The Sandbox and Area Reports Thread July 2013

[The Bread Guy]

The Sandbox and Area Reports Thread July 2013              

News only - commentary elsewhere, please.
Thanks for helping this "news only" thread system work!

 

[GAP]

Articles found July 2, 2013


  NATO compounded in Kabul attacked
by The Canadian Press Jul 1, 2013
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Militants blew up a suicide car bomb at the gate to a NATO compound in Kabul early Tuesday and attacked guards with small-arms fire, killing four guards and two civilians, police said. All four suicide attackers were also killed.

Kabul provincial police chief Mohammad Ayuob Salangi said the powerful car bomb blew up at about 4:30 a.m., leaving a deep crater at the first gate leading into the camp. Two truck drivers who were waiting to enter the area were killed in the blast, he said.

Three other suicide attackers wearing explosive vests then began fighting with guards; all were killed. Salangi said the guards killed were all Nepalese contractors.
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Afghan ' Hurt Locker' soldier detonates suicide bomber's vest
Published July 01, 2013 FoxNews.com
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Compelling photos show a bomb disposal expert risking his life as he defuses the vest of a would-be suicide bomber after a failed attack in Afghanistan Sunday.

Sky News reports that the Afghan soldier—donned in a protective suit—managed to disarm the bomber, who had been tied up to prevent him from detonating the explosives attached to his vest.  Once the bomber was captured and the device removed, soldiers drove him away.

The incident—which occurred in Jalalabad—was reminiscent of the Oscar-winning film, “The Hurt Locker,” about a bomb disposal team working in Iraq.

Afghan security forces also prevented a suicide bombing in Kabul Monday when they shot another man attempting to set off explosives at the National Directorate of Security office. 
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[GAP]

Articles found July 8, 2013

Last group of local soldiers leave for Afghanistan
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Chandra Lye, CTV Edmonton
Published Sunday, July 7, 2013 5:53PM MDT

Several local troops will be heading to Afghanistan Monday as part of Canada’s last deployment to the country.

The soldiers are part of Task Force 2-13, which is Canada’s final contribution to the International Assistance Force/NATO Training Mission in Afghanistan.

“They have different backgrounds, different trades. We have some infantry, we have engineers, we have medics and we have other support soldiers,” Canadian Forces spokesperson Fraser Logan explained.

The mission, Operation ATTENTION, delivers training and professional development support to the national security forces of Afghanistan, the Afghan National Army, The Afghan Air Force and the Afghan National Police.

It also marks a special milestone for Edmonton soldiers.

“Edmonton based troops were the first troops to be in Afghanistan,” Logan said.

“So it’s appropriate that we were the first in and we’ll be the first out.”
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Afghan suicide bomber 'kills 12' at Uruzgan police station
Article Link
  5 July 2013

At least 12 people have been killed and five wounded in a suicide attack at a police station in the southern Afghan province of Uruzgan, officials say.

Most of the victims are thought to be police officers who were having lunch at the time the attacker struck.

The station in Tirin Kot is used by police guarding the road to Kandahar.

A senior intelligence official told the BBC that the assailant had managed to gain entry to the dining hall because he was wearing a police uniform.

It was not clear if the bomber was a member of the police force, but Mohammed Khpalwak said it was a clear breach of security that would be investigated.

Five people were also injured in the incident. Some of the casualties were said to be friends and relatives of the police officers who had joined them for lunch.

Afghan police have consistently been targeted by the Taliban, and this attack comes shortly after Nato handed over security responsibility to local Afghan forces.
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Top Afghanistan female police officer killed
Article Link
  4 July 2013

A top female police officer has been shot dead in Afghanistan's Helmand province, officials say.

Lt Islam Bibi was ambushed by unknown attackers as she left her home in the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah, a spokesman for Helmand police said.

The commander of 32 female police officers, Lt Bibi, 37, was known as a role model for other women in the conservative province.

Her death came as four girls were also killed in a roadside blast in Helmand.

