Military urged to aid workers with logistics.

The Obama administration has not settled on a plan to protect and supply thousands of State Department diplomats and employees left behind in Iraq once all but a relatively few U.S. troops leave the county in a little more than a year.

In what would be the first time a large contingent of American government workers will remain in an active war zone without U.S. military protection, the State Department is urgently demanding that the Pentagon provide equipment at no cost.

Read more ….

My Comment: I am sure that many of the contractors that the U.S. State Department will be hiring to replace the positions that U.S. military were responsible for will actually be filled by former U.S. defense soldiers and bureaucrats.

But with Iraq still a very unstable and dangerous place for Americans …. it is an uncomfortable thought that (very soon) U.S. soldiers will be out of the country, and that much of Iraq’s security will come from Iraq’s security sources.

Will the U.S. State Department Be Able To Manage Iraq When The U.S. Military Has Left? is a post from: Updated News

BAGHDAD — An outsize ceremonial skeleton key traded hands last week in the official transfer of Camp Cropper, the last jail in Iraq that had been under American control. The Iraqi government was, one American general said, “equipped, prepared and poised to take over.”

But it did not end the dark history of prisons in Iraq over the last seven years: Just five days later, four prisoners, at least three of them said to be high-ranking members in the nation’s most violent insurgent group, escaped. The warden and several guards are nowhere to be found.

Read more ….

My Comment: When inmates of this high caliber escape …. you know the system is rotten. Sadly …. this incident is one of many that reveals the obvious fact that the Iraqi Government is not ready to be given the reins of power and responsibility …. hell …. the Iraqi Government has not even gotten their act together to form a government since the elections.

But who am I to argue …. Iraq is now in the hands of the Iraqis, and the onus is on them to get their act together. But if Al Qaeda leaders continue to escape …. expect more carnage and destruction visiting ordinary Iraqi citizens in the weeks and months to come.

Iraq Is having Problems Taking Over Responsibilities From The Americans is a post from: Updated News

BAGHDAD — An outsize ceremonial skeleton key traded hands last week in the official transfer of Camp Cropper, the last jail in Iraq that had been under American control. The Iraqi government was, one American general said, “equipped, prepared and poised to take over.”

But it did not end the dark history of prisons in Iraq over the last seven years: Just five days later, four prisoners, at least three of them said to be high-ranking members in the nation’s most violent insurgent group, escaped. The warden and several guards are nowhere to be found.

Read more ….

My Comment: When inmates of this high caliber escape …. you know the system is rotten. Sadly …. this incident is one of many that reveals the obvious fact that the Iraqi Government is not ready to be given the reins of power and responsibility …. hell …. the Iraqi Government has not even gotten their act together to form a government since the elections.

But who am I to argue …. Iraq is now in the hands of the Iraqis, and the onus is on them to get their act together. But if Al Qaeda leaders continue to escape …. expect more carnage and destruction visiting ordinary Iraqi citizens in the weeks and months to come.

Iraq Is having Problems Taking Over Responsibilities From The Americans is a post from: Updated News

BAGHDAD — A rocket attack on Thursday on the Green Zone, the heavily barricaded section of this city that contains the main government buildings and the United States Embassy, killed three foreign contractors who work for the embassy, and wounded 15, including two American citizens.

Casualties are rare in the rocket and mortar attacks directed at the United States Embassy’s compound — its largest anywhere, spreading out over more than 100 acres.

Read more ….

Rocket attack on Baghdad Green Zone kills three — BBC
Iraq ‘Green Zone’ Attack Kills 3 – Wall Street Journal
Rocket attack kills 3 in Baghdad Green Zone – U.S. — Reuters
Kirkuk police chief badly wounded by Iraq car bomb — AFP
Violence erupts in northern Iraqi cities — CNN
FACTBOX-Security developments in Iraq, July 23 — Reuters
Iran supports three insurgent groups in Iraq: US general — AFP
Al-Qaida claims it was behind twin Iraq bombings — AP
Escaped Iraq detainees are Qaeda suspects: police — AFP
Four Iraqis escape from prison at Baghdad airport compound – L.A. Times
Obama presses Iraqi leaders to end deadlock — Reuters
Obama: time to form Iraqi government ‘without delay’ — AFP
Obama: Time to Form Iraqi Govt. ‘Without Delay’ — Voice Of America

