Tuesday, May 1, 2012

NATO airstrike kill 5 militants in Laghman province

The location of Laghman Province within Afghan...
The location of Laghman Province within Afghanistan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Afghan and coalition forces killed seven insurgents, detained three suspects and discovered an explosives laboratory in eastern Afghanistan during operations throughout the past 24 hours.

NATO-led International Security Assistance Force following a press announced coalition airstrike killed five insurgents in response to small-arms fire in Alingar district eastern Laghman province.

The source further added a coalition airstrike killed five insurgents emplacing improvised explosive devices in Maidan Shahr district at Wardak province. An explosive ordnance team safely detonated three IEDs after the strike.

A coalition airstrike killed one insurgent in Watahpur district after he was positively identified as a Taliban commander, ISAF said adding that the individual led numerous small-arms attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Also, coalition forces killed one insurgent after receiving small arms fire in Watahpur district.

In a separate operation Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered an explosives laboratory while conducting operations in Muqer district at Ghazni province, and detained two individuals suspected to be involved with the lab. An explosive ordnance team safely destroyed the explosive materials found at the site.

Afghan Uniform Police and coalition forces positively identified and detained an insurgent wanted for multiple improvised explosive devise implants in Khowst dstrict.

Anti-government armed militant groups yet to comment regarding the reports.

from KHAAMA
Enhanced by Zemanta

19 armed insurgents killed, 3 wounded and 5 others arrested by ANP

19 armed insurgents killed, three wounded and five others arrested by Afghan National Police

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched 11 joint clearance operations in Kabul, Baghlan, Faryab, Kandahar, Helmand, Maidan Wardak, Logar, Khost, and Farah provinces.

As a result of these operations, 19 armed insurgents were killed, three wounded and five others were arrested by Afghan National Police.
Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated six different types of weapons, five heavy rounds, three anti-vehicle mines, one hand grenade, 372 kilograms of opium and eight motorbikes.
During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused three anti-vehicle mines as a result of security operations in Nangarhar, Baghlan and Jowzjan provinces.

The Afghan National Police dedicate their lives to protecting the people.
Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained four individuals accused of murder, theft and trafficking in the 4th, 5th and 8th Districts of Kabul-City.
The ANP encourages all citizens to report suspicious activities and criminal acts.
Enhanced by Zemanta

May 01.,2012 - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces killed seven insurgents, detained three suspects and discovered an explosives laboratory in eastern Afghanistan during operations throughout the past 24 hours, April 30.

Laghman province
A coalition airstrike killed five insurgents in response to small-arms fire in Alingar district.

Wardak province
A coalition airstrike killed five insurgents emplacing improvised explosive devices in Maidan Shahr district. An explosive ordnance team safely detonated three IEDs after the strike.

Kunar province
A coalition airstrike killed one insurgent in Watahpur district after he was positively identified as a Taliban commander. The individual led numerous small-arms attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Also, coalition forces killed one insurgent after receiving small arms fire in Watahpur district.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered an explosives laboratory while conducting operations in Muqer district and detained two individuals suspected to be involved with the lab. An explosive ordnance team safely destroyed the explosive materials found at the site.

Khowst province
Afghan Uniform Police and coalition forces positively identified and detained an insurgent wanted for multiple improvised explosive devise implants in Khowst dstrict.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Bomb blast kills 2, hurts 11 in Quetta (+video)


QUETTA: A bomb explosion attacked a vehicle of security forces on Sariab Road near Irrigation Colony here Tuesday, killing at least two persons and injuring eleven others, Geo news reported.

According to SP Sariab, the bomb was planted on the roadside near irrigation colony. Four rickshaws and a vehicle of security forces caught fire while glasses of nearby buildings also smashed as a result of blast.

Police said that the explosion was supposed to be an attack on security forces vehicle.

Rescue teams have reached the site of the incident and injured people are being rushed to Civil hospitals.

According to the unconfirmed information, several security personnel were also hurt as a result of bomb blast and were taken to CMH.

from thenews and geo
---
video from Geo:


---
and another Geo video:

Geo Reports-Quetta Blast-01 May 2012 http://youtu.be/smLgNF38tck

Enhanced by Zemanta

11 killed in Bloody Battle against Somali, Ethiopian forces

HUDUR (Sh.M.Network)— At least 11 people have been killed in the latest clashes between Al Shabaab insurgents and Somali and Ethiopian troops in Somalia’s southern of Bakol, locals said on Tuesday.

Residents told that the clashes sparked after Al Shabaab insurgents stormed the district of Hudur, 420 kilometers (260 miles) southwestern Mogadishu, where Ethiopian and Transitional Federal Government (TFG) troops were largely stationed.

