Sunday, August 5, 2012

Afghan kids killed following blast in Herat province

According to local security officials in western Herat province of Afghanistan, at least three Afghan kids were killed following an explosion in Gulran district in this province.

Provincial police chief spokesman Abdul Rauf Ahmadi said the incident took place late Saturday evening in Gulran district.

Mr. Ahmadi further added the incident took place while Afghan kids, all under six years of age were playing in a ground where an explosive device was planted.

Gulran district is located on the bordering region with Iran. According to security officials armed militants groups have recently increased their insurgency activities in this district.

No group including the Taliban militants have so far claimed responsibility behind Saturday’s blast.

Local officials blame Taliban group for such incidents as Taliban fighters frequently use improvised explosive device and roadside bombs to target Afghan and coalition security forces which normally leads to civilians casualties.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Sun Aug 05, 11:56 am

Enhanced by Zemanta

Aug. 05., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition officials confirmed today that Mufti Assad, also known as Mufti Punjabi, Abdul Qudus and Sufyan, the al-Qaida network leader for Kunar province, was killed in a precision airstrike in Watahpur district, Kunar province, Friday.

Assad was an insurgent leader who controlled al-Qaida terrorists operating in Kunar. He led dozens of all-Qaida affiliated fighters throughout eastern Afghanistan and coordinated their attacks across the region.

Assad was also an explosives expert who provided training to insurgents on how to construct and use improvised explosive devices.

Afghan and coalition officials also confirmed Yusuf, Assad’s al-Qaida network deputy, was killed in the precision airstrike. Yusuf, also known as Omar and Rayhman, was an IED expert who directed insurgent attacks across eastern Afghanistan.

The strike did not injure any civilians or damage civilian property.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

The National Directorate of Security, supported by coalition forces, arrested Mullah Shah Wali and Mullah Zadar during separate operations in Uruzgan province, Tuesday. Both men were Taliban leaders in the province. Wali controlled more than two dozen insurgents, and was a key member of the improvised explosive device supply and facilitation network in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province. He also led several attacks against Afghan National Police checkpoints throughout western Uruzgan. Zadar led a group of more than two dozen insurgents who are responsible for attacks against Afghan National Security Force checkpoints in the Deh Rafshan area of Uruzgan province.

East

Afghan and coalition officials confirmed today that the al-Qaida facilitator Fatah Gul was killed in a precision airstrike conducted during a second security operation in Watahpur district, Kunar province, Friday. Fatah Gul, also known as Inzir and Shahid, provided safe haven to al-Qaida affiliated terrorists operating in eastern Afghanistan. He also ran terrorist training camps where insurgents learned how to conduct improvised explosive devices attacks.

In Baraki Barak district, Logar province, today, an Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to arrest a Taliban leader. During the operation, the security force was attacked by an armed insurgent. The security force returned fire, killing the attacker. No civilians were harmed in the exchange. After the engagement, the security force detained several suspected insurgents and seized multiple weapons.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Aug. 05., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces detained 10 insurgents, located three weapons caches and cleared nine improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Aug. 4.

Ghazni province

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Andar Ddstrict. The cache contained homemade explosives being used to construct IEDs.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained seven insurgents during engagements in Qarah Bagh district and Muqer district.

The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Kapisa province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained two insurgents while investigating a weapons cache in Nejrab district. The cache contained IED making materials. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Logar province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared three IEDs, one in Charkh district and two in Pul-E Alam district.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared three IEDs, one in Gurbuz district, one in Sharan district and one in Sar Rowzah district.

Paktiya province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Shwak district.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Zurmat district. The cache contained mortar rounds.

Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained a known insurgent in Jaji district. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Wardak province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Sayyidabad district.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Two NZ soldiers killed in Afghanistan

Two New Zealand Defence Force personnel have been killed and six injured in Afghanistan.

The NZDF said in a statement the two were serving with the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team.

They were killed during an incident in the northeast of Bamiyan Province.

A further six NZDF personnel were wounded during the incident and they were evacuated to a military hospital.

Two local security personnel were also killed, and a further 11 personnel, including one civilian, were wounded.

Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Rhys Jones said: "We are deeply saddened by this loss and, on behalf of the entire New Zealand Defence Force, I extend my deepest sympathies to the family, colleagues and friends of the personnel involved."

The NZDF statement said the incident occurred about 7pm yesterday (NZ time), when the troops were assisting local authorities who encountered suspected insurgents near a village south of Do Abe.

Minister of Defence Jonathan Coleman has offered his condolences to the families of the soldiers.

"The thoughts of the Government and the people of New Zealand are with the NZDF today. Our thoughts are especially with the families of those who died, and the families of those who were wounded.

