In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 11 Armed Taliban Arrested (15.Jan.2013.)

Publish Date: Jan 15, 2013

In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 11 Armed Taliban Arrested

Counterterrorism:

During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched seven joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Kunduz, Kandahar, Ghazni, Paktika and Helmand provinces.

As a result of these operations, 11 armed Taliban were arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated 10 AK-47 rifles, five pistols, 64 different types of mines, one PK machine gun, one rocket launcher with 18 rockets and one suicide vest.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused five different types of mines which were placed by the enemies of peace and stability for destructive activities in Maidan Wardak, Herat, Faryab and Uruzgan provinces.

 

Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained seven suspects accused of murder, theft and drug trafficking in the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th Districts of Kabul-City yesterday.

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4 U.S. experts injured during de-mining exercise in Cambodia

Location map of Cambodia with Kampong Chhnang Province highlighted Equirectangular projection, N/S stretching 105 %. Geographic limits of the map: * N: 14.8° N * S: 9.9° N * W: 102.2° E * E: 107.9° E (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PHNOM PENH, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- Four American demining experts got injured on Tuesday afternoon while an unexploded ordnance (UXO) exploded at a mine clearance training field in Cambodia's northern Kampong Chhnang province, Heng Ratana, director general of Cambodian Mine Action Center (CMAC) said.
"Two of them are in critical condition," he told Xinhua over telephone. "Our officials had sent them to hospital in Phnom Penh by a helicopter soon after the incident."

He said that the incident happened at the CMAC Training Center in Kampong Chhnang, about 91 kilometers north of Cambodian capital Phnom Penh.

"The UXO exploded at the UXO disposal training field," he said, adding that the injured experts were sent from the U.S. Department of Defense to train Cambodian de-miners for a 3-week course.

He said that there was no Cambodian de-miner hurt in the incident.

U.S. Embassy spokesman John Simmons confirmed on Tuesday evening that "four U.S. personnel were injured today in Kampong Chhnang during a mine clearance training exercise."

He did not share the details of the incident.

It was the first time that foreign experts were injured during the mine clearance course in the country.

Cambodia is one of the world's worst countries affected by mines as the result of almost three decades of war and internal conflicts from the mid-1960s until the end of 1998.

Since 1979 to November 2012, landmines have killed 19,661, injured 35,623 others and amputated 8,898, according to the government record.

The country needs an estimated 30 million U.S. dollars a year until 2020 to totally eliminate mines and explosive remnants of war.

from XINHUA
2013-01-15 20:27:27

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French Planes Bomb Town Seized by Mali Islamists

French warplanes have bombed a Malian town seized by Islamist militants as more troops prepare to join the offensive against the extremist groups.

Witnesses say French planes attacked Diabaly overnight, just hours after Islamist fighters took control of the town, located 400 kilometers north of Mali's capital, Bamako.

French defense officials say the French contingent in Mali, now at 750, will gradually rise to 2,500.  And Nigeria said Tuesday that it will deploy its first troops into Mali within 24 hours.

West African countries have speeded up their planned deployment to Mali after Islamist groups that control the north began advancing last week.

Sonny Ugoh, communications director for the Economic Community of West African States, said in an interview with VOA's English to Africa that ECOWAS members sensed the need for urgency.

"They have said member countries should deploy immediately in order to support Mali to defend its territorial integrity, defend the capital from this onslaught and secure the country," Ugoh said. "I think they have acted as responsibly as the situation requires."

The French ambassador to the United Nations, Gerard Araud, said Monday that a Nigerian general who will lead the African force is already in Bamako.  The neighboring countries of Niger, Burkina Faso and Senegal have also promised promise to send troops.

France deployed forces in Mali on Friday, acting on a request from Mali's interim government.  Araud said the government decided to offer military help because it was worried the militants could possibly take over the country.

"Our assessment was that they were totally able to take Bamako," he said. "And so, we decided that what was at stake was the existence of the state of Mali, and beyond Mali was the stability of all of West Africa.  With determination, but also with reluctance, we decided that we had no other choice but to launch this military intervention and we'll conduct it as long as necessary."

from THEATHRUM BELLI flickr

The United Nations refugee agency said Tuesday that the latest clashes have driven more than 1,000 Malians into neighboring countries.  It says the total number of Malian refugees in the region now stands at 144,000, and that more than 200,000 Malians are displaced within the country.

