NATO helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan, 2 troops killed

Districts of Logar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A NATO helicopter crashed killing two troops in Eastern Afghanistan, the third time in 10 days that a coalition helicopter has come down.

NATO-led International Security Assistance Force following a statement on Wednesday announced, “Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan today.”

The statement did not disclose further information regarding the exact location of the incident and nationalities of the deceased soldiers saying, “It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.”

In the meantime reports suggest the incident happened in Logar province in Eastern Afghanistan, an area patrolled mostly by U.S. forces.

The Taliban quickly claimed responsibility, saying one of their fighters shot the aircraft down. Afghan sources in Logar say a heavy firefight broke out after the helicopter crashed.

Less than a week ago, a NATO helicopter crashed near Kandahar, killing two Australian troops. On August 26, another NATO helicopter crashed, described by ISAF as a “hard landing.” According to ISAF, no one on board was killed. The Taliban claimed responsibility for both incidents, saying their fighters shot the aircraft down.

from KHAAMA
By Sadaf Shinwari - Wed Sep 05, 3:44 pm
---
ISAF Joint Command release

KABUL, Afghanistan – Two International Security Assistance Force service members died following a helicopter crash in eastern Afghanistan today.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

It is ISAF policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the relevant national authorities.

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Militants kill 4 Russian soldiers in Caucasus

North Caucasus regions within the Russian Federation (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Reuters) - Militants attacked a convoy of Russian interior ministry troops in the violence-plagued North Caucasus province of Ingushetia on Wednesday, killing four soldiers, Russian news agencies said.

The attackers set off explosions as the convoy was passing and then opened fire with guns and grenade-launchers, state-run RIA reported, citing regional security officials. At least four other soldiers were wounded.

Russia is battling a persistent insurgency in the North Caucasus more than a decade after federal forces ousted a separatist government in Chechnya, adjacent to Ingushetia, in the second of two devastating post-Soviet wars there.

Rebels target police and security forces as well as government officials and mainstream Muslim leaders in frequent attacks in the region along Russia's southern edge.


from REUTERS
MOSCOW | Wed Sep 5, 2012 6:39am EDT
(Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Mark Heinrich)

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Hundreds of ANA soldiers held over insider attacks

KABUL (PAN): Hundreds of Afghan National Army soldiers have been detained or sacked over rising insider attacks on NATO-led troops in different parts of the country, a defence ministry official said on Wednesday.

Since the beginning of the current year, 45 International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers, mostly American, have been killed in 33 green-on-blue attacks by Afghan security personnel.

Addressing a news conference in Kabul, defence ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi called the increasing attacks a source of serious concern for the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Worried by the incidents, the US military said earlier in the week that its special forces had put on ice training for 1,000 Afghan police recruits to vet existing members.

“So far, hundreds of people have either been arrested or expelled from the army. We have found evidence against some people and some suspicious people have been arrested,” Gen. Azimi said.

Investigations over the past seven months had led to the detention and termination of hundreds of suspects, the spokesman said, explaining that there were no foreigners among the detainees.

He alleged some regional countries, unhappy over the growing capacity of local security forces, especially the army, were trying to create mistrust between Afghan and ISAF troops.

Without naming anyone, the spokesman claimed that the regional countries were in an effort to disrupt the training programme for Afghan forces.

The process of transferring inmates from the Bagram detention centre to Afghan-controlled prisons was about to be completed, he said.

Of the 3,082 Bagram detention centre inmates, 3006 have been shifted to Afghan jails, with 34 still in US custody. The rest were released before the inmates were handed over to Afghan authorities.

from Pajhwok
by Hasan Khitab on Sep 5, 2012 - 14:28   

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Eight dead in north Iraq attacks

Bombings and shootings in northern Iraq, mostly targeting security forces, left eight people dead on Tuesday, including six soldiers and a police general, security and medical officials said.

