Monday, December 10, 2012

R.I.P. - Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque

DOD Identifies Navy Casualty

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

            Petty Officer 1st Class Nicolas D. Checque, 28, of Monroeville, Pa., died of combat related injuries suffered Dec. 8, while supporting operations near Kabul, Afghanistan.  Checque was assigned to an East Coast-based Naval Special Warfare unit.

            For further information related to this release, please contact Naval Special Warfare Command Public Affairs at 619-522-2816 or 703-697-5342.

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"The family has asked that everybody respect their privacy at this time of grief and they do not wish to be contacted,"

so, im not posting any picture, just the collected infos and the related links
Rest in Peace Warrior! condolences to the family and friends
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Checque graduated from Norwin High School in 2002, according to district spokesman Jon Szish. He was a member of the wrestling team.

Checque, a decorated 10-year veteran, was assigned to an East Coast-based Navy Special Warfare Command unit in 2004, the Special Warfare Command said. SEAL Team Six is the unit that killed Osama bin Laden last year, though it is unknown whether Checque was on the bin Laden mission. 

His awards include the Bronze Star, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Navy/Marine Corps Commendation Medal, and two combat action ribbons, among others. He served in the Iraq War as well as Afghanistan.

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Six year old boy’s final Christmas Wish

i know this in not a military related thing, but i hope readers can help

from armywtfmoments
by _T | December 8, 2012 


Nathan is a 6 year old who has struggled with terminal cancer for the  last three years. As an adult I could not imaging going through such a struggle, going through it as a child is unthinkable.

After going through numerous surgeries which removed 55% of the tumor Nathan developed another tumor on his spine which unfortunately is inoperable. This may be Nathan’s last Christmas.

Through prayer and good wishees he may see another, but even if not nathan has made a final and simple wish for Christmas this year. He considers firefighter, EMTs, police officers, and other first responders his heroes. He simply asked to recieve cards, patches and other memorabilia from his heroes.

While Servicemembers wasn’t listed on his list, I’m sure he would be just as thrilled to recieve patches and insignia from Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines from around the world.

USAWTFM is asking the WTF Nation to take the time to write a note, send a patch, send your unit crest, send your rank, send something to a young hero in  his own right. You can send them to the following address:

Nathan Norman
 81 Dunivan Drive
Rustburg, Virginia 24588

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You can read the full story here:
http://levittown.patch.com/articles/a-christmas-wish-for-a-dying-boy-684d7247

A Christmas Wish For A Dying Boy

Six-year-old Nathan Norman has terminal cancer and is reaching out to policemen, firemen and all emergency service workers to fulfill his final Christmas wish.
By Ann Piccirillo , December 5, 2012 
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In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 11 Armed Taliban Killed (10.Dec.2012.)



Publish Date: Dec 10, 2012
In Several Joint Clearance Operations, 11 Armed Taliban Killed

Counterterrorism:
During the past 24 hours, Afghan National Police, Afghan National Army, NDS and Coalition Forces launched nine joint clearance operations in Nangarhar, Laghman, Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, Balkh, Kandahar, Logar, Ghazni and Helmand provinces.

As a result of these operations, 11 armed Taliban were killed, one wounded and four others were arrested by Afghan National Security Forces.

Also, during these operations, Afghan National Police discovered and confiscated 40 kilos of opium, 12 different types of weapons, 25 heavy rounds, five different types of mines, 21 kilos of explosives and one motorcycle.

Additionally, one armed Talib mine planter was killed by his own explosives while he was placing a roadside mine in the main road of Badam Bagh region, Khost City capital of Khost province yesterday.
 
Crimes:
The 101 Kabul Zone National Police detained two suspects accused of theft in the 1st District of Kabul-City.
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Dec. 10., 2012. - ISAF Joint Command Morning Operational Update

KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Haqqani leader during an operation in Sayyid Karam district, Paktiya province, yesterday.

The arrested leader controlled a group of insurgents that conducts improvised explosive device attacks against Afghan officials and Afghan and coalition forces. He also constructed, stored and transported IEDs for insurgents operating in the area.

