Taliban attack security check post in Uruzgan province

According to local authorities in southern Uruzgan province a number of Taliban militants attacked a security check post in central Tarinkowt city on Wednesday night.

Provincial governor spokesman Abdullah Hemat said the check post was located in Safilandi area in Tarinkowt city.

He said the attack was carried out in coordination with a police officer, killing at least 3 Afghan police forces and injuring three others.

Uruzgan is among the volatile regions in southern Afghanistan where militants are openly operating in its various districts and the militants are continuously carry out attacks on Afghan security check posts.

In the meantime insider attacks have recently increased among the Afghan security forces which have created tensions among the Afghan security officials.

Provincial governor spokesman Abdullah Hemat said the injured police officers were taken to hospital for treatment and a team has also been sent to the area to investigate the incident.

Taliban group yet to comment regarding the incident.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - December 27 2012, 1:21 pm

Read More

R.I.P. - Sgt. Enrique Mondragon

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Sgt. Enrique Mondragon, 23, of The Colony, Texas, died Dec. 24, in Baraki Barak, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by small arms fire while on dismounted patrol.  He was assigned to Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Bamberg, Germany.

            For further information related to this release, please contact U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs, Heidelberg, Germany at (011) 49 622-1577270.  After duty hours, please call (011) 49 162-2716685.

---

from WFAA: 
Posted on December 26, 2012 at 5:25 PM
Updated yesterday at 5:29 PM
A soldier from The Colony has been killed in Afghanistan.
Sgt. Enrique Mondragon, 23, died after his unit was attacked by small arms fire while on patrol in Baraki Barak, about 40 miles south of the capital, Kabul,  on Christmas Eve.

His body was brought back to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday morning. Funeral services are pending.

Mondragon was assigned to the Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 173rd Special Troops Battalion, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team based in Bamberg, Germany.

At least 2,040 members of the U.S. military have now died in Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, according to the Associated Press.

Related articles

• RIP SGT Enrique Mondragon (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Fallen But Not Forgotten - Sgt. Enrique Mondragon, 23, of The Colony, Texas, died Dec. 24, in Baraki Barak, Afghanistan, from injuries sustained when his unit was attacked by small arms fire while on dismounted patrol (thecommunicatorwv.wordpress.com)
• Dallas-area soldier killed by enemy fire in Afghanistan (khou.com)
• Bamberg-based soldier killed in Logar province (stripes.com)

Read More

Jihadist identifies 2 AQAP fighters killed in recent drone strike

By Bill Roggio - December 27, 2012 - LWJ

Nabil al Kaldi and Abdullah Bawazir. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A Yemeni jihadist has identified two of the five al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula members who were killed in a US drone strike in eastern Yemen on Dec. 24. The two AQAP fighters escaped from a Yemeni prison 18 months ago.

The jihadist announced "the martyrdom of the two mujahideen brothers Abdullah Bawazir and Nabil al Kaldi" in a statement that was released today on the al Qaeda-linked Ansar al-Mujahideen forum, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which obtained and translated the statement. Images of the two fighters, including photographs taken after their deaths, accompanied the announcement.

"They were martyred after an American drone strike with three rockets at a group of mujahideen near al-Watan stadium in the city of al Shehr, al Mukallah, today," the jihadist continued, according to SITE. The identities of the other three fighters are not yet known.

According to the jihadist, Bawazir and al Kaldi appeared in an al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula video titled "Story of Salvation," which documented the June 2011 escape of the two fighters and other AQAP operatives from the Mukallah prison. In that incident, 46 inmates, including many al Qaeda operatives, escaped from the Mukallah prison after tunneling under it. The prisoners were said to have been aided by a "renegade military commander."

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/jihadist_identifies.php#ixzz2GFGCICGZ

Related articles

• Jihadist identifies 2 AQAP fighters killed in recent drone strike (longwarjournal.org)
• Jihadist identifies 2 AQAP Sploded Dopes Killed in Recent Drone Strike (mypetjawa.mu.nu)

Read More

Dec. 27., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed five insurgents, detained seven, located one weapons cache and cleared nine improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 26.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Dehyak district.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Dehyak district. The cache contained grenades and multiple artillery rounds.

Khowst Province
Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained three insurgents during an engagement in Terezayi district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Khowst district.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs in Sabari district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces killed five insurgents during an engagement in Heserak district.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained one insurgent during an engagement in Lal Pur district. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained an insurgent while investigating three IEDs in Bermal district. The IEDs were safely cleared and the detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained two insurgents while investigating an IED in Dzadran district. The IED was safely cleared and the detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

Read More

Militants, policeman killed in Faryab clashes

MAIMANA (PAN): Four militants and a policeman were killed during clashes in northern Faryab province on Wednesday, official said.

During the gunbattles in Pashtunkot, Garziwal and Dawlatabad districts, three policemen, two militants and a civilian were wounded.

Gen. Nabi Jan Mullahkhel, the provincial police chief, told Pajhwok Afghan News the slightly wounded policemen were discharged from hospital after being administered first aid.

Qari Yousaf Ahmadi claimed responsibility for attack in Dawlatabad, saying the insurgents had killed one policeman and injured five others.

from Pajhwok
By Qutbuddin Kohi Dec 26, 2012 - 19:50   

Read More