Lt Bibi was on a motorbike alongside her son-in-law when she was wounded in the gun attack. She later died in hospital, officials say.

Like most Afghan women in rural areas of Afghanistan, Lt Bibi had struggled to work outside the home, says the BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul.

Meanwhile, the four girls, said to be aged between seven and 12, were attending a wedding in Lashkar Gah and had gone to collect water from a stream when the explosives detonated.
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Suspected US drone 'kills 17' in north-west Pakistan
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  3 July 2013

At least 17 people have been killed in a suspected US drone strike on a compound in north-west Pakistan, Pakistani officials say.

At least two missiles were fired at a house in North Waziristan tribal region early on Wednesday, the deadliest drone attack in Pakistan this year.

It is the third such attack since new PM Nawaz Sharif won elections in May. He has demanded an end to such attacks.

A government statement said the strike violated Pakistan's sovereignty.

"Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

"They are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications."

In a separate development, at least six security personnel are reported to have been killed and at least six more injured in an early morning attack by militants at a checkpoint near Peshawar.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 14, 2013

UK forces in Afghanistan begin vast equipment salvage operation
Caroline Wyatt By Caroline Wyatt Defence correspondent, BBC News
Article Link
  12 July 2013

It is a car-wash with a difference. In 46.9C heat, British troops at the vehicle wash-down at Camp Bastion use pressure hoses to wash away the dust of Afghanistan from the many heavily-armoured vehicles brought in one by one over the years.

And not just the dust - but the grime caked on after years of heavy use through Helmand's mud and sand.

Each potential bug that might hitch a lift out of Helmand must be removed from every armoured vehicle before they can come home, under strict UK environmental rules.

Lt Col Suzi Donoghue is commanding officer of the Theatre Logistics Group, made up of 550 service personnel.

"All the muck has to come off to make sure the vehicles are up to the right standard, and free from explosives," she explains.

"And sometimes the muck is almost like cement and it is chiselled on, so for my guys to remove all this takes a lot of time and a lot of effort."
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Officials say at least 5 Taliban fighters killed in NATO airstrike in eastern Afghanistan
Published July 14, 2013 Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan –  Officials say NATO-led coalition forces attacked a group of Taliban fighters in eastern Afghanistan, killing at least five militants.

Coalition spokesman Capt. Luca Carniel said Sunday that NATO forces had carried out a "precision strike" in Paktia province the night before, killing five militants.

He gave no further information, but Paktia provincial police chief Gen. Zelmia Oryakhail says the airstrike targeted a group of Taliban moving down a road in a car and on three motorcycles.

Oryakhail says his reports indicate 12 Taliban were killed, including a sought-after regional leader. He says there were no civilian casualties.
end

The bloody day Harry was witness to an horrific war crime: Prince was just 220yds away when US Special Forces trooper fired machine gun at Afghan goat herders
By Mark Nicol, 13 July 2013
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Prince Harry was no more  than 220 yards away when a US trooper standing aboard an armoured vehicle cocked a .50 calibre machine gun and fired successive bursts at Afghan shepherds tending their goats, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The shocking incident, which  was confirmed last night by the Ministry of Defence, triggered a war crimes investigation by US military police.

It took place on Harry’s first frontline tour of Afghanistan, which, until today, has been shrouded  in secrecy.
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[little jim]

Afghan soldier 'kills NATO colleague' at Kandahar airport
NATO troops have been increasingly subjected to 'green on blue' attacks

An Afghan soldier has opened fire at Kandahar international airport, killing a Slovakian Nato soldier and wounding six others, officials say.

They say that the soldier fired from a security tower before being overpowered and detained.

The casualties are all from Slovakia, officials in Bratislava confirmed. NATO gave no details. Thousands of NATO and Afghan troops are based at the airport.

More than 100 NATO soldiers have been killed in "insider attacks" since 2007.

Afghan officials told the BBC that the soldier who opened fire was now in Afghan National Army (ANA) custody.
Slovakian Defence Minister Martin Glvac told a press conference on Tuesday that the soldier was Slovakia's first fatality in Afghanistan.

