In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 15 Armed Taliban Killed (Mar.10.2013.)

Publish Date: Mar 10, 2013

In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 15 Armed Taliban Killed

Counterterrorism:

In past 24 hours, Afghan National Police conducted several joint clearance operations with the cooperation of Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces to clean some of the areas from terrorists and enemies of peace and stability of Afghanistan.

The operations were conducted in Helmand and Nangarhar provinces, as a result 15 armed Taliban were killed, 12 wounded and one other armed Talib was arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated 300 kilos of opium and some amount of light and heavy rounds ammunitions.

During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused two anti-vehicle mines placed by enemies of Afghanistan in Uruzgan province.

 

Counter Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained three suspects accused of theft in the 5th and 17th Districts of Kabul-City.

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One child killed in bomb blast in NW Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, March 10 (Xinhua) -- At least one child was killed on Sunday afternoon when a bomb blast hit Pakistan's northwestern tribal region of Khyber Agency, local media and officials said.
Local media quoting security officials reported that the bomb was planted alongside the wall of a house in the Ashraf Khel area of Landi Kotal, a main town in Khyber Agency.

According to the security officials, the bomb was detonated with a time device that damaged the house partially and killed one child playing in the street.

Soon after the explosion, security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site.

No one was injured in the blast that spread panic among the locals.

Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to arrest the culprits behind the incident.

No group or militant organization claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

from XINHUA
2013-03-10 17:42:44
Editor: Yang Lina

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Clashes among Taliban and NATO troops in Nangarhar province

Ajin (Achin) District is located in the south of Nangarhar Province. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

According to local authorities in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, heavy clashes took place between NATO-led coalition security forces and Taliban militants in this province of Saturday morning.

The officials further added that the clashes started around 9 am local time and continued until 6pm in Ajin district of Nangarhar province.

Moalim Mashouq district chief for Ajin said the incident took place after Taliban militants ambushed a convoy of the NATO troops.

He said at least four Taliban militants were killed andn 16 others were injured during the clashes which includes ten Taliban militants, three women and a man.

The incident took place in Shegal Bazaar at Ajin district.

According to Ajin district chief Taliban militants used a residential house as a shelter after attacking coalition security forces.

A local tribal elder Malik Osman said coalition forces carried out an airstrike to target the house which was used by Taliban militants to attack NATO troops.

He said at least four Taliban militants were killed during the airstrike and three women along with two kids and a man were injured.

Ajin is among the volatile regions in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan where Taliban militants are openly operating.

from KHAAMA
By Meena Haseeb - 10 Mar 2013, 8:30 am

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Hundreds of Christian homes torched by mob in Pakistan

Hundreds of people in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore attacked a Christian neighborhood Saturday and set fire to homes after hearing accusations that a Christian man had committed blasphemy against Islam’s prophet, officials said.

Over 3,000 Muslim protesters turned violent over derogatory remarks against Prophet Mohammed allegedly made by Sawan Masih, a 28-year-old Christian, three days earlier, police official Multan Khan said.

Blasphemy has acquired a hair-trigger sensitivity across Pakistan in recent years, with an alarming increase in mob violence.

The incident started Friday when a young Muslim man accused a Christian man of committing blasphemy by making offensive comments about the prophet, according to Multan Khan, a senior police officer in Lahore.

“Police arrested Masih, a sanitary worker, on Friday night while the incident actually happened on Wednesday evening,” Khan told AFP.

He said that the arrest was made when Masih’s barber friend Shahid Imran complained that he had made blasphemous remarks about Prophet Mohammed, adding that Christians had fled the area on Friday evening, fearing a backlash.

A rescue operation official Ahmad Raza said, by evening, about 178 houses, 18 shops and 2 churches had been damaged by fire.

from KHAAMA
By Sajad - 09 Mar 2013, 10:54 pm

Related articles

• Hundreds of Christian homes torched by mob in Pakistan (khaama.com)
• Dozens of houses torched as mob attacks Lahore Christian locality (dawn.com)
• Pakistani mob torches Christian homes in Lahore over prophet Mohamed 'blasphemy' (independent.co.uk)
• '100' Christian houses torched in Lahore over 'blasphemy' (thenewstribe.com)

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Actor Helmandi dies in Lashkargah airstrike

LASHKARGAH (PAN): A prominent film actor Nazar Mohammad Majnonyar Helmandi was killed in a NATO airstrike along with three insurgents who had seized the star on suspicion of spying for the government in southern Helmand province, his brother said on Sunday.

Helmandi had gone to Khoskabi area on the outskirts of Lashkargah to inquire after his ailing sister, when he was captured by the armed rebels, Dilawar told Pajhwok Afghan News.

The insurgents were interrogating Helmandi when the airstrike took place, killing the actor and the rebels, said Dilawar, who identified his slain brother's mutilated beyond recognition body from his clothes and shoes.

