Two civilians killed, one wounded in Helmand province

Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Independent Departments of the Local Governance
Office of the Provincial Governor of Helmand
Helmand's Provincial Media Office

 

No: 0064 - News Release - Date: 2012-05-27

 

IED explosion killed innocent civilians in Helmand

 

Sunday 27th may; two civilians were killed and one other wounded as a result of terrorist’s IED
(improvised explosive device) explosion in Ghamgyan village, Marjah district of Helmand
province today around half past ten o’clock Am.
The two civilians were killed and one injured while driving in the Mazda vehicle and was
exploded by the terrorist’s land improvised mine in the area.
After the explosion the security forces arrested a person in the area from Waziristan and he is
under the investigation at the moment.
Helmand governor condemns the explosion harshly and offers own sympathy to the relatives and
family of the departed and pray for Allah paradise for the departed souls.
Also special force of National army conducted special operation on Saturday night in Mohammad
Anwar shah village, Gereshk district of Helmand province.
As a result of the operation eight suspects were arrested in the area and are under the investigation
at the moment. 

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May 27., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to detain a senior Taliban leader in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, today.

The leader is the senior Taliban insurgent in Marjeh district and manages multiple insurgent cells in the area.

He directs suicide bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout Marjeh and Nahr-e Saraj districts.

He also coordinates with Taliban leaders to move suicide bombers and explosives into Afghanistan for use against Afghan and coalition forces.

The security force detained multiple suspected insurgents as a result of this operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

North

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to detain a senior Taliban leader in Aliabad district, Kunduz province, today. The leader is the senior Taliban insurgent in Aliabad district and controls multiple insurgent cells. He plans, coordinates, and conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against district government officials, Afghan National Security Forces and coalition troops. During the operation, the combined Afghan and coalition force was attacked by insurgents. The security force returned fire killing several of the insurgents.

In Khwajah Sabz Posh district, Faryab province, an Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to detain an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator today. The facilitator distributes funds, weapons and other equipment between IMU cells and manages the recruitment and movement of IMU insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops throughout Faryab province. As a result of this operation, the security force detained multiple suspected insurgents.

South

In Arghistan district, Kandahar province, an Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to detain a Taliban leader today. The leader conducts roadside bombings and indirect fire attacks against Afghan and coalition troops in Tarnek wa Jaldak district, Zabul province. He also provides weapons, ammunition, and roadside bombs to the insurgents under his control in Tarnek wa Jaldak. As a result of the operation, the security force detained multiple suspected insurgents.

An Afghan-led security force, supported by coalition troops, conducted an operation to detain a Taliban leader in Kandahar district, Kandahar province, today. The leader conducts roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces in Daman and Shah Wali Kot districts. He is also an explosives expert who builds improvised explosive devices and distributes them to the insurgents under his control. The security force detained multiple suspected insurgents as a result of this operation.

An Afghan and coalition security force detained an insurgent bomb maker in Tarin Kowt district, Uruzgan province, Wednesday. During the operation, the security force detained several other insurgents and recovered explosives, IED components, and weapons. The IED components and explosives were destroyed in place.

East

In Sherzad district, Nangarhar province, an Afghan-led security force, supported by coalition troops, conducted an operation to detain a Taliban leader. The leader conducts roadside bombings and ambushes against Afghan and coalition security forces in Sherzad and Khugyani districts. The security force detained two suspected insurgents and seized one pistol as a result of the operation.

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted an operation to detain a Taliban leader in Charkh district, Logar province, today. The leader conducts roadside bombings and ambushes against Afghan and coalition security forces throughout the district. As a result of the operation, the security force detained two suspected insurgents and seized one pistol and two grenades.

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5 people killed in Iraq's violence

BAGHDAD, May 26 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and four others injured on Saturday in separate bomb and gunfire attacks in Iraq, the police said.

In Iraq's northern province of Nineveh, three soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb went off near their patrol in Badosh area, just west of the provincial capital city of Mosul, some 400 km north of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

Near Baghdad, gunfire broke out in the town of Tarmiyah, some 30 km north of Baghdad, when gunmen attacked the car of the leader of a local government-backed Awakening Council group, an Interior Ministry source anonymously told Xinhua.

The clash resulted in the killing of two of the attackers and the wounding of one of the leader's bodyguards, the source said.

The Awakening Council group, also known as Sons of Iraq movement or Sahwa, consists of mostly anti-U.S. Sunni insurgent militant groups, who turned their rifles to fight al-Qaida network after Sahwa's leaders became dismayed by al-Qaida's brutality and religious zealotry in the country.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, an army officer and a soldier were wounded when gunmen attacked their foot patrol in the city of Maqdadiyah, some 100 km northeast of Baghdad, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, a young man was injured when a roadside bomb exploded near his house in the town of Jalawlaa, some 130 km northeast of Baghdad, the source said.

Violence is still common in Iraqi cities despite dramatic decrease since its peak in 2006 and 2007 when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

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R.I.P. - Pfc. Cale C. Miller

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

            Pfc. Cale C. Miller, 23, of Overland Park, Kan, died May 24, in Maiwand, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained when enemy forces attacked his unit with an improvised explosive device.  He was assigned to the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Wash.

