Quetta, Pakistan: Blast kills 11, 35 injured

Eleven persons, including a child, were killed while 35 others, including women and children were injured in a blast that took place near Quetta’s Bacha Khan Chowk along Shahrah-e-Iqbal.

According to initial reports still coming in the explosion damaged shops and buildings in the area the debris of which is being strewn in the area.

Police and rescue teams were on their way to the site of the blast.

The blast was so powerful that it was heard a good distance away and it shattered the window panes and glasses in the area.

Many of the injured are in critical condition, ARY NEWS reported.

Three FC personnel are also injured in the blast, ARY NEWS said.

According to the Bomb Disposal Squad 20-25 kilograms of explosives were used in the blast and the explosive was placed a vehicle, ARY NEWS said.

from ARYNEWSUpdated :   Thursday  January  10 , 2013  4:10:05 PM
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from DAWN:

QUETTA: At least 10 people, including a child and two security personnel, were reported killed and 20 others injured in a blast that took place near Quetta’s Bacha Khan chowk on Thursday, DawnNews reported.

The injured included at least four Frontier Corps (FC) personnel and the explosion damaged shops and buildings in the area.

Women and children were also among the injured.

The explosives were planted under a car, DawnNews quoted security sources as saying.

Police and rescue teams had reached the site of the blast and security forces had cordoned off the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Thursday’s explosion but Quetta and Balochistan are frequently hit by bomb attacks.

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R.I.P. - Sapper Richard Walker

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Sapper Richard Reginald Walker from 28 Engineer Regiment, attached to 21 Engineer Regiment as part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group, was killed in Afghanistan on Monday 7 January 2013.

Sapper Walker was shot in an apparent ‘insider attack’ by a member of the Afghan National Army (ANA) at Patrol Base Hazrat in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Monday 7 January 2013. He was working on a construction task with other military engineers from his Troop, as part of the preparations to hand the camp over to Afghan security forces, when the Afghan soldier turned his weapon on ANA and ISAF soldiers at the base. The incident resulted in a number of casualties, all of whom were extracted to the Bastion Role 3 medical facility where Sapper Walker was pronounced dead.

Sapper Richard Reginald Walker, Corps of Royal Engineers

Sapper Richard Walker was born on 7 February 1989 in Leeds. He worked as a technician for Vauxhall before joining the Army in July 2008. Upon joining the Royal Engineers he completed his basic training at the Army Training Regiment Bassingbourn before moving on to Gibraltar Barracks, Minley, where he completed his Phase Two Combat Engineer Training. He then moved to the Defence School of Transport Leconfield where he completed his trade training to become a driver.

He joined his first unit, 28 Engineer Regiment in Hameln, Germany, in September 2009, deploying with them to Canada and then Kenya on major exercises. His Troop, from 42 Field Squadron, was attached to 73 Armoured Engineer Squadron (73 AES) based in Ripon, North Yorkshire for Operation Herrick 17. His Troop joined 73 AES in August 2012 and deployed with the Squadron to Afghanistan at the start of September as part of the Task Force Helmand Engineer Group.

Sapper Walker was a valued member of 73 AES and deployed on every single Troop task. He was a popular and well respected member of his Troop and upon joining the Squadron he quickly gained friends across the spectrum of ranks; a testament to his likeable character and willingness to join in.

An avid football fan, Sapper Walker represented his Regiment at football and spent endless hours in the gym. He even managed to spend some time trying to learn to play the guitar albeit one chord at a time. Above all he was a devoted father and would talk for hours on end about his love for his daughter Lilly-Faith who sadly he only knew for 18 months before his deployment.

Sapper Walker was destined to go on to greater things – his willingness to learn, unswerving sense of duty and personal motivation to pursue a successful career would have seen him progress far. Above all he will be remembered for his charisma and team spirit; a true all-rounder, his loss will be felt for years to come.

read more from MOD UK
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Tributes to sapper shot by ANA 'soldier' - by British Forces News

 

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NATO supply through Pakistan halted due to truckers strike

(file photo from dawn.com)

Pakistani transporters who carry Nato supplies to land-locked Afghanistan have gone on strike, disrupting the flow of goods to Western forces in a protest against a new customs regime aimed at cutting theft.

The supply route is an important lifeline for international forces in landlocked Afghanistan. The coalition ships a significant portion of its nonlethal supplies through Pakistan into southern Afghanistan. The other land route into Afghanistan through Central Asia and Russia is longer and more expensive.

Jehanzeb Khan, head of a transport workers union, says the strike began Wednesday in response to the government’s decision to require truckers to go through authorized companies to carry NATO supplies instead of making individual deals.

The truckers say that the new rules are corrupt and will cost them a large portion of the money they would normally earn from shipping into occupied Afghanistan, and so they are unwilling to do so until Pakistan reverses the ban.

The All Pakistan Goods Transportation Association has been unofficially blockading 4,000 vehicles carrying supplies to and from coalition forces in Afghanistan for the past six days.

Khan said truckers in northwest Pakistan stopped carrying NATO supplies Wednesday, and he was reaching out to others throughout the country to get them to join the strike.

