Gunmen kill 10 local security guards in northern Nigeria

ZAMFARA, Nigeria, Dec. 14 (Xinhua) -- Nigerian police in the northern state of Zamfara on Friday said unidentified gunmen riding on motorcycles shot dead 10 members of the local vigilante group in an attack.
State commissioner of police Usman Gwary disclosed this to reporters in Gusau, the state capital, saying the gunmen apparently came with the specific purpose of killing members of the vigilante group.

Chairman of Zurmi Local Government Area Abdullahi Gurbin-Baure told reporters that the killers came on motorcycles and attacked members of the vigilante killing all the 10 persons on duty.

The chairman said the killers also removed the private parts of some of their victims and burnt all the motorcycles used by the members of the vigilante.

Gurbin-Baure said he had already reported the matter to the state police headquarters and to the state government.

from XINHUA
2012-12-15 03:20:50

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Karzai call on NATO troops to leave Afghan villages

The annual Afghan ambassadors and general consul meeting was organized in capital Kabul on Saturday.

Afghan president Hamid Karzai in his speech to Afghan ambassadors and general consuls urged them to represent Afghanistan as an Afghan citizen in countries where they have been sent as envoys.

President Karzai also expressed his condolences regarding the deaths of kids in a US school shooting.

He also said the U.S. and NATO troops transferring security to Afghan forces should leave Afghan villages as soon as possible.

Karzai spoke Saturday on the opening day of a conference to develop Afghanistan’s foreign policy strategy for the next three years.

He said Afghan security forces will take security lead in entire nation by 2013 while international forces will end their combat mission at the end of 2014.

President Karzai said it will be better for Afghanistan as soon as the transition process is completed.

He says he wants the international troops to leave Afghan villages, draw back to their bases and slowly withdraw from there.

from KHAAMA
By Sadaf Shinwari - December 15 2012, 2:33 pm

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Quetta: 8 injured in Sariab Road bicycle blast

Eight persons including a security man were wounded when a blast occurred at Sariab Road in Quetta  on Friday.

According to reports, the explosives were fixed in a bicycle that exploded near a security forces’ vehicle, injuring eight persons including a troop. The blast also damaged several vehicles.

Rescue efforts were kicked off immediately after the explosion and the injured were shifted to the hospital while security forces cordoned off the area and started investigation.

The bomb disposal squad told that at least seven kilograms of explosives were used in the blast.

from thenation.com.pk

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Car bomb kills three in Somali capital

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)

A car bomb in the Somali capital killed three people and wounded several others in the latest attack in war-ravaged Mogadishu, police said Friday.

“The car exploded while the driver was moving in it... three people were killed,” said police officer Aden Mohammed, adding it was not clear if the driver had been targeted. “We are still investigating the blast.”

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the explosion, but the Al-Qaeda linked Shebab insurgents have conducted a series of guerrilla style attacks in the capital since pulling out of fixed positions there last year.

The insurgents have vowed to topple President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, who took office in September after being chosen by the country’s new parliament, bringing an end to eight years of transitional rule.

An offensive led by the 17,00-strong African Union force alongside Somali forces has stripped the Shebab of most of the towns they held.

But the Shebab remain a potent threat, still controlling rural areas as well as carrying out guerrilla attacks -- including suicide bombings -- in areas apparently under government control.

Some of the fighters have reportedly relocated to the Galgala region of the northern Golis mountains in Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland region.

The Golis mountains, straddling the porous border between the autonomous state of Puntland and self-declared independent Somaliland, are honeycombed with caves and difficult to access.


from AL ARABIYA
FRIDAY, 14 December 2012 

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Coordinated Efforts By Afghan Agencies Thwarts Suicide Bombers

Districts of Paktika Province (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

PAKTIKA PROVINCE – Afghan Uniformed Police (AUP) in conjunction with Afghan Local Police (ALP) and Afghan Nation Defense Service (NDS) implemented a coordinated operation to stop six suicide bombers and bring them to justice, Dec. 12.

The operation was devised based off intelligence indicating insurgents intended to smuggle suicide bombers and explosives across the border from Pakistan. The insurgents were monitored by Afghan security agencies over the course of six weeks. The insurgents continued with their plan, not knowing they were being watched.

When additional insurgents arrived in Sar Howzah district with vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices and suicide vests, the AUP, ALP, and NDS closed in, apprehended all six individuals and secured the bomb-making materials.

“This well-implemented plan and coordination between Afghan security agencies illustrates their capabilities and determination,” said Lt. Col. Davenport. “Improvised explosive devices continue to be a threat to civilians throughout the country and there is no telling how many lives were saved by their actions.”

from KHAAMA
By Khushnood Nabizada - December 14 2012, 12:21 pm

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Separate attacks in Iraq kill 11

BAGHDAD, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- As many as 11 people were killed, most of whom security force personnel, in a series of attacks on Thursday in several Iraqi cities, said the police.
A police official told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that gunmen clashed with security forces at a village in Baaj town of the northern Nineveh province, killing Colonel Khalid Naddawi, the commander of a regiment and wounding two of his guards.

Meanwhile, an unidentified armed group with light and medium weapons, attacked a military convoy in Aljughaifi district in the city center of Fallujah, killing three soldiers and injuring two others, said the police official.

In another incident, armed militants travelling in a civilian car attacked a police checkpoint in Nuaimiya area near the city of Fallujah, killing two policemen.

Also in the city of Fallujah, gunmen planted a bomb under a watchtower in al-Askari district and blew it up, killing two soldiers, said the police source.

Elsewhere in the capital city of Baghdad, gunmen attacked a police checkpoint at al-Rabea Street, leaving two policemen killed and four others wounded.