During the operation, the security force also detained one suspected insurgent and seized IED-making materials, grenades, ammunition and a large amount of ammunition.

In other International Security Assistance Force news throughout Afghanistan:

South

In Maiwand district, Kandahar province, yesterday, an Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator who was directly involved in improvised explosive device operations, and facilitated suicide attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also oversaw the transport of large amounts of ammunition and IED-making materials to insurgent fighters in the district. As a result of the operation, two suspected insurgents were also detained.

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader during an operation in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province, yesterday. The leader procured heavy weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive device-making materials, and advised Taliban insurgents operating in Lashkar Gah district. During the operation, the security force also detained two suspected insurgents.

A Taliban leader in Nahr-e Saraj district, Helmand province was arrested by an Afghan and coalition security force, today. The leader was a weapons facilitator directly involved in coordinating IED and direct fire attacks targeting Afghan and coalition forces. He also directed assassinations, coordinated the shipment and distribution of IED-making materials and weapons, and provided intelligence to Taliban senior leadership operating in the province. As a result of the operation, three suspected insurgents were detained and an Afghan National Army uniform was seized.

In Arghandab district, Kandahar province, today, an Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban facilitator. The facilitator organized high-profile attacks while financing the manufacturing of improvised explosive device (IED) and vehicle-borne IEDs. He trained insurgent members on the construction and execution of IED attacks. During the operation, the security force also detained two suspected insurgents.

Central

Afghan and coalition forces confirmed today the death of Taliban leader Farid Khan during a security operation in Gelan district, Ghazni province, Nov. 30. Farid Khan, also known as Farid Jan, was directly responsible for coordinating the assassinations and kidnappings of suspected informants and Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan personnel. He executed IED and direct fire attacks targeting Afghan and coalition forces. Prior to his death, Farid Khan was conducting IED emplacement operations specifically targeting Afghan and coalition forces.

A Haqqani leader was arrested in Terayzai district, Khost province, today, by an Afghan and coalition security force. The leader was responsible for commanding high-profile attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, along with the coordination and movement of improvised explosive devices and Haqqani insurgents. He conducted IED testing and was overseeing the shipment of weapons to support an impending attack. As a result of the operation, the security force also detained one suspected insurgent and weapons.

East

An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a Taliban leader in Nerkh district, Wardak province, today. The leader directed ambush and improvised explosive device (IED) attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout Maidan Shahr and Nerkh districts. He also oversaw IED operations to include scheduling emplacements.

North

In Chimtal district, Balkh province, yesterday, a Taliban leader was arrested by an Afghan and coalition security force. The leader was responsible for planning and conducting attacks, kidnappings and weapons procurement. He was heavily involved in facilitating weapons, ammunition and improvised explosive device components for his network and other northern province Taliban leaders.

An Afghan and coalition force detained four insurgents during a security operation in search of a Haqqani facilitator in Balkh district, Balkh province, today. The facilitator coordinates suicide operations throughout the Chimtal district. During the operation, the security force also seized 10 pounds of illegal narcotics.

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

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - Afghan and coalition forces killed three insurgents, detained two, located five weapons caches and cleared four improvised explosive devices during operations in eastern Afghanistan throughout the past 24 hours, Dec. 9.

Ghazni province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Waghaz district. The cache contained 50 pounds of homemade explosives.

Kapisa province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces killed one insurgent and wounded one during an engagement in Tagab district. The wounded insurgent received medical care and was transferred to a base for questioning.

Khowst province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Shamal district. Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces also found and safely cleared two IEDs in Gorbuz district.

Nangarhar province
Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces killed two insurgents during an engagement in Khugyani district.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces found and safely cleared one IED in Bati Kot district.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Khugyani district. The cache contained small arms ammunition, grenades, homemade explosives, mortar rounds, RPG rounds and a block of C4.

Paktika province
Afghan National Security Forces and coalition forces detained one insurgent while investigating a weapons cache in Orgun district.

The cache contained small arms and ammunition and grenades. The detained suspect was transferred to a base for questioning.

Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces discovered a weapons cache in Bermal district. The cache contained rocket launchers and rockets and an IED. Afghan National Army soldiers and coalition forces also discovered a weapons cache in Sahak district. The cache contained 80 pounds of homemade explosives.

Operations in RC-East are still ongoing.

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Senior woman official shot dead in Afghanistan

Districts of Laghman.
Districts of Laghman. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Najia Siddiqi, a senior official, was shot dead Monday in Afghanistan's Laghman province, the authorities said.
Siddiqi was the acting director of Provincial Women's Affairs. She was killed in a drive-by shooting in provincial capital Mehtarlam city in eastern Laghman province Monday morning, a spokesman for the provincial government said.

"Siddiqi was on her way to office when gunmen ridding a motorbike opened fire on her vehicle at about 8 a.m.," spokesman Sarhadi Zhawak told Xinhua.

Siddiqi died of her wounds on the way to the hospital, he said.

He said Siddiqi was appointed to the post after the former director of the women department Hanifah Safai was killed in a bombing in July in the province some 90 km east of Afghan capital Kabul.

Also Monday, the provincial police chief of southwestern province of Nimroz was killed in a bombing.

No group claimed responsibility for the Monday's attacks.

from Afghanistan News.Net
Monday 10th December, 2012

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Pakistani Soldier dies while defusing bomb in Bara

Map showing the districts of the Federally Adm...
Map showing the districts of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) FATA and the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
LANDI KOTAL, Dec 9: A security man was killed and his colleague received injuries when they tried to defuse a bomb in Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency on Sunday.

Officials said that soldier Hashim Khan and his colleague Zafar Ali spotted a bomb along the road during routine patrol in Sheen Qamar area. They were trying to detach the wires of the bomb when it went off, killing Hashim Khan on the spot and injuring Zafar Ali.

The injured was shifted to a military hospital in Peshawar while the body of the killed soldier was sent to his ancestral village.

In North Waziristan Agency, the bullet riddled body of a paramilitary soldier, who was kidnapped along with his colleague from a checkpost on Friday, was found in Miramshah on Sunday.

Officials said that body of Hawaldar Adil Hussain was thrown near Miramshah Bazaar that was sent to his native town.

Adil Hussain and Niaz Ali were kidnapped from Bangi Dar checkpost by unidentified persons. Initially it was believed that kidnappers had shifted them to Afghanistan.

In Mohmand Agency, a veterinary centre was blown up by unidentified militants in Pandiali tehsil on Sunday.

The residents of the area said that militants planted explosive devices at the veterinary centre in Dawezai Haji Kor area and destroyed the building.

The political administration called sniffer dogs to trace the accused involved in the attack. However, no arrest was made till filing of this report.

Meanwhile, Mulla Jan, a resident of teshil Safi, died in Levies lockup due to illness on Sunday. Sources said that his body was shifted to his native village. He was arrested several years ago in Safi area, they added.

In SWABI, the office of an international NGO, Marie Stopes Society, was damaged in a blast on Sunday.

The office is located a few yards away from the offices of district coordination officer and district police officer on Swabi-Topi Road.

Officials said that the explosive material weighing at least five kilogram was packed in a canister and left outside the main gate of MSS office. The explosive material went off at around 5:20am and damaged the main gate and boundary wall of the office, they added.

Police said that nobody was present in the office at the time of the explosion.

from DAWN
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7 Taliban killed as troops rescue US doctor in Afghanistan

KABUL -- U.S. soldiers killed seven Taliban insurgents in a successful pre-dawn raid to rescue a kidnapped American doctor in eastern Afghanistan on Sunday, the NATO force in the war-torn country said.
The mission was launched when intelligence showed that Dr. Dilip Joseph was in “imminent danger of injury or death,” NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said in a statement.

Joseph was abducted on Dec. 5 by Taliban insurgents in the Surobi district of Kabul province.

“Today's mission exemplifies our unwavering commitment to defeating the Taliban,” said General John Allen, the commander of U.S. and ISAF forces in Afghanistan.

“I'm proud of the American and Afghan forces that planned, rehearsed and successfully conducted this operation. Thanks to them, Dr. Joseph will soon be rejoining his family and loved ones.”