            For more information the media may contact I Corps public affairs office at 253-370-9861.

---

from MSNBC &  KNBC-TV:

Statement From Miller's Family:

PFC Cale Miller. United States Army, Overland Park, Kansas, was killed during a combat mission in Maiwand, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan on May 24, 2012. Cale was a member of Company B, 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team(SBCT) Fort Lewis, Washington.

Cale was a 2007 graduate of Olathe Northwest High School and attended the University of Kansas and Baker University. 

As he did throughout his life, his final act on this earth was selfless, and his sacrifice prevented the deaths of several of his Battle Buddies. Cale was a hero in everyday life, always putting others before himself, including giving his life so that others may live. He was also a warrior on the battlefield, and his loss is felt sharply by his fellow soldiers. 

His mother, Deborah Collins, said of her son, “Although we are devastated by our loss, we find comfort knowing that Cale died doing exactly what he wanted to do. His sacrifice shall not be in vain, and we rest assured knowing that some good will come from his untimely death. We love him to the moon and back.” 

In lieu of gifts/flowers, donations may be made in PFC Miller's name to the USO. The family requests privacy at this most difficult time. 

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5 militants killed, 6 security personnel hurt in Helmand

LASHKARGAH (PAN): At least 16 people, including civilians, militants, Afghan and foreign soldiers, were killed and wounded during a spate of violence across southern Helmand province, officials said on Saturday.

Five Taliban militants were killed during an operation by Afghan and foreign troops in the Nahr-i-Saraj area of Greshk district, police spokesman, Farid Ahmad Farhang, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Meanwhile, four policemen and two International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers were injured during a roadside bombing in the Khakh area of Greshk district, he said. 

A civilian was killed and three others, all from the same family, were injured when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Weshtano area of Sangin district on Friday afternoon, the police official said, adding the  injured were shifted to a nearby health facility. Their condition was reported to be stable.

Elsewhere, police seized three mines and explosives during a search operation in Binzo village of Greshk district. Farhang said a local policeman was killed during a clash with the Taliban in Marja district.

Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, said the fighters had inflicted heavy casualties on Afghan and foreign soldiers during attacks in Sangin, Greshk and Musa Qala districts.

from Pajhwok
by Zainullah Stanikzai

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Rocket attacks kill two injure 13 in Quetta

QUETTA: Two people were killed and at least 13 others injured on Saturday amid rocket attacks in different parts of the violence-hit provincial capital of Balochistan, DawnNews reported.

According to police, at least two rockets were fired from Quetta’s adjoining areas. The first attack shattered a local shop completely in Qandahari Bazar and killed two people.

Meanwhile the second rocket was dropped on a house in Basti Panchayat near Kasi Road. Three houses were destroyed as a result and at least 13 people sustained injuries as well.

Injured were taken to a nearby hospital.

Police and Frontier Constabulary (FC) officials cordoned off the sites and initiated an inquiry into the incidents.

Moreover, a student was killed while five people including Principal of Kharan Public School received bullet shots when armed men opened fire at them earlier on Saturday, police said.

“Unidentified gunmen riding bikes targeted the vehicle of local private school principal Muzafar Jamali in Kharan district as a result one student Obaidullah sitting inside the vehicle died on the spot while five people including the principal sustained injuries and were shifted to a hospital.

The assailants managed to escape.

Due to their critical situation, doctors referred the injured to hospitals in Quetta.

Police registered a case and started investigation.

from DAWN

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R.I.P. - Cpl. Keaton G. Coffey

(Photo from Keaton Coffey's Facebook page)

DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

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

            Cpl. Keaton G. Coffey, 22, of Boring, Ore., died May 24 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 1st Law Enforcement Battalion, 1st Marine Headquarters Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

            For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force public affairs office at 760-763-4675.

---
from katu.com:

BORING, Ore. - A local soldier from Boring was killed in Afghanistan this past week.

Cpl. Keaton G. Coffey, 22, died on May 24 during combat operations in the Helmand province, according to the Department of Defense.

Coffey was assigned to the 1st Law Enforcement Battalion, 1st Marine Headquarters Group, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force out of Camp Pendleton, California.
Coffey, who was an only child, was engaged to be married in July. He went to Damascus Christian School before entering the service.

Photo from Keaton Coffey's Facebook page

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Yemen's army says recaptured rebel positions

(Reuters) - The Yemeni army battled al Qaeda-linked militants deep inside Zinjibar on Saturday, recapturing key positions inside the southern rebel-held city and killing at least 62 Islamist fighters, including Somalis, a military official said.

The official said three government soldiers died and four were wounded in the fighting, part of an offensive that began earlier this month to uproot Islamist militants from southern Yemen.

He said many of the dead militants were Somalis, but gave no precise figures.

Al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law)have exploited last year's popular protests against President Ali Abdullah Saleh's 33-years in office and captured large swathes of territory in the province of Abyan, including the provincial capital Zinjibar.