He said that two of the soldiers suffered serious wounds while four more were lightly hurt.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says such attacks have become one of the defining features of the latter phase of the conflict in Afghanistan and have undermined NATO's ambition to fight "shoulder to shoulder" with Afghans against the Taliban.

The pressure on contributing nations to withdraw their troops by the end of 2014 has been exacerbated by such "green-on-blue" attacks.

Many more Afghan security force members have died at the hands of their colleagues, but correspondents say reliable figures for so-called "green-on-green" attacks are hard to come by.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23242444

 

[little jim]

Inquiry after Afghan who shot Nato soldier escapes jail Nato troops have been increasingly subjected to 'green on blue' attacks

An investigation has been launched after an Afghan soldier who had recently been jailed for firing on Nato troops managed to escape from custody.

Officials say he was able to walk out of a heavily guarded military base, with the help of a guard.

The soldier had been arrested for killing one Slovakian Nato soldier, and injuring six others, at Kandahar international airbase last week.

A Taliban spokesman said the rogue soldier had now joined their cause.

The BBC's Bilal Sarwary in Kabul says news of the escape is an embarrassment for both the Afghan defence ministry and the army.

"The rogue soldier escaped with the help of one or more people," said General Zahir Azimi, a spokesman for the Afghan defence ministry.

"An Afghan National Army (ANA) officer helped him escape from the ANA custody inside the army core where he was at the detention centre," Gen Azimi told a press conference.

It appears that a supervising guard took the soldier from his prison cell to a military hospital, saying he needed to see a doctor. There he was unshackled and the two men then left the compound.

"The supervisor had a clean record, and was trusted. We don't know the reasons why he did this," General Abdul Hameed, the top Afghan army commander in the south, told the BBC.

The killing of Nato forces at the hands of Taliban infiltrators and rogue Afghan soldiers has become one of the defining features of this phase of the conflict in Afghanistan.

Our correspondent says these incidents have undermined Nato's ambition to fight ''shoulder to shoulder'' with Afghans against the Taliban.

More than 100 Nato soldiers have been killed in such "green-on-blue" attacks since 2007.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-23311493

 

[GAP]

Articles found July 17, 2013


Taliban bans tight men's clothing in Waziristan
Published July 13, 2013 AFP
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WANA, Pakistan (AFP) –  The Pakistani Taliban have banned tight or see-through clothing for men, threatening to impose a fine and shutter businesses selling the items, traders from the country's restive tribal belt said Saturday.

Shopkeepers in Wana, the main town of South Waziristan tribal district along the Afghan border told AFP the written warning came ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which began on Thursday in Pakistan.

"All such clothes which are of a thin material and which do not properly cover men's bodies are un-Islamic and against Pashtun culture," said the pamphlet, distributed in Wana bazaar.

It warned that any shopkeeper found selling such items will be charged a fine of 5000 rupees ($50) and will also see his shop closed for at least five days.

The pamphlet also warned male residents "not to wear such clothes".

A government official in Wana confirmed the written warning and told AFP that the local militant groups had previously banned the sale of tight or see-through clothes for women.
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Afghan court ordered release of child-bride torturers
Published July 13, 2013 AFP
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KABUL, Kaboul (AFP) –  A court in Kabul ordered the early release of three people convicted over the torture of a child bride, an official confirmed Saturday, in a move denounced by activists as a blow for women's rights.

Sahar Gul, who was 15 at the time her ordeal, was burned, beaten and had her fingernails pulled out by her husband and in-laws after she refused to become a prostitute in a case that shocked the world.

She was found in the basement of her husband's house in northeastern Baghlan province in late 2011, having been locked in a toilet for six months prior to her rescue by police.

Her father-in-law, mother-in-law and sister-in-law were sentenced to prison for 10 years each for torture and attempted murder, though her husband remains at large.

"But after the court reviewed their case, it found out that they were only involved in family violence," Supreme Court spokesman Abdullah Attaee told AFP.