Somali military officials told Shabelle Media station in the capital by telephone from Hudur town that the Al shabab fighters have overnight attacked the town from different direction to take it over. They also said the TFG forces alongside Ethiopian troops repelled the attacking militants, killing at least 7 fighters.

The official of Somalia military forces did not specify the casualties on TFG side during the battle in Hudur on Monday night which was a tough one that TFG and Ethiopian troops managed to drive back Al Shabaab agents and maintain the control of the town.

Reports indicate that the fighting forced hundreds of local residents to flee from their houses as both warring sides were receiving reinforcements that could lead heavy and deadly battle.

Al shabab, which is battling to topple the UN-backed Somali government and the regional forces under AMSIOM, has yet commented on the combat so far.

from Shabelle
Enhanced by Zemanta

May 01., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban leader and several subordinate insurgents during an operation in Washer district, Helmand province, today.

The leader was the senior Taliban insurgent in Kajaki district, responsible for roadside bombings, suicide attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition security forces in Helmand province.

He was also one of the principle planners of the April 10 suicide attack against the district police headquarters building in Musa Qal’ah. In addition, the leader attempted to implement Taliban law on Afghan civilians and operated a Taliban prison.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

North

In Imam Sahib district, Kunduz province, an Afghan-led and coalition supported security force conducted an operation to detain an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader today. The leader plans and directs attacks against senior Afghan government officials, Afghan National Security Forces and coalition troops. Several insurgents were detained as a result of the operation.

South
In Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, an Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to capture a Taliban leader today. The leader directs roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout the district. Several suspected insurgents were detained.

An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Washer district, Helmand province, today. The leader planned and supervised roadside bombings against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout central Helmand province. One additional insurgent was detained as a result of the operation.

East

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to capture a Haqqani leader in Muhammad Aghah district, Logar province, today. The leader directs roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces in Laghman and Nangarhar provinces.

When the Afghan elements of the security force called for the insurgents to come out of a building, several insurgents opened fire. After determining that no civilians were in the area, the security force called for a precision airstrike. A follow-on assessment of the area determined no civilians were harmed and multiple insurgents were killed. Two insurgents were also detained.

In Qarghah’i district, Laghman province, an Afghan-led and coalition supported security force conducted an operation to detain a Taliban leader today. The leader coordinated roadside bombings against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout the province. During the operation, the leader and one additional insurgent fired on the security force. The force returned fire, killing the attackers. The security force also detained multiple additional insurgents and confiscated several small arms weapons.

Enhanced by Zemanta

R.I.P. - Master Sgt. Scott E. Pruitt

DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

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

            Master Sgt. Scott E. Pruitt, 38, of Gautier, Miss., died April 28 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

            For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the I Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at 760-763-7795.

---
GAUTIER, Mississippi -- Marine Master Sgt. Scott E. Pruitt, 38, of Gautier was killed Saturday by an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, just two months after he volunteered to return to that country to lead his troops, according to his older brother.

"I think what makes the story even more tragic is that he was set to retire in a year and had earned rank over an entire platoon," 40-year-old Paul Pruitt said about his brother in a phone interview from Santa Monica, Calif., where he lives.

"But he volunteered to go back into combat because he thought it was the right thing to do."
The Department of Defense said that Scott Pruitt died in Helmand province on Saturday in combat maneuvers.

He had been assigned to I Marine Expeditionary Force Headquarters Group, I Marine Expeditionary Force, based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. He lived in Murietta, Calif.
Scott Pruitt is the second soldier from Gautier to die serving in Afghanistan.
Army Maj. Michael Green, a 36-year-old Special Forces officer, was killed by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on Jan. 7, 2008.

Scott Pruitt graduated from Pascagoula High School in 1992, according to his brother, who graduated two years earlier.
Paul Pruitt described his brother as "just a great human being, an amazing brother, son, and father.
"I can say, without bias, that he was a very decent, dependable, hard-working, good person. He was as good of a person as you could find."
He is survived by two daughters, ages 9 and 4, who also live in California, and his fiancée, Tricia Anderson-Lane of Virginia.

After graduating from Pascagoula High, Scott Pruitt earned a BA in criminal justice from American Military University.

Master Sgt. Pruitt earned his rank on Jan. 1, 2010, and was specialized as a financial management resource analyst, according to the Marines' public information office.
He was set to end active service on June 23, 2013.