Prior to the Saturday's incident, Dilawar said he received a phone call, telling him the Taliban had arrested a man on spying charges. He came to know it was his brother after the airstrike.

The police headquarters confirmed the airstrike, saying a local rebel commander Mohammad Alam was among those killed.

Helmandi has worked in more than a dozen films highlighting issues like narcotics, terrorism and other anti-social activities.

from Pajhwok
By Shams Jalal Mar 10, 2013 - 13:51

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Drone strike in North Waziristan kills two militants

PESHAWAR: A drone strike in Pakistan’s North Waziristan tribal region on Sunday killed two suspected militants, DawnNews reported.

The drone strike targeted two horse riders in Degan village of North Waziristan tribal region’s Datta Khel area. The targeted persons and their ride died on the spot.

Unnamed intelligence officials talking to Dawn.com’s Zahir Shah Sherazi confirmed that two militants were killed in the drone strike.

This was the first strike in March after a gap of at least one month, the two previous attacks occurred on Feb 6 and Feb 8 respectively.

from DAWN
---

from ARY NEWS:
Updated :   Sunday  March  10 , 2013  11:15:47 AM

Four unmanned US spy drone fired several missiles in North Waziristan area on Sunday killing at least two persons, political sources said.

The sources said that US spy drones targeted two suspects riding a horse in Degal area of Datta Khel Tehsil of Norht Waziristan.

Government and Taliban did not comment yet who were killed in the raid.

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Mar. 10., 2013. - ISAF Joint Command Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani facilitator and one other insurgent during an operation in Gardez district, Paktiya province, March 10.

The insurgent is accused of procuring and distributing lethal aid to extremist fighters, and is believed to have history of planning attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

The security force also seized one AK-47, multiple AK-47 magazines, one grenade and ammunition as a result of the operation.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested nine insurgents during an operation in search of a Taliban commander in Panjwa’i district, Kandahar province, March 10. The commander is accused of constructing improvised explosive devices and coordinating their use in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in Panjwa’i. He is also believed to exercise operational control over a cell of Taliban fighters and maintain a sophisticated operations center used to plan insurgent activity.

Afghan and coalition forces killed three insurgents during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, March 9. The security force positively identified fighters conducting insurgent activity and engaged them, killing three militants.

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Mar. 10., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces found one cache and detained three suspected insurgents during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, March 9.

Ghazni province

Afghan Uniform Police found a cache consisting of 40 pounds of homemade explosives during operations in the Dehyak district.

Khowst province

Afghan and coalition forces detained three suspected insurgents during operations in the Shamal district. The suspected insurgents were taken to a base for questioning.

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Nigerian jihadist group executes 7 foreigners

By Bill Roggio - March 9, 2013 - LWJ

A screen shot from the Ansar al-Muslimeen video that purports to show the bodies of several executed foreign hostages. Image from the SITE Intelligence Group.

A radical jihadist group in Nigeria that kidnapped seven foreigners last month claimed it has executed the hostages in response to a joint Nigerian and British military operation to free them.

Ansar al-Muslimeen in the Land of Black Africans (Bilad al-Sudan), an offshoot of the al Qaeda-linked Boko Haram, announced that it executed the hostages in a statement that was released today. The statement, which was released in both English and Arabic, was obtained by the SITE Intelligence Group.

In the statement, Ansar al-Muslimeen said that it had previously "warned that should there be any attempt by force to rescue" the "seven Christians foreigners," their lives would be in danger.
Ansar al-Muslimeen then claimed that "the British government sent five jet bombers, soldiers and intelligent [sic], parading in Bauchi in order to rescue them."

"By this progress the Nigeria and British government operation lead to the death of all the seven Christians foreigners," the group concluded.

Ansar al-Muslimeen said it would release a videotape of the execution and included screen shots from the tape that purports to show the bodies of the foreign hostages.

The seven foreigners are said to be from Britain, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, and the Philippines, and worked for a Lebanese construction firm in the northern state of Bauchi. They were kidnapped on Feb. 17. Ansar al-Muslimeen bombed vehicles at a police station at a town near the construction site and then killed a security guard before capturing the foreign workers.

The group said the kidnappings were a response to alleged transgressions against Islam by European countries in "many places such as Afghanistan and Mali etc."

Ansar al-Muslimeen, which is also called simply "Ansaru," has attempted to influence the situation in Mali in the recent past. The group also claimed an attack on a convoy of Nigerian troops in Kogi state on Jan. 20, saying it was to stop African countries from joining the intervention against al Qaeda-affiliated Islamists groups operating in Mali. The Nigerian troops were preparing to deploy to Mali to fight the al Qaeda-linked groups.

Ansar al-Muslimeen announced its formation in June 2012. Abu Usama al Ansari, the terror group's emir, said that one of its main goals is "restoring the dignity of the Muslims as it was in the time of the Caliphate," according to the statement, which was obtained and translated by the SITE Intelligence Group.