Obama Urges Iraqis To Form Government ‘Without Delay’ — Radio Free Europe
Obama voices concerns over rocket attack in Iraq — AP
Obama: On track with plan to pull troops from Iraq in August — USA Today
Odierno: Plan to thin out troops in Iraq on schedule — CNN
Last US troop pullout to be in oil-rich Iraqi city — World Bulletin
Odierno: 50,000 troops to stay in Iraq through summer 2011 — Stars And Stripes
Security Brief: Iraq drawdown by the numbers — CNN
US to draw down diplomats in Iraq in next 3-5 years — AFP
The Other Timeline In Iraq — The Atlantic
U.S. Gen. Odierno presses case for $2B in funding to rebuild Iraq — The Hill
What Happens When U.S. Troops Leave Iraq? — FOX News
Iraq’s battle for football control turns sectarian — AP

Iraq News Updates — July 23, 2010 is a post from: Updated News

BAGHDAD – An al-Qaida-linked insurgent shot and killed his own father as he slept in his bed Friday for refusing to quit his job as an Iraqi interpreter for the U.S. military, police said, a rare deadly attack on a close family member over allegations of collaborating with the enemy.

The attack happened on a particularly bloody day in Iraq, with at least 27 people killed nationwide in bombings and ambushes largely targeting the houses of government officials, Iraqi security forces and those seen as allied with them.

Hameed al-Daraji, 50, worked as a contractor and translator for the U.S. military for seven years since shortly after the U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein in 2003.

Read more ….

My Comment: It appears that the reason for this murder all came down to money ….

…. With U.S. troops withdrawing from the country, Ansar al-Sunnah, an insurgent group with ties to al-Qaida, recently lured the men into their ranks with offers of hard cash, Ali said ….

And now that they are arrested and their crime exposed …. where is the family honor?

Iraq’s Civil Strife Is Still Splitting Families is a post from: Updated News

The comments followed a report in the Wall Street Journal that revealed Shi’ite fighters in Iraq used software that cost as little as £15 ($26) to intercept the video feeds, potentially allowing them to monitor US military operations.

‘It is an old issue that was addressed and fixed,’ a US defense official said when asked about the article.

The article said US military personnel in Iraq discovered the problem last year after apprehending a Shi’ite insurgent who had digital files of drone video feeds on his laptop. More files were found on other militants’ laptops in July.

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman declined to discuss details of the article, or intelligence matters more broadly. But he defended the expanding use of drone aircraft in Iraq and Afghanistan, which provide ‘eyes in the sky’ to track enemy movements and keep US troops out of harm’s way.

‘Every capability comes with its advantages, disadvantages, benefits as well as potential weaknesses,’ Whitman said.

‘As you develop those (technologies) you have to be mindful of how the enemy can counteract any technology that you have.

‘That’s why you always have a constant review process in place to not only improve that capability but address any vulnerabilities it may have.’

Publicly-traded companies that manufacture the pilotless drone aircraft and sensors include Lockheed Martin Corp.

Iraqi fighters use £15 software to hack into spy plane footage is a post from: Updated News

Iraqi government sharply cuts its expenditures:

Iraq ready for early US withdrawal:

Combat injuries hobbling ability to deploy U.S. soldiers:

In Afghan South, Taliban Fill NATO’s Big Gaps:

Salvadorian troops in Iraq return home – source:

No more Estonian troop units in Iraq:

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A civilian was killed and two others were wounded on Thursday in a car bomb explosion in southeastern Baghdad. “A car rigged with explosives exploded targeting a U.S. vehicle patrol on the highway between al-Qanat region and al-Mashtal in southeastern Baghdad, killing a civilian and injuring two,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The explosion damaged a U.S. military vehicle,” he added.

#2: A roadside bomb targeted a U.S. military convoy in al Qanat Street, southeastern Baghdad at 8 a.m. Thursday damaging one Hummer vehicle. No casualties were reported.

#3: On Wednesday, one Iraqi soldier was killed and another was wounded when a U.S. patrol opened fire on them in al-Zaafaraniya area, southern Baghdad.

Abu Dashier:
#1: Joint Iraqi-U.S. forces on Thursday waged a security operation in south of Baghdad, eyewitnesses said. “The forces waged the operation in Abu Dashier region, south of Baghdad, searching for weapons,” eyewitnesses told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. They did not add more details.