In the deadliest attack, two near-simultaneous roadside bombs detonated as a military convoy was passing along the road between the town of Tuz Khurmatu, 175 kilometers (110 miles) north of Baghdad, and nearby Al-Adhaim.

The blasts killed six soldiers and wounded two others, according to a military intelligence officer and Dr. Mehdi Abdullah al-Bayati of Tuz Khurmatu hospital.

In the ethnically-mixed northern city of Kirkuk, gunmen killed a police adviser to the provincial council and wounded two of his bodyguards while they were in a shop, a police official and Sadiq Omar Rasul, head of the provincial health department, said.

Major General Adnan al-Bayati died instantly when the attackers opened fire with machine guns, and his bodyguards were seriously wounded, the officials said.

Just northwest of Kirkuk, authorities found the mutilated corpse of a teenage boy, who police believe was killed earlier on Tuesday, according to Colonel Othman Hama Amin, a local police chief.

Ali Mohammed Ali, whose identity papers listed him as a 16-year-old Arab, was found with his hands, feet and head cut off, and with two gunshot wounds to his body.

Tuesday’s violence came two days after two bomb attacks against security forces killed four -- two policemen and two soldiers -- in Tuz Khurmatu and the northern city of Kirkuk.

Violence in Iraq is down dramatically from its peaks in 2006 and 2008, but attacks remain common -- 278 people were killed in August, according to an AFP tally based on reports from security and medical officials.

from AL ARABIYA
Wednesday, 05 September 2012

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• Eight dead in north Iraq attacks (nation.co.ke)

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U.S. drone attack kills 5 in Yemen

(Reuters) - Five suspected Islamist militants were killed in a U.S. drone attack on Wednesday in Yemen's eastern province of Hadramout, a Yemeni security official said.
The strike targeted a house where the suspected militants were hiding in the Wadi al-Ain area, said the security official. "Five militants were dead and three were injured and managed to escape".

The United States, which fears the spread of militants in Yemen, has stepped up attacks by unmanned aircraft this year. This is the fourth strike in two weeks in Hadramout province.

Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula is based in Yemen and has mounted operations in neighboring Saudi Arabia as well as attempting to launch attacks against the United States.

On Sunday, ten civilians including a 10-year-old girl were killed by a Yemeni government air strike that apparently had missed its target.

Tribal heads met with government officials in the central city of Redaa where the attack happened, officials said.

"It's been agreed that compensation will be paid to the families of the victims," said a tribal source.

Islamist militants gained ground in Yemen and took control of several towns in the south during an uprising which forced President Ali Abdullah Saleh to step down in February.

The army, with backing from the United States, forced them out of some areas this year but they have hit back with a series of suicide bombings targeting government institutions.


from REUTERS
ADEN, Yemen, Sept 5 | Wed Sep 5, 2012 5:25am EDT
(Reporting by Dhuyazen Mukhashaf; Editing by Diana Abdallah)

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2 al-Qaida militants killed, 3 arrested in Yemen's south

ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 5 (Xinhua) -- Two suspected al-Qaida militants were killed and three others arrested in a shootout with government forces in Yemen's southern province of Abyan early Wednesday, a military official said.

The shootout occurred after soldiers of the anti-terrorism squad launched a storming campaign against a hideout of the al- Qaida group in Jaar town, in southern Abyan province, the local military official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A group of al-Qaida militants hiding in a residential compound opened fired at the anti-terrorism soldiers, sparking an exchange of fire that lasted for about 13 minutes, the official said.

The government soldiers tried to capture the five al-Qaida suspects without any casualties, but shot them when they resisted arrest, killing two and capturing three others, he added.

During Wednesday's raid, the soldiers found three computers and documents showing that the suspects were involved in two terrorist attacks recently against security forces in Abyan province, according to the military official.

Elsewhere in southern Yemen, gunmen fired at a police post in the port city of Aden, injuring two soldiers. A few hours later, unknown attackers threw a hand grenade at another post, but no casualties were reported.

