Twin Suicide Attack in Kandahar Kills 22, Wounds 50

At least 22 Afghan civilians were killed and 50 others were wounded in a twin suicide attack in southern Kandahar province on Wednesday, local officials said.


Kandahar deputy police chief Rahmatullah Atrafi said eight security guards of a private security firm were among the victims.

The attack happened around 11:15am near Kandahar Air Field - a Nato-run military base - when a suicide bomber on a motorbike detonated his explosives while Afghan civilians were gathered in a transport area near the base. Then a second suicide bomber in a car blew himself up, provincial spokesman Jawid Faisal said.

Provincial police chief General Abdul Raziq earlier told TOLOnews that the suicide bomber appeared to be targeting a convoy of Afghan private security guards.

No group, including the Taliban, has claimed responsibility for the attack.

from TOLONEWS
Wednesday, 06 June 2012 12:07
Last Updated on Wednesday, 06 June 2012 12:39 

Read More

12 Taliban militants killed following clashes in Nuristan

Kamdesh District in the Nuristan Province in Afghanistan (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to local authorities in eastern Nuristan province at least 12 Taliban militants were killed following clashes with the Afghan border protection police forces in this province.

The officials further added the incident took place at Kamdish district around 8:00 am local time and continued for several hours.

Provincial security chief Gen. Ghulamullah Khan confirming the report said the incident took place after Afghan border protection forces ambushed a group of the Taliban militants at Kamdish district on Tuesday.

Gen. Ghulamullah said the clashes took place at Butigul area in Kamdish district, adding that at least 5 bodies of the Taliban militants were left at the scene of the clashes and 3 others who were injured were taken by the Taliban group.

One Afghan border protection police officer was also injured during the clashes. Taliban group yet to comment regarding the report.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - Tue Jun 05, 3:12 pm

Read More

23 al-Qaida militants killed by Yemeni army

ADEN, Yemen, June 5 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni defense ministry said Tuesday the army repelled an overnight attack by al-Qaida militants, killing 23 terrorists in the southern province of Abyan.

The government troops managed to foil an attack by dozens of al- Qaida fighters, who attempted to sneak into an army base in the suburb of Zinjibar, the capital city of Abyan, late on Monday night, the defense ministry said in a brief statement posted on its website.

The government soldiers clashed with al-Qaida attackers, killing at least 23 al-Qaida militants, including a Somali and a Pakistani, the defense ministry said.

One soldier was killed and another injured during the armed clashes, the ministry added.

However, a spokesman of the al-Qaida group told Xinhua anonymously that "our fighters attacked army troops in Zinjibar late on Monday night, several soldiers were either killed or injured," he said.

On the same day, an army officer said that "army troops surrounded early Tuesday an al-Qaida stronghold outside of Jaar town and pounded it with heavy tank fire."

There are no reports about casualties, he said.

The Yemeni government troops have waged an intensive military campaign, with support of the United States and Saudi Arabia, against several bastions of the al-Qaida terrorist group in Abyan province since last month.

The offensive aimed at recapturing several southern towns and cities seized by the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula during last year's political chaos.

Read More

R.I.P. - Private Gregg Thomas Stone

Pvt Gregg Thomas Stone [picture via MOD]

Private Gregg Thomas Stone killed in Afghanistan

A Military Operations news article

5 Jun 12

It is with sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Private Gregg Thomas Stone from the 3rd Battalion, The Yorkshire Regiment, was killed in Afghanistan on Sunday 3 June 2012.

Private Stone deployed to Nahr-e Saraj district in Helmand Province on the 13 May 2012 as part of 6 Platoon, Burma Company. In the early evening of 3 June 2012, he was part of an operation to apprehend a group of insurgents who had abducted a member of the Afghan police. It was during this operation that his unit came under fire and Private Stone was fatally wounded.

Private Gregg Thomas Stone

Private Stone was born on 9 October 1991 in Hull, Yorkshire, where he attended Hornsea Secondary School and joined the Army on the 31 October 2009. He joined the 3rd Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment in April 2010, after completing training at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick.

After training as a Light Machine Gunner and Sharpshooter, he deployed with the Regiment to train in Canada before starting training for Op HERRICK. He was looking forward to attending the Junior Non-Commissioned Officers course upon return from Afghanistan, which he was sure to pass.

He leaves behind his wife, Samantha, mother Angela, father Robert, brothers Kallum, Jamie and Graeme, and sisters Rosie and Jennie.