Basra:
#1: A woman on Wednesday was killed by a landmine in Jubeida area in the west of Basra province, according to the media office of the local police.”A landmine from previous wars detonated near a woman who was herding sheep in Jubeida area (40 km west of Basra), killing her on the spot,” the office told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: An improvised explosive device (IED) on Wednesday evening detonated near a Multi-National Force (MNF) patrol vehicle west of Basra city, causing no casualties or damage.

Samarra:
#1: Wednesday A child was severely wounded by an explosive charge that targeted a U.S. patrol vehicle in Samarra, a security source said. “This afternoon, an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near a U.S. patrol vehicle in downtown al-Dour district, seriously wounding a child, Omar Hizaa,” a source from the joint coordination center in Tikrit city told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#2: One unidentified body, with the head cut off was found by a police patrol in al Eit neighbourhood, 30 km to the east of the city of Samarra, Wednesday. The body was clad in a traditional dishdasha gown and was partially decomposed.

Mosul:
#1: U.S. forces on Thursday killed three brothers inside their house, in a raid operation in southern Mosul city, said a source from Ninewa province’s police. “U.S. forces on today at dawn raided a house in Albosaif village, southern Mosul, and killed three brothers inside the house,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. He did not mention further details.

Afghanistan: “The Forgotten War”
#1: Afghan troops killed eight militants and wounded two others in eastern Khost province early Thursday, said Gen. Mohammad Zahir Azimi, the spokesman for the defense ministry. The soldiers were dropped in to the area by helicopter, sparking fighting that lasted hours, Azimi said. The dead included foreigners, but Azimi did not disclose their nationalities.

NATO-led forces killed 22 militants in ground and air assaults in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost overnight, the alliance said on Thursday. A NATO-led patrol was attacked by Taliban insurgents and foreign forces retaliated with close-air and ground support, killing 22 militants in Babrak Tana district, which is close to the Pakistani border, the alliance said. Earlier a statement from the Ministry of Defense said Afghan troops killed eight insurgents and wounded two more in a fierce battle in the same district of Khost province overnight.

#2: Separately, U.S. coalition troops killed six Taliban fighters during a raid on militants blamed for roadside bomb attacks in southern Afghanistan, a coalition statement said. In southern Zabul province, meanwhile, the U.S. coalition troops hunted Wednesday for a Taliban commander involved in a roadside-bomb network and the movement of foreign fighters, a coalition statement said. The U.S. soldiers clashed with Taliban militants who opened fire on them from their compound after they refused to leave peacefully, it said. Five insurgents were killed in the gunbattle, and one militant who fired from behind large rocks died in an airstrike.

#3: U.S.led coalition troops killed six militants and detained one more in an operation targeting roadside bomb network in the Dechopan district some 250 km (155 miles) southwest of Kabul on Wednesday, a U.S. military statement said.

#4: Two children were wounded when ammunition being used by the militants went off during NATO-led troop operations targeting them in the Sangin district some 490 km (305 miles) southwest of Kabul on Monday, ISAF statement said.

Casualty Reports:

Canadian Private Andrew Knisley, the London soldier who lost his leg in Afghanistan this week. Knisley was injured Monday while on patrol outside Kandahar when a roadside bomb detonated. On Monday, he was listed in serious condition and had his right leg amputated. His condition has stabilized, his sister said. Knisley also has nerve damage in his right arm, with one nerve completely severed.

War News for Thursday, January 22, 2009 is a post from: Updated News

Obama calls for halt to Gitmo prosecutions:

Iraq willing to see US troops leave early:

3 oil firms compete for Iraq field:

Basra autonomy referendum petition fails:

France unwilling to send more troops to Afghanistan:

Sunnis Plan To Flex Political Muscle In Iraqi Elections:

Troops in Afghanistan, Iraq await Obama’s moves:

Baghdad:
#1: A car bomb attack targeting a Sunni politician who heads a Baghdad Islamic university killed four students on Wednesday, underscoring a recent surge of violence here, officials said. At least 10 people were wounded in the attack that hit the convoy of Ziyad al-Ani, chairman of the university in Adhamiyahm, a Sunni Muslim enclave of the predominantly Shiite northeast of the Iraqi capital.

#2: Tuesday The deadliest blast targeted a US convoy shortly after 3 pm in a northwestern area of Baghdad called Mansour, killing three Iraqi civilians and wounding the two US soldiers, the US military said.

