Friday, March 2, 2012

Suicide bomber target NATO convoy in Kandahar province

According to local authorities in southern Kandahar province, a suicide bomber stormed a coalition security forces convoy in this province.

The officials further added, the incident took place at Dund district of southern Kandahar province on Friday afternoon.

Local security officials said, at least 4 coalition security forces, 1 Afghan police, an Afghan civilian and and Afghan interpreter were injured following the incident.

Provincial governor spokesman Dr. Toryalai Weesa while speaking during a press conference condemned the attack and called it as inhuman act.

Taliban militants group claimed responsibility behind the incident and said at least 15 coalition and Afghan security forces were killed during the incident.

from KHAAMA
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R.I.P. - Cpl. Conner T. Lowry


DOD Identifies Marine Casualty


            The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
           
Cpl. Conner T. Lowry, 24, of Chicago, Ill., died March 1 while conducting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif.


            This incident is under investigation.


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


---


from nbcchicago:


A United States Marine from the Chicago area was killed this week in Afghanistan amid the rising attacks on American military personnel in that country.

Cpl. Conner Lowry, a 24-year-old graduate of Brother Rice High School, was a gunner on a Humvee when he was killed. The family said Lowry was electrocuted.

"Conner was doing what he believed in, and that was fighting for us, for our country," said his friend, Owen Yanz.

Lowry was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, I Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Pendleton, Calif., the Department of Defense said Friday.

Lowry's family said the 6 feet, 5 inch tall former football player loved rock 'n roll music and had a large network of family and friends. Inside his old Beverly neighborhood bedroom, Lowry's uncle showed off his nephew's beat up guitar, huge sneakers and dress blues.

"He was just a great guy," said the uncle, Kevin Lavin. "You couldn't ask for a better person."
At St. John Fisher, Lowry's former elementary school, Sister Jean McGrath called the former student "the go-to guy." In the hallway, his 2002 high school graduation picture is adorned with a red, white and blue ribbon. Outside, students decorated trees with red, white and blue bows.

Lowry's grade school yearbook says he wanted to be an NBA coach or a sportscaster.
Lowry had been a Marine for nearly three years and had just four months to go before being discharged, the family said.

Lavin said Lowry's body will return to the United States on Saturday afternoon. St. John Fisher has offered to host the wake and funeral likely to be held Wednesday and Thursday.






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3 militants killed in Nangarhar airstrike

Jalalabad District is located in the north-wes...
Image via Wikipedia
KABUL (PAN): Three militants were killed in an airstrike by NATO-led troops in the Batikot district of eastern Nangarhar province, bordering Pakistan’s lawless tribal region of Khyber, officials said on Friday.

The insurgents were killed in a joint Afghan-International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operation late on Thursday night, a spokesman for the 201st Selab Military Corps told Pajhwok Afghan News. 

Bodies of the fighters had been handed over to the district police headquarters, Col. Nauman Hatif said, adding six Kalashnikovs, one machine gun, a rocket and one pistol were recovered from the scene.

Haji Zalmay, the district chief, confirmed the joint operation in the Char Deh area of the district. “One of those killed hails from central Logar province while the two others are from Nangarhar province.”

Meanwhile, Taliban confirmed the loss of four fighters in a clash with foreign troops. Rebel spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the guerrillas attacked an ISAF patrol, killing three foreign soldiers and injuring four others. Two tanks were also destroyed, he concluded.

from PAN
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At least 10 troops, 23 militants dead in Khyber Agency clash

PESHAWAR: Ten soldiers and 23 militants were killed in a battle that lasted more than seven hours in Bara, Khyber Agency said security officials.

The security forces that had moved into the area almost a week back had established their posts in the area of Maira Sar, said sources.

The area has been consistently bombarded by helicopter shelling because it is considered to be a strong hold of Lashkar-e-Islam militants “at around 11:00pm last night militants attacked the post,” said a security official. “The battle continued till 5:00am in which ten security personnel were killed and three others were injured.”

While confirming that around 23 militants were also killed in the attack, the official said, “The situation is now stable and all the posts of the law enforcement agencies are intact.”

In a separate incident, two members of the militia battling the militants were killed when a roadside bomb exploded in the Sra Garhi area of Landikotal, said officials.

“The vehicle was destroyed said an official, one militiaman was killed while another was injured and succumbed to his injuries at a hospital,” the officials said.

A water tanker in Akakhel also came under attack from militants, however there were no casulties.

Lashkar-e-Islam, which is led by warlord Mangal Bagh, is said to be linked to Taliban militants and criminal gangs.

It was not possible to independently verify the official account of the incident as access to the area is restricted by the military.

Some 18,000 people fled their homes in Khyber in October last year amid fears of a fresh onslaught of fighting between the army and militants linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

Seven tribal districts near the Afghan border are rife with homegrown insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.

Militants have killed more than 4,800 people across Pakistan since July 2007.

from Tribune.com.pk
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Somalia, AU Troops Attack al-Shabab Bases in Mogadishu

Somali forces backed by African Union troops have begun an operation against al-Shabab rebels in northern Mogadishu, as the U.N.-supported coalition aims to continue recent advances against the al-Qaida-linked insurgent group.

The African Union Mission in Somalia said the operation launched early Friday is meant to clear al-Shabab fighters from the northern fringes of the Somali capital, from where the militants have been able to stage several recent attacks.

The move comes two weeks after AMISOM troops delivered a major defeat to al-Shabab, forcing the fighters out of Baidoa, the country's third largest city, which was considered an important rebel stronghold.

Al-Shabab still controls much of southern and central Somalia, but has been steadily losing ground to offensives by Ethiopian, Kenyan and African Union troops.

The group was driven out of Mogadishu by government and African Union forces last year but has continued to carry out sporadic, guerilla-style attacks in the city.

Al-Shabab is fighting Somalia's weak transitional government in an attempt to impose its strict version of Islamic law on the country.

Last month, al-Qaida announced a formal alliance with al-Shabab, though the groups are thought to have had informal ties for several years.

from VOA
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Gunmen kill Pakistan intelligence official

PESHAWAR: Gunmen on Friday shot dead an intelligence official in Taliban-ridden northwest Pakistan, police said.

Bashir Khan, an Intelligence Bureau inspector, was on his way to work on his motorcycle when gunmen also riding a motorbike shot him, senior police official Tahir Ayub told AFP. Khan, 38, died at the scene, he added.

The shooting took place in the outskirts of Peshawar, the capital of northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Ayub said it was not immediately clear who shot Khan, but Taliban militants have attacked and killed intelligence officials in the area.

from DAWN
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