Monday, September 10, 2012

Yemen says kills deputy regional head of al Qaeda

(Credit: Reuters/Handout/Files)
(Reuters) - Yemeni armed forces have killed Said al-Shehri, a man seen as the second-in-command of Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a government website said on Monday.

The Ministry of Defence website said Shehri was a Saudi national who was killed, along with six other militants, in any army operation in the remote Hadramout province in eastern Yemen. It gave no more details.

The United States has used unmanned drones to target AQAP, which has planned attacks on international targets including airliners and is described by Washington as the most dangerous wing of al Qaeda.

A Yemeni security source said Shehri was killed in an operation last Wednesday which was thought to have been carried out by a U.S. drone, rather than the Yemeni military. The source said another Saudi and an Iraqi national were among the others killed.

Shehri is a former inmate of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay who was released to Saudi Arabia in 2007 and put through a Saudi rehabilitation programme for militants.

Yemen's government is trying to re-establish order after an uprising pushed out veteran ruler Ali Abdullah Saleh in February, but faces threats from Islamist militants, southern secessionists and a Shi'ite rebel movement in the north.

The protests and factional fighting have allowed al Qaeda's regional wing to seize swathes of south Yemen, and Shi'ite Muslim Houthi rebels to carve out their own domain in the north.

The lawlessness has alarmed the United States and Yemen's much bigger neighbour Saudi Arabia, the top world oil exporter, which view the impoverished state as a new front line in their war on al Qaeda and its affiliates.

Washington, which has pursued a campaign of assassination by drone and missile against suspected al Qaeda members, backed a military offensive in May to recapture areas of Abyan province.

But militants have struck back with a series of bombings and assassinations.

from REUTERS
ADEN | Mon Sep 10, 2012 3:09pm BST
(Reporting by Dhuyazen Mukhashaf; Writing by Andrew Hammond; Editing by Alison Williams)

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16 dead in Kunduz suicide bombing

(Pajhwok photo)
KABUL (PAN): Ten policemen and six civilians were killed when a suicide bombing ripped through a busy marketplace in the capital of northern Kunduz province on Monday afternoon, officials said.

Several others, including a woman and a child, were wounded in the blast that took place at a crowded square in Kunduz City at 3:15pm, the deputy police chief of the province said.

Col. Ghulam Mohammad Farhad told Pajhwok Afghan News members of Public Order Police, who had been called in to provide security for a rally in the city, were the bomber’s target.

Acting public health director Dr. Daud Akbari confirmed receiving 16 bodies and 30 injured people from the scene. He said some of the critically injured were evacuated to a zonal hospital and a facility of Doctors Without Borders.

Civilians were among the injured, the official said, blaming the insurgents for the attack. However, there was no immediate claim of responsibility for the suicide attack.

from Pajhwok
by Wahidullah on Sep 10, 2012 - 15:27

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Car bomb kills 10 in northwest Pakistan - officials

Map of Pakistan
Map of Pakistan (Photo credit: Omer Wazir)
(Reuters) - A car bomb exploded at a market in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least 10 people and wounding 45, officials said, adding that the death toll was likely to climb.

Many people had been walking along a narrow road beside the market in the town of Parachinar in the Kurram tribal area when the bomb exploded, the officials said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast. But the Pakistani Taliban, who are close to al Qaeda, have staged similar attacks in their bid to topple the U.S.-backed government.

Pakistan's military, one of the world's biggest, has failed to break the back of militant groups despite launching several offensives against their strongholds in the northwest.

"A large number of people were present in the market when the blast took place," said tribesman Dildar Hussain by telephone.

"Most of those killed and injured were the poor people selling vegetable and fresh fruits on their push-carts."

He said the explosives were planted in a vehicle loaded with grapes.

Suicide bombings have eased over the last year but it's not clear if that is due to pressure from the army or a shift in Taliban tactics.


from REUTERS
(Reporting by Jibran Ahmad; Writing by Michael Georgy, Editing by Nick Macfie)
PESHAWAR, Pakistan | Mon Sep 10, 2012 12:23pm BST

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8 Armed Taliban Killed, 5 Wounded and 5 Arrested by ANP (Sep.10.2012.)



Publish Date: Sep 10, 2012
Eight Armed Taliban Killed, Five Wounded and Five Arrested by Afghan National Police

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched nine joint clearance operations in Kabul, Kandahar, Logar, Paktiya, Herat, Helmand and Nimroz provinces.

As a result of these operations, eight armed Taliban were killed, five wounded and five others were arrested by Afghan National Police.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated two rocket launchers, one PKM machine gun, eight different types of weapons, two radio handsets, 17 heavy rounds, 18 different types of mines and two motorcycles.

Additionally, Afghan National Police discovered and defused 15 mortar and missile rounds, six drums full of explosives and six remote control mines as a result of security operation in the Andar District of Ghazni province, yesterday.

