Thursday, November 1, 2012

Insurgent with 20,000 kg explosives held in Uruzgan

TIRINKOT (PAN): Police in Tirinkot city seized a massive 20,000-kilogramme of explosives in central Uruzgan province after arresting an insurgent, an official said on Wednesday.

“The explosives belonging to a rebel in Charmistan area, they were seized on Tuesday night,” police spokesman Fared Ayel told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The suspect was involved in distributing mines and training other rebels in various areas, said Ayel.

Sergeant Shah Mohammad said the insurgent was arrested and the explosives were seized based on intelligence report. 

The suspect was identified as Mullah Roohullah.

from Pajhwok
by Ajmal Wisal on Oct 31, 2012 - 19:47   

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R.I.P. - Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter, Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar


Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter (left)
and Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar
[Picture: via MOD]

Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter and Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar killed in Afghanistan

A Military Operations news article

31 Oct 12
It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm that Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter and Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar, both from 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles (1 RGR), were killed on Tuesday 30 October 2012 while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province. Both men were attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines.

Lieutenant Drummond-Baxter and Lance Corporal Kunwar were based in Checkpoint Prrang in the southern area of Nahr-e Saraj.
On 30 October they were participating in a shura (meeting) with Afghan Uniform Policemen inside the checkpoint.
On completion of the shura, they were shot and killed by a man wearing an Afghan police uniform who had been attending the meeting.

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10/30/2012: An Afghan police killed 2 ISAF British nationals (sgt-jim.blogspot.com)
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Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter

Lieutenant Edward Drummond-Baxter deployed to Afghanistan on 30 September 2012 as Platoon Command of 1 Platoon, A (Delhi) Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines as part of Transition Support Unit Nahr-e Saraj. He was based in Checkpoint Prrang in the southern part of Nahr-e Saraj District, Helmand province. He was on his first operational tour of Afghanistan.

Lieutenant Drummond-Baxter was born in Peterborough on 15 September 1983 and lived in County Durham with his parents. He studied at University College London and gained a BSc degree in Psychology. While at university he was an active member of his local Army Reserves regiment, The Honourable Artillery Company.
He subsequently spent two years working for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office including a posting to Japan before joining the British Army. He attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 2010 and commissioned into 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles in December 2010.
After Sandhurst, he completed the demanding training to qualify as an Infantry Platoon Commander and further cemented his ability as an outstanding field soldier by passing the arduous Jungle Warfare Course in Brunei to qualify as Jungle Operations Instructor.

Throughout 2011 and 2012 he expertly prepared and led his platoon through the detailed mission-specific training for Operation HERRICK 17 in Afghanistan and attended the three-month Nepali language course in Pokhara, Nepal. In August 2012, he volunteered to spend a further month in Nepal assisting with the Brigade of Gurkhas' selection course.

Lieutenant Drummond-Baxter was an excellent Platoon Commander whose calm demeanour and ready sense of humour were widely respected by his soldiers and fellow officers. He quickly made his mark as a talented officer who possessed great potential and always put his soldiers first.

He leaves behind his mother, Helen, father, David and sister, Emily.
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Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar

Lance Corporal Siddhanta Kunwar deployed to Afghanistan on 3 October 2012 as a Sniper Section Commander in the acting rank of Lance Corporal. He was serving with A (Delhi) Company, 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles, attached to 40 Commando Royal Marines as part of Transition Support Unit Nahr-e Saraj. He was based in Checkpoint Prrang in the southern part of Nahr-e Saraj District, Helmand province. He was on his third operational tour of Afghanistan.

Lance Corporal Siddhanta was born on 19 June 1984 in Pokhara, Nepal, where he lived with his mother and father. He passed the arduous selection for the Brigade of Gurkhas on 17 December 2004 and having completed his year-long infantry training joined 1st Battalion The Royal Gurkha Rifles in October 2005.

Very soon after his arrival in 1 RGR he deployed with the Battalion to Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2005-2006 as part of the European Union Force in support of the Bosnian Government. Lance Corporal Siddhanta then moved with 1 RGR to Brunei where he conducted extensive jungle training and qualified as a sniper in 2007.

In late 2007 and into 2008 he deployed to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 7 where he served in Garmsir in southern Helmand Province. In 2009 he successfully passed a Junior NCO selection course and in 2010 returned to Afghanistan with 1 RGR on Operation HERRICK 12 to the Nahr-e Saraj area of Helmand province. It was during this tour more than ever that his calm good humour, sharp mind and huge operational experience became a touchstone for his fellow soldiers.
LCpl Siddhanta Kunwar was an outstanding soldier and a true Gurkha. He displayed the calmness of mind, cheerfulness in adversity and loyalty throughout his many operational tours - qualities that the Brigade of Gurkhas hold dear. He served with many of the Companies within the Battalion and his loss will be deeply felt throughout 1 RGR.

He leaves behind his mother, Krishna Maya Kunwar, his father, Shyam Kumar Kunwar, stepmother Chhali Devi Kunwar, his four sisters; Shova, Shyandya, Smita and Sardha Kunwar and his elder brother Bhupendra Kunwar.

read more at MOD site here
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Kenya: Police Thwart Al-Shabaab Jailbreak Plot

British terror suspect Jermain Grant
during his arrest in Mombasa.Photo Elkana Jacob
A plot by al Shabaab militants to forcefully free their colleagues detained in Kenyan prisons has been thwarted by the police. The plan was to have the two major terror suspects, Germaine Grant and Thabit Yahya, among others, released from custody.