The court did not have enough evidence against them, he said, adding a fresh prosecution would be launched .

"For now, the court has ruled that the time they have spent in jail is enough for them," he said, though he could not say when the ruling was made or whether the trio had yet been freed.

Afghan rights groups expressed indignation over the early releases, calling it a step back in time for Afghanistan's women.
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US drone strike kills two militants in Pakistan
Published July 13, 2013 AFP
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MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) –  A US drone strike in Pakistan's troubled northwestern tribal belt late Saturday killed two militants on a motorcycle and damaged nearby houses, officials said.

The attack took place in the Mir Ali area, some 35 kilometres (21 miles) east of Miranshah, the main town of North Waziristan tribal district, a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda-linked militants along the Afghan border.

Local security officials said both the militants were believed to be from Turkmenistan but their exact nationalities are yet to be ascertained.

"The target of the drone was the militants on (the) motorcycle, some nearby houses were also damaged," a local security official told AFP in Miranshah.

Another security official in Miranshah added they were "verifying the reports that both the militants" were from Turkmenistan.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 22, 2013

Unexploded NATO ordnance killing Afghan civilians
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By Jennie Matthew July 21, 2013 AFP

KABUL (AFP) –  Unexploded ordnance left behind by NATO troops as they leave Afghanistan is killing and injuring a rising number of civilians, a UN demining group said Sunday.

Mohammad Sediq Rashid, director of the Mine Action Coordination Centre, told AFP the US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) must fully clean up military bases and firing ranges being vacated ahead of a final withdrawal due next year.

A total of 53 Afghan civilians, mostly children, have been killed or injured by unexploded ordnance found in or around ISAF bases and firing ranges since 2008, he said.
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Afghanistan unveils new investor incentives
Published July 21, 2013 AFP
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KABUL, Kaboul (AFP) –  The Afghan government on Sunday unveiled a new package of incentives to attract desperately needed investment to the war-torn country before NATO withdraws next year.

The new policies, which will remain in place for two and a half years, are designed to ease fears that billions of dollars in aid money could dry up and to encourage investors -- both foreign and Afghan -- to sink money into the economy.

"The goal of this policy is to support investment in different sectors, especially in industry, construction, agriculture and mining," Finance Minister Azrat Omar Zakhilwal told reporters.

"It is also aimed at attracting local and international investments, and to prevent investments from leaving the country," he said.

The incentives include providing land at almost no cost to industrialists, seven-year tax exemptions for factory owners and 10-year, low-interest loans for farmers.
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Afghan lawmakers vote in favor of dismissing interior minister over worsening security
Published July 22, 2013 Associated Press
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KABUL, Afghanistan –  Afghanistan's lawmakers have voted in favor of sacking the interior minister, blaming him for worsening security and especially violence along the main highway south of Kabul.

It's unclear if President Hamid Karzai will accept the parliament's decision. He has ignored such moves in the past.

Lawmakers in the 250-member parliament on Monday voted 163-60 in favor of dismissing Mushtaba Patang.

They said Patang did not do enough to provide security along the Kabul-Kandahar highway, a key route that carries much of the nation's trade.

The interior minister is in charge of Afghanistan's nearly 160,000-strong police and security services.
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Pakistan diplomat in Afghan charm offensive
Published July 21, 2013 AFP
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A senior Pakistani official flew to Afghanistan on Sunday, inviting President Hamid Karzai to Islamabad as part of a charm offensive designed to improve strained relations and help peace efforts with the Taliban.

Foreign affairs adviser Sartaj Aziz is the most senior member of Pakistan's new government to visit Afghanistan.

The new administration took office last month after Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif won historic elections.

"I have brought a message of cordiality and goodwill for Afghanistan," Aziz told a news conference in Kabul.

"The main purpose of my visit, as some of you may know, is to convey a formal invitation from Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif to President Karzai to visit Pakistan."