In the meantime, Afghan National Police discovered and defused two anti-vehicle mines which were placed in the main road of Trinkot City capital of Uruzgan province, yesterday.
 
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2 al-Qaida terrorist cells busted in Yemen's Aden

ADEN, Yemen, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The Yemeni security forces dismantled two terrorist cells in the southern port city of Aden, foiling their attack plans on government compounds and military bases across the province, a police officer told Xinhua on Sunday.

Units of the counter-terrorism security forces managed to dismantle two terrorist cells affiliated with al-Qaida in Cerater neighborhood, in Aden, and detained five terrorists, the local police officer said on condition of anonymity.

Five al-Qaida members had been captured as they prepared terrorist attacks and suicide bombings on several government compounds as well as military bases in various places in Aden, the police officer said.

The two cells had carried out a number of gun raids and armed attacks against security forces and assassinated military officials in the city, he added.

The county's Defense Ministry said in a brief text message obtained by Xinhua that "two terrorist cells run by members of the Yemeni-based branch of al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) were successfully foiled in Aden."

Several intelligence and security members have been targeted in Aden and other major cities in a string of high-level assassinations since a U.S.-backed offensive drove al-Qaida militants out of their main strongholds in southern restive province of Abyan three months ago.

The United States have beefed up anti-terror cooperation with escalating numbers of drone strikes in particular, since President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi took office in February after a year-long political upheaval that unseated former leader Ali Abdullah Saleh.

from XINHUA
2012-09-10 07:17:46

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British girl kidnapped in Lahore, Pakistan

English: Location of Lahore, in Punjab.
English: Location of Lahore, in Punjab. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
ISLAMABAD, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- A British girl of Pakistani origin was kidnapped in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, said local police on Sunday night.

Police sources said that the kidnapped was a 20-year-old girl named Aisha Ali. She came to Lahore to attend a wedding ceremony and was kidnapped at the Liberty Market area in the city.

The abductee came to Lahore a couple of days ago after she stayed with her relatives in Kashmir, said police.

However, the police failed to mention when the kidnapping happened. The police have filed a report about the case. Other details about the incident are not immediately available.

Sunday's report about the kidnapped British girl is the fourth of its kind in the country since this year. In January this year, three cases about kidnapping foreigners were reported in the country.

On January 5, a British national of Yemeni origin working for International Committee of the Red Cross Pakistan was kidnapped by Pakistan Taliban and his body was later found in the city on April 29.

On January 20, a German aged 70 and an Italian aged 24 were abducted in Pakistan's central city of Multan. They were working for a NGO for the help of the flood-affected people in Punjab province. There is no news about their whereabouts now.

Two days after, a Kenyan working for an international charity organization "Care International" was kidnapped in the country's southern Sindh province while he was helping the flood-hit people there. His whereabouts is also not known until now.

Foreigners in Pakistan are often targeted by kidnappers for ransom. Few of the abductees can survive after being kidnapped.

from XINHUA
English.news.cn   2012-09-10 03:08:10

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Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb commander dies in Mali: Algerian official

Al-Qaeda senior commander Nabil Sahrawi died in a car accident in northern Mali on Sunday. (Al Arabiya)
A senior commander of al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb died in a car accident in northern Mali on Sunday, an Algerian security official said.

Nabil Sahrawi, an Algerian national who is also known as Abu Olqoma, was a military commander of AQIM in the Sahara desert and the deputy of Abdul Hamid Abu Zeid, one of AQIM’s leading field commanders in the Sahara desert.
Abu Zeid is believed by many security experts to have ordered the killing of two foreigners kidnapped by his group, Frenchman Michel Germaneau and Briton Edwin Dyer.

“Nabil Sahrawi died in a car accident in the city of Gao, north of Mali,” the Algerian official, who declined to be named, told Reuters.

Monday, 10 September 2012 
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R.I.P. - CWO2 Jose L. Montenegro Jr., CWO2 Thalia S. Ramirez

DOD Identifies Army Casualties
            The Department of Defense announced today the death of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

            They died Sept. 5, in Logar Province, Afghanistan, of injuries suffered when their aircraft crashed.  They were assigned to the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, Fort Bragg, N.C.

            Killed were:

            Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jose L. Montenegro Jr., 31, of Houston, Texas, and

            Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thalia S. Ramirez, 28, of San Antonio, Texas.

            For more information related to this release, media may contact the 82nd Airborne Division public affairs office at 910-309-5561.

---
from 82nd Aviation Brigade:
Story by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — Two pilots from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, died Sept. 5 when their OH-58D Kiowa Warrior went down in Logar province, Afghanistan.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officers 2 Jose Montenegro Jr. and Thalia Ramirez were nearing the end of a yearlong deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom.

“Chief Warrant Officers 2 Montenegro and Ramirez exemplified the Army values and warrior spirit every day of their lives,” said U.S. Army Col. T.J. Jamison, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade commander. “They were two courageous air cavalrymen and outstanding Americans. My deepest condolences go out to both their families. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers are with you.”