Joseph was now “undergoing evaluations,” the statement said, without giving further details.

A security source told AFP that the doctor had been involved in building clinics in Afghanistan but details of his capture were not immediately available.

Hazrat Mohammad Haqbeen, the district governor of Surobi told AFP that the man was kidnapped along with an Afghan colleague who was released in return for a ransom earlier in the week.

And “today the American national was freed in an operation. We don't know the details of the operation,” Haqbeen told AFP.

He said the men were kidnapped in Surobi but were held in a village in the Qarghayi district of the neighboring province of Laghman. The governor said the U.S. citizen was visiting a clinic when captured.

An ISAF spokesman said the rescue had been launched when multiple intelligence sources indicated that he was in immediate danger. “We felt we had to act now,” he told AFP.

Seven of the doctor's captors were killed in the operation, which involved combined U.S. and Afghan forces, he said.

He gave no further details of where the doctor had been held or on the rescue operation itself, saying they could be announced later in the day.

Surobi outside Kabul had been under the control of French troops until April this year, when responsibility for security was handed to Afghan forces as part of France's accelerated withdrawal from the country.

France ended its combat mission in Afghanistan last month, two years before allied nations contributing to the 100,000-strong U.S.-led NATO force are due to depart.

Surobi, about 50 kilometers east of Kabul and along a key highway linking the capital to neighboring Pakistan, experiences sporadic Taliban-linked terrorism.

General Emam Nazar, the former commander of the 3rd Brigade of the Afghan army, told AFP in April that 80 to 100 insurgents were based in Surobi.

“Sometimes our enemies appear on the highway, but they can't resist us. Our forces smash them. It happened several times but they never got out of it alive,” he added.

When French troops were stationed there, two French journalists were abducted in December 2009 and held for more than 500 days before being released in a secret deal which reportedly involved ransom.

Westerners are a prize target for the Taliban Islamists, who have waged an 11-year insurgency since being toppled from power in a U.S.-led invasion in 2001. Regular gangsters not linked to the rebels are also involved in the kidnappings.

In June, NATO special forces rescued two foreign women working for a Swiss-based charity who had been kidnapped and held in a cave in Afghanistan's remote and mountainous northern Badakhshan province. Five captors were killed in the raid.

from chinapost.com.tw
Updated Monday, December 10, 2012 12:07 am TWN

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Nimroz police chief killed in blast

ZARANJ (PAN): The police chief of southeastern Nimroz province was killed in a roadside bombing in neighbouring Herat province on Monday, an official said.

The incident took place at 8am when the vehicle carrying Col. Mohammad Musa Rasuli struck a roadside bomb in the Adarskan district of Herat, said the deputy police chief of Nimroz.

Maj. Rahmatullah told Pajhwok Afghan News Rasuli, who was wounded in the blast, succumbed to his injuries on the way to hospital.

Rasul was returning from a seminar in Kabul when the incident occurred, he added.

Herat police chief Maj. Gen. Abdul Hameed Hamidi confirmed the death, saying the explosion caused no other casualties.

As usual, a Taliban spokesman, Qari Yousuf Ahmadi, asserted responsibility for the blast, saying that Rasuli was killed and three policemen were injured in the incident.

from Pajhwok
By Ramin Dec 10, 2012 - 10:38


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Eight killed as Taliban suicide bombers attack Pakistan police station

(Reuters) - Four Taliban suicide bombers attacked a police station in northwest Pakistan on Monday, killing at least eight police and local residents, security officials said.
The Pakistan Taliban took responsibility for the attack near Bannu in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, close to the border with Afghanistan, a hotbed of insurgency where attacks on security forces are common.

"Three suicide bombers blew themselves up, while one was shot by police before he could blow himself up," an intelligence source said.

