War News for Saturday, June 02, 2012

Photo: petty officer Sean Edward Brazas eith military working dog  “If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.”

Military Intelligence staff caught stealing information

Reported security incidents
#1: NATO forces swooped in by helicopter before dawn Saturday to rescue two female foreign aid workers and their two Afghan colleagues who were held by militants for nearly two weeks in a cave in northern Afghanistan. British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the “breathtaking” operation, which he approved Friday afternoon after becoming increasingly concerned about the safety of the hostages, one of whom, 28-year-old Helen Johnston, was British. The rescue operation was carried out by British troops in cooperation with other NATO and Afghan forces.

#2: A suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan killed two militants in Pakistan’s tribal region on Saturday, a local government official said. The drone fired two missiles at a motorcycle the militants were riding, the official, Javed Marwat, told CNN. The incident happened near the town of Wana in South Waziristan, one of the seven districts in Pakistan’s tribal region. The area is thought to be a safe haven for militant groups fueling the insurgency across the border in Afghanistan.

#3: update  A suicide truck bomber attacked a US-run base on Friday, sparking clashes that killed up to 15 people in eastern Afghanistan near the Pakistani border, officials said. NATO’s US-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said none of its personnel was killed in the attack in Khost province. An Afghan security official told AFP that the bomber drove a truck packed with explosives into the outer security checkpost of Forward Operating Base Salerno, which is run by the US military. “Initial information shows that seven Afghans have been killed and 13 others injured,” the official told AFP on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media. According to the official, the victims were Afghan workers involved in a construction project at the base. But Khost provincial police chief Sardar Mohammad Zazai later told AFP that only three attackers were killed as they stormed the base.

#4: Five militants were reportedly killed on Saturday in an assault by fighter jets in the northwestern Khyber tribal region, DawnNews reported. Two insurgent hideouts were also destroyed in the assault in the tribal region’s Sarawela area, DawnNews quoted government sources as saying. The casualty figures from the reported action could not be independently verified. Sources further said that the operation in the region had picked up pace since Friday’s clash with militants from the Kokikhel tribe.

#5: In another incident in the tribal region’s Zakhakhel region in Tirah, volunteers from the local Tauhidul Islam organisation detained a would-be suicide bomber. The detained would-be bomber was planning to target a camp of the FC in Khyber.

#6: The Afghan national police backed by the army and the NATO-led troops have killed 30 armed militants and wounded 14 others over the past 24 hours, the country’s Interior Ministry said in a statement Saturday. “The police backed by the army and the Coalition forces have conducted series of operations in Helmand, Uruzgan, Logar and Ghazni provinces during the past 24 hours which left 30 armed militants dead,” the statement said, adding 14 more militants have been injured. However, it did not say if there were any casualties on the security forces.

#7: According to local authorities in western Farah province, a suicide bomber was shot dead by Afghan police early Saturday morning in this province. Afghan Interior Ministry officials said Afghan border protection police forces killed a suicide bomber before he reaches his target to attack a patrol of the Afghan police forces at Qaisar district. The officials further added two Afghan police force were also injured following the explosion of the suicide bomber explosive vest.

#8: An explosion rocked eastern Nangarhar province on Saturday morning, local security official said. The officials further added the incident took place after a suicide bomber detonated his explosives on Torkham-Jalalabad road. Mr. Mashriq further added the exact number of casualties as a result of the incident is unknown. According to reports the main target of the suicide bomber was a convoy of the coalition security forces which was crossing the area.

#9: According to local authorities in northern Parwan province, unknown gunmen killed an Afghan national army officer along with his 3 family member in this province. He also said Gen. Mir Mirza was killed along with his wife, daughter and his nephew following the incident.

#10: According to local authorities in eastern Kapisa province at least 3 Afghan national army soldiers were injured following a roadside bomb explosion in this province.

DoD: Staff Sgt. Roberto Loeza

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