"The work the NZDF undertake in this region is dangerous and they have been well trained to respond to these incidents."

Dr Coleman said the soldiers were responding to local security forces coming under attack and it developed into a serious incident.

Prime Minister John Key also expressed his condolences to the families of the soldiers, saying the incident reinforced "the danger faced daily by our forces as they work tirelessly to restore stability to the province".

"It is with enormous sadness that I acknowledge that these soldiers have paid the highest price.

"My thoughts are with the family and friends of the two brave soldiers killed and also with the families and friends of those injured."

The deaths take the number of New Zealand forces killed in Afghanistan to seven.

from Otago Daily Times
By Matthew Theunissen on Sun, 5 Aug 2012

Enhanced by Zemanta

US drone strike kills 4 al-Qaida militants in southeast Yemen

SANAA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least four al-Qaida members were killed late Saturday in a U.S. air ride in Yemen's southeastern province of Hadramout, a provincial security official and witnesses said.

"Four prominent members of the al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were killed after a missile fired by a U.S. unmanned warplane hit their vehicle on a road in the north of the town of al-Qatan," the official told Xinhua by phone anonymously.

Residents in al-Qatan town said they heard two huge explosions after the U.S. drone fired two missiles at the target on a desert road in Wadi Hadramout, north of al-Qatan.

They said the air raid took place late Saturday and the drone hovered over the area for a long time.

Police in al-Qatan rushed to the scene, according to the security official, who also said that "the air raid occurred in coordination with the Yemeni intelligence services after an agent placed an electronic chip under the targeted car."

The United States has beefed up anti-terror cooperation with the Yemeni government since Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, after a year of political upheaval that allowed the AQAP to capture several cities in the south.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida militants were recently either captured or hunted by the Yemeni security authorities after a U.S.- backed offensive in the southern Abyan province two months ago routed the militants out of their strongholds that they had controlled for nearly a year.

Combating al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting Hadi, who has promised to restore security and uproot the Yemeni branch of al-Qaida, which is known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law).


from XINHUA
Enhanced by Zemanta

20 killed in al-Qaida suicide attack in south Yemen

(map by Evan Centanni)
SANAA, Aug. 4 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 people were killed late Saturday when an al-Qaida suicide bomber targeted a gathering of pro-government tribesmen in the country's southern province of Abyan, a police official told Xinhua.

"An al-Qaida bomber detonated his concealed explosive belt among the crowd at a funeral in Jaar town in Abyan on Saturday night, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens of others," the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

He said that "Abdulatif al-Saeed, the leader of the tribal fighters who supported the government troops in the fighting against al-Qaida over the past months, was killed in the bombing attack."

Dozens of people were wounded in the attack, which officials described as the worst assault in Abyan since the Yemeni government troops seized strongholds of the terrorists two months ago.

The deadly attack took place in less than one hour after a Yemeni-U.S. coordinated airstrike killed four al-Qaida militants in the southeastern province of Hadramout.

Backed by the United States, the Yemeni government waged a month-long intensive offensive in May against the militants of al- Qaida, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), forcing them out of strongholds they had controlled for nearly a year.

At least 20 cadets were killed and 20 others injured in a suicide bombing at the police academy in Yemen's capital Sanaa on July 11 despite tight security around key local and foreign installations to prevent terrorist attacks.

Saturday's deadly bombing was the third in the past two months in Yemen, after the deadliest-ever attack on a military parade rehearsal in May, which killed about 100 central security forces in the capital, casting shadows over Yemen's peaceful transition process after more than 18 months of unrest.

Combating al-Qaida militants in the restive south is one of the challenges confronting Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to restore security and uproot the country's branch of al-Qaida.


from XINHUA
Editor: Mu Xuequan
2012-08-05 06:14:47

Enhanced by Zemanta

R.I.P. - 1st Lt. Todd W. Lambka, Pfc. Jesus J. Lopez

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

             They died Aug. 1, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when they encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.  These soldiers were assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kan.

             Killed were:

                         1st Lt. Todd W. Lambka, 25, of Fraser, Mich., and

                         Pfc. Jesus J. Lopez, 22, of San Bernardino, Calif.

             For more information pertaining to this release, please contact the 1st Infantry Division public affairs office at 785-240-1796.


---

1st Lt. Todd W. Lambka, age 25, of Fraser, Michigan, died on August 1, 2012, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.

He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Todd attended Robbinsonville High School. High school officials describe him as everything you would want in a young man and everything that you would want your son to be.

He graduated from West Point in 2010.
Raphael, Archangel, pray
for Todd

Friends describe Todd as having a sterling character and being driven to succeed.

Family describe him as a big kid who was extremely mature for his age.