#3: A roadside bomb targeting a police patrol killed five policemen and wounded three in Dour, near the city of Tikrit, about 150 km (95 miles) north of Baghdad, police Captain Anwar Mohammed said.

Diyala Prv:
Khalis:
#1: Police forces on Wednesday found six mass graves in north of Baaquba city, a police source said. “Policemen found six mass graves with 18 decayed bodies in al-Ahiemar village in al-Salam district in Khalis, north of Baaquba,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Iskandariya:
#1: A civilian was killed on Wednesday in a bomb explosion in north of Hilla city, a media source said. “An improvised explosive device (IED) stuck to a civilian vehicle detonated in al-Asriya village in al-Askandariya district, north of Hilla, killing the driver,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Basra:
#1: Police patrols on Wednesday found the body of a kidnapped policeman in west of Basra, the media official of the Basra police said. “A force from the borders police on Wednesday morning (Jan. 21) found the body of a policeman in al-Zubair district, west of Basra,” Shawqi al-Mohmadawi told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Makhmour:
#1: Iraqi army forces on Wednesday found an unknown body in west of Makhmour district, an Iraqi army source said. “An Iraqi army force found a body of a 40-year-old man on Wednesday (Jan. 21) on the main road between Makhmour and al-Qayara district, west of Makhmour,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency. “The body shows signs of gunshot wounds,” he added, noting that the body was sent to the forensic medicine department in al-Qayara, 80 km south of Mosul.

Kirkuk:
#1: In a separate incident Wednesday, a makeshift explosive device targeting a police patrol in Kirkuk, 250 kilometres (160 miles) north of Baghdad, killed one civilian and injured another, General Adel Zaine el-Abedine said.

Mosul:
#1: Gunmen killed a broker and when they attacked him inside his office in downtown Mosul on Tuesday afternoon. A civilian was injured in the incident.

#2: Two Iraqi soldiers on Wednesday were wounded in an explosive charge blast that ripped through Ninewa province, according to an army source. ”An improvised explosive device (IED) went off in Areej village (7 km west of Mosul) while an Iraqi army patrol vehicle was passing the location, wounding two patrolmen and causing damage to the vehicle,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide car bomb killed three Afghan soldiers and wounded five on Wednesday in the western province of Herat, the Defence Ministry said. Western backers cannot bring security. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives next to an army vehicle in the Mir Awad area of Herat province, the Defence Ministry said in a statement.

#2: A suicide car bomber wounded nine people, including the provincial police chief, during a wedding on Wednesday in Baghlan-e-Jadeed district, around 180 km (110) miles north of Kabul, a police official in the area said.

#3: Taliban insurgents fired rockets on police posts in several areas on the outskirts of Kandahar overnight, some 500 km (310) miles southwest of Kabul, but there were no casualties reported, a police official said.

#4: Three children and an adult were wounded when militants fired rockets into residential areas of Khost some 150 km (95) miles east of Kabul on Tuesday, the defense ministry said.

#5: Afghan security forces killed two Taliban insurgents and detained one during a sweep on Tuesday in Kandahar province some 500 km (310) miles southwest of Kabul, a statement from the defense ministry said

War News for Wednesday, January 21, 2009 is a post from: Updated News

Jan. 18 airpower summary:

Tribal Rivalries Persist as Iraqis Seek Local Posts:

US reaches deal on Afghan supply routes to troops:

Pentagon sending Navy “Seabees” to Afghanistan:

Afghan insurgents learn to avoid airstrikes:

Afghanistan seeks control over NATO deployments:

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: An Iraqi high-ranking official survived a bomb explosion on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said. Ammar Aziz Muhammad Ali, undersecretary of Higher Education Ministry, escaped unhurt when a roadside bomb went off near his convoy in the Nidhal Street in Baghdad central district of Karrada, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The blast wounded two of Ali’s bodyguards and two bystanders, along with damaging one of his convoy’s vehicles, the source said.

#2: In separate incident, two civilians were wounded when a roadside bomb went off in the neighborhood of Zaiyounah in east of the capital, the source added.

#3: Another civilian was injured in the day when a roadside bomb detonated at an intersection in the Shaab district in northern Baghdad, he said.

#4: Three Iraqi army soldiers were wounded when a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol in northern Baghdad, police said.

#5: Two people were wounded by a roadside bomb near the Shaab soccer stadium in central Baghdad, police said.

