Saturday, May 25, 2013

In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 15 Armed Taliban Killed (May 25.2013.)



Publish Date: May 25, 2013
 
Counterterrorism:
In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police conducted several joint clearance operations with the cooperation of Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces to clean some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan.

The operations were conducted in Kandahar, Logar, Ghazni and Paktika provinces, as a result 15 armed Taliban were killed and 21 other armed Taliban were arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and defused some amount of light and heavy rounds ammunition and 200 kilos of ammonium nitrate.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused an anti-vehicle mine placed by enemies of Afghanistan for destructive activity in Nangarhar province.

Counter Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained a suspect accused of murder in the 10th District of Kabul-City.
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Would-be bomber killed by own explosives in Kabul

KABUL (PAN): A would-be suicide bomber was killed when his suicide vest went off prematurely in a house on southeastern outskirts of Kabul on Saturday, an official said.

The explosion took place in the Shah Saheed area in the limits of 8th police district, police spokesman Hashmatullah Stanikzai told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said the attacker was fixing the suicide jacket to his body when it exploded at 7:30am, killing him on the spot and damaging the house. But no other people were hurt inside the home where the bomber was said to be a guest.

Police have launched their investigation into the incident.

from Pajhwok
By Hassan Khitab May 25, 2013 - 11:27

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May 25., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan National Security and coalition forces killed one insurgent, detained two suspected insurgents, discovered one weapons cache and found and safely cleared nine improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, May 24.

Ghazni province

Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared one IED during operations in the Ghazni district.

Khowst province
Coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED during operations in the Khowst district.

Kunar province
Coalition forces killed one insurgent during operations in the Sar Kani district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared one IED during operations in the Khogyani district.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security and coalition forces detained two suspected insurgents and found and safely cleared two IEDs during operations in the Sharan district. The suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Security and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED during operations in the Zirok district.

Paktya province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs during operations in the Jaji district.

Afghan National Security Forces discovered one weapons cache during operations in the Saidkaram district. The cache contained two 107 mm rockets, one single barrel rocket launcher, two 82 mm rounds, one rifle and multiple IED making components.

Wardak province
Coalition Forces found and safely cleared one IED during operations in the Sayed Abad district.

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Explosion in mosque kill 9 people in Ghazni province

English: Map of the districts of Ghazni provin...
districts of Ghazni province (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
At least nine people were killed and several others were injured following an explosion in central-eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan on Friday evening.

The incident took place later Friday evening in a mosque in restive Andar district.

According to local authorities the incident took place while Taliban militants were inside the mosque and their explosives went off.

The officials furhter added a number of civilians were also killed or injured following the incident.

Taliban militants group yet to comment regarding the incident.

In the meantime a senior Taliban leader was killed along with two other fighters following an explosion in Andar district on Friday afternoon.

Deputy provincial governor Mohammad Ali Ahmadi confirming the report said Piru Watan was killed while he was planting a roadside bomb in Mehter area.

Mr. Ahmadi said Piru Watan was a senior Taliban leader who was controlling group of insurgents in Andar, Qarabagh, Moqor and Gilan districts of Ghazni province.

from KHAAMA
By Meena Haseeb - 25 May 2013, 9:22 am

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Attack on Police Convoy in Pakistan Kills 6

A militant attack on a police convoy near the city of Peshawar in northwestern Pakistan has killed at least six policemen.
Several others were wounded, including the district police officer, in the attack Friday on the Indus Highway. Local media say the militants armed with rockets ambushed the convoy, which was on its way from Peshawar to Kohat.

A wounded driver was able to reach Kohat, where the wounded were rushed to a hospital. A police contingent was sent to the area after the attack.

Earlier Friday, unidentified gunmen opened fire on a convoy of NATO containers in northwestern Pakistan, killing a driver and wounding another person.

Local tribal police official Khan Dad said the gunmen opened fire from the nearby mountains as the convoy entered Pakistan from Afghanistan in the troubled Khyber region.

The convoy was heading for the port city of Karachi.

Militant attacks are common in northwestern Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt near the border with Afghanistan.