The United States said Monday that it is preparing to offer logistical support to France.  Defense Secretary Leon Panetta says the United States is already providing intelligence gathered by unmanned aerial vehicles operating in the region.  He said Washington is also considering providing limited logistical support and some airlift capability.

Al-Qaida-linked Islamic extremists seized control of northern Mali soon after renegade soldiers toppled the government in March, leaving a temporary power vacuum.  The militants have imposed harsh conservative Islamic law across the north.

Mali is a former French colony and France still has a variety of economic and political interests there.

from VOA News
January 15, 2013

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Afghan police attack Italian troops in Farah

FARAH CITY (PAN): Three Afghan policemen fired at Italian troops in the Bala Baluk district of western Farah province late on Monday, but the insider assault caused no casualties, local officials said on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) denied the green-on-blue attack. It said in response to an email from Pajhwok Afghan News that there had neither been any NATO fatalities nor an insider attack in the district yesterday.

A Taliban spokesman said that the policemen with links to the militant movement attacked the Italian soldiers. Three troops were killed and four others injured in the shooting, he claimed.

For his part, Farah Governor Abdul Rahman Zhwandai told Pajhwok two members of the US-funded Afghan Local Police (ALP) and one official of the Afghan National Police (ANP) assaulted the soldiers.

The shooting took place in the Ganjabad village of Bala Baluk at about 3.30am, according to the governor, who said the assailants were caught alive. They are currently under investigation.

Mullah Syed Mohammad, the district’s administrative head, verified the incident. However, he said, the attackers managed to flee. He offered no information about the casualties.

A provincial security official, who did not want to be named, said the Italian soldiers came under fire from the policemen during a dismounted patrol of the area. He added the assailants had joined the Taliban after fleeing the area.

Qari Yousaf Ahmadi, the militant mouthpiece, identified the attackers included an Afghan National Army (ANA) soldier Mohammad Ayaz and three policemen.

from Pajhwok
By Zahin Jan 15, 2013 - 14:44

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Jan. 15., 2013. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator in Khugyani district, Nangarhar province, during an operation today.

The facilitator enabled the distribution of weapons, ammunition, improvised explosive devices and suicide vests for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also acquired suicide vehicle improvised explosive device materials for insurgents operating in the province, and organized and planned attacks using SVIEDs.

The security force also detained four suspected insurgents and seized IED-making materials, weapons and ammunition as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan and coalition security force detained three suspected insurgents, during a security operation in search of a Taliban leader, in Maiwand district, Kandahar province, yesterday. The leader facilitates the movement of heavy weapons and improvised explosive devices for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the province.

During a security operation in Nahr- Saraj district, Helmand province, yesterday, coalition force discovered a drug cache. The cache contained 500 kilograms (1,102 pounds) of hashish. The coalition troops destroyed the drugs on site.

East

During an operation in Baraki Barak district, Logar province, today, an Afghan and coalition security force killed three insurgents and arrested a Taliban leader. The leader was an improvised explosive device expert who oversaw a group of insurgents operating in the province. At the time of his arrest, the leader was planning an IED attack against Afghan Local Police. The security force also detained four suspected insurgents, destroyed an explosives cache and seized multiple weapons, IED components and ammunition.

An Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban leader in Nerkh district, Wardak province, today. The leader facilitates the movement of weapons and improvised explosive device materials to insurgents in the province.

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

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces cleared two improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Jan. 14.

Logar province
Afghan National Army soldiers found and safely cleared one IED in Pul-E-Alam district.

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

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Turkish jets strike multiple targets in northern Iraq

Kurdistan Workers' Party soldiers, commonly known as PKK near the Iran/Iraqi Kurdistan border (Photo credit: james_gordon_losangeles)

ANKARA, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- The Turkish Armed Forces launched a cross-border air operation earlier Monday in northern Iraq after an infiltration attempt by a large group of outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) members from Zap camp across the Turkish border, private Dogan news agency reported.

After the information was received, the 2nd Air Forces Command sent two observation planes to the region.

Six F-16 jets took off from the 8th Main Jet Base in Diyarbakir province in southeastern Turkey, passed over the southeastern province of Hakkari, and bombarded 18 different targets in the Zap, Haftanin and Metina regions in northern Iraq.

This is the first cross-border operation by the Turkish Armed Forces in 12 days, according to officials.

The Zap area, a mountainous snow-bound region near the Turkish border in northern Iraq, hosts a major PKK base and training camp.

from XINHUA
2013-01-15 05:04:08
Editor: Mu Xuequan

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