Two road-side bombs exploded at the Jordan interception near Baghdad, killing one civilian and wounding five others.

from XINHUA
2012-12-14 03:18:57

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Dec. 14., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed one insurgent, detained six, and cleared one improvised explosive device during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours Dec. 13.

Kunar province

Afghan National Army soldiers killed one insurgent during an engagement in Bar Kunar (Asmar) district.

Nangarhar province

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents during an engagement in Bati Kot district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces also found and safely cleared one IED in Bati Kot district.

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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Afghan suicide bomber wounds 14 in Kandahar attack

An aerial view of the Kandahar Airport in Kandahar, Afghanistan, June 22, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jerry T. Combes (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

from KMIC:

VBIED attack targeting ISAF convoy on Kandahar-Buldak highway at around 05:00 pm today. 3 ISAF and 10 civilian wounded.
— KMIC (@KandaharMedia) December 13, 2012

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from denverpost:

KANDAHAR, Afghanistan—An Afghan official says a suicide bomber on a motorcycle has wounded three NATO troops and 11 civilians in an attack against the main gate of Kandahar Airfield, the main U.S. military base in the south.
Javeed Faisal, who is a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the attack took place just after nightfall Thursday and targeted the gate that provides access to the military side of the city's airport.
Suicide attacks are not uncommon in Kandahar, the birthplace of the Taliban.

---

UPDATE1 from TOLONEWS:

Kandahar Car Bomb Kills 2 Civilians
Thursday, 13 December 2012 19:37
Last Updated on Thursday, 13 December 2012 19:53

At least two civilians have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack near the entrance to the airport and military base in southern Kandahar province, police said.
The blast happened around 5:00 PM local time when a bomber in landcruiser car laden with explosives detonated the bomb near a joint Afghan and Isaf forces convoy, provincial police chief General Abdul Raziq told TOLOnews.

He also added that 16 others, including four foreign troops, have been wounded in the incident.

The attack comes on the same day that US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta was visiting troops in the province.

Unconfirmed reports said that at least one foreign soldier was killed. A spokesperson at Isaf headquarters said she was not able to confirm or deny the reports at this point.

No group including the Taliban has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
---
UPDATE2 from KHAAMA:

By Sayed Jawad - Thu Dec 13, 7:45 pm

Suicide blast near Kandahar airport, 2 killed 16 injured

A relatively heavy explosion rocked southern Kandahar province on Thursday evening. The incident took place at the entrance gate of Kandahar airport.

Dr. Syed Azim Hussaini chief of the Afghan national army hospital in Kandahar province said at least 10 people who were injured following the blast were taken to the hospital.

He said all those injured including an Afghan child were Afghan civilians.

In the meantime provincial security chief Gen. Abdul Razaq said the incident took place after a suicide bomber detonated epxlosives packed in a vehicle, killing at least two Afghan civilians and injuring 11 others.

Gen. Abdul Razaq further added at least 1 Afghan national army soldier and three NATO service members were injured following the blast.

The attack occurred after Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had left Kandahar, Airfield his press secretary said. Panetta is on a visit to Afghanistan and was to meet later in Kabul with President Hamid Karzai.

Panetta was at Kandahar Airfield for about three hours, receiving an update briefing on the region by U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Robert Abrams, the region’s top coalition commander. Panetta also spoke to about 350 U.S. troops and took a few questions from them before flying back to Kabul.

No group including the Taliban militants has so far claimed resonponsibility behind the incident.
---

more updates coming up later.....

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16 Killed in Damascus Car Bombing

A damaged area is pictured after a car bomb in Qatana, near Damascus December 13, 2012 in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA.

A car bomb has killed 16 people in a suburb outside the Syrian capital, Damascus, while a senior Russian diplomat says Syria's opposition may win in its battle against President Bashar al-Assad.

The bombing Thursday in Qatana comes a day after an explosion targeting the main entrance of Syria's interior ministry in Damascus killed five people.

In Moscow, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov acknowledged for the first time that Assad is increasingly losing control of the country's territory, and that an opposition victory cannot be ruled out.

Quoted by Russian media, he also accused Western nations of distorting Russia's position on Syria in order to weaken its influence in the Middle East.

Moscow opposes Western demands to impose regime change on the Syrian president, a longtime Russian ally.

On Wednesday, a senior U.S. official said the Syrian government recently fired Scud missiles at insurgents.  There was no indication as to whether the missiles carried chemical weapons. 

The use of Scud missiles could be seen as an escalation of the nearly two-year conflict in Syria.

Meanwhile, a group of more than 100 nations calling for Assad to step down formally recognized a newly formed opposition coalition as the legitimate representative of the Syrian people.

The director of the Brookings Doha Center, Salman Shaikh, told VOA from Morocco that the new coalition's leadership was "satisfied" with the outcome of the so-called Friends of Syria meeting.

"It's safe to say this is the most significant Friends [of Syria] meeting there's been.  In fact, it's probably the first significant Friends [of Syria] meeting there has been," Shaikh said.

He said various countries taking part pledged $143 million in aid for the Syrian opposition, including a $100-million aid package from Saudi Arabia.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State William Burns said in Morocco the sooner the Syrian president "steps aside, the better for all Syrians."

from VOA News
December 13, 2012

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Dec. 13., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed four insurgents, detained two, located three weapons caches and cleared three improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours Dec. 12.

Ghazni province

Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Ghazni district. The cache contained small arms ammunition, grenades, rockets and multiple mortar rounds being used for IEDs.

Kapisa province

Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed four insurgents during an engagement in Tagab district.

Khowst province

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

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Nadir Shah Kot district. The cache contained small arms and ammunition.

Logar province

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Charkh district.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Baraki Barak district. The cache contained homemade explosives.


Nangarhar province

Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared one IED in Shinwar district.

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

Operations in RC-East are ongoing.

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