Pakistan is a key transit route for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, from where supplies are driven to the border from the Arabian Sea port of Karachi.

In Peshawar, a suicide bomber attacked the vehicle of a religious leader Friday, killing three people.

Authorities say the leader, Haji Hayatullah, was not in the vehicle when it was attacked.  His driver, a bodyguard and a passerby were killed in the blast.

No one has claimed responsibility.

from VOA News
May 24, 2013

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Belmokhtar's unit participated in Niger suicide attacks


Mokhtar-Belmokhtar-Sahara-Media.jpg
Al Qaeda commander Mokhtar Belmokhtar. Image from Sahara Media.

Mokhtar Belmokhtar, the leader of the al Qaeda-linked al Mua'qi'oon Biddam, or the Those Who Sign in Blood Brigade, said that its fighters participated in yesterday's double suicide attack in Niger along with the Movement for Oneness and Jihad in West Africa (MUJAO). The attack was launched to avenge the death of a senior al Qaeda in Islamic Maghreb commander who was killed while fighting in Mali earlier this year, he claimed. The statement also put to rest rumors that Belmokhtar was killed in Mali by French and Chadian forces in early March.

Belmokhtar's statement was posted on jihadist forums on May 23; it was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group. The statement was signed by Khalid Abu al Abbas, which is one of Belmokhtar's aliases.

The May 23 suicide attacks, the first of their kind in Niger, targeted a military barracks in Agadez and a uranium mine in Arlit that supplies French reactors. The Agadez attack was executed by a five-man suicide assault team; 18 Nigerien soldiers and a civilian were killed. A MUJAO spokesman claimed credit for the attack.

Belmokhtar said the attacks in Niger were executed to avenge Abdel Hamid Abou Zeid, an AQIM commander who was killed by French and Chadian forces during a military operation to root out the terror group in northern Mali.

"We send to our dear Ummah a glad tiding of one of the epics of Islam that took place in the heart of the enemy land, and one of the invasions of al Mua'qi'oon Biddam under the name of the martyred commander, as we consider him, Abdel Hamid Abou Zeid," Belmokhtar stated.

Belmokhtar said that "a battalion from our commandos who gave a pledge of allegiance to die rose to retaliate for him [Abou Zeid], coming from different countries to sign with their blood inside the fortresses of an enemy whose army was one of the foundations of the Crusader campaign on our Muslim land."

The attack was also launched as "the first of our response to the statement of the President of Niger - from his masters in Paris - that he eliminated jihad and the mujahideen militarily."

Warning that "more operations" are being prepared, Belmokhtar said, "We will move the battle to the inside of his country [Niger] if he doesn't withdraw his mercenary army" from Mali. Belmokhtar also warned other countries who plan to provide "peacekeepers" in Mali that they will "taste the heat of death and wounds in [their] homelands and among [their] soldiers."

"The convoys of martyrdom-seekers and commandos are ready and waiting for their targets and permission," Belmokhtar concluded.

The al Mua'qi'oon Biddam fights throughout West Africa. In January, just after French forces invaded Mali to eject AQIM, MUJAO, and Ansar Dine from the north, Belmokhtar launched a large-scale suicide assault against the In Amenas gas facility in southeastern Algeria. More than 40 fighters carried out the attack. One of the assault teams was led by a Nigerien known as Abdul Rahman al Nigeri, who had led another assault on a military barracks in Mauritania in 2005. Belmokhtar claimed the attack in the name of al Qaeda.

Although Belmokhtar was reported to have been killed at the same time Abou Zeid was killed, the reports were never confirmed. The president of Chad and the military insisted that Belmokhtar was dead, but the French, who were adamant that Abu Zeid was killed, refused to speculate about the status of Belmokhtar. In early April, Hamad el Khairy, the head of MUJAO, claimed that Belmokhtar was alive.

Although Belmokhtar split with AQIM in December 2012, he still conducts joint operations with the group as well as with MUJAO. Belmokhtar reports directly to al Qaeda's central leadership, according to his spokesman. Al Qaeda central tightened its control over AQIM's hostage operations in late 2010.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/05/belmokhtars_unit_par.php#ixzz2UIK9AcKJ
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