Pte Stone's wife Samantha, supported by her family - dad Paul, mum Anita, sisters Claire and Emily and brother Steven - paid the following tribute to him:

"Gregg and I were childhood sweethearts and we met at school – he was my soul-mate. He was a brilliant husband and a family man who loved his family. He was always the one to want to make us laugh – he always cheered everyone up.
"He was proud to be a soldier and for what he had achieved in his work.
"He would also want me to mention his dog Benji who he loved to bits."

Paying tribute to their son and brother, Pte Stone's parents and siblings said:

"He will always be a true hero in all our hearts! Anyone who was blessed enough to have known him will know how much of a credit to his friends and family he was.
"Words cannot begin to describe this great loss, and we are exceptionally proud of Gregg for everything he was, has, and still is.
"Gregg was the kindest, funniest, friendliest, most popular lad that you could wish to meet. This is the saddest loss of our laughing boy."

read more: http://www.mod.uk/DefenceInternet/DefenceNews/MilitaryOperations/PrivateGreggThomasStoneKilledInAfghanistan.htm

Related articles

• British soldier killed during rescue operation in S. Afghanistan (sgt-jim.blogspot.com)

Read More

7 suspects linked to poisoning students nabbed

TALOQAN (PAN): Seven suspects, including a Taliban designated district chief and a woman, alleged involved in poisoning school students in northern Takhar province were arrested, officials said on Tuesday.

More than 500 students of several girls’ schools were poisoned in the capital Taloqan, Farkhar and Rostaq districts over the past month.

Mullah Mohammad Yaqub, Taliban’s appointed district chief for Khwaja Ghar, along with two others, including the woman, were detained in Kunduz, while three others arrested from a girls’ school on the outskirts of Taloqan, Mustafa Rasouli, the governor’s spokesman, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He said another individual was also nabbed as he was trying to spray lethal chemical inside a classroom in the province.

The woman suspect was a Pakistani who had introduced herself as a doctor. Besides, the seven, five others were also picked up on Monday for investigations.

Meanwhile, a source from the National Directorate of Security (NDS), Afghan probe agency, said Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) was behind poisoning the students.

During a meeting with the provincial Ulama, tribal elders and influential people, officials had announced a $2,000 (200,000 afs) reward to capture those involved in the heinous crime.

An education ministry report revealed that more than 1,200 students, mostly girls, had been poisoned in Takhar, Khost, and Balkh and Bamyan provinces.

from Pajhwok
by Nadar Azizi on Jun 5, 2012 - 12:41

Related articles

• At least 120 girls students poisoned in Takhar province (khaama.com)
• Some 160 Afghan Schoolgirls Ill After Suspected Gas Attack (rferl.org)
• Afghan girls poisoned in second anti-school attack (sgt-jim.blogspot.com)

Read More

4 troops killed in check post attack in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, June 5 (Xinhua) -- At least four troops and 20 militants were killed when unidentified militants attacked an army check post in Pakistan's northwest tribal region of Mohmand on early Tuesday morning, local Urdu Tv channel Dawn reported.

NATO troops also attacked the same check post on November 26 last year, killing 24 troops and injuring 13 others. The incident resulted in U.S. pullout from Pakistani air bases and closure of NATO supply routes by Pakistani authorities.

Tuesday's attack occurred in wee hours of morning when an unknown number of unidentified militants stormed an army check post in Salala area of Mohmand Agency, a tribal region at Pakistan- Afghanistan border.

Four troops were killed in the attack, and 20 militants lost their lives in retaliatory attack by Pakistan army.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack yet, and there are no reports whether the attack was carried out by Pakistan Taliban or Afghan Taliban.

Presently, Pakistan Army maintains an 8,200-man presence in Mohmand Agency.

The security forces claimed last September that 90 percent of Mohmand Agency has been cleared of the Taliban militants. Tuesday' s check post attack is an indication that militants are coming back again in the area.

Read More

11 armed insurgents killed, 15 wounded and 30 others arrested by ANP

Publish Date: Jun 05, 2012

11 armed insurgents killed, 15 wounded and 30 others 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 Zabul, Ghazni, Khost, Paktika and Paktiya provinces.

As a result of these operations, 11 armed insurgents were killed, 15 wounded and 30 others were arrested by Afghan National Police.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated amount of explosives materials, munitions and 12 motorbikes.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused two anti-vehicle mines as a result of security operations in Laghman and Baghlan provinces. 

The Afghan National Police dedicate their lives to protecting the people.

 

Counternarcotics:
Afghan National Police (Special Units) launched an operation in the Grashk District of Helmand province, yesterday.

