Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Several killed in Islamist attacks on Yemen army checkpoint

Yemen division 20120311(wikipedia)
from xinhua:

10 al-Qaida militants killed in fresh fighting in S Yemen

ADEN, Yemen, April 10 (Xinhua) -- Fresh fighting between the armed forces and al-Qaida militants erupted in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday afternoon, leaving at least 10 terrorists killed, a military official told Xinhua.
The fresh fighting resumed in the outskirts of Lauder town, about 150 km northeast of Zinjibar, the provincial capital of Abyan, after one day of deadly clashes between government troops and al-Qaida militants, the local military official said on condition of anonymity.
The government troops bombed several sites held by al-Qaida militants in the suburbs of Lauder town, destroying many arms caches and tanks the terrorists captured during Monday's fighting, the official said.
The heavy bombardment appears to be entirely random with some civilian areas being attacked, witnesses told Xinhua anonymously.

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from Reuters/Euronews:
SANAA (Reuters) – At least eight Yemeni soldiers and five militants were killed when Islamist gunmen attacked an army checkpoint in the central Maarib province on Tuesday, a local official said.
In the southern city of Lawdar, where 57 people were killed on Monday in clashes between government forces and fighters from al Qaeda-linked group Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), fighting was intensifying, residents said.

Two tribesmen fighting alongside government forces and six militants were killed, residents and security officials said.

President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who took over in February after a year of mass protests against his predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, is under pressure from Washington to fight his country’s al Qaeda branch.

On Tuesday, gunmen in vehicles fired on the army checkpoint in Abar, some 300 km (186 miles) east of the capital Sanaa, killing eight soldiers and wounding four before fleeing, a local official said. Five of the militants were also killed.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, blamed al Qaeda-linked militants for the attack, but it was not clear if they were part of Ansar al-Sharia.

The group claimed on Monday it had captured a large cache of arms and ammunition, including four tanks and anti-aircraft guns during fighting with Yemeni troops in Lawdar.
Residents said fighting intensified on Tuesday with warplanes bombing two sites held by the Islamist fighters 10 km (6.2 miles) west of Lawdar, destroying at least one of the tanks the group had seized a day earlier.

According to a Defence Ministry website, some of the militants killed on Monday were foreigners, including some from Saudi Arabia.

Vehicles laden with fighters and arms left the southern city of Jaar, which militants took a year ago, for Lawdar, witnesses said, while a local official in Lawdar said more tribesmen from neighbouring towns have joined the fight against the Islamists.

The Islamist group seized control of a significant amount of territory in the southern province of Abyan during the turmoil that led to the replacement of Saleh by his deputy. That included a rift in the army that threatened to spark civil war.

Saudi Arabia and the United States backed the power transfer in hopes it would help prevent a slide into chaos that could provide al Qaeda a foothold near key oil shipping routes.

Conflict with Islamists in the south is only one of several challenges facing Hadi, who took office vowing to fight al Qaeda only to have more than 100 soldiers killed in attacks during his first few days in power.

Yemen’s main airport in Sanaa was paralysed for a day after officers and tribesmen loyal to Saleh forced it to close in protest at the sacking of the air force commander, a half-brother of Saleh. A government official said they backed down only after pressure from the United States and Gulf countries, which had crafted the deal that made Hadi president.

Washington, which has pursued a campaign of assassination by drones and missiles against alleged al Qaeda targets in Yemen, is also pressing Hadi to unify the military, which split between Saleh’s foes and allies last year.

(Reporting by Mohammed Ghobari; Additional reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Joseph Logan and Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by Karolina Tagaris)

 

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Five mine planters killed and arrested in Helmand and Herat provinces

from moi.gov.af  

Five mine planters killed and arrested in Helmand and Herat provinces

Two mine planters killed by their own explosives while they attempted to place IED in a vehicle in the Janob Bazaar region, Sangin District of Helmand province, last night.

In the meantime, Afghan National Border Police arrested three mine planters while they attempted to plant IED in the Torghondi Bandar region, Herat province, yesterday.

