R.I.P. - Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston, Sgt. Dick A. Lee Jr.

DOD Identifies Army Casualties
                 The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

                They died April 26, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

                Killed were:

                Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston, 29, of Candler, N.C., who was assigned to 4th Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C.

                Sgt. Dick A. Lee Jr., 31, of Orange Park, Fla., who was assigned to 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Sembach, Germany.

                For more information related to Staff Sgt. Eggleston, the media may contact Special Forces public affairs at 910-689-6187.  For information related to Sgt. Lee the media may contact 21st Theater Sustainment Command public affairs in Kaiserslautern, Germany at 011-49-631-413-8184.

---

Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston, 29, of Eden, N.C., died April 26, in Ghazni province, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when their vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.
He was assigned to 4th Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group, Fort Bragg, N.C. He was a 2001 graduate of Morehead High School. Brandon had been in the Army since 2006, and was currently serving his third deployment. He was expected to come home later this year, between September and December.
He attended West Carolina University and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. He enlisted in the U.S. Army in July 2006. Upon completion of basic training and advanced individual training, he attended the Special Forces Assessment and Selection Course.
He completed the Special Forces Qualification Course in March 2009 and was assigned to 4th Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) at Fort Bragg as a SF Communications Sergeant. His military education also includes the U.S. Army Airborne School, Advanced Leaders Course, Warrior Leaders Course, Combatives Course Level 1, Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape Course, the Special Forces Qualification Course and the Special Forces Advanced Urban Combat course.
His awards and decorations include the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Humanitarian Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon with numeral 2 device, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal, Parachutist Badge, and the Special Forces tab.
He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Purple Heart, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with a third campaign star and the Combat Infantry Badge.

---

Sgt Dick A. Lee Jr. and Staff Sgt. Brandon F. Eggleston died Thursday in Ghanzi province from injuries suffered when their vehicle struck an improvised explosive device.
Lee, 31, of Orange Park, was assigned to 95th Military Police Battalion, 18th Military Police Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Sembach, Germany.
Lee is survived by a wife and two sons.
His commanding officer called Lee a great soldier and military dog handler. and that everyone who knew Lee considered it an honor to serve with him.
"Always quick with a smile and laugh, he was the kind of person you always wanted to be around," Col. Brian Bisacre wrote. "Sgt. Lee was a consummate professional; he attacked every mission with passion and strived to be the best at everything he was asked to do.  Sgt. Lee lived and breathed the Army and was a dedicated father, husband, son and soldier. He will never be forgotten."

 

Read More

Six people killed in attacks in Iraq

BAGHDAD, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Six people were killed and three others wounded in separate attacks in the Iraqi provinces of Diyala and Salahudin on Saturday, the police said.

Two Kurdish residents were killed when two sticky bombs attached to their cars separately detonated in the city of Saadiyah, some 60 km northeast of Diyala's capital city of Baquba, the source from the provincial operations command told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The ethnically-mixed city is part of disputed areas between the Kurds and both Arabs and Turkomans. The area has long been the hotbed of insurgency since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

In a separate incident, a civilian was killed when gunmen in their car opened fire on him in the town of Khalis near Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said.

Also in the province, gunmen shot dead a policeman in the al- Hadid area, some 10 km northwest of Baquba, the source added.

In addition, a sticky bomb attached to a minibus carrying passengers went off in eastern Baquba, wounding two people aboard, he said.

On Thursday, Diyala province was the scene of a deadly attack, when a car bomb went off near a village market some 30 km off Baquba, killing seven people and wounding 19 others.

Diyala, which stretches from the eastern edges of Baghdad to the country's eastern border with Iran, has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since 2003.

In Salahudin province, gunmen opened fire Saturday morning on a car carrying two off-duty policemen and a civilian in a village near the city of Sherqat, some 280 km north of Baghdad, killing the civilian and one of the policemen and wounding the other, a local police source anonymously told Xinhua.

Salahudin province, located in northern-central Iraq, is a Sunni-dominated province. Its capital city of Tikrit, some 170 km north of Baghdad, is the hometown of Iraq's former president Saddam Hussein.

Read More

R.I.P. - Spc. Moises J. Gonzalez

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Spc. Moises J. Gonzalez, 29, Huntington, Calif., died April 25, in Balkh province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when his vehicle rolled over.

 Gonzalez was assigned to the 509th Combat Service Support Company, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

            For more information related to this release, the media may contact the Fort Hood public affairs office at 254- 287-9993 or 254- 287-0106.