A spokesman for the militant group said the bombing was revenge for the killing of the nephew of former leader Baitullah Mehsud last month. Baitullah died in a U.S. drone strike in 2009.

from REUTERS
DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan | Mon Dec 10, 2012 7:00am GMT
(Reporting by Saud Mehsud in DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Jibran Ahmad in PESHAWAR, and Mehreen Zahra-Malik in ISLAMABAD; Writing by Randy Fabi; Editing by Nick Macfie)


*GRAPHIC IMAGE* - A civilian speaks on his mobile phone near the body of a suicide bomber on fire, close to a police station in Bannu December 10, 2012. (Reuters)
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from ARYNEWS

Updated :   Monday  December  10 , 2012  9:52:02 AM


Militants attacked Kakki police station, in south of Bannu on Monday, killing five persons including three policemen, while  the Station House Officer (SHO) and four other policemen were injured.

Three assailants attacked Kakki police stations, and a suicide bomber among them entered in the police building and detonated his explosives amid ceaseless firing by his two accomplices, DPO Waqar Ahmed told media. A terrorist was killed in police firing, while another escaped from the scene.

Three policemen and two civilians were killed and five policemen including the SHO were injured in attack.

The blast and firing also damaged nearby houses. Police and other forces cordoned off the area and rescue agencies were engaged in relief operation.


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Al-Qaida bombs Yemen's LNG export pipeline

map by Evan Centanni (www.polgeonow.com)
SANAA, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) -- Al-Qaida militants on Sunday blew up a pipeline that transfers Yemen's liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the Gulf of Aden export terminal, an interior ministry official told Xinhua.

The explosion took place in Asilan area of the southeast province of Shabwa, neighboring to the oil-rich province of Marib, where the country's main crude oil export pipeline was attacked by unidentified gunmen on Friday for the fifth time in less than a month.

"Al-Qaida fighters exploded a section of the LNG export pipeline in Asilan this morning," the official told Xinhua Sunday on condition of anonymity.

Local media confirmed the attack on the gas line in Asilan area.

The French-led LNG company resumed exporting gas last month after the pipeline was repaired following the previous attack on Oct. 30.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni army in Marib launched a fierce offensive Sunday against suspected hideouts of militants of Wadi Abida, whom the local authorities accused of repeatedly attacking the oil pipeline and killing senior military officials in an ambush on Saturday.

Independent Almasdaronline cited local tribesmen in Wadi Abida as saying that fighter jets stroke several houses and farms in the Wadi Abida area and killed a man identified as Saleh Maely. Local tribesmen said Maely has no links to any militants.

The Al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said Saturday in a statement obtained by Xinhua that it ambushed a military convoy near the oil fields of Safer Saturday afternoon, killing commander General Nasser Mahdi Farid and several others.

The defense ministry reported that the death toll from Saturday 's attack in Marib against the military convoy increased to nine, including Farid, chief-of-staff of the central military command in Marib.

The government has failed to repair the line due to continuing conflicts in Marib, highlighting the persistent insecurity in the country even one year after a political upheaval.

U.S. drones and Yemeni warplanes have regularly targeted the Yemen-based al-Qaida wing, which exploited security vacuum during Yemen's unrest last year. Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi said fighting the AQAP tops his daily agenda when he was elected in February.

from XINHUA
2012-12-09 18:21:58

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US soldier killed in the Dr.Dilip's rescue action

official ISAF release:

U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Casualty



2012-12-US-001
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

KABUL, Afghanistan (December 9, 2012) – A U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service member died in eastern Afghanistan today.

It is USFOR-A policy to defer casualty identification procedures to the U.S. Department of Defense, who will release the name once next of kin have been notified.

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U.S. Department of Defense
Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs)
News Release


IMMEDIATE RELEASE     No. 961-12
December 09, 2012

Secretary Panetta's Statement on Operations in Afghanistan
            “I want to commend the U.S Special Operations team who rescued an American citizen captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan.  I was deeply saddened to learn that a U.S. service member was killed in the operation, and I also want to extend my condolences to his family, teammates and friends.  The special operators who conducted this raid knew they were putting their lives on the line to free a fellow American from the enemy's grip.  They put the safety of another American ahead of their own, as so many of our brave warriors do every day and every night.  In this fallen hero, and all of our special operators, Americans see the highest ideals of citizenship, sacrifice and service upheld.  The torch of freedom burns brighter because of them.”
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