#6: A roadside bomb wounded five members of a U.S.-backed neighbourhood patrol and three civilians on Monday in Adhamiya district of northern Baghdad, police said.

#7: At least five people were wounded in a car bomb explosion targeting a U.S. patrol in Baghdad’s western district of Mansour on Tuesday, an Interior Ministry source said. “A car bomb parked at the Amirat Street in Mansour neighborhood went off at around 3:00 p.m. (1200 GMT) near a passing U.S. patrol,” the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. A plume of gray smoke rose into the air by the powerful blast that also badly charred five civilian cars at the scene, the source said. It was not clear whether the U.S. troops sustained any casualty as they sealed off the area preventing the Iraqi police from approaching the scene, the source added.

Diyala Prv:
Baquba:
#1: Three pedestrians were wounded in the city of Baquba when a bomb exploded near the entrance of the headquarters of a Sunni political bloc participating in the upcoming provincial elections, police said. Baquba is 65 km (40 miles) northeast of Baghdad

Basra:
#1: Police Colonel Adbulmajid Mohammed was killed by an explosive device planted under his car in the town of al-Zubair, near the oil-rich southern city of Basra, a police source said. His driver, also a police officer, was rushed to hospital in a critical condition after the bomb detonated as they were driving to work.

Mosul:
#1: Police shot dead a suicide bomber wearing an explosives belt when he tried to approach their checkpoint in western Mosul, 390 km (240 miles) north of Baghdad, police said. One policeman was wounded in the incident.

An Iraqi police force foiled Tuesday a suicide bomb attack on their checkpoint in the city of Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, a local police source said. The policemen opened fire on a suicide bomber who blew up his explosive vest near their checkpoint in the Yarmouk district in western Mosul, wounding three policemen, including one in a critical condition, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. The policemen had suspicions on the man who was approaching their checkpoint and ordered him to stop, instead, the man ran toward them, prompting them to open fire and a powerful explosion occurred just close to their position, the source said.

Tal Afar:
#1: Six persons on Tuesday were wounded when a hand grenade was thrown at a security checkpoint in Talaafar district, according to a police source. “A gunman threw a hand grenade at a police checkpoint in Hassan Koi area (60 km west of Mosul city), wounding six persons, including two police personnel,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Afghanistan: “The Forgotten War”
#1: Suspected Taliban militants killed six alleged U.S. spies in a lawless region of northwest Pakistan police said Tuesday. A tribal police official, Sharif Ullah, said the bodies of the six accused spies were found at two militant strongholds in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border early Tuesday. Five Pakistani men were shot to death in the town of Miran Shah, while the sixth man – an Afghan national – had been hanged from a tree in the town Mir Ali, he said.

#2: The slayings came hours before a bomb wounded five police officers in Peshawar, the capital of North West Frontier Province bordering Afghanistan. Police official Mohammed Ashraf said the blast Tuesday hit a police vehicle when it stopped on a road in Peshawar. Unidentified assailants planted the bomb in a section of gas pipeline under construction, he said, adding the possibility of a gas explosion had been ruled out.

#3: US-led coalition in Afghanistan has killed 22 Taliban militants, including two of their commanders, the US military has announced. A Taliban commander, Mullah Patang, and 18 fighters were killed on Monday during an operation at Kapisa, around 50 kilometers north of Kabul, reads a US military statement released Tuesday.

#4: Separately, the international forces reportedly killed another Taliban commander, Mullah Abdul Rahim Akhund, and one of his aides in an operation in southern Kandahar province on Monday.

#5: In addition, two more militants were killed in the neighboring Zabul province, adds the statement.

#6: A series of controlled military explosions spread alarm in the Afghan capital as President Hamid Karzai addressed parliament on Tuesday. The blasts were heard in east Kabul, and a U.S. forces spokeswoman told Reuters there were two controlled explosions, carried-out at an Afghan National Army training centre.

#7: Two police were killed and two more including one civilian sustained injuries as a bicycle bomb rocked Taliban former stronghold Kandahar in southern Afghanistan on Tuesday, provincial administration spokesman Zalmai Ayubi said. “The gruesome incident occurred in Kandahar city, the capital of Kandahar province, at 1:30 p.m. local time (0900 GMT) killing two police on the spot and wounding two others including one police and one passerby,” Ayubi told Xinhua.