The al-Qaida militants, known locally as Ansar al-Sharia ( Partisans of Islamic Law), were recently either captured or wanted by the security authorities after a U.S.-backed offensive launched in the southern Abyan province three months ago, which routed the militants out of their strongholds that they had controlled for nearly a year.

Combating al-Qaida network in the impoverished Arab country remains one of the biggest challenges confronting Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has promised to reform the army, restore security and uproot the resurgent Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.


from XINHUA
2012-09-05 16:57:02

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

KABUL, Afghanistan – One of the Taliban leaders behind the Aug. 7 attack on a coalition base in Logar province was killed by Afghan and coalition security forces in Pul-e ‘Alam district, Logar province, Tuesday.

Afghan and coalition security forces positively identified the Taliban leader, Bismullah, and two additional insurgents and engaged them with a precision airstrike after confirming no civilians were in the area. All three Taliban personnel were killed.

Bismullah is believed to have supplied suicide bombers with essential equipment for the Aug. 7 attack, which wounded several Afghan civilians but failed to cause any significant damage to the coalition base.

At the time of his death, Bismullah was believed to be planning another large-scale attack and had transported several rockets across the region.

A post-strike assessment determined no civilian property was damaged and no civilians were harmed.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

North

An Afghan and coalition security force killed multiple armed insurgents during an operation to arrest a senior Taliban leader in Chimtal district, Balkh province, today. As the security force approached the Taliban leader’s suspected location, several insurgents opened fire on the Afghan and coalition troops. The security force returned fire, killing several insurgents armed with multiple weapons, including a rocket-propelled grenade launcher. No civilians were harmed in the exchange.

South

An Afghan special police and coalition security force yesterday seized a vehicle in Maiwand district, Kandahar province packed with nearly 2,700 kilograms (6,000 pounds) of explosives. The Afghan-led team stopped the suspect vehicle and upon discovery of the explosives, detained its three occupants. The vehicle is believed to have been bound for bomb makers in Helmand and Kandahar provinces. The explosives were destroyed on site.

Afghan Provincial Response Company Wardak and coalition forces disrupted an insurgent attack on an Afghan National Army security patrol in Maidan Shahr district, Wardak province yesterday. The PRC, responding to a reported insurgent ambush on the ANA patrol, provided covering fire for the unit in contact and conducted a follow-on mission to investigate a suspected Taliban checkpoint. The PRC's timely and effective response enabled the ANA patrol to recover from the engagement.

East

Afghan and coalition forces confirmed today the death of the Taliban commander Naqib following a precision airstrike in Pul-e ‘Alam district, Logar province, Monday. Prior to his death, Naqib is believed to have coordinated an attack against Afghan and coalition forces, wounding several members of the Afghan National Police. A post-strike assessment determined no civilian property was damaged and no civilians were harmed.

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

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition detained two insurgents, located a weapons cache and cleared six improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Sept. 4.

Laghman province
Afghan National Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared an improvised explosive device in Mehtar Lam district.

Logar province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two improvised explosive devices in Pul-E Alam district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared an improvised explosive device in Shinwar district.

Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained a known improvised explosive device emplacer in Jalalabad district. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Paktika province
Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained an insurgent during an engagement in Giyan 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 improvised explosive decices, one in Sayyidabad district and one in Maidan Shahr district.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Sayyidabad district. The cache contained homemade explosives and multiple mortar rounds being used for improvised explosive devices.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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Pakistan fire 80 missiles in eastern Kunar province

Local authorities in eastern Afghanistan announced Pakistani military forces fired at least 80 missiles in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan during the past two days in the latest wave of cross-border incursion.

Kunar provincial governor spokesman Wasifullah Wasifi said at least 3 Afghan civilians were injured following the Pakistani military shelling.

