War News for Saturday, January 05, 2013

Today in Afghanistan
US plans 9 000 troops in Afghanistan

Soldier, 24, who survived Taliban bomb blast is found hanged at home while on leave

Nearly 130 Afghan prisoners released from Bagram prison

Afghanistan release 250 Taliban militants from jails

Reported security incidents
#1: At least 25 mortar shells fired from the Afghan soil landed in the border area of Ghulam Khan in Pakistan’s North Waziristan Agency on Friday, Pakistani officials said on Saturday. The sources confirmed the shelling by unidentified people believed to be Afghan security personnel, did not incur any casualties to local residents. The shelling according to the sources continued for four hours. The mortar shells were fired from Tarkhobi area in Afghanistan’s Khost province, the Afghan online newspaper (Khaama Press) reported.

#2: Air strikes by fighter jets have killed at least 20 militants in the Tirah Valley on Friday. The security forces claimed that the slain militants belonged to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. More than a dozen militants were injured in the air raids in Dwatoai area of Jamrud tehsil of the Khyber Agency. The spokesperson of the forces said that the action was taken in the wee hours of Friday and the jets bombed three suspected hideouts of the militants. The security forces’ sources could not give an exact number on casualties in the bombings. However, they said that fourteen outlaws were wounded in the strikes. Actual number of casualties was hard to obtain because the strikes were carried out in a remote area that lacked communication facilities. The militant groups have also not confirmed the casualties.

#3: A man and his son were killed and a girl was injured when unidentified men opened fire in Panjgur district of Balochistan, Geo News reported on Saturday. According to police, Sub Engineer of CNW Muhammad Yousuf was standing with his son, Mehboob and 15 years old daughter outside his house in Garamaghan area when unknown armed men on motorcycles sprayed bullets on the family and fled from the scene. As a result, both the men died on spot while the daughter got injured.

#4: Unidentified men threw a hand grenade at a house in Tounsa district of Dera Ghazi Khan that injured two men, Geo News reported on Saturday. The police said that unknown men hurled a hand grenade at a house owned by Riaz in Muhalla Sheikhan Wala. The explosion injured two men and damaged two rooms of the house.

#5: Combined force detained six anti-government gunmen during an operation in Kashrod district of western Nimroz province this morning, an official said Friday. Afghan and foreign forces launched massive operation against Taliban in Goro Dewalak at approximately 10:00 a.m. (local time), capturing three suspected gunmen, Haji Muhammad Hashim Noorzai, administrator of Khashrod district, told Afghan Islamic Press (AIP). He said the operations was ongoing. He said foreign forces aircrafts targeted a vehicle of gunmen in the same area, causing casualties to the people onboard, adding the number of casualties was unclear. nThere was no word by Taliban in this regard.

#6: A militant blew himself up instead of surrendering to police after an encounter in Swabi on Friday.
Today in Afghanistan