Afghan vice-president Dostum injured in Taliban ambush

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...ombing-in-helmand-kills-reporter_1946317.html

Kabul: Afghan police say that a roadside bombing in southern Helmand province has killed an Afghan journalist and wounded another.

The explosion took place in the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah around 10 AM today.

Police inspector Haji Garan says the blast killed Naimatullah Zaheer, a reporter with the Aryana news television.

He did not identify Zaheer's wounded colleague or the outlet the colleague works for.

Garan says the reporters were among a group of local journalists driving to an area where there was intense fighting with the Taliban the previous night.

He says Zaheer was parking the car when the blast went off.

In recent months, the Taliban have launched repeated and occasionally large-scale attacks on the capital in southern Helmand province, the heartland of their insurgency.

PTI

First Published: Friday, November 4, 2016 - 14:26

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...-in-afghanistans-faryab-province_1946629.html
Last Updated: Saturday, November 5, 2016 - 17:47
Kabul: At least 11 civilians have been killed and 12 others injured in an explosion in Afghanistan`s northern Faryab province.

The Khaama Press quoted officials, as saying that the incident occurred when a vehicle in which the civilians were traveling hit an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by militants on a roadside.

The governor`s spokesman Jawid Didar was quoted as saying that several women and children were among those wounded.

No group has claimed responsibility for the incident so far.

Taliban group is, however, being blamed for the incident.

ANI

First Published: Saturday, November 5, 2016 - 17:47

http://zeenews.india.com/news/ameri...l-qaeda-leader-farouq-al-qahtani_1946485.html

Washington: The US military confirmed Friday it had killed Farouq al-Qahtani, Al-Qaeda`s emir for northeastern Afghanistan, during an air strike last month, in a major blow to the group as it seeks to re-establish safe havens in the country.

"This successful strike is another example of US operations to degrade international terrorist networks and target terrorist leaders who seek to attack the US homeland, our interests and our allies abroad," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said in a statement, confirming Qahtani was killed on October 23 in Kunar.

He said another Al-Qaeda leader in the country, Bilal al-Utabi, was targeted in a separate strike, though the results of that attack were not yet known.

AFP

 

[Hindustani78]

The Defense Department on Friday released the names of two soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Capt. Andrew Byers and Sgt. 1st Class Ryan Gloyer died Thursday in Kunduz, Afghanistan, from wounds sustained while engaging enemy forces.

Both men were assigned to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group, at Fort Carson, Colorado.

Byers and Gloyer were killed Thursday along with 26 civilians and three Afghan troops.

Four other American troops were wounded.

The soldiers came under fire during a “train, advise and assist mission” with Afghan troops, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement. The soldiers were working to clear a Taliban position and disrupt the group’s operations in Kunduz district.

Byers, 30, was from Rolesville, North Carolina. He joined the Army in May 2008, arriving at Fort Carson in July 2014.

Byers, a Special Forces officer, had deployed once to Afghanistan, once to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and served in Italy.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, three Army Commendation Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist and Military Free Fall Parachutists badges, the Ranger tab and Special Forces tab.

Gloyer, 34, was from Denton, Pennsylvania. He joined the Army in December 2004 and had served at Fort Carson since January 2015.

A Special Forces communications sergeant, Gloyer had deployed three times to Afghanistan and once to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Gloyer’s awards and decorations include the Bronze Star with V device, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, two Meritorious Service Medals, two Army Commendation Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star, the Combat Infantryman Badge, the Expert Infantryman Badge, the Parachutist Badge, the Ranger tab and the Special Forces tab.

Afghan officials said they were still investigating the attack and its civilian casualties, some of which may have been caused by airstrikes, the Associated Press reported. Residents later carried more than a dozen corpses of the dead, including children, toward the local governor's office in a show of rage a year after American forces attacked an area hospital, according to the AP.

Two senior Taliban commanders targeted in the raid were also killed, along with 63 other insurgents, Kunduz police chief Gen. Qasim Jangalbagh said, according to the AP. He said Afghan special forces carried out the raid and that he did not have any information about NATO involvement in the assault. The general identified the number of civilians killed, saying the count of 26 included members of the Taliban fighters' families.

Brig. Gen. Charles Cleveland, briefing journalists in Brussels during a teleconference, said three Afghan troops were killed in the assault, the AP reported. Mohammad Radmanish, a deputy spokesman at the Afghan Defense Ministry, offered the same figure.

In a later statement, Cleveland said that "friendly forces received direct fire and airstrikes were conducted to defend themselves" and an investigation was underway. He earlier described the assault as "not a common event," without elaborating.

Fighting has been fierce in Kunduz province, as Taliban fighters briefly overran the city of Kunduz — the provincial capital with the same name — in early October, a show of strength by the insurgents that also highlighted the troubles facing Afghan forces 15 years into the war there, AP reported. The Taliban captured and held parts of Kunduz a year earlier as well before the city was liberated weeks later with the help of U.S. airstrikes, AP reported.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...ed-taliban-claims-responsibility_1948621.html

Kabul, Nov 11 (IANS) At least four people were killed and over 110 injured when the German consulate in Afghanistan's Mazar-i-Sharif was targeted by a suicide truck bomb and a subsequent attack by Taliban militants, officials said on Friday.

"One terrorist detonated a car bomb near the consulate gate late Thursday night, killing himself and one other person," a security official told Xinhua news agency.