#8: Taliban militants stormed a police post near Afghanistan&aposs western border with Turkmenistan, killing three policemen and abducting eight others, local officials said today. The armed insurgents attacked the post in the northwestern province of Badghis yesterday, deputy provincial governor Abdul Ghani Sabir told AFP. ” Three policemen were killed in the attack and Taliban took eight other policemen hostage,”he said. Sabir had no information on any casualties among the attackers.

#9: Suspected separatist militants shot dead three people in an attack late on Monday in gas-rich Baluchistan province, police said.

Casualty Reports:

Canadian Pvt. Andrew Knisely had been badly injured when what’s believed to have been an improvised explosive device went off as he was on patrol in Afghanistan. He reportedly lost part of his right leg to the blast and there are questions about whether doctors will be able to save his right arm.

Mary Dague, 24, picked up a partially defused homemade bomb in Iraq in November 2007. she had lost her arms, much of her hearing and some of her eyesight and suffered a fractured occipital bone in the blast.

Spc. Leigh Herring, 28, was in a nearby building at Camp Eggers, located in Kabul, when the driver detonated his bomb. “The car bomb ran into a fuel tanker and it was like a gas station blowing up,” said his mother, Diana Dailey of Chillicothe. “He was about 30 or 40 feet away. The shrapnel or glass came through the window and knocked him across the floor.” Herring suffered 46 lacerations from the flying debris plus a concussion. His wife, Cassandra Herring, said the Army was going to fly him to a medical facility in Germany for further testing. “They called it traumatic brain injury, bruising on the brain. He has significant memory loss but they (the military) are hoping it will repair itself,” said an exhausted Cassandra Herring on Monday.

War News for Tuesday, January 20, 2009 is a post from: Updated News

Jan. 17 airpower summary:

More Joining American Military as Jobs Dwindle:

Lawyer: Iraqi shoe thrower to seek Swiss asylum:

Reported Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: A bomb blast near a security checkpoint in southern Baghdad on Monday killed a police officer and wounded seven people, including three soldiers, police said. “A police captain was killed and seven people among them three soldiers were wounded when the bomb exploded,” a police official told foreign news agency. The blast occurred near a checkpoint on a road leading into Zafaraniyah neighbourhood in southern Baghdad, he added.

A roadside bomb explosion near an Iraqi Army checkpoint in the Zaafaraniya district in southeast Baghdad, killing an off-duty police captain, who was passing by, and wounding seven people, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity. A soldier was among the wounded people, the source said.

#2: In separate incident, a twin roadside bomb explosions struck a police patrol in an intersection in the Shiite neighborhood of Amel in southern Baghdad, wounding two policemen and damaging a police vehicle, the source added. Three civilians were also wounded by the blasts, he said.

#3: Four civilians on Monday were wounded in an explosive charge blast that ripped through southeastern Baghdad, according to a police source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) stuck to a civilian vehicle detonated in Saeeda area, southeastern Baghdad, wounding four civilians,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Basra:
#1: Sunday A magnetic bomb planted under a car belongs to an employee of the Basra prisons near a petrol station in western Basra city. The employee was wounded.

Dalouiya:
#1: A U.S. vehicle on Sunday night was devastated in a roadside bomb attack in western al-Dalouiya district, according to police sources from Salah al-Din province. Another police source said that “a roadside bomb went off during a late hour on Sunday night targeting a U.S. patrol at al-Dalouiya Bridge (90 km north of Baghdad), causing severe damage to the vehicle.”

Tikrit:
#1: Two civilians were killed on Monday in a bomb explosion in south of Tikrit city, a police source said.“An improvised explosive device went off on Monday (Jan. 19) in al-Eishaqi region in south of Tikrit, killing two young men,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

Mosul:
#1: A suicide bomber killed the deputy leader of Iraq’s second-biggest Sunni Arab political bloc on Sunday as he and other politicians met to discuss an upcoming provincial election, the party’s leader said. Hassan Zaidan al-Lihebi, deputy leader of the Iraqi National Dialogue Front, was killed by a suicide bomber who stormed his house, shot at guards and blew himself up in a crowded reception room, Saleh al-Mutlaq, the party’s leader, told Reuters. “The suicide bomber opened fire on the guards and entered the house. They tried to stop him but they didn’t manage to do that before he got near Hassan and blew himself up,” Mutlaq said. Police sources said between one and four other people were also killed, including a policeman, in the attack in the town of Qaiyara, south of the northern city of Mosul.