---

Gonzalez joined the military in December 2006 as a water treatment specialist, and was assignment to the 509th Combat Service Support Company, 504th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade, Fort Hood, since June 2011. Gonzalez deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom from December 2008 to October 2009 and from June 2011 to April 2012.

Gonzalez's awards and decorations include the NATO Medal, Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Service Medal, two Afghanistan Campaign Medals with campaign stars, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon and two Overseas Service Ribbon

Read More

Yemeni intelligence officer assassinated in restive south

Location of the governorate of Lahij, in Yemen(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ADEN, Yemen, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A high-ranking officer of the Yemeni intelligence agency was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the southern province of Lahij on Saturday morning, a security official told Xinhua.

The gunmen opened fire on the intelligence officer while he was heading to work at the agency headquarters in downtown Houta city, the provincial capital of Lahij province, killing him at the scene, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

The official added that "police forces are searching for those involved."

The gunmen, who managed to escape after the attack, were believed to be from the al-Qaida terrorist group, according to the official.

Yemen's southern and eastern regions have recently been rocked by suicide car bombings and armed attacks targeting government buildings and military intelligence officials.

The government authorities usually accuse militants of the al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, locally known as Ansar al-Sharia ( Partisans of Islamic Law), of committing the crimes and masterminding the attacks. 

Read More

R.I.P. - Lt. Christopher E. Mosko

DOD Identifies Navy Casualty

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

                 Lt. Christopher E. Mosko, 28, of Pittsford, N.Y., died April 26 while conducting combat operations in Nawa district, Ghazni province, Afghanistan.   Mosko was assigned as a Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Platoon Commander to Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force, Afghanistan.  Mosko was stationed at EOD Mobile Unit 3, San Diego, Calif.

                 For further information related to this release, contact Lt. David Bennett at 619-767-1989 or 619- 405-4020.

---

Mosko was assigned to Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile Unit 3 in Coronado.
In Afghanistan, he was a platoon commander for a Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force.
Lt Mosko was qualified as an explosive ordnance expert, a free-fall parachutist and a scuba diving instructor. He was in the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Villanova University in Pennsylvania and was commissioned in May 2007.
His awards include a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart, both posthumous.

Read More

Al-Qaida releases 73 Yemeni soldiers after tribal mediation: statement

SANAA, April 28 (Xinhua) -- The Yemen-based al-Qaida wing on Saturday released 73 Yemeni soldiers they captured two months ago during fighting with the government troops in the southern province of Abyan, as a result of a tribal mediation, the terrorist group said in a statement.

"Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula's (AQAP) Ansar al-Sharia ( Parisian of Islamic Law) in Abyan's city of Jaar released on Saturday 73 Yemeni soldiers following a tribal mediation led by chieftain Awad Banajar, relatives of the captured soldiers and nongovernment human rights groups," the group said in the statement.

---
Team Negotiatin​g Release Of Soldiers In Yemen
from yemenpost

A journalist-activist team headed on Friday to Yemen's province of Abyan in the south to mediate the release of 73 soldiers who were taken as hostage during al-Qaida raids on military posts in March.

The delegation included activists from the HOOD and al-Karama organizations, which earlier this month said al-Qaida was threatening to execute the soldiers. The two organizations said in a statement al-Qaida had decided to execute the soldiers if demands including the release of terrorists held inside the political security prisons were not met.
Six days ago, al-Qaida set April 30 as the final deadline to meet its demands or it would execute the soldiers; ten a week. Meantime, the organizations have appealed to the authorities to stop shelling areas in Abyan to enable the team to reach the place where the soldiers are held. a spokesman for the team said the three-day mission of the journalist-activist team aims to secure the release of the soldiers before April 30 and the results will be released immediately.
Also, Human Rights Watch has recently urged al-Qaida to avoid extrajudicial executions of the soldiers because killing can't be a card of negotiation. Killing soldiers or civilians violates the laws of war and al-Qaida in Yemen should not bet on the lives of people to make gains, the US-based organization said.
Early last month, al-Qaida fighters raided some army posts in the Doufas area, Abyan, killing and taking as hostages scores of soldiers. They also looted military equipment. The army, with direct support from the US and popular fighters, has been fighting the militants in southern and southeastern regions including Abyan, Shabwa and Baida.
Hundreds of militants have been recently killed and injured in the battles, mostly in Abyan, amid expanded military operations against militancy under the new government.