"The method of achieving these aims and goals is "jihad," al Ansari said.

Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/03/nigerian_jihadist_gr.php#ixzz2N89QDAOC

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18 Killed in Afghan Attacks During Hagel's Visit

Afghan National Army soldiers keep watch at the site of attack in Kabul, March 9, 2013.

ISLAMABAD — A suicide bomber riding a bicycle blew himself up outside the Afghan Defense Ministry Saturday while U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel was in Kabul, but the Pentagon chief was nowhere near the scene. Another suicide bomber in the eastern city of Khost killed a policeman, children and other civilians. Together, the two incidents claimed 18 lives, and highlighted serious concerns about security in Afghanistan.

A spokesman for the international forces in Afghanistan, Charlie Stadtlander, said Hagel was not in the defense ministry at the time. He said there was no apparent connection between the bombing and the Pentagon chief's visit to the Afghan capital.

"I don't see any link at all. He was inside... a briefing and continued with his briefing," he said. "If you want to talk about the intentions of the attack, you're going to have to talk to the Taliban. We can't speak for their intentions."

The Taliban said it carried out the blast as a "message" for Hagel, who arrived Friday on his first visit to Afghanistan since taking over as President Barack Obama's defense secretarty. The United States and Afghanistan are trying to hammer out an agreement on how many international forces will remain in the country after U.S. troops and other NATO forces leave in 2014.

A Defense Ministry spokesman, General Zahir Azimi, told reporters that all bomb casualties were civilians.

He said a suicide bomber riding a bicycle detonated an explosives-filled vest he was wearing. The blast "unfortunately caused a number of civilian casualties," the spokesman said, but "no military personnel were killed."

A witness to the attack, Kamaludden described the scene outside the ministry Saturday morning.

"I was walking when the explosion happened," he said. "There were dead bodies and wounded people everywhere. And there were people firing, too."

There are concerns in Afghanistan about the nation's future after the end of 2014, the time when all international forces are due to have departed.

Despite an increase in the number of security forces Afghanistan has deployed, the latest incident highlights the fragility of security, even in protected areas of the capital.

Spring is beginning in Afghanistan, and the end of winter uusually marks an increase in insurgent activity by Taliban fighters.

from VOA NEWS
Sharon Behn
March 09, 2013

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R.I.P. - Spc. Cody D. Suggs

DOD Identifies Army Casualty

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

            Spc. Cody D. Suggs, 22, of West Alexandria, Ohio, died March 7 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, as a result of a non-combat incident that remains under investigation.  He was assigned to the 1487th Transportation Company (Piqua, Ohio), which is part of the 371st Sustainment Brigade (Springfield, Ohio).

            For more information, the media may contact Ohio National Guard Communications Director James A. Sims at 614-202-7949.

---

from daytondailynews:

By Richard Wilson

Updated: 9:20 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2013 | Posted: 8:08 p.m. Friday, March 8, 2013

An Ohio National Guardsman from West Alexandria died March 7 in a non-combat incident that is under investigation, the Department of Defense announced Friday.

Spc. Cody D. Suggs, 22, died at the Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan while on mission with the 1487th Transportation Company, based in Piqua.

He is the 15th Ohio National Guardsman that has died in the fight against terrorism since 2001, according to Ohio National Guard statistics.

Suggs worked as a truck driver with the company, which is part of the 371st Sustainment Brigade, based in Springfield, said James A. Sims, Ohio National Guard spokesman.
Suggs’ company was deployed for one year to Afghanistan in November 2012. It was Suggs’ first deployment after joining the Guard in February 2009, Sims said.

Before being deployed, the soldiers from the 1487th gathered at Piqua High School where friends, family and other members of the community provided an emotional sendoff.

Sims said he did not have any details about the circumstances of Suggs’ death, adding that the DOD will likely release further details in the coming weeks.

“Anytime we have a loss in the Ohio National Guard, it’s tough for all the members. We’re all part of this family. The soldiers. Airmen. Employers. Family. we all feel the loss when something like this occurs,” Sims said.

 

Related articles

• Spc. Cody D. Suggs, 22 (goodsoldiersorg.wordpress.com)
• Ohio National Guard soldier killed in Afghanistan (stripes.com)

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Mar. 09., 2013. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces found and safely cleared two improvised explosive devices, detained two suspected insurgents and discovered a weapons cache consisting of 45 pounds of homemade explosives during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, March 8.

Ghazni province
Afghan and coalition forces detained two suspected insurgents during operations in the Ghazni district. The suspected insurgents were taken to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Security Forces found and safely cleared an IED during operations in the Gelan district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan Uniform Police found and safely cleared an IED during operations in the Khugyani district.

Paktika province
Afghan and coalition forces found a cache consisting of 45 pounds of homemade explosives during operations in the Shwak district.

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