Afghan National Police are working diligently with local leaders and the public to prevent these types of acts from killing and wounding innocent civilians and security forces.
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Suicide car bomb kills 12, injures 30 in Afghanistan (photos)

from Xinhua

Afghan policemen stand guard at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Herat province, west of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on April 10, 2012. At least 12 people, including two suicide bombers, were killed and 30 others injured Tuesday morning when a suicide car bomb went off in Guzara district of Herat province, provincial police chief said. (Xinhua/Sardar) 

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 Afghan policemen stand guard at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Herat province, west of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on April 10, 2012. At least 12 people, including two suicide bombers, were killed and 30 others injured Tuesday morning when a suicide car bomb went off in Guzara district of Herat province, provincial police chief said. (Xinhua/Sardar)

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 Afghan policemen stand guard at the site of a suicide bomb attack in Herat province, west of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on April 10, 2012. At least 12 people, including two suicide bombers, were killed and 30 others injured Tuesday morning when a suicide car bomb went off in Guzara district of Herat province, provincial police chief said. (Xinhua/Sardar) 

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 An injured person is moved away from the site of a suicide bomb attack in Herat province, west of Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, on April 10, 2012. At least 12 people, including two suicide bombers, were killed and 30 others injured Tuesday morning when a suicide car bomb went off in Guzara district of Herat province, provincial police chief said. (Xinhua/Sardar)
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R.I.P. - Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley

Corporal Stanley
Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley
[Pictures: via MOD]

Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley dies of wounds sustained in Afghanistan

A Military Operations news article
9 Apr 12

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must announce that Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley, of the Queen's Royal Hussars (The Queen's Own and Royal Irish), died in hospital in Birmingham on 8 April 2012 from wounds sustained in Afghanistan.

Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley was a Section Commander who deployed to Afghanistan with C (Coriano) Company, Combined Force Lashkar Gah (The Queen's Royal Hussars Battle Group) in October 2011. He operated out of Patrol Base Attal situated on Route 601, the main transit route between Lashkar Gah and Gereshk, east of Lashkar Gah city.
On 3 February 2012, his multiple was in the area of Pupalzay Kalay, east of Lashkar Gah city on a patrol tasked to improve the understanding of the area and the local population. Whilst moving from a compound and crossing into a field Corporal Stanley was caught in the blast from an improvised explosive device and was seriously injured.
He was immediately evacuated by helicopter to the Camp Bastion Role 3 Medical Facility where he received further treatment before being transferred to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham. Tragically, on 8 April 2012, after bravely battling his injuries for two months, Corporal Stanley succumbed to his wounds.

Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley

Corporal Stanley was born on 25 February 1986. He joined the Army in January 2003 and on completion of basic training joined The Queen's Royal Hussars in December 2003. He deployed to Iraq on Operation TELIC 8 in 2006; even then he was already making a name for himself as a gifted young soldier. On his return from Iraq he was put into Reconnaissance Troop, where he excelled. Such was his talent for soldiering, he remained in Reconnaissance Troop, including a return to Iraq on Operation TELIC 13 as a member of the Brigade Reconnaissance Force.

Corporal Stanley's talents were not confined to soldiering. He was also an outstanding footballer and a key member of the Regimental team which won the British Army (Germany) Cup in 2010 and the Cavalry Cup in 2011.

Corporal Stanley was an enormously popular soldier and a lynchpin of his Company's tight-knit community with his ready laugh and positive attitude. To those he worked for he was a steadfast and talented commander; to his peers a stalwart comrade in arms; to his subordinates a trusted leader and role model and to his many friends a joy to be around. He was, in short, an exemplary soldier and by those who had the honour to call him a friend and serve with him, he shall be sorely missed and never forgotten.

He leaves behind his mother, Brenda, his father, Tom, his sister, Rachel, and his girlfriend, Sarah. The thoughts and prayers of all those in The Queen's Royal Hussars and Combined Force Lashkar Gah are very much with them at this most difficult time.


read more: Corporal Jack Leslie Stanley dies of wounds sustained in Afghanistan
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Seven armed insurgents killed, one wounded and nine others arrested by Afghan National Police

  Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched 12 joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Faryab, Badakhshan, Helmand, Uruzgan, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Khost and Farah provinces.

As a result of these operations, seven armed insurgents were killed, one wounded and nine others were arrested by Afghan National Police.
Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated amount of light and heavy weapons.
During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused 24 anti-vehicle and anti-personnel mines as a result of security operations in Nangarhar, Kandahar, Helmand, and Logar provinces.

Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained three individuals accused of theft, and drinking alcoholic beverages in the 5th and 16th Districts of Kabul-City.
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Deaths in Afghanistan suicide bombings

Map of Afghanistan with Herat highlighted
Map of Afghanistan with Herat highlighted (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Separate explosions near government offices in Herat and Helmand provinces kill police and civilians in Afghanistan.

Two separate attacks in Afghanistan's west and south have left at least 22 people killed and another 34 wounded, according to local police.

A Toyota 4x4 vehicle with two people inside, detonated a cache of explosives on the road from Herat International Airport to the Guzara district of western Herat province according to the Afghan interior ministry.

Al Jazeera's Bernard Smith, reporting from Kabul, said the vehicle drove through a checkpoint on a bridge two kilometres ahead of its target and ignored two orders to stop before the explosives were detonated.

