Five killed, 19 wounded in bomb attacks in Iraq's Kirkuk

KIRKUK, Iraq, July 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of five people were killed and 19 wounded in three car bombs and two bomb explosions in Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk on Monday, a local police source told Xinhua.

The attacks occurred almost simultaneously in the morning when one of the car bombs went off near a gas station in central Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, the source said on condition of anonymity.

Another booby-trapped car was detonated outside a police station in central the city, while the third car bomb explosion struck a marketplace in northern Kirkuk, the source said.

Meanwhile, a makeshift bomb went off near a government building and another one at the busy thoroughfare of al-Quds Street in central city, the source added.

Violence and sporadic high-profile bomb attacks are still common in Iraqi cities despite the dramatic decrease in violence since its peak in 2006 and 2007, when the country was engulfed in sectarian killings.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 15:17:04

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R.I.P. - Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice

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

            Pfc. Jeffrey L. Rice, 24, of Troy, Ohio, died July 19, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade, Fort Hood, Texas.

            For more information, the media may contact the Fort Hood Public Affairs Office at 254-287-9993 or 254-287-0106.

---

from daytondailynews:

By Katie Wedell
Staff Writer
Updated: 5:51 p.m. Sunday, July 22, 2012 | Posted: 11:47 a.m. Sunday, July 22, 2012

TROY, Ohio —

A 2007 Troy High School graduate was killed last week while serving in Afghanistan.

Army Private First Class Jeffrey L. Rice, 24, of Troy, died in Kandahar, Afghanistan Thursday, the Department of Defense announced Sunday.

Rice was part of the 20th Engineer Battalion, 36th Engineer Brigade stationed out of Fort Hood, Texas and was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom at the time of his death.

Rice also attended Piqua Joint Vocational School, now the Upper Valley Career Center, for his junior and senior year, according to Troy City Schools Superintendent Eric Herman.

Herman said Rice was in the welding program and played football while in high school.

“I remember him just being real quiet,” Herman said.

Alan Wuebker was Rice’s welding teacher for those two years and remembered him as an attentive, respectful and hardworking student.

“Jeff was an awesome student,” Wuebker said. “He always talked about serving his country. It was his lifetime goal to do that.”

Wuebker said Rice actually earned a scholarship to continue studying welding, but enlisted instead. He said Rice hoped to further his welding career while serving in the Army.

Fort Hood had not released any details on Rice’s death Sunday afternoon.

His family reportedly travelled to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware Sunday where Rice’s remains were transferred along with the bodies of two fellow soldiers also killed in Afghanistan last week, Army Spc. Darrion T. Hicks of Raleigh, N.C. and Marine Cpl. Joshua R. Ashley of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.

The 20th Engineer Battalion, nickname “Lumberjack”, provides combat engineering support, according to the Fort Hood webpage.

Information on funeral services is pending.

Related articles

• http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/news/local/soldier-from-troy-killed-in-afghanistan/nPzxp/
• http://tdn-net.com/main.asp?SubSectionID=364&ArticleID=124537&SectionID=1

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Yemeni security forces detain 3 al-Qaida militants in south

ADEN, Yemen, July 22 (Xinhua) -- Yemeni security forces on Sunday evening detained three al-Qaida militants who planned for armed attacks and terrorist operations in the southern province of Lahj, a security official told Xinhua.

The al-Qaida militants planned to carry out coordinated attacks on government and intelligence offices across Lahj province, the local security official said on condition of anonymity.

"A small pick-up truck with explosive devices that they aimed to use in their terrorist operations was also seized," he added.

The captured militants are currently under intelligence investigation, according to the official.

The militants were arrested a few hours after Yemen's military said it had placed its security services on high alert to prevent any imminent terrorist attacks and suicide operations against security and military checkpoints across the country.

The Yemeni government began to chase al-Qaida militants in the country's southern regions since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February, and announced major victory in June after the army recaptured several cities that had been held by al-Qaida for more than one year.

However, the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing then launched a series of assassinations and suicide attacks across the country.

It carried out a suicide bombing in the southern port city of Aden on June 18 and killed the commander of Yemen's southern military region. The group also launched a suicide attack in the capital Sanaa on July 11 and killed more than 20 police cadets.

from XINHUA
2012-07-23 02:50:21

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Taliban kill five private security guards in Wardak

The dead bodies of at least five Afghan private security guards were recovered in central Maidan Wardak province of Afghanistan early Sunday morning.

According to reports the deceased security guards were working for a private security firm and were abducted by Taliban militants around 10:00 am local time on Saturday. The dead bodies of the security guards were left on a highway in Jalriz district.

Eyewitnesses in the area said signs of torture and bullet were seen on the bodies of the deceased security guards.

Anti-government armed militants groups and local security officials yet to comment regarding the reports.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Sun Jul 22, 9:43 am

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Airstrikes kill 15 militants in northwest Pakistan

(Reuters) - Pakistani military jets struck militant hideouts in the northwest of the country on Sunday, killing 15 militants and wounding several others, military officials said.

The airstrikes targeted four hideouts in the remote Ghaljo and Dabori areas of the north-western Orakzai tribal region, the officials said. The locations were being used by members of the Pakistan Taliban.

The death toll could not be independently verified and militants often dispute official figures.

The Pakistan military has been conducting operations against militants in Orakzai for months.