The expansion of the militants' area of control has unsettled the United States and Saudi Arabia, both targets of failed attacks by Yemen's al Qaeda wing which earlier this week claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Sanaa on Monday that killed more than 100 soldiers.

Both countries have been pushing new Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Hadi Mansour, who took over after Saleh stepped down in February, to unite the army and roll back the militants' gains.

Washington considers Qaeda in Yemen, which has attracted foreign fighters from places like Somalia and Saudi Arabia, the world's most active terror cell.

Yemeni forces last week recaptured parts of the strategic city of Zinjibar and fought militants in the city of Jaar, another militant stronghold, leaving 33 militants and nine soldiers dead.

(Reporting by Mohammed Mukhashaf; Writing by Mahmoud Habboush; Editing by Sami Aboudi and Sophie Hares)

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AU troops seize strategic Somalia town

Afgoye town captured from al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab fighters, as AU and Somalia troops clear areas around Mogadishu.
African Union and Somali troops have captured the strategic town of Afgoye from al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab fighters without major resistance, declaring a military breakthrough, officials have said.


an ALJAZEERA article

"We have crossed the River Shabelle and we are now there in Afgoye. We hold the town," AU army spokesman Paddy Ankunda said on Friday. "We have been fighting since Tuesday to achieve this objective and we have achieved it now."

"There was some brief resistance but we have crushed that," said Somali army commander Mohamed Abdullah.

Columns of AU and Somali troops backed by tanks launched the long-awaited attack on Afgoye four days ago, marching northwest 30km from the capital Mogadishu to the town, an area crowded with displaced people.

"The Shabab are fleeing the town, they are running away into the bush," said Ankunda, adding that AU troops had also secured the roads leading from Afgoye, which controls a key route from southern Somalia to the capital.

"There is some shooting here and there, but mostly it is calm ... We control all the road junctions out of Afgoye," he said.

More than 400,000 people were living in the Afgoye region at the start of the year, the world's largest concentration of displaced people, according to the UN.

Impoverished settlements of plastic and rag huts crowd an area that was last year gripped by famine. Its capture is hoped to allow access by aid workers, until now banned from helping the people by draconian orders from al-Shabab.

The UN refugee agency reports over 6,000 civilians have fled since the assault on Afgoye began, although aid workers fear that more people not included in that assessment may have fled into the bush.

Isolating base

Officials hope that the taking of Afgoye will deny al-Shabab a base from which to continue its recent spate of attacks on the capital.

Many fighters had shifted to the area after pulling out of fixed positions in Mogadishu last August and launching a campaign of suicide and grenade attacks.

Elsewhere, Somali troops were reported to be pushing northward toward the al-Shabab-held town of Balad, which lies some 35km north of Mogadishu.

Balad controls a key bridge across the River Shabelle, and lies on the road to the important city of Jowhar.

The loss of Afgoye to al-Shabab is another major blow for the group, which have been on the backfoot for several months.

AU and Somali troops have made significant gains in recent months against fighters, although the group remains a major security threat.

Somalia's weak and Western-backed transitional administration has less than three months to set up a permanent government, but the leaders have been riven by bitter internal divisions and tarnished by accusations of gross corruption.

The international community has expressed concern it is failing to meet key deadlines, but leaders this week committed themselves to choosing a new parliament by July 20, and a new president by August 20.

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Ghazni residents kill 2 (or 12) rebels, capture 25

English: Map of the districts of Ghazni province of Afghanistan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

GHAZNI CITY (PAN): Two Taliban fighters were killed and another 25 were held hostage by residents during a clash in the Andar district of southern Ghazni province, an official said on Saturday.

Sher Khan Yousafzai, the district chief, confirmed there were clashes between residents and the insurgents in Painda Mohammad and Ibrahimkhel areas, where residents had previously warned the rebels against continuing their activities, including closing schools.

The clashes that lasted several hours broke out after militants were seen moving around the areas, the district chief said, adding one local was also killed and four children wounded in the armed conflict.

Haibat Khan, a local tribal elder, said they would not allow anyone to close schools and create unrest in their areas.

from Pajhwok
by Saifullah Maftoon 

---

from KHAAMA:
Local residents kill 12 Taliban militants in Ghazni province

According to local authorities in eastern Ghazni province at least 12 Taliban militants were killed following clashes with the local residents in Andkhoi district.

Deputy provincial council Abdul Jame Jame said the clashes started on Friday afternoon and continued till Saturday morning.

Mr. Jame also said the local residents were backed by Islamic Party of Afghanistan (Hezb-e-Islami) and at least 12 Taliban militants were killed and 15 others were detained following the clashes.

The clashes took place at Ganderi, Gadwal Mullah Mohammad, Adro Khel, Payenda and Kanosuf villages, Mr. Jame said.

In the meantime Sher Khan Yousufzai district chief for Ankhoi confirming the report said a local resident was also killed and another individual was injured following the incident.

On the other hand reports suggest the clashes between the militants and local residents started two weeks back.

Taliban militants group yet to comment regarding the reports.

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