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

KABUL, Afghanistan - An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator and detained one other insurgent during an operation in Kandahar district, Kandahar province, March 14.

The facilitator is accused of acquiring and distributing lethal aid to fighters in Kandahar and Uruzgan provinces. In the past, he has also provided grenades, ammunition, home-made explosive material and improvised explosive devices for use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout
Afghanistan:

South

During an operation in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, March 14, an Afghan and coalition security force killed an insurgent.
The security force positively identified the militant conducting insurgent activity and engaged, killing the fighter.

East

An Afghan and coalition security force detained a number of insurgents during an operation in search of a senior Haqqani leader in Manduzai district, Khost province, March 14. The Haqqani leader has been fighting against Afghan and coalition forces for nearly five years. He has more than 200 insurgents under his command, and has directed them to attack Afghan and coalition forces in multiple provinces throughout Afghanistan, including Khost, Paktiya and Paktika. The Haqqani leader also has experience working in terrorist training camps and guiding and equipping extremist fighters in order to conduct operations against the Afghan people and government.

An Afghan and coalition force killed a number of insurgents during two security operations in Andar district, Ghazni province, March 14. The security force positively identified the militants engaged in insurgent activity and engaged the insurgents, killing them.

Read More

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

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared two improvised explosive devices and killed one insurgent during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, March 14.

Ghazni province

Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED during operations in the Gelan district.

Khowst province

Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED during operations in the Gurbuz district.

Paktika province

Afghan National Security Forces killed one insurgent during operations in the Terwo district.

Read More

Pentagon: Iranian Warplane Moves Against US Drone in Gulf

MQ-1 Predator  (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Pentagon says an Iranian warplane approached an unarmed U.S. military surveillance drone earlier this week over international waters in the Persian Gulf.
A U.S. spokesman said the U.S. drone - under escort by two U.S. military aircraft - was conducting routine classified surveillance on Tuesday when the Iranian plane closed to within 25 kilometers.  The spokesman said all U.S. aircraft remained over international waters at all times and added that the Iranian aircraft later departed after a verbal warning.

Last November, Iran confirmed a similar Pentagon report that two Iranian warplanes fired on and missed an unarmed U.S. drone in the Gulf.  Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi was quoted at the time in official Iranian media as saying the action was ordered against an anonymous plane that had entered Iranian airspace. 

Pentagon officials said the U.S. Predator drone was over international waters on November 1 conducting routine surveillance when the attack occurred.

The incident is the second such encounter made public in the past four months, and comes ahead of a visit to Israel by U.S. President Barack Obama that is expected to focus largely on Iran's suspected nuclear ambitions and Israeli vows to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons.

Israel has repeatedly threatened to take military action if Iran appears on the verge of developing a nuclear bomb.  The Obama administration has urged restraint and encouraged Israel to allow the pressure of international diplomacy and economic sanctions to force an end to Iran's secretive nuclear program.

Ahead of his trip, President Obama told Israeli television that it would currently take more than a year for Iran to develop a nuclear weapon.

VOA News
March 14, 2013

Related articles

• US Fighters escort Drone to safety from Iranian F-4 Phantom (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• U.S. Says Iran Fighter Approached Drone (rferl.org)

Read More

R.I.P. - Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike

DOD Identifies Navy Casualty

            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a sailor who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike, 31, of Peoria, Ariz., died March 13 in Landstuhl, Germany, as a result of combat-related injuries sustained on March 10 while conducting stability operations in Maiwand District, Afghanistan.  Pike was assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

            For further information related to this release, please contact Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs Office at 619-522-2816 or 619-522-2825.

---

from arizona.newszap.com: 

PHOENIX – Flags at all state governmentbuildings are flying at half staff in honor of a member of the Navy from Peoria who died in Afghanistan earlier this week.

Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike, 31, died March 13 of injuries suffered March 10 while conducting stability operations in Maiwand District, west of Kandahar, the U.S. Defense Department announced March 14. After being injured, Mr. Pike was taken to a U.S. Army hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, where he was pronounced dead from his injuries.

Mr. Pike was assigned to a West Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit, said Lt. Cmdr. David McKinney, a spokesman for Naval Special Warfare Command.

Gov. Jan Brewer ordered flags at government buildings lowered immediately in the hours after the Defense Department’s announcement.

“My heart breaks for the family and friends of Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike,” the governor stated in a prepared release.

“I ask that all Arizonans join me in thoughtful prayer for CPO Pike, his loved ones and his fellow Navy brothers and sisters,” the statement continued. “Please keep all of Arizona’s servicemen and women in your hearts and thoughts. Their serve and sacrifice must never be taken for granted.”

Funeral arrangements were not immediately announced.

