Friday, October 26, 2012

Oct. 26., 2012. - RC-East operational update

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed an insurgent, detained six, discovered one weapons cache and cleared two improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Oct. 25.

Ghazni Province
Afghan National Army soldiers found and safely cleared an IED in Andar District.

Afghan Uniformed Police and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Giro District. The cache contained 10 antipersonnel mines.

A coalition airstrike killed an insurgent in Gelan District in response to an imminent threat towards Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces.

Logar Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained six insurgents during engagements in Pul-E Alam District. The detained suspects were transferred to a base for questioning.

Wardak Province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared an IED in Sayyidabad District.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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R.I.P. - Corporal David O’Connor, Corporal Channing Day (UK)

Corporal David O’Connor and Corporal Channing Day killed in Afghanistan
A Military Operations news article
(pictures via MOD)

25 Oct 12

It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Defence must confirm the deaths of Corporal David O’Connor from 40 Commando Royal Marines and Corporal Channing Day from 3 Medical Regiment on Wednesday 24 October 2012 while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province.

Corporal O’Connor and Corporal Day were participating in a patrol with C Company, 40 Commando to conduct low level training with the Afghan Local Police. While en route to conduct that training, the patrol came under small arms fire near the village of Char Kutsa. As a result of the engagement Corporal O’Connor was fatally injured alongside his colleague and patrol medic, Corporal Day.

Secretary of State for Defence Philip Hammond said:

    "I was deeply saddened to learn of the deaths of Corporal David O’Connor and Corporal Channing Day. Both have been highly praised by their colleagues for their courage and strong sense of duty. My thoughts are with their families, loved ones and colleagues in the Royal Marines and 3 Medical Regiment."

Corporal David O’Connor

Corporal David O’Connor deployed to Afghanistan on 29 September 2012 as a Section Commander in the acting rank of Corporal. He served with Charlie Company, 40 Commando Royal Marines as part of Transition Support Unit Nahr-e Saraj. He was based in Patrol Base 1 in the southern part of Nahr-e-Saraj District, Helmand Province.

Corporal O’Connor was born on 16 June 1985 and lived in Havant, Hampshire with his mother. He joined the Royal Marines on 13 May 2002 and after nine months arduous training passed for duty as a Royal Marines Commando on 17 January 2003.

In 2007 Corporal O’Connor deployed to Afghanistan with 40 Commando on Operation Herrick 7 where he worked with Charlie Company in the Kajaki District of Northern Helmand. In 2009, after this brief period away from 40 Commando, he returned to the Commando to prepare to deploy once again to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 12, this time to the volatile Sangin District of northern Helmand. On this tour Corporal O’Connor was praised for his steadfast dedication and bravery and was awarded a Commander Joint Operations’ Commendation.

After attendance on the Royal Marines Junior Command Course in 2011 he immediately rejoined 40 Commando and started Mission Specific Training for what was to be his third operational tour to Afghanistan on Operation Herrick 17.

Corporal O’Connor was an outstanding Royal Marines Commando. He displayed true Commando spirit in all that he did and was ferociously dedicated to his men, his Company and the Royal Marines. He was an inspirational leader and an excellent soldier; his loss will be felt not just at 40 Commando Royal Marines but throughout the Royal Marines Corps.

He leaves behind his mother, Rosemary; brother, Phil; father, Roy (known to all as George) and a loving family. He was 27 years old.

Corporal Channing Day

Corporal Channing Amanda Day deployed to Afghanistan on 2 October 2012 as a Combat Medical Technician Class One with the United Kingdom Medical Group. She was based at Patrol Base One in the Nahr-e Saraj District of Helmand Province, Afghanistan, where she provided medical support to 40 Commando Royal Marines.

Corporal Channing Day was born in Swindon, Wiltshire on 12 March 1987. She grew up in Newtownards, County Down before joining the Army in 2005. Following basic training she undertook specialist training as a Combat Medical Technician. In June 2007 she successfully passed her Class One Combat Medical Technician course. In January 2012 she was posted to 3 Medical Regiment and joined 63 (Force Support) Squadron, based in Preston, and in the build up to Operation Herrick 17 was selected to support 40 Commando Royal Marines as part of Transition Support Unit Nahr-e Saraj.

Corporal Day was a popular and well respected member of both 3 Medical Regiment, and Transition Support Unit Nahr-e Saraj. A veteran of previous Iraq and Afghanistan deployments, she was looked up to, especially by more junior soldiers in her Squadron, as a mature voice of experience and good advice.

Corporal Day clearly displayed the potential to go far within the Army. Her diligence, her loyalty to friends and comrades and the high opinion in which she was held by all ranks made her a natural medical leader. Her courage, selflessness and commitment in adversity embodied the ethos of the combat medic, and will be long remembered by all those who had the honour to serve with her.