Montenegro, 31, of San Juan, Texas, originally joined the U.S. Army in 2001 as an enlisted infantryman.

“He loved his country and was proud to do what was asked of him, without question, without hesitation,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jason England, Troop F, 1-17 Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd CAB, 82nd Airborne Division. “Most of us know that nothing reveals true character like a firefight. Those of us who have had the honor and privilege to fight alongside him know that Monte was the warrior he seemed and more.”

Montenegro, or “Monte,” as his friends called him, earned OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aviator qualification in 2008, and attended the Warrant Officer Basic Course in 2009, upon which he was assigned to the 82nd CAB at Fort Bragg, N.C. This was his third deployment; Montenegro previously deployed to Iraq in 2004 and Afghanistan in 2010.

“He would not have us mourn for him,” said England in a memorial ceremony on Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan, Sept. 7. “He died on the field of battle with his boots on and a rifle in his hand. He has gone to his rest, to the open arms of a loving Savior. The world is a lesser place now that it lacks Monte’s presence. We have lost a true and faithful friend, and our nation has lost one of its great warriors.”

Montenegro’s awards include the Air Medal with Valor 4th device, Air Medal 2nd device, Purple Heart Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with “V” device, Army Achievement Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Valorous Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Campaign Stars, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Non-commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon 3rd device, NATO Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Combat Action Badge and the Army Aviator Badge.

He is survived by his mother, Reyna Torres, and sister, Liliana Montenegro.

Ramirez, 28, originally of Nairobi, Kenya, and most recently a Raeford, N.C., resident, joined the U.S. Army in 2003 as an enlisted water purification specialist.

“She was a true quiet professional, and an incredible role model to so many,” said U.S. Army Lt. Col. Landy Dunham, commander, Task Force Talon, 82nd CAB, 82nd Airborne Division. “Thalia never failed to set the perfect example of a confident and competent warrior. She was fearless, and loved her job. She selflessly risked everything, on a regular basis, in defense of her brothers and sisters in arms.”

She earned OH-58D Kiowa Warrior aviator qualification in 2008, and was assigned to the 82nd CAB in 2009. This was her second deployment. Ramirez had flown more than 270 missions and 650 hours in the course of the one-year deployment.

“Thalia was not afraid of the enemy, and loved her job,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Panza, Troop F, 1-17 Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd CAB, 82nd Airborne Division. “In June, I was in an engagement with Thalia where our aircraft were being engaged by insurgents with [machine guns] in multiple locations. Both aircraft took battle damage, but we continued the fight. We took out all the insurgents we could, then contained the enemy with our M4 [rifles] until we could hand over the fight. That’s the kind of warrior Thalia was.”

Ramirez’s awards include the Air Medal 3rd device, the Purple Heart Medal, Army Commendation Medal with Valor, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Valorous Unit Award, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal with three Campaign Stars, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon 2nd device, NATO Medal, the Combat Action Badge and the Army Aviator Badge.

“As we finish up this deployment and return home, in some way remember my friend Thalia,” said Panza at the Sept. 7 ceremony on Bagram Air Field honoring both pilots. “Whether it’s a moment of silence, a toast, or a prayer to whatever divine power you believe in. Just a small gesture for someone who made a huge sacrifice doing what she believed in.”

Ramirez leaves behind her husband, Jesse Belbeck, in the U.S., and mother and father, Justin Ramirez and Alexandra Moll, in Kenya.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.




Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thalia Ramirez
PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Col. T.J. Jamison, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade commander, of Broken Arrow, Okla., awards U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Thalia Ramirez, of Nairobi, Kenya, with the Air Medal Aug. 30, 2012, on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Ramirez, an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilot assigned to Troop F, 1-17 Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, was killed when her helicopter crashed in Logar Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2012. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon)
Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Courtesy / U.S. Army
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jose Montenegro, Jr.
PARWAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - U.S. Army Col. T.J. Jamison, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade commander, of Broken Arrow, Okla., awards Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jose Montenegro, Jr., of San Juan, Texas, with the Air Medal Aug. 30, 2012, on Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. Montnegro, an OH-58D Kiowa Warrior pilot assigned to Troop F, 1-17 Air Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division, was killed when his helicopter crashed in Logar Province, Afghanistan, Sept. 5, 2012. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon)
Photo: Sgt. 1st Class Eric Pahon, Courtesy / U.S. Army


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Sep. 10., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan – Afghan and coalition forces detained two insurgents and cleared five improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Sept. 9.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared two IEDs, one in Khwaia Omari district and one in Qarah Bagh district.

Khowst province
Afghan Border Police and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Terezayi district.

Laghman province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Alingar district.

Logar province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Muhammad Aghah district.

Paktika province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces detained two insurgents during an engagement in Sharan district. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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