Two civilians killed, one ALP injured in explosion near mosque in Kunar province

Districts of Kunar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - An insurgent-placed improvised explosive device detonated in front of a mosque in Sar Kani district, Kunar province today, killing two civilians and wounding one Afghan Local Police.

The explosion occurred while people were leaving the mosque after Friday prayer.

This is the second time in a 24-hour period insurgent-placed explosives have been found near mosques in eastern Afghanistan. National Directorate of Security personnel found and detonated three rocket-propelled grenades installed for explosion near Al Jahad mosque in Ghazni City, Thursday.

Governor Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi, the provincial governor of Kunar, condemned the "inhuman" attack in his province stating "such attacks are forbidden in Islam." Wahidi also expressed his sympathies for the families of the killed and his prayers for the swift recovery of the ALP member.

Al Ahmadi, deputy governor of Ghazni, also condemned the insurgent practice of emplacing IEDs near mosques.

"The enemies of peace not only kill and harm people; they even disrespect the people's beliefs. There is no forgiveness for such a big crime and sin," he said.

For more information about this incident or the Afghan casualties, contact the Kunar and Ghazni provincial governors' offices.

International Security Assistance Force HQ Public Affairs

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Feb. 15., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan forces cleared four improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Feb. 14.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared an IED in Ghazni City.

Nangarhar province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared an IED in Mohmand Darah district.

Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared an IED in Behsud district.

Kapisa province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared an IED in Tagab district.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Somali Islamists execute Kenyan hostage, threaten five more

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

Somalia’s Shebab insurgents claim to have executed a captured Kenyan soldier and repeated threats to kill five other hostages, the extremists said Friday.
“While the mujahedeen have executed the serving KDF (Kenya Defense Force) soldier, there is still a chance of securing the release of the remaining five prisoners,” the Shebab said in a statement.

The claims could not be verified.

Last month the Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents issued a February 14 deadline ordering Kenya -- whose troops are fighting the Shebab inside Somalia -- to release “all Muslim prisoners held on so-called terrorism charges in Kenya.”

The Shebab, who have previously released videos of Kenyan civil servants they have kidnapped, have said they would execute five hostages within three days unless the Kenyan government buckles to their demands.

Kenya has been hit by a spate of attacks including hand grenade and bombs since it invaded southern Somalia in late 2011 to attack Shebab bases, following a string of kidnappings inside Kenya blamed on the Islamists.

Many of the attacks in Kenya -- including hand grenade blasts in the capital Nairobi -- are blamed on Shebab supporters or Kenyan sympathizers, although the Shebab have not claimed the attacks themselves.

But the once powerful Shebab are on the back foot inside Somalia, having fled a string of key towns ahead of a 17,000-strong African Union force -- which includes Kenyan troops -- which is also fighting alongside Somali soldiers.

Ethiopian troops are also battling the Shebab in the southwest of Somalia.

On Thursday, AU troops and government forces seized the towns of Janalle, Aw Dhigle and Barire, some 80 kilometers (50 miles) southwest of the capital Mogadishu, the latest Shebab bases to fall.

However, the Shebab remain a potent threat, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks in areas apparently under government control.

from AL ARABIYA
Last Updated: Fri Feb 15, 2013 09:44 am (KSA) 06:44 am (GMT)

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Suicide attack kills three police officers in Dagestan

Dagestan is currently the most unstable region in the Northern Caucasus, with rebels staging attacks against the pro-Kremlin local authorities almost every day. — Photo by Reuters/File

MOSCOW: A suicide car bomb attack in the volatile Russian Caucasus region of Dagestan killed three police officers and wounded six other people Thursday, the local interior ministry said.

The attacker blew up his car at a checkpoint at Khassaviurt, in northern Dagestan, a statement said. It said the blast left a crater that was two metres in diameter and 1.5 metres deep.

The North Caucasus, the southwest Russian region where Dagestan is located, witnesses near-daily violence that officials blame on militants seeking to establish an Islamic state across the impoverished territory.