His awards include:
  • Purple Heart Medal.
  • Three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals.
  •  Five Marine Corps Good Conduct Medals.
  •  Military Outstanding Volunteer Service Medal.
  •  Two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.
  •  Afghanistan Campaign Medal.
  •  Global War on Terrorism Service Medal.
  •  Four Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbons.
  •  Two National Defense Service Medals.
  •  North Atlantic Treaty Organization Medal.
  •  Three Navy Meritorious Unit Commendations.
Funeral arrangements for Pruitt are pending. 
Enhanced by Zemanta

Nigeria: Boko Haram - JTF Begins Massive Search in Maiduguri

Location of the four cities in north eastern N...
Location of the four cities in north eastern Nigeria where the Boko Haram conflict took place. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The Joint Task Force (JTF) on Operation Restore Order (ORO) said that it had began search for suspected Boko Haram members in Maiduguri.

Lt.-Col. Sagir Musa, JTF spokesman, stated in a statement in Maiduguri on Sunday that "the JTF is on massive cordon and search operation in targeted areas in Maiduguri.

"It is intended to arrest suspected Boko Haram terrorists, mop up illegal arms and ammunitions and Improvised Explosive Devise (IEDs)," Musa said.

Musa warned that individuals found harbouring suspected terrorists, arms, ammunitions and IEDs would be dealt with appropriately.

"The massive presence of troops on the river line bridge and other areas is a deliberate attempt to checkmate terrorists' activities in the affected areas. "
Enhanced by Zemanta

Four dead, 30 wounded in south Nepal blast

Left: Map showing Kathmandu and the surroundin...
Left: Map showing Kathmandu and the surrounding area. Right: Kathmandu Valley (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
KATHMANDU: Four people were killed and nearly 30 wounded when a bomb attached to a motorbike went off near a crowd of protesters in southern Nepal on Monday, police said.

The group of 150 demonstrators in the city of Janakpur, 20 kilometres from the Indian border, were staging a sit-in to demand a separate province for Maithili-speaking people when the bike exploded.

“One of the protesters died on the spot while three died on their way to hospital. We have referred around seven seriously injured victims for treatment to Kathmandu,” local police chief Basanta Raj Gautam told AFP.

“Over 20 people who sustained minor injures from the blast are being treated at various hospitals in the district.”

The protesters had been taking part in a strike in Janakpur to demand the new province in the southern Terai plains. The Maithili language is spoken in eastern India and southeast Nepal.

Nepal has been relatively peaceful since rebel Maoists waging a 10-year war against the government
signed a peace accord in 2006.

The country’s parliament is nearing a deadline to write a peacetime constitution which will divide the country into new federal states.

“There were around 150 persons sitting in the protest… when the bomb went off. We have increased security in the area but no one has taken responsibility for the incident,” Gautam said.

“The strike was called by the Mithila State Struggle Committee for three hours today and their cadres had blocked road transportation to pressure for a separate Mithila province in the constitution.”

Uma Shankar Singh, a sub-inspector of police, said the bomb had been fitted on the tail box of the motorcycle. No one has been arrested in connection with the attack.

A powerful blast in Kathmandu in February killed three people and wounded seven in the first such incident in the capital for three years.
An organisation calling itself the United Ethnic Liberation Front (UELF) claimed responsibility, although their motives were unclear.

from DAWN
Enhanced by Zemanta

R.I.P. - Pfc. Christian R. Sannicolas

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Pfc. Christian R. Sannicolas, 20, Anaheim, Calif., died April 28, in Kandahar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when his vehicle encountered an improvised explosive device.

            Sannicolas was assigned to 1st Battalion, 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            For more information related to this release, media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-432-0661/0662 or 910-813-3891.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Women, children among 10 dead in violence in Afghanistan

SHARANA (PAN): At least 10 people, including two children and as many women, were killed during separate incidents of violence in several provinces over the past 24 hours, officials said on Monday.

In southeastern Paktika province, two children were killed and as many others injured following a bomb explosion in the Panzakhwa area of Sarobi district, Mukhlis Afghan, the governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The children were playing when the blast occurred on Sunday afternoon, he said, adding one of the injured children in critical condition was transferred to the Bagram airfield by US soldiers. The victims were aged between 10 and 12.

Meanwhile, two women were killed in separate incidents in northern Baghlan and southwestern Nimroz provinces.

One of the victims was killed by her husband and the other shot dead by unidentified gunmen.

Col. Mohammad Kamin, the Baghlan Markazi district police chief said a 40-year-old woman was shot dead in the Ghulam Bai area.

The incident that occurred late on Sunday was being investigated, the police official said, adding no one had so far been arrested in connection with the murder.

But residents who sent the dead body to hospital said she might have been killed by her husband.

Human Rights Commission Director in north, Hayatullah Amiri, strongly condemned the killing, saying it was an inhuman act that raised concerns about violence against women in northern provinces. He urged severe punishment for the killers.