Corporal Day is survived by her parents, Leslie and Rosemary Day, her sisters, Lauren and Laken, and brother Aaron. She was 25 years old.
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R.I.P. - Corporal Tiziano Chierotti (IT)

Soldier dies of wounds in Afghanistan

Corporal Tiziano Chierotti, 24, 52nd Italian death since 2004
Soldier dies of wounds in Afghanistan

Rome, October 25 - One of four Italian soldiers wounded in a firefight with Afghan insurgents Thursday has died in hospital, taking Italy's death toll in the eight-year NATO-led ISAF mission to 52. Alpine Brigade Corporal Tiziano Chierotti, 24, from the northwestern costal town of Sanremo, had surgery on abdominal wounds but "nothing could be done," military sources said in Rome.
The three other Alpine soldiers were hit in the legs and their conditions are not life-threatening, the sources said. Sending his condolences to Chierotti's family, Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola said Italy would stay the course with its US-led allies until the handover to Afghan forces is completed in 2014.

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(AGI) Rome, Oct. 25 - Army sources have reported that Corporal Tiziano Chierotti, one of four Italian soldiers wounded in a firefight earlier today in Farah, south of Herat, Afghanistan, has died.
The firefight occurred during a joint operation carried out by Task Force South East with the 207th Corps of the Afghan National Army.
Corporal Chierotti was born on October 7th 1988 in San Remo, near Imperia, and joined the army in 2008. He died at 7.45 p.m. local time due to serious stomach wounds and after being medevacked to Camp Bastion.

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Italian convoy attacked in Afghanistan ...
Our soldier killed, three others injured
Our soldiers were carrying out a joint patrol with the Afghan army when their Lynx were attacked by a group of insurgents.
17:46 - An Italian armored Lynx was attacked in Afghanistan among our soldiers on board the train one was seriously injured, and died a few hours later, while three others suffered minor injuries.
The gunfight took place at 13:40 local district Bakwa, in Farah province (south of Herat), during a joint operation with the Afghan army: our soldiers responded by opening fire and killing one of the insurgents.
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ISAF condemns bombing at Faryab Mosque

Afghan policemen carry the body of a civilian after a bomb blast in Faryab province October 26, 2012.
Credit: Reuters/Stringer



International Security Assistance Force HQ Public Affairs

KABUL, Afghanistan - The International Security Assistance Force condemns with grave conviction the suicide attack carried out this morning at the Eid Gah Mosque in Maimana, Faryab province. Dozens were killed or injured in the explosion as they left the mosque after the opening prayers of the holy observation of Eid al-Adha.

"I condemn this heinous act, which is an affront to human life, to religious devotion and to the peaceful aspirations of the Afghan people," said Gen. John R. Allen, the ISAF commander. "I offer my condolences to the families and friends of those who were killed or injured, and the resources of ISAF to help however we can. This violence undertaken at a place of worship, and during Eid, once again shows the insurgency's callous hypocrisy and disregard for religion and faith.

"In my recent remarks to commemorate this most holy Muslim observance of Eid al-Adha, I spoke of the admiration I hold for the Afghan people's desire for peace. Today's tragic attack makes this feeling all the more poignant as we - the coalition and the Afghan people - stand together in tireless pursuit of peace."


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Suicide bomb kills dozens at Afghan mosque

At least 37 people have been killed in a suicide bomb attack at a mosque in northern Afghanistan, officials say.

More than 40 people were wounded in the attack at the front of the mosque in Maymana, capital of Faryab province.

The provincial governor and police chief were said to be among those attending the prayers to mark the Eid al-Adha holidays, but they reportedly escaped without serious injury.

Civilians and police officers were among the dead, officials said.

Eye witnesses and officials said the suicide attacker approached the mosque and detonated his suicide vest after the Eid prayers had finished.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says it is not clear now the attacker managed to get past at least four security checkpoints to target the mosque.

Deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Barez told the AFP news agency that the attacker himself was wearing a police uniform.

from BBC
26 October 2012 Last updated at 07:25 GMT


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from XINHUA:

"A suicide bomber targeted a mosque while people were leaving the mosque building at around 9 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) Friday after the Eid-ul-Adah prayers in Maimana city, killing 32 people and injuring 34 others," deputy to provincial governor Abdul Satar Bariz told Xinhua.

He said the number of the casualties could rise further as many of the wounded said to be in critical conditions.

The blast caused a plume of grey smoke to rise above the scene.

The wounded, along with the bodies of the dead, have been taken to provincial capital hospitals, the official said, adding that those in critical conditions will be transferred to the neighboring Balkh province.

The Muslims'biggest three-day festival of Eid-ul-Adha falls on Friday Oct. 26, it is also known as festival of sacrifice and is being celebrated worldwide on the 10th day of Duhl-Hijja, the last month of the Islamic year.

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from France24:

The attacker was wearing a police uniform when he blew himself up in the crowded Eid Gah mosque in the provincial capital of Faryab province, deputy provincial governor Abdul Satar Barez told AFP.
             
"As a result of the explosion, 32 people are dead, 17 civilians and 15 police and intelligence agents. The provincial police chief, Abdul Khaliq Aqsai is among the wounded," he said.
             
Most provincial government officials were also at the mosque, which was crowded on the first day of the four-day holiday for the festival of Eid, which is celebrated throughout the Muslim world.
             
"We had just finished Eid-ul-Adha prayers and we were congratulating and hugging each other," Barez said.
             
"Suddenly a big explosion took place and the area was full of dust and smoke and body parts of police and civilians were all over the place. It was a very powerful explosion."
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