Mr. Wasifi further added at least 43 missiles were fired on Sunday while 37 more missiles were fired on Monday in Dangam district of eastern Kunar province.

This comes as local officials in eastern Afghanistan earlier said hundreds of missiles and heavy shells were fired in eastern bordering regions of Afghanistan with Pakistan during the past one year.

The officials further added several Afghan civilians were killed or injured following the attacks besides forcing the local residents to flee from their homes.

Local residents in Kunar province have launched protests against the cross-border incursions and a number of political groups have criticized the Afghan government in this regard.

Afghan parliament members also dismissed interior and defense ministers for being failed to prevent the cross-border shelling by Pakistani military forces.

Afghan government officials have repeatedly warned to file a complain against the cross-border shelling with the UN Security Council however it seems that the cross-border incursion still continues in eastern Afghanistan.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Tue Sep 04, 9:39 pm

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Islamic Militant Group in Northern Mali Expanding Southward

DAKAR, Senegal — A relatively new al-Qaida offshoot in northern Mali has pushed south, seizing a town less than 200 kilometers from the Malian army frontline.

Since 2011, the militant Islamist sect has been involved in kidnapping for ransom, a suicide bombing in Algeria, and most recently the execution of an Algerian diplomat, taken hostage in northern Mali in April. Analysts say the sect is still defining itself. 

The Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa, more commonly known by its French acronym MUJAO, is one of a kaleidoscope of allied, armed Islamist groups in control of northern Mali.

The group emerged from al-Qaida's North Africa branch in 2011 with the aim of spreading jihad further south beyond the Sahara.

Ambitions

MUJAO seized the northern town of Douentza from a local self-defense militia on September 1. The town, in the Mopti region of Mali, marks the southernmost point of Islamist occupied territory, and its seizure has sparked concern in Bamako.

Northern community leader and analyst, Mohamed Ould Mahmoud, said MUJAO is eager to flex its muscle.

He said they want to show that they can move south, that they can go anywhere they want. He said MUJAO calls itself a West African jihadist movement and it has larger regional ambitions than the other Islamist groups in the north. Mahmoud said they want to prove themselves and are more unpredictable.

MUJAO was among the armed groups that took control of northern Mali following a military coup March 22 in Bamako. It has since consolidated its position in the northern town of Gao after pushing out Tuareg separatist rebels.

...

from VOA News
Anne Look
September 04, 2012

Read more: http://www.voanews.com/content/islamic_militant_group_in_northern_mali_expanding_southward/1501473.html

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R.I.P. - Staff Sgt. Jeremie S. Border, Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt

DOD Identifies Army Casualties

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

            They died Sept. 1, in Batur Village, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked their unit with small arms fire. 

            Killed were:

            Staff Sgt. Jeremie S. Border, 28, of Mesquite, Texas, assigned to 1st Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group (Airborne), Torii Station, Japan; and

            Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, 28, of Petersburg, Va., assigned to 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, 20th Support Command (CBRNE), Fort Bragg, N.C.

            For more information regarding Border please contact the Special Forces Command public affairs office at 910-432-6005 or 910-689-6187.

            For more information regarding Schmidt please contact the 20th Support Command CBRNE public affairs office at 443-910-5799 or 410-436-9533.

---

from wfaa.com:

by TERESA WOODARD
Posted on September 3, 2012 at 10:02 PM
Updated yesterday at 10:15 PM
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Jeremie Border of Mesquite has died in combat in Afghanistan.

The Mesquite High School and McMurry University football standout is being called a hero by the people who watched him grow up.

The moment you pull up in front of Border's childhood home, you know. The flags and ribbons give it away.

This is a soldier's home.

Neighbor John Counts described Border in simple but powerful terms: "A man. A man of honor."

He and others best remember him as a boy — a football player at Mesquite High School, where they said he was a member of the 2001 state championship team which recorded a perfect 15-0 season.

Border went on to play college football for four years at McMurry University in Abilene.