Mr. Pike joined the Navy Aug. 16, 2001, and following training was assigned to the NTTC Corry Station, then the USS Cleveland, according to a biography supplied by the Naval Special Warfare unit in California. In 2007, he moved to a Navy Information Operations Command facility in Georgia before reporting to the Special Warfare unit July 25, 2011. It could not immediately be learned how long Mr. Pike had been in Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

Most of the 68,000 U.S. forces now in Afghanistan are scheduled to be withdrawn by the end of 2014, according to the latest timetable provided by President Barack Obama to end involvement in what is America’s longest war.

Related articles

• RIP CPO Christian M Pike (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Chief Petty Officer Christian Michael Pike, 31 (goodsoldiersorg.wordpress.com)

Read More

R.I.P. - Spc. David T. Proctor

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Spc. David T. Proctor, 26, of Greensboro, N.C., died March 13, at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Bethesda, Md., from injuries sustained during a non-combat incident on March 3, in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, Fort Stewart, Ga.

            For more information media may contact Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield Public Affairs Office at 912-210-9375 or after-hours at 912-767-8666.

---

from fortstewart.patch.com:

By Ryan Smith
March 14, 2013

Spc. David T. Proctor, who died Wednesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, was one of several 3rd ID casualties this week.

A 3rd Infantry Division soldier died Wednesday from wounds sustained early in March, according to a Fort Stewart press release. The death is the latest of several 3rd ID casualties this week.

Spc. David T. Proctor, 26, died Wednesday at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., from wounds suffered during a non-combat incident March 3 in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan.

Proctor, an infantryman, was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team, 3rd ID. He joined the Army in August of 2011 and arrived at his unit in November of that year, according to the release. This was his first deployment.

Proctor's death was one of several this week for 3rd ID. On Monday, Staff Sgt. Rex L. Schad, 26, died from injuries suffered when he was attacked by small-arms fire. Schad was also a member of Fort Stewart's 1st Armor Brigade Combat Team.

Also killed Monday were five soldiers assigned to Hunter Army Airfield, according to Fort Stewart spokesman Kevin Larson. The soldiers died in a helicopter crash outside Kandahar. The Department of Defense has not yet released their names.

Related articles

• RIP SPC David T Proctor (waronterrornews.typepad.com)
• Spc. David T. Proctor, 26 (goodsoldiersorg.wordpress.com)
• Injured in Afghanistan, Georgia soldier dies (savannahnow.com)

Read More

Coordinated Bombings Kill at Least 9 in Iraq

A series of coordinated blasts rocked the heart of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, killing at least 9 people and wounding dozens.
The explosions Thursday took place in the Allawi district, which houses several government ministries. It's near the heavily fortified Green Zone, where several Western embassies are located. There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The bombings come a week before the 10th anniversary of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and a month before Iraq holds its first elections in three years.

Iraq has been plagued by infighting among sectarian factions. Many Sunnis accuse Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki of discriminating against their community. Sunni militants have for months been carrying out a series of strikes on Shi'ite targets.

from VOA News
March 14, 2013

Read More

Pakistani soldier stoned to death for love affair

English: Map of Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

(Reuters) - A Pakistani soldier was publicly stoned to death on the order of a tribal court in the country's northwestern Kurram region for having an affair with a local woman, government officials and tribesmen said on Wednesday.
Such tribal justice is a stark reminder of the difficulty in establishing a credible civilian administration in Pakistan's semi-autonomous region bordering Afghanistan, despite a series of military operations in the area and Western nations pouring in millions of dollars to help build infrastructure.

Punjab native Anwar Din, 27, was posted last year to the Parachinar area of Kurram agency where he met Intizar Bibi, 19, while manning a checkpost near her home.

The two embarked on a romantic relationship, tribal sources said, and he tried to elope with her when he was later posted to the disputed Kashmir region. It was not immediately clear what evidence there was, if any, of a romance.

"The girl left her home on Monday and met Anwar Din when villagers saw them," said Munir Hussain, the head of the local jirga, or tribal court, that sentenced Din to death. "We took the girl into custody and took the boy to the local graveyard where he was stoned to death and buried."

Din was killed on Monday, he added. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the jirga had ruled the woman must be shot to death. It was not immediately clear if this had already taken place.

The army was not immediately available for comment.

Kurram, the only part of Pakistan's largely lawless border region that has a significant Shi'ite population, is racked by sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite tribes. Anti-Shi'ite ideology from the Taliban and al Qaeda has meant years of bloody fighting.

Bibi is Shi'ite while Din was Sunni, Hussain added.

The Federally Administered Tribal Areas have never been fully integrated into Pakistan's administrative, economic or judicial system.