Todd is survived by many loving friends and relatives including his father, Brian; his twin brother, Jordan (who is also serving in Afghanistan); and his fiancee. Todd was predeceased by his mother.

---
Pfc. Jesus J. Lopez, age 22, of San Bernardino, California, died on August 1, 2012, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when he encountered an enemy improvised explosive device.

Pray for Jesus Lopez
He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Riley, Kansas.

Jesus is survived by many loving friends and relatives.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Aug. 04., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban financier in Andar district, Ghazni province, Thursday.

The detained Taliban financier oversaw the transfer of tens of thousands of Pakistani rupees to fund insurgent activities. He was also directly involved in planning and directing insurgent attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the province.

The security force also detained multiple suspected insurgents during the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

East


An Afghan and coalition security force conducted a security operation in Watahpur district, Kunar province, yesterday. During the operation, the security force engaged a group of al-Qaida associated insurgents with a precision airstrike. After the strike, the combined security force conducted a follow-on assessment and confirmed the strike had killed several of the insurgents. The security force also confirmed the strike had not injured any civilians or damaged any civilian property.

During a separate operation in Watahpur district, Kunar province, an Afghan and coalition security force engaged a group of heavily armed insurgents with a precision airstrike. A post-strike assessment confirmed multiple insurgents had been killed and several of the heavy weapons had been destroyed. The assessment also confirmed the airstrike had not injured any civilians or damaged any civilian property.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Aug. 04., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan (Aug. 4, 2012) – Afghan and coalition forces killed 12 insurgents, detained 23 and cleared 15 improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Aug. 3.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared 10 improvised explosive devices, nine in Ab Band district and one in Qarah Bagh district.

Khowst province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained 23 insurgents during engagements, 20 in Terezayi district, two in Musa Khel district and one in Khowst district. The detained suspects were transferred to bases for questioning.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared three improvised explosive devices, one in Tanai district and two in Khowst district.

Kunar province
A coalition airstrike killed eight insurgents in Marawarah district in response to Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces receiving small arms and indirect fire.

Logar province
A coalition airstrike killed two insurgents in Pul-E Alam district in response to an imminent threat posed to Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces.

A coalition airstrike killed two insurgents in Baraki Barak district in response to Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces receiving indirect fire.

Paktiya province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared two improvised explosive devices, one in Gardez district and one in Zurmat district.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

Enhanced by Zemanta

9 Taliban killed, 1 wounded and 11 arrested by ANP (Aug.04.2012.)



Publish Date: Aug 04, 2012
Nine Taliban killed, one wounded and 11 arrested by Afghan National Police

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched four joint clearance operations in Kabul, Balkh, Paktika and Pakitya provinces.

As a result of these operations, nine Taliban were killed, one wounded and 11 others were arrested by Afghan National Police.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated three AK-47 assault rifles, two motorcycles and some amount of ammunitions.

In the meantime, two mine planters were killed and one wounded by their own explosives while they were planting a roadside mine in the main road of Zurmat District of Paktiya province, yesterday.

Additionally, Afghan National Police arrested a mine planter while he was planting an anti-vehicle mine in the Gardiz City capital of Paktiya province, yesterday.

Meanwhile, Afghan National Police discovered and defused two anti-vehicle mines a as a result of security operations in Nangarhar and Kandahar provinces, yesterday.
Enhanced by Zemanta

Pirates attack ship off Nigeria, kidnap 4 foreigners

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) - Pirates attacked a ship being used by an oil servicing company in waters off southeastern Nigeria on Saturday, killing two Nigerian Naval guards and kidnapping four foreigners, the Navy said.

"The incident was somewhere around the Niger Delta, where an oil servicing company was attacked by gunmen. We lost two of our men and four expatriates were abducted, one Malaysian, one Iranian," Navy spokesman Commodore Kabir Aliyu said.

He said a Thai and an Indonesian were also taken, but had no immediate further details.

Security in the Delta has improved since militant activity shut down nearly half of Nigeria's oil output around the middle of the last decade, thanks to an amnesty between various militant factions and the government.

But the situation remains volatile and inflamed by organised crime and local political rivalries.

Piracy and kidnapping in the Delta and offshore are common, and West Africa's oil-rich Gulf of Guinea is second only to the waters around Somalia for the risk of pirate attacks, which drives up shipping insurance costs.

They are seen as more of a criminal enterprise making huge sums for armed gangs than as anything political.

Nigerian pirates usually release kidnapped crew members after their cargo has been looted, rather than held for ransom.

from REUTERS
Sat Aug 4, 2012 2:51pm GMT

Enhanced by Zemanta

At least 1 killed, 6 injured in suicide explosion in Kenya


NAIROBI, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least one person was killed and six others injured on Friday night in a suicide explosion in Nairobi, the first since 1998 bombing of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in what security analysts may be related to the Kenyan visit by the United State's Secretary of State on Saturday.