"The explosion was so strong  there are causalities among police and civilians", said Nasar Ahmad Popul, the chief of the province's Guzara district, who was inside the building at the time of the attack.

Mohiddin Noori, spokesman for the provincial governor, said six civilians and three policeman were among the nine reported deaths.

"The number of casualties may rise," Noori said of the attack, which came ahead of the traditional summer fighting
months.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility for the blast, saying a police gunshot led to the detenonation that claimed so many civilian lives.

The building, home to the offices of the district police chief and district administrative chief, also suffered damages said Popul.

The attack took place as people were gathered outside the building waiting to see government officials about various matters inside.

A reporter for the AFP news agency on the scene said he saw shattered bodies lying among rubble and mangled pieces of metal after the bombing.

The responsibility for nearly all of Herat province has been transferred, or is in the process of being transferred, from NATO troops to Afghan forces.

Helmand attack

Elswhere in the country, local security sources tell Al Jazeera that eight police officers have been killed after three suicide bombers entered police headquarters in the southern province of Helmand.

Two of the bombers in Tuesday's attack were able to blow themselves up inside the old police headquarters in Musa Qala. A third bomber was shot before his vest could be detonated.

Another 12 people were injured in the attack in the building that now serves as accomodations for police officers and the chief of police's family.

The Taliban have also claimed responsibility for the attack in the volatile southern province.


from AlJazeera
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R.I.P. - Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Smith

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Smith, 24, of Licking, Mo., died April 3, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of wounds sustained when he was attacked with an enemy improvised explosive device.

            Smith was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            For more information related to this release, the media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661.


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 FORT BRAGG, N.C. — An 82nd Airborne Division Paratrooper was fatally wounded April 3 in Maiwand district, Kandahar province, Afghanistan in an explosion from an improvised explosive device.

Sgt. Tyler J. Smith, a Licking, Mo. native, was a Scout Squad Leader with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.

Sgt. Smith joined the Army May 26, 2006 as an Infantryman. He attended One-Station Unit Training and Airborne School at Fort Benning, Ga. He joined the 2-508th PIR October 16, 2009. He is a graduate of the Recon and Surveillance Leaders Course, Warrior Leaders Course and the Combat Lifesavers Course. He had deployed in June 2007 to Iraq for 15 months. He also deployed to Afghanistan with the 2nd Battalion in 2009. This was his second tour of Afghanistan.

“I first met Sgt. Smith when he was a young sniper in the Arghandab River Valley” said Sgt. 1st Class Jeremiah Mason, HHC 1st Sgt., “cool as a cucumber he exuded a restrained confidence that put the men around him at ease. The men knew well that Sgt. Smith was more than capable of ensuring their well-being while he stood watch in dangerous lands. This is a rare quality; he will be terribly missed and never forgotten.”

“Sgt. Smith and his wife were the picture-perfect All American Team,” said Col. Brian Mennes, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Commander.” He was a great Trooper and Leader who volunteered to serve his nation and his patriotic wife selflessly and patriotically volunteered to serve as a key leader on our Family Readiness Group. I am humbled to have had the opportunity to serve with him.”

His peers regarded him as a devoted family man, comedian and recalled that he was without question the hardest working, and trustworthy soul they ever meet.

His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the National Defense Service Medal, the Iraq Campaign Medal with one campaign star, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Global War on Terror Service Medal, the Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, the Army Service Ribbon, the Overseas Service Ribbon with numeral 2, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Expert Infantryman’s Badge and the Parachutist Badge.

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Apr.10., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation in Pashtun Kot district to detain Izatullah, the head of the Taliban commission in Faryab province, yesterday.

During the operation, insurgents engaged the combined security force with small arms fire. Assessing an immediate threat, the force returned fire killing Izatullah and two other insurgents.

As a senior Taliban leader in Faryab, Izatullah was responsible for providing weapons and equipment to other Taliban members for attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. Additionally, he managed the Taliban’s financial network within the province and attempted to implement Taliban law on local civilians.

Izatullah recently replaced Numan, an insurgent leader who was killed during a combined Afghan and coalition operation in Shirin Tagab district March 27. The security force also seized multiple weapons and detained one additional insurgent as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban facilitator during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, today. The facilitator trained and equipped insurgents throughout northern Helmand and also built several improvised explosive devices used in attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. The security force detained several additional insurgents and discovered bomb-making materials as a result of this operation.

Finally, in Arghandab district, Kandahar province, an Afghan-led security force captured a Taliban facilitator during an operation, today. The facilitator provided roadside bombs and ammunition to insurgents throughout the district for attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. The security force detained one additional insurgent as a result of this operation.

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