Feb.19., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Evening Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – A coalition security force discovered a weapons cache during a routine patrol in Zharay district, Kandahar province, today.

The cache consisted of 16 mortar rounds, 12 recoilless rifle rounds and approximately 62 pounds (28 kilograms) of home-made explosives.

The security force confiscated all weapons and explosives to be destroyed at a later date.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

North

An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in Kunduz district, Kunduz province, yesterday. The leader directed the placement of explosives targeting Afghan and coalition forces throughout the province.

East

In Sabari district, Khost province, an Afghan led security force conducted an operation in search of a Haqqani leader today. The leader directs roadside bomb and direct fire attacks against Afghan forces. The security force confiscated bomb making materials, weapons and detained suspected insurgents.

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Two Terrorist Groups Captured in Mazar

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Two groups of terrorists who intended to disrupt Afghanistan's New Year celebrations in March were captured by Afghan security forces in northern Balkh province, local officials said on Sunday.
Afghan forces are fully prepared to provide security for the New Year - or Nawroz - celebrations which will happen on March 20, Provincial Police Chief General Ismatullah Alizai said.

Insurgents are trying to disrupt the celebrations but security forces will not allow them, he added.

"One 11-men group and one 6-men group that were preparing to disrupt the Nawroz celebrations in Balkh provinces were captured." General Alizai added.

Nawroz is a traditional celebration for Farsi speaking countries in Asia marking the first day of spring. It is the start of a new year according to the solar calendar.

from TOLONEWS

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Algeria: four people killed in a bomb explosion in Boumerdes

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ALGIERS, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- Four people were killed and nine others injured Sunday in a roadside bomb explosion in Boumerdes province, 50 km east of the Algerian capital Algiers.

The local radio quoted a security source as saying that the roadside bomb exploded on the national road 12, on the point linking the localities of Isser and Bordj Menaiel, east of Boumerdes.

The source added that the bomb exploded when a bus that was behind a military patrol passed by, leaving four people dead and nine others injured.

The injured were evacuated immediately to a hospital in the nearby locality of Thnia, while the national road 12 has been temporally blocked.

Meanwhile, the local El Watan newspaper has quoted a source as saying that the bomb was likely a remote controlled one, which blew off in distance when a military convoy passed by, adding that gunshots were heard after the explosion. The newspaper said a soldier in civil uniform in the bus was killed.

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Bomb kills 8 anti-Taliban tribesmen in Pakistan

Map of Pakistan (Photo credit: Omer Wazir)

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -
A local government official says a time bomb has killed eight members of an anti-Taliban militia in northwest Pakistan.

Tribal agency official Iqbal Khan says six more members of the militia were wounded in the Sunday incident in the Tirah valley of the Khyber tribal region.

He says the militia was set up to fight against a local radical group known as Lashkar-e-Islam.

Khan says explosives planted at a militia checkpoint were detonated by a timer.

He says the militia later killed two Lashkar-e-Islam members, without providing details.

Pakistan has outlawed the group, which wants enforcement of a Taliban-style version of Islamic law.

Radicals often target the militias, which they perceive as Pakistani government supporters

from Seattle Times

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15 killed, 21 wounded in suicide bomb attack in Baghdad

BAGHDAD, Feb. 19 (Xinhua) -- At least 15 people were killed and 21 others wounded in a suicide bomb attack on a police academy in eastern Baghdad on Sunday, an Interior Ministry source told Xinhua.

The attack took place in the afternoon when a suicide bomber blew up his explosive vest at the entrance of the police academy in Palestine Street in eastern Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The powerful blast destroyed several police and civilian vehicles at the scene, the source said.

The toll could rise as ambulances, police and civilian cars evacuated the casualties to different hospitals and medical centers in Baghdad, the source added.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks are still common in Iraqi cities despite the sharp decrease of violence over the past few years.

Related articles

• Iraqi police: 15 killed in suicide blast targeting police academy (news.blogs.cnn.com)

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20 Taliban fighters surrender in Herat, Afghanistan (photos)

Taliban fighters attend a surrendering ceremony in western Afghan province of Herat, Feb. 18, 2012. A total 20 Taliban fighters surrendered here on Saturday, a provincial police source said. (Xinhua/Sardar) 

 

 

 

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R.I.P. - Sgt. Jerry D. Reed II

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
      
Sgt. Jerry D. Reed II, 30, of Russellville, Ark., died Feb. 16, in Paktika province, Afghanistan.

            Reed was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Separate Infantry Brigade, Grafenwoehr, Germany.

            For more information related to this release, the media may contact U.S. Army Europe Public Affairs at ocpa.pi@eur.army.mil .

---

SGT Reed with a couple of Iraqi children, 08-09 Iraq tour - photo courtesy by JC

Thank you John for the pictures!

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NATO looking into reports of chopper crash in Afghanistan

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Kabul, Afghanistan -- A local official reported a NATO helicopter crashed Saturday in eastern Afghanistan, though there was no immediate confirmation from coalition forces.

A spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force, Capt. Justin Brockhoff, said ISAF officials are looking into the reported incident but have no indications that any ISAF aircraft have been lost.

Abdul Rahman Sarjang, the chief of police in eastern Laghman province, said it was an American helicopter that crashed, but he had no other details.

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10 Yemeni soldiers killed in battle with al-Qaida in Abyan

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SANAA, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- At least 10 Yemeni soldiers were killed and five others wounded overnight in a fierce battle between the government troops and al-Qaida militants in the southern flashpoint province of Abyan, a provincial security official said on Saturday.

A total of 10 soldiers were killed and five others injured in the battle which is still ongoing in al-Koud town, located on a strategic coastline overlooking the Gulf of Aden and to the east of Abyan's capital city of Zinjibar, the official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The 201st Armed Brigade and the 25th Machined Brigade inflicted heavy losses on the militants in the ongoing fight, said the official without giving a specific death toll of the terrorist group.

Abyan, some 480 km south of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, has been the scene of daily fierce fighting since militants of Al- Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) captured Zinjibar and at least three other towns in May 2011.

Indications on the ground show that the government troops have been advancing against the al-Qaida off-shoot in Abyan, according to several local officials.

The government has recently intensified its operations against AQAP in a bid to eradicate the militants and regain control of the country's southern territories. The fighting is still underway only few days ahead of the early presidential elections slated for Feb. 21, which will end the rule of outgoing President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who is currently in the United States for medical treatment.

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3 insurgents killed, 8 detained in Afghanistan

KABUL, Feb. 18  -- Three insurgent were killed and eight other suspects detained during joint operations launched by the Afghan forces and NATO-led troops in four Afghan provinces, the country's Interior Ministry said on Saturday.

"Afghan National Police, Afghan army and International Coalition Forces launched four joint operations in Kunar, Nangarhar, Kandahar and Helmand provinces over the past 24 hours killing three armed insurgents and detaining eight others," the ministry said in a statement.

The joint forces also seized 70 AK-47 guns besides defusing three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), it said.

Afghan forces and NATO-led coalition troops have intensified cleanup operations throughout the post-Taliban country recently. Over 140 insurgents have been killed and more than 530 others detained by joint forces since beginning this year, according to the Interior Ministry.

Afghan officials often use the word "insurgents" referring to Taliban. However, the insurgent group, who launched in May 2011 a rebel offensive against Afghan and NATO forces, has not made comment.

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