A suicide bomber targeted the former major general Hassan Zaidan, whose son Falah is a parliament member of the national dialogue blog at the Haj Ali village in Qaiyara (south of Mosul) around 6 p.m. Zaidan was killed in that incident.

#2: Four civilians on Monday were wounded when an explosive charge went off in eastern Mosul city, according to a security source. “An improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near an Iraqi army patrol vehicle in al-Darkzaleyya area, eastern Mosul, wounding four civilians who were close to the scene of the blast,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency.

#3: An Iraqi soldier was wounded when an improvised explosive device (IED) went off near his patrol in northeastern Mosul city on Monday, a military source said. “An IED exploded near an Iraqi army patrol in al-Bakr neighborhood, northeastern Mosul, leaving one soldier wounded,” the source told Aswat al-Iraq news agency, not giving further details.

Afghanistan: “The Forgotten War”
#1: Taliban insurgents have blown up four schools in the north-western Swat region of Pakistan, officials claim.The schools were destroyed in the town of Mingora despite a recent government pledge to reopen schools in the violence-plagued region. “Militants blew up two girls schools and two boys schools,” a government official told the Reuters news agency on Monday. The schools are reported to have been closed at the time of the attacks and no-one is thought to have been injured.

#2: Pakistan reopened a major land supply route to U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan that was briefly closed Monday after suspected insurgents killed a soldier and wounded 14, adding urgency to efforts to secure alternative supply lines as more U.S. troops head to the region. The famed Khyber Pass, where growing militant activity has prompted several temporary closures in recent months, was reopened in the early afternoon, said Fazal Mahmood, a senior government official in Khyber tribal region.

#3: A suicide car bomb attack near the gates of a U.S. base in eastern Afghanistan killed one Afghan on Monday and wounded several more, officials said. The attack targeted Forward Operating Base Chapman in Khost City, near the border with Pakistan, said Lt. Cmdr. James Gater, a spokesman for the NATO-led mission in Afghanistan. An Afghan health official, Dr. Gul Mohammadin Mohammadi, said one Afghan was killed and four were wounded in the attack.

#4: Suspected tribal rebels blew up a gas pipeline in Pakistan’s insurgency-hit southwestern province of Baluchistan on Monday, suspending supplies to several areas, officials said. The pre-dawn blast damaged a main pipeline bringing gas from the Pirkoh field to the Sui purification plant in Dera Bugti district, said security and company officials on condition of anonymity. No casualties were reported, a gas company official said.

#5: In another incident, a roadside bomb struck a police van in Khost city, wounding one police officer, head of crime department of police Mohammad Guldad told Xinhua.

#6: A Canadian soldier was seriously injured Monday by an improvised explosive device in southern Afghanistan. The soldier was on foot patrol about 23 km west of the city of Kandahar around 9 a.m. local time when the device exploded, said a statement from the military.

Casualty Reports:

British Peter Bowker, 21, lost a leg in a bomb attack in Afghanistan. the explosion, which broke his right leg in four places, shattered his ankle and blew off part of his heel. “I was in the lead vehicle with a metal detector between my legs, and we were just about to get out to check the road for mines and IEDs (improvised explosive devices), when one hit us.

U.S. Army Captain Ivan Castro, 41, was injured in Iraq. The wounds resulted in the loss of his sight as well as a good percentage of muscle mass.

U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. David Webber, 36, is recovering from wounds he received last month in Afghanistan. On Christmas Eve, he had just come down from scanning snipers in a lookout tower at the outpost when he found himself on all fours, ears ringing, feeling like he’d been hit in the face with a shovel. “I couldn’t feel my arm,” Webber said. “I could move my fingers but couldn’t feel my arm.” Later Webber learned the truck he’d been standing behind had taken a mortar strike and he had been hit with shrapnel. One soldier was killed and two others were injured. a medic tore off Webber’s right sleeve to reveal a wound that was draining blood at the rate of a pint a minute. His face, shoulder and chest were damaged by shrapnel, but the major concern was his arm, which had to be stanched with a tourniquet. He was airlifted to Forward Operating Base Orgun-E. Surgeons stabilized him and shipped him to Walter Reed Army Medical Center. David expects to make a full recovery and return to active duty.

War News for Monday, January 19, 2009 is a post from: Updated News