Then he joined the Army, became a staff sergeant, and a Green Beret.

Border was killed Saturday in Afghanistan. His body arrived Monday at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

Read more: http://www.wfaa.com/news/local/dallas/Mesquite-soldier-dies-in-afghanistan-jeremie-border-168407076.html
---

from hamptonroads.com:
By Mike Connors
The Virginian-Pilot
September 4, 2012   
Soldier from Petersburg killed in Afghanistan
A soldier from central Virginia was killed Saturday in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense announced today.

Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, 28, of Petersburg, died in Batur Village, when enemy forces attacked his unit, a news release said. Schmidt was assigned to 192nd Ordnance Battalion, 52nd Ordnance Group, 20th Support Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

9/4/2012 - A U.S. Army carry team transfers the remains of Army Staff Sgt. Jonathan P. Schmidt, of Petersburg, Va., at Dover Air Force Base, Del., Sept. 3, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo/Roland Balik)

Schmidt attended Thomas Dale High School and leaves behind a wife and young son in North Carolina.

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Suicide bomber kills 25 at Afghan funeral

Afghan men assist those injured in a bomb blast as they arrive at a hospital in Jalalabad September 4, 2012.
REUTERS/ Parwiz

(Reuters) - A suicide bomber killed at least 25 people and wounded dozens at a funeral in eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials said, the latest large-scale attack on civilians.

A local district chief and dozens of his relatives were at the ceremony in the Dur Baba district of Nangarhar province, near the Pakistan border, when a man detonated a vest he was wearing packed with explosives, the officials said.

They said Dur Baba district chief Haji Hamesha Gul, who was wounded in the attack, was probably the main target.

"My brother saw the bomber and grabbed him just as he pushed the button, killing him and many others," Gul told Reuters from a hospital bed in Jalalabad, Nangarhar's capital.

Khan Mohammad, also in hospital in Jalalabad after being wounded in the attack, said: "I was at the graveyard just putting the dead body inside the tomb when I heard a loud explosion. Many people were screaming and crying for help."

The provincial governor's spokesman, Ahmadzia Abdulzai, said the attack was aimed at Gul and his supporters because they had recently opposed insurgents in the area. The funeral was for one of Gul's relatives.

"We have at least 25 innocent people martyred and around 65 others wounded," Abdulzai said. NATO also put the death toll at 25, but said more than 50 were people wounded.

The Interior Ministry blamed Taliban insurgents for the bombing.

President Hamid Karzai condemned the attack and offered his condolences to the victims' families, he said in a statement.
...
(Additional Reporting by Mirwais Harooni in Kabul Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Pravin Char)
read more at REUTERS
By Rafiq Sherzad
JALALABAD, Afghanistan | Tue Sep 4, 2012 5:21pm BST
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ISAF Regional Command East release:

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – A suicide bomber attacked a funeral in Dur Baba district, Nangarhar province, killing 25 Afghan civilians and wounding more than 50 this afternoon, according to reports from Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials.

Gul Agha Shirzai, the Nangarhar provincial governor, condemned the suicide attack as cowardly and offered his sympathies and condolences to the families of the victims.

“Insurgents with no respect for the lives of innocent civilians, in an action totally against Islamic values, killed and wounded many Afghans at a funeral ceremony today,” Shirzai said.

Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF medics responded to the incident, securing the area and providing medical care to the wounded.

The son of Hamisha Gul, the Dur Baba district governor, is among those who were killed. The district governor was wounded. Reports indicate that the wounds are minor.

Shirzai said he has ordered his security officials to launch an immediate investigation into the incident to bring the perpetrator or perpetrators of the “horrific action” to justice.

Despite the efforts of the enemies of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, ISAF forces in eastern Afghanistan remain committed to partnering with their Afghan National Security Forces counterparts to secure a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people.

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• Afghan suicide bomber kills 25 injures 30 (afghanistannews.net)

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