Several militant groups are active in Pakistan's north-western semi-autonomous tribal regions, near the border with Afghanistan, including the Pakistan Taliban, responsible for many of the bombings across the country in recent years.

(Reporting by Hasan Mehmood in KALAYA, Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN, and Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR; Writing by Qasim Nauman; Editing by Ron Popeski)


KALAYA, Pakistan | Sun Jul 22, 2012 7:47am BST

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9 armed insurgents killed and 12 arrested by ANP (Jul.22.2012.)

Publish Date: Jul 22, 2012

Nine armed insurgents killed and 12 arrested by Afghan National Police

Counterterrorism:

During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched five joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Logar and Khost provinces.

As a result of these operations, nine armed insurgents were killed and 12 others were arrested by Afghan National Police.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated 7kg of opium, 12 different types of weapons with nine magazines, one PKM machine gun, one rocket launcher, one heavy round, 120 light rounds, one anti-vehicle mine, two hand grenades and 2736 kilograms of chemical materials.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused one 20kg drum full of explosives in the Grashk District of Helmand province.

Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained three individuals accused of theft in the 6th and 7th Districts of Kabul-City.

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Car bomb wounds 23 in Iraq’s holy city

A car bomb in the center of the Iraqi city of Najaf wounded 23 people on Sunday, security and medical officials said, a relatively rare attack in the Shiite holy city.

The 7:00 am (0400 GMT) attack struck near a restaurant in Najaf’s old town, provincial health department spokesman Salim Naama said. Of the 23 wounded, four were seriously hurt, he said.

“The terrorists tried to put the car near the shrine, but security measures prevented them from getting there, so they blew it up in the old city,” provincial police chief Major General Abdulkarim al-Amiri told AFP, referring to a shrine to a principal figure of Shiite Islam that is located in Najaf.

He did not give a precise toll from the attack.

Najaf, 150 kilometers (95 miles) south of Baghdad, remains one of Iraq’s safer cities, and is frequented by Shiite Muslims pilgrims from around the world seeking to visit the shrine to Imam Ali, son-in-law and cousin of the Prophet Mohammed.

The latest violence comes after the country suffered a spike in unrest in June when at least 282 people were killed, according to an AFP tally, though government figures said 131 Iraqis died.

from AL ARABIYA
Sunday, 22 July 2012

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July 22., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces conducted a security operation in Muhammad Aghah district, Logar province, Saturday.

During the operation, a group of armed insurgents were engaged with a precision airstrike. After the strike, the Afghan and coalition force conducted a follow-on assessment and confirmed multiple insurgents had been killed.

The security force also confirmed the airstrike had not injured any civilians or damaged civilian property.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

North

An Afghan and coalition security force conducted a security operation to arrest a senior Taliban leader in Chimtal district, Balkh province, today. During the operation the security force was confronted by an armed insurgent. The force engaged the insurgent and killed him. The operation was conducted without causing injury to any civilians.

South

An Afghan and coalition security force seized a Taliban weapons cache during an operation in Now Zad district, Helmand province, today. The Taliban weapons cache contained improvised explosive devices components, including ammonium nitrate, homemade explosives, and detonation triggers.

In Now Zad district, Helmand province, an Afghan and coalition security force detained numerous suspected insurgents during an operation to arrest a senior Taliban leader today. The Taliban leader is responsible for numerous improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout northern Helmand.

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July 21., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces killed two insurgents, detained 32 and cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, July 21.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Ghazni District and one in Gelan District.

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

Afghan Border Police and coalition forces detained 25 insurgent while investigating an IED making facility in Khowst District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Kunar Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained an insurgent in Sar Kani District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

A coalition airstrike killed two insurgents in Nari District in response to Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces receiving small arms and indirect fire.

Paktiya Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained an insurgent during an engagement in Khowst District. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Dzadran District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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R.I.P. - Sean P. Sullivan, Joseph P. Fitzmorris

DOD Identifies Navy Casualties

            The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two sailors who died in a helicopter crash July 19 in Oman.

            Senior Chief Aviation Warfare Systems Operator Sean P. Sullivan, 40, of St. Louis, Mo., and Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) Second Class Joseph P. Fitzmorris, 31, of West Monroe, La., were declared deceased following an extensive search of the wreckage and the surrounding areas of the crash.

            For further information related to this release, contact Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. Fifth Fleet Public Affairs at 011-973-1785-4027.

---

sorry, currently, i cant found any more/decent informations about the fallen heroes

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Sean P. Sullivan

Joseph P. Fitzmorris

The Defense Department confirmed the death of a U.S. Navy Air Crewman from St Louis in the crash of a helicopter during heavy-lift operations in the Middle East.

Senior Chief Aviation Warfare Systems Operator Sean P. Sullivan, 40, of St. Louis, Mo., and Naval Aircrewman (Helicopter) Second Class Joseph P. Fitzmorris, 31, of West Monroe, La., were declared deceased following an extensive search of the wreckage and the surrounding areas of the crash.
The MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter crashed Thursday about 60 miles southwest of Muscat, Oman. Three other crew members were injured.
Sullivan and Fitzmorris were previously reported missing. According to an announcement, the pair were “declared deceased following an extensive search of the wreckage and the surrounding areas of the crash.”
There was no hostile action in the area at the time of the crash, which is under investigation.

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