Regional police commander Anthony Kibuchi, who confirmed the incident, said that initial reports show that the deceased wanted to attack a supermarket in Eastleigh residential estate which is mainly inhabited by Kenyans of Somali origin.

"We are still investigating the incident but we suspect the man who had grenade wanted to attack a supermarket which was in Eastleigh First Avenue which lies a few minutes from Moi Air Base, " Kibuchi said.

The police have not yet verified if the dead person was the suicide bomber or a passerby in the populated estate that hosts Somali immigrants in Kenya, about a kilometer away from Moi Air Base, one of the key bases of the Kenya Defense Forces (KDF) air wing that is responsible for the custody of the presidential jet and overseeing the capital's air space safety.

But independent sources said the man who had the grenade was the victim of the attack as the object blew up his head and injured six others who were nearby.

"The man who had the grenade tried to throw it at two soldiers from a moving car but it incidentally blew him up before he could release it. The man is the one who died," Samsung Okoyo who was nearby told Xinhua by telephone.

"There was confusion after the explosion but it has been contained. There are soldiers and police at the scene who are trying to gather details of the attack," he said.

The attack widens the mode of operations for the suspected Al- Shabaab terrorists that have preferred throwing grenades into crowds of revellers and Church goers in various parts of the country.

In one of the most recent incidents, the suspected terrorists also staged a shoot-in at a Church in Garrisa, the main town near the shared border with Kenya killing 18 people.

The latest attack which occurred a few minutes before 19:00 local time came as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was due in the country on Saturday.

Clinton who is visiting some African nations is expected to hold talks with senior government officials including President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga on Saturday.

Clinton is expected to discuss the political developments in Somalia in her meetings with the Kenyan leaders in Nairobi on Saturday.

The suicide bombing incident presents a change of tactic for the Al-Shabaab militias that have previously been involved in non- fatal attacks against themselves on Kenyans.

It also presents the challenge to Kenya's security forces that have to deal with the new dimension of terror attacks.

The warning comes as the country's security forces have been on high alert across the country especially in northern Kenya over an imminent suicide bombing attack by members of the Al-Shabaab group from neighboring Somalia.

Kenya sent troops into Somalia to battle Al-Shabaab rebels in October 2011 after several attacks, including the kidnapping of a French woman and a British tourist–and the killing of her husband – damaged its key tourism industry.

Kenya's government says armed attacks and kidnappings threaten the country's tourism industry -- a key driver of the economy-- that had bounced back after near collapse following postelection violence four years ago in which more than 1,200 people died.

Al-Shabaab militants have vowed to attack Nairobi after the east African nation which hosted protracted negotiations that culminated in the signing of the federal charter for Somalia in 2005, invaded Somalia to flush out the insurgents it blamed for kidnappings of tourists.

from XINHUA
2012-08-04 03:59:13
Editor: Mu Xuequan

Enhanced by Zemanta

Women among 22 dead in new wave of violence in Afghanistan

KABUL (PAN): Twenty-two people were killed during gun attacks and an airstrike in eastern Kunar, central Logar and northern Faryab provinces, officials said on Saturday. 

In Kunar, eighteen armed insurgents were killed during an air raid by foreign troops in Watapur district, Governor Syed Fazlullah Wahidi told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The militants’ trenches came under attack from international troops in Sangar area on Friday night, he said, adding an investigation had been launched into the incident.

A statement from the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) media office in eastern provinces said several rebels were killed during the airstrike.

In central Logar province, two members of a family were killed during a clash between Afghan National Army (ANA) and the Taliban in Charkh district.

Din Mohammad Dervish, the governor's spokesman, said the incident took place at around 10am in the Bazaar area of the district, where an ANA patrol came under Taliban attack.

During the hour-long clash, one rocket landed in the house, killing a 15-year-old girl and a boy, 12. He said an investigation had been launched, but it remained unclear as to who had fired the rocket.

But resident Agha Mir claimed the rocket was fired by Afghan soldiers. H gave no further details.

In northern Afghanistan, two women were shot dead by unidentified motorcyclists in the Daulatabad district of Faryab province, said Saifur Rahman Samat, the town's administrative head.

He added the overnight incident occurred in Qozibai village, where four motorcyclists entered a house, killing the women.

Deputy police chief, Col. Abdur Rashid Bashir, said one of the women was working for the Critical Infrastructure Protection force.

from Pajhwok
by Pajhwok ReportonAug 4, 2012 - 16:17   

Enhanced by Zemanta

Search this blog