Elsewhere, a pregnant woman was gunned down by her husband, who also injured one of his children after a verbal spat in southwestern Nimroz province.

Abdul Samad, the victim’s father, said his pregnant daughter was killed and her seven-year-old child injured in the incident and was rushed to Herat province. A perturbed Samad urged the government to take action against the killer.

Abdul Razaq Quraishi, provincial police chief, said the accused killer had been arrested and being interrogated. 

The incident was strongly condemned by Shema Mohammadi, deputy head of the women affairs department, saying it was the third case of its kind over the past one month in the province.

On the other hand, six insurgents were killed during separate clashes with security forces in southern Zabul and central Uruzgan provinces, officials said.

Three Taliban were killed during an operation in the Nurak area on the outskirts of Qalat, the provincial capital, late on Sunday, Maj. Ghulam Jailani Farahi, provincial deputy police chief said.

The operation that lasted about an hour resulted in the seizure of a rocket launcher, a machinegun, two AK-47 assault rifles, and some explosives, he added.

Another two rebels were killed during a clash with local policemen in the Nawbahar district on Sunday, Farahi said, adding some weapons and explosives were also seized from them.

Late on Sunday, a militant was killed when the bomb he was planting on a road went off in Tirinkot, the provincial capital, where a policeman was killed during a clash, said Farid Ayal, police spokesman.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Welcome Home - R.I.P. - Army Capt. Charles R. Barnes



Soldier Missing from Vietnam War Identified


            The Department of Defense POW/Missing Personnel Office announced today that the remains of a serviceman, missing in action from the Vietnam War, have been identified and will be returned to his family for burial with full military honors.

            Army Capt. Charles R. Barnes of Philadelphia, Pa., will be buried May 2, in Arlington National Cemetery.  On March 16, 1969, Barnes and four other service members departed Qui Nhon Airfields bound for Da Nang and Phu Bai, in a U-21A Ute aircraft.  As they approached Da Nang, they encountered low clouds and poor visibility.  Communications with the aircraft were lost, and they did not land as scheduled.  Immediate search efforts were limited due to hazardous weather conditions, and all five men were list as missing in action.

            From 1986-1989, unidentified human remains were turned over to the United States from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (S.R.V.) in several different instances.  None of the remains were identified given the limits of the technology of the time.

            In 1993, a joint U.S.-S.R.V. team, led by the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command (JPAC), conducted investigations in Quang Nam-Da Nang, and Thua Thien-Hue Provinces.  They interviewed a local Vietnamese citizen who supplied remains and an identification tag bearing Barnes’ name, which he claimed to have recovered from an aircraft crash site.

            In 1999, another joint U.S.-S.R.V. team interviewed additional Vietnamese citizens about the crash and they were led to the crash site.  In 2000, a joint U.S.-S.R.V. team excavated the site and recovered human remains and material evidence.

            Scientists from the JPAC and the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory used circumstantial evidence, and forensic identification tools such as mitochondrial DNA -- which matched that of Barnes’ sister -- in the identification of the remains.

            For additional information on the Defense Department’s mission to account for missing Americans, call 703-699-1420 or visit the DPMO website at http://www.dtic.mil/dpmo .

DoD
--- 
Remains identified of Philly-born GI who vanished in 1969 in Vietnam
What happened to a Philadelphia-born Army captain who disappeared in Vietnam in 1969 is a mystery no more.
The remains of Charles R. Barnes have been identified, the Department of Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office (DPMO) announced Monday.
He will be buried with full military honors Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery.
On March 16, 1969, Barnes and four other service members were flying toward Da Nang and Phu Bai when communications contact with their aircraft was lost. Hazardous weather made a thorough search difficult after their plane failed to land. All five were listed as missing in action, and Barnes is the first whose remains have been identified, said DPMO spokeswoman Jessica Pierno.
Barnes, nicknamed “Sonny,” was raised in Fullerton, Lehigh County, and graduated from Whitehall High School in 1960, according to an obituary in the Allentown Morning Call. He is survived by a son, Charles; a grandson; and a sister.
Pieces of the puzzle have taken decades to put together.
Remains turned over by Vietnam in the late 1980s could not be identified at the time.
In 1993, a joint U.S.-Vietnamese investigative team located a Vietnamese citizen “who supplied remains and an identification tag bearing Barnes’ name, which he claimed to have recovered from an aircraft crash site,” according to Monday’s announcement. In 1999, more interviews led investigators to the crash site, where remains and other evidence were recovered in 2000.
Scientists “used circumstantial evidence, and forensic identification tools such as mitochondrial DNA — which matched that of Barnes’ sister — in the identification of the remains,” the Defense Department said.
Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Search this blog