Jan.31., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Evening Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – A combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache during a patrol in Panjwa ‘i district, Kandahar province, today.

The cache consisted of approximately 59,998 pounds (27,272 kilograms) of marijuana.

Security forces destroyed all drugs on site without incident.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

In Panjwa ‘i district, Kandahar province, a combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache during a patrol today. The cache consisted of approximately 550 pounds (250 kilograms) of marijuana seeds. The seeds were confiscated and will be destroyed at a later date.

A combined Afghan and coalition security force discovered a drug cache during a patrol in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, today. The cache consisted of approximately 330 pounds (150 kilograms) of marijuana seeds. The seeds were confiscated and will be destroyed at a later date.

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Suicide bomber kills three in central Somalia

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MOGADISHU, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- A suicide bomber killed three people including two police officers in an attack on the home of former Somali police commander, Abdi Hassan Awale, in central Somali town of Galkayo, witnesses said Tuesday.

Awale who was reportedly at his home at the time of the attack was said to be unharmed but two of his bodyguards and a civilian were killed in the blast, witnesses said.

"We heard huge explosion from the officail's home then we learned that it was a suicide bomber who attacked the house. Two policemen died and a civilian,"Ali Nur, a resident in Galkayo told Xinhua.

It was not immediately clear who carried out the attack on the former police chief's home but Islamist rebels of Al-Shabaab often target Somali government officials and security forces.

The radical group has not so far commented on the development in Galkayo in the semi-autonomous region of Galmudug in central Somalia. The regional state has close ties with the central Somali government in Mogadishu.

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3 killed, 4 wounded in Iraq's violence

BAGHDAD, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- Three people were killed and four wounded in separate bomb and gunfire attacks in eastern and western Iraq on Tuesday, a police source said.

In Iraq's eastern province of Diyala, a roadside bomb went off near a police patrol near the provincial capital city of Baquba, some 65 km northeast of Baghdad, killing a policeman and wounding two passers-by, a provincial police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

In a separate incident, a civilian was killed and a policeman wounded when gunmen on a motorcycle opened fire on them in a village 30 km northeast of Baquba, the source said.

Also in the province, a roadside bomb ripped through a residential area in south of Baquba, wounding a civilian, the source added.

In Iraq's western province of Anbar, gunmen shot dead a civilian in his 20's in the town of Khalidiya, some 80 km west of Baghdad, the gunmen had fled the scene, a local police source anonymously told Xinhua.

Sporadic attacks, including suicide bombings, are still common in the Iraqi cities since the U.S. troops pulled out of the country late last year.

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25 militants killed and injured in Kapisa province

According to local authorities in eastern Afghanistan, at least 25 armed militants were killed and injured following a military operation in eastern Kapisa province.

A spokesman for provincial police commandment in eastern Kapisa province Asadullah Hamidi said, the operation was conducted in Elasai district by Afghan security forces.

Mr. Hamidi further added, at least 19 militants were killed and 6 others were injured during the military operations.

He also said, several regions in Elasai district was cleared from the militants and the local residents can continue to their normal lives.

In the meantime local officials said, at least eight civilians were also killed and injured during the military operations.

The officials said, Afghan civilians were killed during clashes between Afghan security forces and armed militants.

According to local officials, Afghan security forces did not suffer any casualties during the operations.

Elasai district is considered to be one of the unsafe district in eastern Kapisa province where anti-government armed militant groups were actively plotting and carrying out insurgency activities.

from KHAAMA

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Jan.31., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan (Jan. 31) – An Afghan led and coalition supported security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, today.

The leader conducted attacks against Afghan forces and directed kidnapping operations throughout Badghis province.

One additional suspected insurgent was detained during the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South
An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Maiwand district, Kandahar province, today. The leader conducted attacks in Kandahar City. The security force detained two suspected insurgents and seized multiple bomb-making materials during the operation.

East
In Khost district, Khost province, an Afghan led and coalition supported security force conducted an operation in search of a Haqqani Network facilitator today. The facilitator conducts roadside bomb attacks against Afghan forces and moves explosives from Pakistan. The security force seized multiple weapons and chest racks. Several suspected insurgents were detained during the operation.