Haneef Khan Marwat, head of a transportation company in the southern city of Karachi, said some truckers began their strike as early as Jan. 4 and thousands of vehicles are involved. He said the strike would continue until the government reversed its new policy.

NATO is so far refusing to comment on the latest halt of shipments, but in the past lack of access to Pakistan cost them $100 million per month, obliging them to use pricier overland routes through the former Soviet Union. This could be even more costly this time, as many NATO nations are shipping massive quantities of equipment back out of the country as part of the drawdown as well.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - January 10 2013, 2:08 pm

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Jan. 10., 2013. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force killed Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan facilitator, Mazlum Yar, during a security operation in Ishkamish district, Takhar province, today.

Mazlum Yar, also known as Qari Asrar and Tufan, planned and executed improvised explosive device attacks targeting government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan officials, as well as Afghan and coalition forces. He facilitated suicide bombers throughout Takhar and Baghlan provinces. Prior to his death, he was organizing IED emplacement for an impending attack.

The security force also detained three suspected insurgents and seized a rifle as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

A Taliban leader was arrested and one suspected insurgent detained by an Afghan and coalition security force in Nad ‘Ali district, Helmand province, today. The leader was directly responsible for coordinating improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the district, as well as the procurement and distribution of IED-making materials.

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, today. The leader operated as a key player in an assassination and attack network in central Helmand province. He was responsible for coordinating and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

East

Three armed insurgents were killed by an Afghan and coalition security force during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Sherzad district, Nangarhar province, today. The leader commands a group of fighters in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. During the search, five insurgents, armed with rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles, opened fire on the Afghan and coalition troops. The security force returned fire, killing three, and seized a cache of weapons as a result of the operation.

Read more: http://www.dvidshub.net/news/100172/isaf-joint-command-operational-update#.UO6eHndc7hI#ixzz2HZThuLg5

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Jan. 10., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces detained three insurgents and cleared one improvised explosive device during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Jan. 9.

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

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Gurbuz district.

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

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Car Bomb Rips Through Iraqi Capital

Residents gather at the site of a car bomb attack in the Hurriya district in Baghdad, January 10, 2013.

A car bomb has exploded in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least four people and wounding 14 others.

The blast Thursday near a bus stop in the mainly Shi'ite Hurriyah neighborhood destroyed several vehicles and damaged nearby buildings.

Amateur video captured shortly after the blast showed multiple cars engulfed in flames.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

The violence comes amid anti-government protests led by Sunnis complaining about treatment under Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

from VOA News
January 10, 2013

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Militant commander killed in Takhar

KUNDUZ CITY (PAN): A Taliban commander was killed and three of his associates were captured alive in a joint military operation by Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops in the Ishkamish district of northern Takhar province, an official said on Thursday.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) facilitator, Mazlum Yar, also known as Qari Asrar and Tufan, planned and executed improvised explosive device attacks targeting government officials, as well as Afghan and coalition forces.

He facilitated suicide bombers throughout Takhar and Baghlan provinces. Prior to his death, he was organising IED emplacement for an impending attack, the Takhar police spokesman Abdul Khalil Aseer told Pajhwok Afghan News. The detained suspects are under investigation.

from Pajhwok
By Pajhwok Report Jan 10, 2013 - 12:53   

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Four killed in U.S. drone attack in North Waziristan on thursday

At least four people were killed in a US drone strike in Mir Ali in North Waziristan on Thursday.

from ARYNEWS 
Updated :   Thursday  January  10 , 2013  12:02:52 PM

The drone targeted a compound in the area with four missiles, killing four, while the death toll is expected to rise.

The identity of those killed could not be confirmed as yet.

There has been an upsurge in US drone strikes, particularly in this district.

Tehsil Mir Ali has been targeted three days in a row now, with the attack yesterday killing at least 12 militants in two attacks.

A day before that, US operated armed drones fired missiles there killing at least eight people.

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MIR ALI: A US drone fired barrage of missiles in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region, killing at least three people, Geo News reported Thursday.




from GEO.TV
January 10, 2013 - Updated 1010 PKT

According to reports, the attack took place in Mir Ali area of North Waziristan Agency that borders war-stricken Afghanistan.

The reports said the unmanned aircraft targeted a house and fired four missiles. Identities of those killed were yet to be known.

AFP adds: Four missiles hit the house in Heso Khel village on the edge of Mir Ali town, around 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town in the district of North Waziristan, a notorious stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants.

"A US drone fired four missiles. At least four militants have been killed, the compound was completely destroyed," a security official based in Miranshah told AFP.

A senior Pakistani security official in the northwestern city of Peshawar confirmed the attack and added that the identity of those killed was not yet known.

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Islamabad : At least four people were killed and several others injured in a U.S. drone strike in Pakistan”s northwest tribal region of North Waziristan on Thursday morning, reported local media Express.
from ONEPAKISTAN

U.S. drones fired four missiles at a suspected militant hideout in Eissu Khel village in the Mir Ali area of North Waziristan bordering Afghanistan.

The house was completely destroyed in the strike, said the report, adding the identities of the victims are not yet known.

This is the second strike in the village recently. On Tuesday, U.S. drones fired two missiles at a house, killing at least three suspected militants including an al-Qaida-linked operative.

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