahrin district in northern Baghlan province during the past months.

According to reports, at least 20 people have been killed and more than 30 others have been injured in armed clashes in this district for the past few months.

 Meanwhile Nahrin district police chief expressed concerns for growing armed violence in this district and urged the governmental officials for the formation of Afghan local police forces.

Report by Ajmal Omeri, Baghlan province.
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Let's talk about brave troops in Afghanistan & Iraq instead of Lindsay Lohan

an article from "The Unknown Soldiers" blog, and "Travis Manion Foundation"

This story, written by Sgt. John Ortiz, is readily available to the public. Any news organization could have picked it up and relayed this important story from the front lines to the American public. Instead, some reporters and producers opted to talk about Lindsay Lohan's missing purse and nude magazine shoot.

 

 

 

Ignorance Is Bliss

Image courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

While reading "news" on the CNN website Monday at lunchtime, a link to this People Magazine story appeared in the website's "top story" section. It is about Lindsay Lohan's purse being snatched during a vacation to Hawaii.

As if this hard-hitting journalism isn't enough, CNN's main competitors, Fox News and MSNBC, are also busy keeping us informed on Lohan's upcoming pictorial in Playboy. Yet when I searched for information on a Dec. 3 terrorist attack on U.S. troops in Afghanistan, I came up with zero results on all three websites.

On that terrible Saturday afternoon in Wardak province, three Fort Bliss-based American soldiers were killed when enemy forces attacked their unit with an improvised explosive device, according to the Pentagon.

Sgt. 1st Class Clark Corley Jr., 35, Oxnard, California
Spc. Ryan Lumley, 21, Lakeland, Florida
Spc. Thomas Mayberry, 21, Springville, California

From Fort Bliss, Texas, to the cities and towns where these soldiers grew up and lived, all the way to eastern Afghanistan, where they died, Sgt. 1st Class Corley, Spc. Lumley, and Spc. Mayberry are being remembered.

Images courtesy: Maj. Terence Kelley

This story, written by Sgt. John Ortiz, is readily available to the public. Any news organization could have picked it up and relayed this important story from the front lines to the American public. Instead, some reporters and producers opted to talk about a troubled celebrity's missing purse and nude magazine shoot.

Still, the national media's ignorance does not trivialize the moving tributes to these brave soldiers, from Fort Bliss all the way to Afghanistan. As Sgt. Ortiz explains, "Action" Company, which all three soldiers were a part of, had already run 40 dangerous missions to escort elite explosive ordnance disposal technicians to disable bombs buried beneath the battlefield.

With another successful mission almost concluded, the soldiers were on their way back to a remote combat outpost when a roadside bomb detonated beneath their vehicle. At a subsequent Afghanistan memorial service, their company commander spoke directly to his soldiers' grieving loved ones.

"Mrs. Corley, Mrs. Mayberry, and Mrs. Lumley my thoughts and prayers are with you during these difficult times," Capt. Adrian Koss said. "I know that no words of mine can replace your loss or ease your grief, but I hope that you can take some solace knowing that Clark, Thomas, and Ryan died as heroes, next to their brothers, and for a country they loved."

Clark Corley loved his family and talked constantly about his son. Thomas Mayberry was a hard-working weapons expert who distinguished himself on the battlefield. Ryan Lumley was planning a big barbeque for all his fellow soldiers and their families when they got home.

"Clark, Thomas, Ryan it was an honor to serve beside you," Capt. Koss said. "I know you’ll be watching over the men of second platoon and Action Company and I know they will continue to honor you through their service to our country and to each other."

Lindsay Lohan is not a hero. She is a celebrity troublemaker who was turned into a moneymaker by Manhattan and Hollywood media executives. Because of the continuing misconduct by a corrupt, ratings-driven press, the American public knows more about Lohan than three remarkable young men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.

Today, let's think about the pain being experienced by soldiers from Texas' Fort Bliss to Afghanistan's Wardak province. Let's think about the Corley, Lumley, and Mayberry families, who mourn their loved ones during this holiday season. And the next time CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC start talking about Lindsay Lohan, let's all turn the channel.
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Ex-Taliban deny reports of Qatar-office

— An ex-Taliban envoy said on Thursday that he had no knowledge of plans by the Afghan insurgents to set up a political office in Qatar, even though media reports billed him as a potential chief of a possible Taliban mission in the tiny Gulf state.By opening an office, the Taliban would indicate a willingness to talk peace after 10 years of war in Afghanistan and signal their intention to try and find a political solution to an insurgency that has cost the lives of thousands.