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30 Taliban rebels surrender in Herat, Afghanistan

Taliban fighters (R) attend a surrender ceremony in western Afghan province of Herat, Jan. 30, 2012. Thirty more Taliban rebels surrendered in the Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Monday, a provincial police source said. (Xinhua/Sardar)

HERAT, Afghanistan, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Thirty more Taliban rebels surrendered in the Afghanistan's western province of Herat on Monday, a provincial police source said.

"A total of 30 Taliban, including their commander namely Mullah Abdullah, have renounced violence and joined the peace process in Pashtun Zarghun district on Monday," police chief of Herat province Sayed Agha Saqib told Xinhua.

By joining of the former insurgents to society, the peace and stability would further be strengthen in eastern parts of the province with Herat city as its capital, some 640 km west of capital city of Kabul, Saqib said.

Taliban militants fighting Afghan and NATO-led troops have not to make comment yet.

The Afghan government set up a High Peace Council in summer 2010 to encourage Taliban to disarm and give up militancy against the government.

More than 3,000 anti-government insurgents have laid down their arms in Afghanistan over the past year, according to officials.

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U.S. drones raid al-Qaida convoy in southern Yemen, dozens killed

SANAA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- U.S. drones raided a convoy of prominent leaders of the al-Qaida wing in Yemen's southern restive province of Abyan late Monday, killing dozens of people, local security officials and sources close to the terrorist group told Xinhua.

"Three unmanned U.S. warplanes raided four vehicles carrying prominent leaders of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Abyan's eastern town of Lodar on Monday night," two provincial security officials told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

A source close to the AQAP told Xinhua by phone that "the U.S. air strike targeted the convoy in Om Khadeer area in eastern Lodar and killed al-Qaida military commander Abdulmalik al-Dahyani."

"At least another three AQAP leaders and up to 15 al-Qaida fighters escorting the convoy were also killed on the spot," he said on condition of anonymity, adding that "the leaders attended a high-ranking meeting earlier in the day."

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Gunmen attack police station in Nigeria’s Kano city

According to Nigerian police officials, at least two civilians have died in an overnight attack on a police post in the northern Nigerian city of Kano.

In the meantime residents said, gunmen pened fire on a police station in Nigeria’s flashpoint city of Kano at dawn Monday, setting off a gun battle with police.

The gunmen are suspected to be Islamist militants from Boko Haram, which recently carried out multiple bomb attacks in Kano, killing 185 people.

Kano state and its capital city of 10 million people have been under siege by gunmen from Boko Haram, which wants to impose sharia law across Nigeria.

Boko Haram, a movement loosely modeled on the Afghan Taliban whose name translates as “Western education is sinful”, has been behind almost daily killings in its home base in the largely Muslim northeast. Its violence has spread west into other parts of the north and the capital Abuja since last year.

from KHAAMA

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Gunmen kill 40 people in Warrap state of South Sudan

According to South Sudan government officials, at least least 40 people have been killed by armed gunmen in a cattle raid in South Sudan.

South Sudan on Monday accused its former foes in the Khartoum government of arming gunmen who killed over 40 people in a cattle raid, as the UN warned tensions between the two sides risks regional peace.

In the meantime some reports suggest as many as 100 people could have been killed in the attack on a camp in Warrap state.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya said, “a militia group from Unity state penetrated into Warrap state… and attacked people in a cattle camp, killing over 40.”

Tensions remain high since South Sudan seceded peacefully from Sudan in July after decades of war.

A Warrap state official quoted by Paris-based Sudan Tribune newspaper said, villages belonging to the Luac Jang ethnic group in Tong East county came under attack early on Saturday.

In the meantime Madot Dut Deng, speaker of the state assembly, said he had been told by officials that more than 76 people had been killed, with several unaccounted for.

Interior Minister Alison Manani Magaya quoted by AFP news agency said, “This militia group was armed by the government of Khartoum. The number of wounded is still not clear, but they took a lot of cattle with them.”

from KHAAMA

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