Around 100,000 US-led foreign troops fighting the Taliban are due to leave Afghanistan next year just months after presidential elections in April.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 29, 2013

British troops kill and capture Taliban insurgents in secret mission to support Afghan National Army
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British soldiers have taken part in a secret offensive against the Taliban in a deadly Afghan warzone they had pulled out from three years ago.

About 80 members of the 4th Battalion The Rifles provided ‘assistance’ to an Afghan National Army purge of insurgents in the hotspot of Sangin, in which 12  fanatics were killed and 30 improvised explosive devices seized.

There were no British casualties during the eight-day operation earlier this month, but two Afghan soldiers died.

The mission to prevent Sangin,  northern Helmand, again becoming a Taliban stronghold was considered so risky it had to be approved personally by Defence Secretary Philip Hammond.

From 2006 to 2010 when UK troops were based in the town, dubbed one of the world’s most dangerous places, 106 soldiers were killed.

News of the operation will fuel concerns about Afghan troops’ ability to defeat the Taliban when UK, US and Nato forces pull out in December 2014.

The Afghan army took over security in Sangin in the spring but military commanders requested assistance following weeks of attacks by insurgents.

Mr Hammond gave permission for troops from 4 Rifles, serving as the Brigade Advisory Group, to travel from Camp Bastion and help as troops from the UK-mentored 3/215 Brigade moved in.

The UK troops have since left Sangin.

A senior Army officer said: ‘The negative publicity would have been worse if the situation around Sangin had got out of hand. This was the lesser of many evils.’
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Toxic Pakistan alcohol claims 18 lives
Article Link
  28 July 2013

At least 18 people have died and dozens more fallen ill after drinking contaminated alcohol in Pakistan, officials said.

The victims, believed to be mostly Muslim and Christian labourers, consumed the toxic drink at two parties in the central city of Faisalabad.

Only non-Muslims are allowed to buy and consume alcohol in Pakistan, but many people illegally brew alcohol at home.

The provincial governor has ordered an inquiry into the incident.

Victims fainted after drinking the alcohol at a birthday party and another private event in Faisalabad, authorities said.

Most reportedly died before they could be rushed to hospital.

"The death toll from the two parties has reached 18," senior police official Javed Ahmed Khan told the AFP news agency.

"Around two dozens others are heavily affected by the toxic liquor and battling for consciousness."

Drinkers often buy illegal liquor because legal wine shops are closed during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
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Pakistan violence: Deadly bombings in Parachinar market
Article Link
  27 July 2013

At least 57 people have been killed after two bombs exploded in a market in northern Pakistan, reports say.

The explosions took place in Parachinar, the main town of the Kurram tribal region, near the Afghan border.

The two blasts occurred close to two different mosques in the town, according to Reuters news agency.

More than 150 people have been injured. The area was thronged with evening shoppers, buying food for the breaking of the Ramadan fast.
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[GAP]

Articles found July 30, 2013

Pakistan jailbreak: Taliban free 248 in Dera Ismail Khan
Article Link
  30 July 2013

aliban militants have freed 248 prisoners in an assault on a prison in north-west Pakistan, officials say.

Militants armed with automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and bombs blasted down the walls of the jail in the town of Dera Ismail Khan and streamed inside, reports said.

A gun battle lasting several hours went on into the early hours of Tuesday. At least 13 died, including six police.

Correspondents say it is a huge embarrassment for authorities.

The attack was similar to an assault on a prison in nearby Bannu in April last year, in which almost 400 prisoners were freed.

Reports also suggest intelligence had warned of an impending attempt on the jail two weeks ago.

This latest assault demonstrates the weakness of the Pakistani state, says the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani in Karachi.

The state appears not to have the capacity, and some would say the will, to rein in hardened militants, he says.
Police uniforms

The attack in the town of Dera Ismail Khan began with shooting and huge explosions at around midnight on Monday (15:00 GMT).

Up to 100 attackers, some wearing police uniforms, bombarded the prison with rockets and mortars before going inside.

The town's civil commissioner, Mushtaq Jadoon, said attackers used loudhailers to call the names of particular inmates.

An ensuing gun battle raged for three or four hours.
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