As a result of this operation, Afghan National Police (Special Units) arrested a smuggler with 48 kilograms of opium and one vehicle.

Read More

R.I.P. - Lance Cpl. Joshua E. Witsman

DOD Identifies Marine Casualty

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

            Lance Cpl. Joshua E. Witsman, 23, of Covington, Ind., died May 30 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.

            This incident is under investigation.

            For additional background information, news media representatives may contact the 1st Marine Division public affairs office at 760-725-8766.

---

from utsandiego.com:
Written by Gretel C. Kovach
2:31 p.m., June 4, 2012 Updated 3:27 p.m.

A Camp Pendleton Marine was killed in Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced today.

Lance Cpl. Joshua E. Witsman, 23, of Covington, Ind., died Wednesday in Helmand province in support of combat operations with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment.

The infantry battalion deployed to the Musa Qalah and Now Zad areas of the province in February.

Witsman’s death is under investigation, the Defense Department said.

One of the infantryman's favorite quotations was "God created man, Sam Colt made them equal," according to his Facebook page.

Witsman enlisted in the Marine Corps on Feb. 17, 2009, the 1st Marine Division said. He died on his second deployment to Afghanistan.

His decorations include the Combat Action Ribbon, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two bronze star devices, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Sea Service Deployment Ribbon with bronze star device, and the NATO Medal-ISAF Afghanistan.

Read More

Second ranking Al Qaeda chief likely killed in Pakistan

Abu Yahya al-Libi, one of al-Qaeda’s top strategists and seen as the most prominent figure in the network after leader Ayman al Zawahri, may have been killed in a drone strike in northwest Pakistan, the Pakistani intelligence officials said on June 5.

If his death is confirmed it would be the biggest blow to al Qaeda since U.S. special forces killed Osama bin Laden in a secret raid in Pakistan in May 2011.

“This would be a major blow to ‘core’ al-Qaida, removing the No. 2 leader twice in less than a year,” said a senior U.S. official with access to classified reports from Pakistan, where officials from both countries were working to ascertain Libi’s fate.

US officials confirmed to The New York Times that Al-Libi had been the target of the missile attack in North Waziristan, a Taliban and al-Qaeda stronghold along the Afghan border, but could not say whether he had survived.

“People are looking very closely to see whether he’s still alive,” a US official told the New York Times.

“It’ll take some time for people to gain a high level of confidence that he’s dead. But he’s number two in al-Qaeda, and this would be a major blow.”

Abu Yahya is a Libyan militant who has appeared in al Qaeda promotional video messages and once escaped from a U.S.-run prison in Afghanistan.

Reports from Pakistan said nearly 30 people were killed during the sequence of strikes, including four suspected militants on Saturday, ten suspected militants on Sunday, and 15 people in the strike in which Abu Yahya was targeted.

from KHAAMA
By Khushnood Nabizada - Tue Jun 05, 1:17 pm

Read More

Two Australian soldiers and a civilian interpreter injured in Afghanistan

Defence said this afternoon they were struck by insurgent small arms fire during a partnered Afghan National Security Forces and Special Operations Task Group mission in Helmand Province yesterday.

According to Defence the three personnel were wounded in separate engagements during the 14-hour mission against a drug processing facility in the north of the province.

Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Ash Power said the multiple incidents highlighted the effectiveness of the casualty care practices within Afghanistan.

“The team on the ground treated their mates and organised a rapid evacuation from the battlefield by helicopter for each of the three incidents,” Lieutenant General Power said.

“On arrival at a nearby ISAF medical facility, they were assessed, treated and most importantly stabilised by a team of medical specialists.”

Once stable, the three wounded personnel were transferred to a medical facility, where they each underwent surgery.

Following treatment, the interpreter and one of the Australian soldiers were reported to be in a satisfactory condition and will now undertake a period of rest and recovery.

The second Australian soldier remains in a serious condition but is reported to be stable and responding well. It is likely he will move to the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center for further treatment in the coming days.

The wounded soldier’s families have been notified by Defence and are currently receiving support.

Lieutenant General Power said operations of this type disrupted the insurgent drug trade and reduced the finances used by the insurgency to sustain attacks on ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces.

“During the mission, the partnered Afghan and Australian force were engaged repeatedly by multiple insurgents,” Lieutenant General Power said.

“The partnered force fought through each of these engagements and captured large amount of processed opium, high-grade Poppy seed, drug processing equipment and several caches of weapons and explosives.”


from heraldsun.com.au
By Alison McMeekin - The Daily Telegraph - June 05, 2012 6:16PM

Read More