Instead, families and tribes often take justice into their own hands, presiding over "jirgas" or "panchayats", gatherings of elders that hand down punishments including rape, killing and the bartering of women to settle scores and restore honor.

In such tribal justice, women often fair far worse than men.

Hussain said that the jirga had also requested that another Pakistani soldier, Saif Ullah, be handed over for helping the couple meet and coordinate the planned elopement.

"The army is here for our security but if they engage in such activities we will not let them stay here," Hussain said. "This is an insult to tribal customs. We will revolt against this."

from REUTERS
By Saud Mehsud
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan | Wed Mar 13, 2013 6:57am EDT
(Writing By Mehreen Zahra-Malik; Editing by Amie Ferris-Rotman and Nick Macfie)

Read More

Female Czech tourists kidnapped in Baluchistan province

Unidentified gunmen on Wednesday kidnapped two women tourists from the Czech Republic in Baluchistan, officials said.
Abdul Qadus, a top government official in the area said, the women were on the road from Iran to Quetta, the capital of Pakistan’s southwest Baluchistan province, when they were seized on Wednesday.

Qadus further added the two had been given a police guard to escort them on a passenger bus, said Qadus. But the policeman was no match for the eight to 10 gunmen who stopped them in Chaghi district near the Iran and Afghanistan borders.

He said gunmen took the captives to Afghanistan, where they disarmed the policeman and released him.

Akbar Hussain Durrani, the provincial home secretary also confirmed the report and said, “Both the women were from Czech Republic and entered in Pakistan as tourists. Gunmen stopped their bus in the Nok Kundi area of Chaghi district and abducted both of them.”

Islamist militants and criminals with links to both have been accused of previous kidnappings in Baluchistan. Baluchistan is also home to separatists who have been waging a violent insurgency against the government and also many Islamist militants.

from KHAAMA
By Sayed Jawad - 14 Mar 2013, 11:27 am

Related articles

• Czech women tourists kidnapped in Balochistan: officials (dawn.com)
• Czech tourists kidnapped in Pakistan (bigpondnews.com)
• Two Czech women kidnapped in Pakistan (panarmenian.net)
• Gunmen kidnap 2 female Czech tourists in troubled province in southwest Pakistan (vancouverdesi.com)
• Gunmen kidnap Czech tourists in southwest Pakistan (foxnews.com)

Read More

Coordinated terrorist attacks foiled in Kabul city

(file photo)

Afghan intelligence department — national directorate of security (NDS) officails announced at least five Haqqani network militants were during a gun battle in capital Kabul on Wednesday.
According to a statement released by national directorate of security (NDS) Afghan security forces prevented a coordinated attack by Haqqani network militants in kabul city.

The source further added at least two suspected Haqqani network militants were also arrested during the operation.

The militants were reportedly looking to carry out coordinated attacks on military institutions, NDS department said following the statement adding that Afghan security forces successfully managed to identify their location and carry out the operation in 16th district of kabul city.

NDS officials also added that Afghan security forces seized some weapons, ammunitions and explosives during the operation.

Anti-government armed militant groups yet to comment regarding the report.

from KHAAMA
By Sadaf Shinwari - 14 Mar 2013, 9:58 am

Read More

Tunisian 'martyrs' celebrated by Ansar al Sharia

A poster honoring eight Tunisians who died fighting in Syria.

By Thomas Joscelyn - March 13, 2013 - LWJ

In early February, a video of an interview with Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's leader Seifallah ben Hassine (a.k.a. Abu Iyad al Tunisi) was released online after it had been banned by government officials. Hassine, who is wanted for instigating the Sept. 14, 2012 assault on the US Embassy in Tunis, was asked about the migration of young Tunisians to the jihadist battlefields in Syria and Mali. He responded by discouraging the practice, saying Tunisia's Salafi jihadists were needed at home and that the wars abroad have "emptied Tunisia of its young."

A review of Ansar al Sharia Tunisia's official Facebook page and other online sources tells a different story. Hassine's organization frequently celebrates the "martyrdom" of Tunisians, especially those who fought in Syria.

In Facebook entries posted this week, the group showcased Tunisians killed in Syria. And Ansar al Sharia's logos accompanied the young Tunisians' images, thereby indicating the organization's official seal of approval.

One post announces the death of a Tunisian who fought in Deir al Zour, a city located on the Euphrates River that the Al Nusrah Front is currently seeking to capture. The Facebook posting says that he fought for the Hamza Bin Abdul Muttalib Brigade.

Continue... & Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/03/in_early_february_a.php#ixzz2NVZ5LbKI

Related articles

• Tunisian 'martyrs' celebrated by Ansar al Sharia (longwarjournal.org)

Read More