War News for Saturday, May 18, 2013

Today in Afghanistan

Family members believe a Utah County soldier missing in action in Afghanistan has been killed.
The family of Cody Towse said they were notified by a military representative Tuesday that their son was standing near an improvised explosive device when it went off, causing a massive blast.

Afghan parliament fails to pass divisive women’s law

Blasts Kill Dozens of Iraqis as Sectarian Tensions Boil

Reported security incidents
#1: An official says motorcycle-riding gunmen have shot dead a police chief who led an anti-Taliban campaign in western Afghanistan in front of his house. Abdul Ghani was leaving his driveway in his car when the two raced up and opened fire in Farah province.

#2: Two bombs hidden in a motorcycle and a car exploded inside an elite gated community linked to the family of Afghan President Hamid Karzai on Friday evening, killing at least nine people and wounding more than 70 near the southern city of Kandahar, an official said. The blasts happened inside Aino Mina, a housing complex on the northern outskirts of the city that was developed in part by Mahmood Karzai, the president’s younger brother. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but striking inside a powerful symbol of wealth and influence would be a publicity coup for the Taliban insurgency. Both the car bomb and the motorcycle were remotely detonated within minutes of each other while parked next to a restaurant area where families were dining, Kandahar government spokesman Javeed Faisal said. He had earlier said there was only one blast.

#3: Unidentified gunmen killed two Pakistani transporters in Bati Kot area of Afghanistan, some 35 kilometers from the Torkham border, sources said on Friday. They said a trailer (HR-8210) taking armoured personnel carriers was on its way to Afghanistan when it was ambushed at 8:30pm in Bati Kot area near Torkham border. The truck driver, identified as Anwar Khan, son of Zaman, a resident of Manyakhel in Jamrud tehsil, and his helper Tawab, son of Murad Gul, a resident of Mirdadkhel in Landikotal, were killed on the spot. The truck was also damaged in the attack, the sources said.

#4: Taliban militants ambushed a military convoy late Thursday in Pakistan’s troubled northwestern city of Peshawar, killing two soldiers, security officials said. The incident took place as the convoy passed through Matani village on the outskirts of Peshawar, the main town of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, a province bordering Afghanistan which is rife with Taliban and Al-Qaeda-led militancy. “Militants opened fire on the military vehicles, two soldiers died and one sustained injuries in the attack,” a military official in Peshawar told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to talk to the media. A second security official in Peshawar confirmed the attack and told AFP that troops had cordoned off the area and launched a search operation.

#5: A roadside bomb struck a tractor in the Yahya Khil district of Paktika province on Saturday, killing a civilian and injuring five others, spokesman for provincial administration Mukhlis Afghan said. “The tragic incident happened in Yahya Khil district at 07:00 a. m. local time and as a result the tractor driver was killed on the spot and five others including a mother and three children were injured,” Mukhlis Afghan told Xinhua.

#6: An Afghan border police guard was killed and three others were injured during the first explosion which took place in eastern Khost city of Afghanistan. Provincial security chief Mohammad Yaqoub said around six Afghan civilians were also injured following the blast.

News: Civ. Michael Robert Bradford

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Trenton L. Rhea

DoD: Sgt. 1st Class Jeffrey C. Baker

DoD: Spc. Mitchell K. Daehling

DoD: Spc. William J. Gilbert Today in Afghanistan