A three page top security report obtained by the Star reveals that the release was to be followed by imminent terror attacks in Mombasa. Fuad Abubakar was to head the release operation at Mombasa's Shimo la Tewa Prison.

Abubakar was arrested with Grant, a German, in possession of explosives in Kisauni Mombasa in unsuccessful bombing in December last year.

The report, branded a top secret, reveals that the explosives Yahya and Abubakar were arrested in possession with were to be used in attacks. Abubakar escaped from a house on Sunday when police officers from anti-terrorism police trailed him to Majengo in Mombasa.

Head of anti-terrorism police unit Njeru Mwaniki said they are looking for Abubakar who has been ignoring police summons. "We strongly believe he slipped through the window during the Sunday raid. But we are after him," said Mwaniki on phone.

The report reveals that Yahya receives messages from the alShabaab which has been planning to break him out. Police spokesman Erick Kiraithe yesterday said there are attempts to free the suspects and an imminent terror attack in the coastal town.

"We have reports of such attacks. We will not give them a chance," said Kiraithe on phone. Coast prison commandant James Kodiany said the prison's security system can deal with any attempts at a jail break.

from allAfrica/theSTAR
By Calvin Onsarigo, 31 October 2012

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Blast kills 8 including 7 women in southern Afghanistan

At least 8 Afghan civilians were killed following a roadside improvised explosive device blast in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, officials said.

Afghan interior ministry following a statement said the incident took place in Mosa Qala district of southern Helmand province early Wednesday morning.

The source further added the explosion took place after a civilian vehicle struck with a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants in Mosa Qala district.

According to local authorities at least eigh people including 7 women were killed and 3 others including an Afghan woman were injured.

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

Local authorities blame Taliban group for such incidents as Taliban fighters frequently use improvised explosive device to target Afghan and coalition security forces which normally leads to civilians casualties.

from KHAAMA
By Sadaf Shinwari - Wed Oct 31, 1:49 pm

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ISAF'S Regional Command Southwest condem Taliban roadside bombing that kill innocent civilians

CAMP LEATHERNECK, Afghanistan –
ISAF's Regional Command Southwest condemns the Taliban's planting of roadside bombs in Helmand Province that killed an innocent man, seven women and three children.

Today at approximately 9 a.m. a roadside bomb exploded in the Musa Qala district that killed 10, including seven young women and three children. Hours later in the same district, a second devise exploded, killing a man, wounding a woman and their three children.

This dishonorable tactic being used by the Taliban only destroys Afghanistan and prevents a peaceful way of life for its citizens.

The Afghanistan National Security Forces are doing all they can to counter this tactic with ISAF's support.

The population can take part in security by reporting IEDs and those that plant them to their local security forces.

Together, we can stop Taliban assassins from planting bombs that kill and maim innocent civilians.

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Gunmen kill 20 in northern Nigeria's Zamfara state

KADUNA, Nigeria (Reuters) - Gunmen suspected to be armed robbers have killed 20 people in a village in the northwest Nigerian state of Zamfara, authorities said on Wednesday, a similar attack to one in June.

Zamfara State Nigeria
Zamfara State Nigeria (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Dozens of men armed with guns stormed Kaburu village early on Tuesday morning, demanding money before shooting and hacking people to death, local residents said.

"They were all shot to death while the village head was slaughtered with a sword," local government spokesman Salihu Anga told Reuters by phone.

At least 27 people were killed in June when suspected armed robbers attacked several villages in Zamfara.

Islamist sect Boko Haram has killed hundreds across the north this year in its campaign for an Islamic state in a country split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims.

Boko Haram mostly attack in northeastern Borno state and its capital Maiduguri, the sect's base, but a recent military crackdown there has pushed its insurgency into other areas.

On Sunday, a suicide bomber drove a jeep full of explosives into a church in Kaduna, about 70 miles (113 km) from the Zamfara border, killing eight people and triggering reprisals that killed at least two more.

A breakdown of law and order has created opportunities for armed gangs driven more by money than ideology.

Nigeria's mainly Muslim north celebrated the Islamic Eid al-Adha holiday at the end of last week. Violent crimes often increase in Nigeria around holidays when people carry more cash.

Zamfara, at the base of the Sahel in the far northwest of Africa's most populous nation, shares a border with Niger.

from REUTERS
Wed Oct 31, 2012 10:35am GMT

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2 ISAF soldiers among 9 injured in Nangarhar clash

Jalalabad District is located in the north-wes...
Districts of Nangarhar Province. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
JALALABAD (PAN): Two foreigner soldiers were among nine people injured during a clash in the Bati Kot district of eastern Nangarhar province, officials said on Wednesday.

The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) soldiers were returning to their military base after defusing bombs in Bati Kot district when militants attack them -- injuring two soldiers and destroying their military vehicle, said ISAF media office in eastern zone.

After the attack, Afghan National Army soldiers fought with the militants for about two hours, the district chief Mirza Mohammad Nasrat said, adding two ISAF service members were wounded.

Three Taliban fighters were also injured but Afghan soldiers suffered no casualties in the encounter said Col. Noman Hatifi, spokesman for the 201st Selab military corps.

During the clash ISAF helicopters bombed the area and wounded four civilians. Two of them were taken to Ghanikhel District Hospital, while two others shifted to Peshawar City, Pakistan, for treatment, said Ismael, a local resident.

from Pajhwok
by Mahbob Shah Mahbob on Oct 31, 2012 - 14:57

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