An ex-Taliban envoy said on Thursday that he had no knowledge of plans by the Afghan insurgents to set up a political office in Qatar, even though media reports billed him as a potential chief of a possible Taliban mission in the tiny Gulf state.





by Amir Shah, Associated Press
source: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2011/dec/14/ex-taliban-deny-reports-of-qatar-office/

By opening an office, the Taliban would indicate a willingness to talk peace after 10 years of war in Afghanistan and signal their intention to try and find a political solution to an insurgency that has cost the lives of thousands.

Abdul Salam Zaeef, the Taliban's former ambassador to Pakistan, said he was unaware of such an office being planned. A top member of the Afghanistan peace council, ex-Taliban official Arsala Rahmani, said he was also unaware that such an office was about to open.

Their remarks follow reports in an Indian newspaper, The Hindu, quoting unnamed Indian diplomatic sources, that said work was being finalized on a Taliban office in Qatar that Zaeef may run.
Zaeef told The Associated Press that he had not heard that plans were being finalized for the office in Qatar or that he was being considered to staff it. "I'm not aware of that," Zaeef said.

Afghanistan recalled its ambassador to Qatar on Wednesday, the same day the newspaper published the story, but it is unclear if it is related to the report.

The ministry did not give a reason for recalling Khalid Ahmad Zakaria from the Qatari capital of Doha, but said Kabul values ties with Qatar and that diplomatic communications would continue.
The ministry could not be immediately reached for comment Thursday about whether recalling the ambassador was linked to The Hindu report.

An Afghan official, who could not be named because of the sensitivity of the issue, said the ambassador was recalled because Qatar had not kept the Afghan government engaged nor had it consulted with them. The official said the Afghan government had been kept appraised through its American and German partners.

The Afghan government would support the establishment of an address for the Taliban only as a facilitative step in the peace process, not as any kind of a concession to them, the official said.
Meanwhile, Rahmani said the peace council, a group of about 70 influential Afghans and former Taliban appointed by President Hamid Karzai to try and reconcile with the insurgents, was busy trying to find a new leader.

"These days we are involved in appointing a new head of the peace council," said Rahmani, who once served as deputy minister of higher education in the Taliban regime.

The former head of the peace council, Burhanuddin Rabbani, was assassinated on Sept. 20. Rabbani, a former president of Afghanistan, was killed by a suicide bomber posing as a peace emissary from the Taliban.
After his death, Karzai said informal peace efforts would not resume until the Taliban established an official address.
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Dec. 15., 2011. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – A combined Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Panjwa’i district, Kandahar province, today.

The leader directs a cell of fighters and moves heavy weaponry, including machine guns, throughout central Kandahar.

During the operation, an armed individual opened fire on the security force with a semi-automatic rifle. Responding to the direct threat, the force returned fire, killing one insurgent.

The security force detained two suspected insurgents.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

East

A combined Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in search of a Haqqani leader in Bak district, Khost province, today. The leader directs roadside bomb attacks against Afghan forces. The security force seized multiple AK-47 assault rifles and a pistol. Additionally, three suspected insurgents were detained during the operation.

In Bati Kot district, Nangarhar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation today. The leader conducted roadside bomb attacks on convoys and fuel trucks. Multiple additional suspected insurgents were detained during the operation.

R.I.P. - Major Sam Griffith

US Marines Major Sam Griffith was killed in action in Afghanistan by enemy fire while on a routine patrol. 36-year-old Major Griffith served with the 4th Anglico, an air naval gunfire company based in West Palm Beach. The Marine Reservist was on his third deployment to Afghanistan.

Military officials confirmed his death on Wednesday but did not say how he died. Lt. Col. Aaron Marx, inspector instructor at 4th Anglico, taking to CBS12 News, said this about Major Griffith: "He was extremely proficient at his job, one of the best I've ever known," Marx said, adding that he was a "deeply committed family man."

Major Griffith leaves behind his wife Casey and two young sons. He lived in Virginia Beach with his family.

See CBS12 News report below, or click here for the full story.





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DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Maj. Samuel M. Griffith, 36, of Virginia Beach, Va., died Dec. 14 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to 4th Air-Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, Marine Forces Reserve, West Palm Beach, Fla.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the Marine Forces Reserve public affairs office at 504-697-8192.

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