Dagestan is currently the most unstable region in the Northern Caucasus, with rebels staging attacks against the pro-Kremlin local authorities almost every day.

from DAWN

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Bridge blown up in Laghman

Districts of Laghman. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

JALALABAD (PAN): A bridge has been blown up by unidentified miscreants in the Alingar district of eastern Laghman province, an official said on Thursday.

Built three years ago at a cost of $700,000, the bridge in Abuzai area was used by a large number of district residents, the governor’s spokesman, Sarhadi Zwak, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Governor Dr. Fazlullah Mujaddedi said he had directed security personnel to bring the perpetrators of the blast to justice as soon as possible.

from Pajhwok
By Mahbob Shah Mahbob Feb 14, 2013 - 15:31

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Feb. 14., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition detained four suspected insurgents, cleared four improvised explosive devices and discovered one weapons cache during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Feb. 13.

Nangarhar province
Afghan and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache and detained two suspected insurgents during an operation in Chaparhar district. The cache contained 30 kilograms of homemade explosives, and the detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Kapisa province
Afghan forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Tagab district.

Khowst province
Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs and detained two suspected insurgents during an operation in Sabari district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Six militants killed in attack on Bannu police station

Peshawar Police - file photo

BANNU: Six militants believed to be suicide bombers were killed and one policeman was injured as police countered a huge attack by militants on the Maryan police station in Frontier Region Bannu in the wee hours of Thursday.

District Police Officer Nisar Tanoli said the attack on the police station had been successfully encountered and six militants were killed.

He said five suicide bombers had been killed by the security forces during the encounter while the sixth blew himself up when he was holed up inside the police station.

On the losses incurred by the police, he said only one policeman was injured in the attack and slight damage came to the police station’s walls but the law enforcement agencies had successfully foiled the attack.

The outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the suicide mission on the police station.

Speaking to Dawn.com, TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said the group’s fighters had attacked the police station but refused to disclose the number of attackers. Ehsan added all the attackers were “suicide bombers and would fight until martyrdom”.

He said the attack was launched to avenge the killings of TTP fighters in custody and whose bodies were thrown in Miramshah.

The TTP spokesman said the number of attackers was not as high as being claimed by security agencies but said they had inflicted huge losses on the police and security forces.

Official sources quoted intelligence officials as saying that the militants had fired rockets and stormed into the police station which led to an ensuing gun battle between security forces and the attackers.

During the gun-battle, security forces claimed to have killed at least four suicide bombers while the intelligence sources say the militants blew themselves up causing huge damage inside the police station.

The officials believe though exact number of the attackers is being ascertained, the initial reports said they might be five to six in number as the gun battle is still going on inside the police station.

Another security official claimed that two suicide bombers were blown to pieces as security forces on guard duty challenged and shot at them.

Reinforcements had  also been called in and both police and paramilitary troops had taken positions.

After the Bannu jail break incident last year, the militants had again launched a coordinated attack on another police station in the district, the bordering settled town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province with North Waziristan Agency, believed to be a safe heaven for Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

Separately, militants launched a rocket attack on a security check post near the Gurgur Gas oil field but the militants managed to escape after the security forces repulsed the attack.

from DAWN
by Zahir Shah Sherazi

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• Suicide bombers attack Pakistani police station (foxnews.com)

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Bomb attack injures three pro-government militiamen in southern Yemen

map byEvan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

ADEN, Yemen, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least three pro-government militiamen were wounded in a bomb explosion in Yemen's southern province of Abyan on Tuesday night, a security official told Xinhua Wednesday.
The bomb went off outside the pro-government militiamen headquarters in Jaar town in Abyan province, injuring at least three people at the scene, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"A huge blast took place near a building held by pro-government militiamen in Abyan. The building was partially damaged. However, it caused no loss of life and only three people were injured," the security source said.

Witnesses told Xinhua that the two-floor building in Jaar town "was hit by an explosive that seemed large" and "small damage" was caused.

The bomb attack was perpetrated by attackers of the al-Qaida terrorist group, according to local officials.