---
Sana'a: Al Qaida-linked group that controls many towns in southern Yemen said on Saturday that it would set free 73 soldiers , a local tribal leader told Gulf News.

Ansar Al Sharia , an Al Qaida offshoot in Yemen , announced that they decided to release the hostages for "the sake of God and in response to the appeals of the soldiers' families and the tribal mediation". The militants invited on Friday reporters, mediators, human rights activists and the soldiers' relatives to their stronghold, Ja'ar, to decide whether to release or behead the captives.

"The soldiers will be handed to their families who came to Ja'ar to receive them," the tribal figure said.
The soldiers were captured early last month when Al Qaida militants launched an assault on an army camp in Abyan province. At least 200 soldiers were also killed in the same attack. This week, Al Qaida announced in Ja'ar town that it would kill ten soldiers each week if the government does not release jailed militants.

Read More

Roadside blast kills 10 policemen in Maid Wardak

Districts of Wardak. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

MAIDAN SHAHR (PAN): Nearly 10 policemen were killed in a roadside bombing in central Maidan Wardak province, officials said on Saturday.

The blast happened in the Zambukhak area on the outskirts of Chak district, when a group of security personnel were heading to take up their duties at a project site in the area, the provincial police chief said.

Col. Abdul Qayyum Baqizai told Pajhwok Afghan News about 10 policemen were killed and their vehicle completely destroyed in the explosion.

He said the district chief was also accompanying the convoy to the area but escaped unhurt as he was travelling in a separate vehicle.

Meanwhile, Zabihullah Mujahid, a Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the bombing and said eight policemen, including a commander, were killed in the blast.

from  Pajhwok

Read More

Four dead in attack on Afghan governor's office

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Two militants and two policemen were killed in an attack on the provincial governor' s office in southern Afghan city of Kandahar on Saturday morning.

"Two gunmen, who broke into the Kandahar provincial governor's office compound and intended to target employees, were killed by police after a 20-minute exchange of fire," the provincial government said in a statement.

U.S soldiers patrol at the site of attack in southern Afghan city of Kandahar on April 28, 2012. Two militants and two policemen were killed in an attack on the provincial governor' s office in Kandahar on Saturday morning. (Xinhua/Arghand)

"All the civilian employees of the governor's office are safe and sound," it said.

An official with the governor's office, Zulmai Ayubi, told Xinhua that two policemen were also killed and two others injured in the attack that occurred at about 11:20 a.m. local time.

"The Kandahar provincial governor Tooryali Wessa and other officials are safe and sound," he said.

Related articles

• 2 dead after attack on Afghan governor's office (foxnews.com)
• Gunman attacks Afghan governor's office in south (dailystar.com.lb)
• Two would-be shoe bombers killed in Kandahar governor's compound (latimesblogs.latimes.com)

Read More

Apr.28., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan (Apr. 28) — An Afghan and coalition security force captured two Haqqani leaders during an operation in Khost district, Khost province, today.

Both leaders planned and directed roadside bombings and attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout the district. They also provided weapons, ammunition and equipment to Haqqani members in the district.

The security force detained two additional suspected insurgents and seized multiple AK-47s, several hand grenades, and multiple magazines with ammunition.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan led security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Shah Wali Kot district, Kandahar province, today. The leader directed attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout Shah Wali Kot and Khakrez districts. He also provided weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents in both districts. The security force detained one additional suspected insurgent as a result of this operation.

In Musa Qal’ah district, Helmand province, an Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation today. The leader coordinated insurgent attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout Musa Qal’ah, Nahr-e Saraj, and Sangin districts. He was responsible for an attack on an Afghan National Army outpost in central Helmand earlier this month that killed six Afghan soldiers. The security force fired no shots and damaged no civilian property.

East

An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Wali Muhammad Shahid Khugyani district, Ghazni province, today. The leader conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout Ghazni province. As the security force approached the leader‘s suspected location, one insurgent fired on the force. Responding to the immediate threat, the security force returned fire and killed the insurgent. The security force detained multiple additional suspected insurgents as a result of this operation.

In Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, an Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban facilitator during an operation today. The facilitator supplied weapons and roadside bombs to insurgents throughout the district for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

The security force detained multiple additional insurgents and seized an improvised explosive device, multiple weapons and magazines with ammunition as a result of this operation.
 

Read More