Koh-i-Safi Taliban chief nabbed

Map of Afghanistan with Kapisa highlighted (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

CHARIKAR/MAHMOODRAQI (PAN): Two militants were killed and a Taliban-designated district chief, along with his associate, detained in central Parwan and Kapisa provinces, the spy service said on Sunday.

The National Directorate of Security in a statement said the Taliban-designated district chief for Koh-i-Safi, Mullah Rohullah and his associate were detained based on an intelligence report in the town on Sunday.

The statement said Rohullah was involved in various insurgent activities and his arrest would help improve security in the district.

Elsewhere in Kapisa, 10 heavy bullets, seven rockets and some ammunition were seized in Syed Khil and Koh-i-Safi districts and Charikar city, added the statement.

Separately, two Taliban militants were killed during an airstrike by foreign troops in the Alasai district in Kapisa on Saturday night, said Mullah Mohammad Omari, the town's administrative head.

He said the operation was jointly conducted by Afghan and foreign troops.

Taliban have not yet commented on the incident.

from Pajhwok
by Farid Tanha on Jul 22, 2012 - 19:03

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R.I.P. - Spc. Darrion T. Hicks

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Spc. Darrion T. Hicks, 21, of Raleigh, N.C., died July 19 in Ghazni, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained from an enemy improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Bamberg, Germany.

            For more information, the media may contact the 21st Theater Sustainment Command public affairs office, Germany, at 011-49-631-413-7608.

---

from wral:

Raleigh, N.C. — Spc. Darrion T. Hicks, 21, of Raleigh, died Thursday in Afghanistan while supporting Operation Enduring Freedom, the Department of Defense announced Sunday.

Hicks, who was serving in the Ghanzi, Afghanistan, died of injuries sustained from an improvised explosive device, officials said.

He was assigned to the 54th Engineer Battalion, 18th Engineer Brigade, 21st Theater Sustainment Command, Bamberg, Germany.

No other information was released.

    Web Editor: Derek Medlin

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At least 4 killed, 15 wounded in 3 motorcycle bombs in Iraq's Diyala

English: Diyala map (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BAQUBA, Iraq, July 23 (Xinhua) -- At least four people were killed and 15 wounded Monday in three motorcycle bomb explosions in a city in Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a provincial official told Xinhua.

"The attacks occurred in the morning when the three explosives-laden motorcycles went off almost simultaneously at three main streets in the city of Muqdadiyah, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad," Zaid Ibrahim, the mayor of the city, told Xinhua.

The toll could rise as ambulances and police vehicles evacuated the victims to different hospitals and medical centers in the city, Ibrahim said.

Diyala province has long been a stronghold for al-Qaida militants and other insurgent groups since the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 15:46:47

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Five killed, 19 wounded in bomb attacks in Iraq's Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Iraq, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of five people were killed and 19 wounded in three car bombs and two bomb explosions in Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, a local police source told Xinhua.

The attacks occurred almost simultaneously in the morning when one of the car bombs went off near a gas station in central Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Another booby-trapped car was detonated outside a police station in central the city, while the third car bomb explosion struck a marketplace in northern Kirkuk, the source said.

Meanwhile, a makeshift bomb went off near a government building and another one at the busy thoroughfare of al-Quds Street in central city, the source added.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks are still common in Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease in violence since its peak in 2006 and 2007, when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 15:17:04

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R.I.P. - Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice

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

            Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice, 24, of Troy, Ohio, died July 19, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

            For more information, the media may contact the Fort Hood Public Affairs Office at 254-287-9993 or 254-287-0106.

---

from daytondailynews:

By Katie Wedell
Staff Writer
Updated: 5:51 p.m. Sunday, July 22, 2012 | Posted: 11:47 a.m. Sunday, July 22, 2012

TROY, Ohio —

A 2007 Troy High School graduate was killed last week while serving in Afghanistan.

Army Private First Class Jeffrey L. Rice, 24, of Troy, died in Kandahar, Afghanistan Thursday, the Department of Defense announced Sunday.

Rice was part of the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas and was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom at the time of his death.

Rice also attended Piqua Joint Vocational School, now the Upper Valley Career Center, for his junior and senior year, according to Troy City Schools Superintendent Eric Herman.

Herman said Rice was in the welding program and played football while in high school.

“I remember him just being real quiet,” Herman said.

Alan Wuebker was Rice’s welding teacher for those two years and remembered him as an attentive, respectful and hardworking student.

“Jeff was an awesome student,” Wuebker said. “He always talked about serving his country. It was his lifetime goal to do that.”

Wuebker said Rice actually earned a scholarship to continue studying welding, but enlisted instead. He said Rice hoped to further his welding career while serving in the Army.

Fort Hood had not released any details on Rice’s death Sunday afternoon.

His family reportedly travelled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Sunday where Rice’s remains were transferred along with the bodies of two fellow soldiers also killed in Afghanistan last week, Army Spc. Darrion T. Hicks of Raleigh, N.C. and Marine Cpl. Joshua R. Ashley of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

The 20th Engineer Battalion, nickname “Lumberjack”, provides combat engineering support, according to the Fort Hood webpage.

Information on funeral services is pending.

Related articles

• http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/soldier-from-troy-killed-in-afghanistan/nPzxp/
• http://tdn-net.com/main.asp?SubSectionID=364&ArticleID=124537&SectionID=1

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Yemeni security forces detain 3 al-Qaida militants in south

ADEN, Yemen, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces on Sunday evening detained three al-Qaida militants who planned for armed attacks and terrorist operations in the southern province of Lahj, a security official told Xinhua.

The al-Qaida militants planned to carry out coordinated attacks on government and intelligence offices across Lahj province, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"A small pick-up truck with explosive devices that they aimed to use in their terrorist operations was also seized," he added.

The captured militants are currently under intelligence investigation, according to the official.

The militants were arrested a few hours after Yemen's military said it had placed its security services on high alert to prevent any imminent terrorist attacks and suicide operations against security and military checkpoints across the country.

The Yemeni government began to chase al-Qaida militants in the country's southern regions since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, and announced major victory in June after the army recaptured several cities that had been held by al-Qaida for more than one year.

However, the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing then launched a series of assassinations and suicide attacks across the country.

It carried out a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden on June 18 and killed the commander of Yemen's southern military region. The group also launched a suicide attack in the capital Sanaa on July 11 and killed more than 20 police cadets.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 02:50:21

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