The al-Qaida militants frequently use improvised explosive devices, including roadside bombs, against the security forces, pro-government militiamen and intelligence officials in southern regions.

The Yemen-based al-Qaida branch, known locally as Ansar al- Sharia (Partisans of Islamic Law), took advantage of a political upheaval in 2011 in Yemen to take over several towns of the southern restive regions.

The militants were targeted by Yemeni security authorities after a U.S.-backed offensive launched in the southern Abyan province months routed the militants out of the strongholds that they had controlled for nearly a year.

The Yemeni government along with the United states and oil-rich Saudi Arabia has beefed up anti-terror operation since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February 2012.

from XINHUA
2013-02-13 16:09:59

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Afghan civilians killed in NATO airstrike in E. province: official

Districts of Kunar. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

ASADABAD, Afghanistan, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 Afghan civilians were killed overnight in a NATO airstrike originally targeting a militants' hideout in the country's eastern province of Kunar, the provincial governor said on Wednesday.

"The NATO-led coalition forces carried out an air raid attack against a compound in Sheltan area of Shegal district at about 11: 00 p.m. Tuesday," Seyyed Fazlullah Wahidi told Xinhua.

He said the raid claimed the lives of 10 civilians besides killing four armed militants.

"Our initial reports said that the killed civilians included five children, four women and a man," Whahidi said, adding five children were also wounded in the incident in the province 185 km east of capital Kabul.

"We are aware of an operation (in eastern Afghanistan) and at this time we are trying to get information," a spokesman with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) told Xinhua.

The ISAF took seriously the allegations of civilian casualties, he said, adding more information would be released to the media as appropriate.

The number of civilian casualties has been soaring in Afghanistan as more than 3,400 Afghan civilians reportedly were killed last year in the militancy-hit country.

The deaths of Afghan civilians in NATO-led troops' operations against Taliban have long been a contentious issue between the Afghan government and U.S. and NATO forces stationed in the country.

Afghan officials had in the past stressed such deaths would further undermine the war against Taliban and terrorist groups and inflame an anti-foreign sentiment in the country.

from XINHUA
2013-02-13 15:10:20

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Feb. 13., 2013. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces killed Taliban leader, Shadi Mama, during an operation in Nad ‘Ali district, Helmand province, Tuesday.


Shadi Mama was a Taliban leader operating in the Marjeh and Trek Nawa areas of Helmand province. He was responsible for improvised explosive device and direct fire attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He facilitated heavy weapons to insurgents operating throughout Nad ‘Ali district.

During the operation, the security force positively identified Shadi Mama engaging in nefarious activity in an isolated area away from civilians. The security force conducted a precision strike, killing him.

A post-strike assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no property was damaged as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

East

An Afghan and coalition force killed Taliban leader, Mojib, during a security operation in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, today. Mojib, also known as Mansoor, conducted direct fire attacks against Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials as well as Afghan and coalition forces. He was directly associated with Taliban senior leadership operating in Khugyani district. He procured rocket-propelled grenades to be used in an attack on a coalition aircraft. During the operation, the security force seized multiple assault rifles with associated gear, several grenades and a pistol.

Afghan and coalition forces killed two insurgents during an operation in Ghaziabad district, Kunar province, Tuesday. During the operation, the security force observed two individuals engaged in insurgent activity. The security force engaged the insurgents with a precision strike, killing both. A post-operation assessment determined no civilians were harmed and no civilian property was damaged during the operation.

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani leader in Terayzai district, Khost province, today. The detained Haqqani leader is accused of conducting direct fire and IED attacks as well as kidnapping operations throughout Terayzai district. The security force also detained two suspected insurgents and seized multiple grenades, an assault rifle with associated ammunition, an Afghan National Army (ANA) uniform and two ANA identification cards as a result of the operation.

South

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator in Maiwand district, Kandahar province, Tuesday. The detained Taliban facilitator was is believed responsible for coordinating and conducting insurgent operations throughout Shah Wali Kot district, to include oversight of the acquisition of supplies and lethal aid to insurgents for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

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