The injured were all residents, the official said.

The death toll is likely to rise as some injured remained in critical condition, health sources said.

The Taliban militant group claimed responsibility for the attack shortly after the blast.

Taliban spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said in a statement that the attack was retaliation for recent airstrikes in Kunduz from the "invading countries" which caused civilian casualties.

On November 3, a series of air strikes were carried out by NATO-led forces on outskirts of provincial capital Kunduz city, following ground operations conducted by foreign and Afghan security forces there.

IANS

First Published: Friday, November 11, 2016 - 08:57

 

[haviZsultan]

The killing of Americans by any Taliban fighter is one of the shockingly most foremost method of elevating themselves to the position of commander. I forgot his name but one of the Taliban militants shot a helicopter carrying US troops and is now a commander.

US under Trump has claimed they will send more troops. 10,000... means more chances of American losses. If America had not treated my country and Afghanistan as merely a stepping stone to defeat the Soviets and created these terrorist groups active today there would be no problem. Let us note Haqqani sat with the US president once and Bin Laden was invited as guest to various events in the consulate of US. The Americans are the fathers of modern day terrorism.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...n-largest-us-base-in-afghanistan_1948967.html

Kabul: At least four people were killed early Saturday in an explosion inside the largest US military base in Afghanistan, NATO said, with the Taliban claiming responsibility for the major security breach.

The explosion struck at dawn inside the heavily fortified Bagram Airfield north of Kabul, as the Taliban step up attacks on Western targets before the onset of winter, when fighting usually ebbs.

The nationalities of those killed were not immediately known after the blast, which highlights a worsening security situation nearly two years after NATO formally ended its combat operations in Afghanistan.

"An explosive device was detonated on Bagram Airfield resulting in multiple casualties. Four people have died in the attack and approximately 14 have been wounded," NATO said in a statement.

"Response teams at Bagram continue to treat the wounded and investigate the incident."

Waheed Sediqi, spokesman for the governor of Parwan province where Bagram is located, said the blast was caused by a suicide attacker who blew himself up near a dining facility inside the base.

"We don`t know the identity of victims yet, but the attacker was either one of the Afghan labourers working there," Sediqi told AFP.

Bagram district governor Abdul Shakoor Quddusi said the explosion that struck around 0100 GMT was powerful and reverberated across the area.

"To the family and friends of those who lost their lives today, we share your loss and our thoughts are with you. We offer you our deepest condolences," said John Nicholson, the top US and NATO commander in Afghanistan.

"For the family and friends of those wounded in today`s attack, let me assure you they are receiving the best care possible, and we will keep them in our thoughts today."

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the insurgent group was behind the suicide attack inside Bagram, claiming it inflicted "heavy casualties on US invaders".

The brazen attack represents an alarming security breach inside what is regarded as one of the most heavily guarded military installations in Afghanistan.

Bagram Airfield, close to Kabul, has frequently come under attack by Taliban insurgents.

Last December, a motorcycle-riding Taliban suicide bomber killed six US soldiers near Afghanistan`s largest US military base.

It was one of the deadliest attacks on foreign troops in the country in 2015.

The latest attack comes after a powerful Taliban truck bomb struck the German consulate in Afghanistan`s northern Mazar-i-Sharif city late Thursday, killing at least six people and wounding more than 100 others.

The uptick in attacks comes just days after a bitter US presidential election.

Afghanistan got scarcely a passing mention in the election campaign -- even though the situation there will be an urgent matter for the new president.

President-elect Donald Trump is set to inherit America`s longest war with no end in sight.

AFP

First Published: Saturday, November 12, 2016 - 10:20

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.armytimes.com/articles/blast-kills-4-wounds-14-on-afghanistans-bagram-airfield

Two U.S. service members and two American contractors were killed by a suicide bomber early Saturday on Afghanistan's Bagram Airfield, the U.S. military said.

Sixteen American troops and one Polish soldier were wounded in the blast.

The attack was blamed on "an apparent suicide bomber," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement.

The explosion occurred around 5:30 a.m. local time, according to a statement released by officials with Operation Resolute Support, as the U.S.-led mission in Afghanistan is now known. Bagram is one of the U.S. military's few remaining installations there.

Officials have not identified the casualties. Response teams are continuing to treat the wounded and investigate the incident, officials said.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which they said was carried out by a suicide bomber inside the base, The Associated Press reported. A spokesman for the insurgent group said the attack had been planned for four months.

"To the family and friends of those who lost their lives today, we share your loss, and our thoughts are with you," Army Gen. John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, said in a prepared statement. "For the family and friends of those wounded in today's attack, let me assure you they are receiving the best care possible, and we will keep them in our thoughts today."

Saturday's attack, he said, will not deter the U.S.-led NATO mission to train, advise and assist the Afghans to "create a better Afghanistan."

Pockets of Afghanistan remain violent even as the U.S. military has reduced its footprint there and scaled back its overall focus, now limited to counter-terrorism operations and supporting the Afghan security forces. Last week, two American service members and 26 civilians were killed during a battle in Kunduz province.

Today, about 8,400 U.S. troops are spread between only a handful of bases. Bagram, which was a major hub for U.S. operations throughout the war, is one of the few installations still being used by U.S. forces. The others include Kandahar Airfield and cluster of bases in Kabul, Afghanistan's capital. At the height of the war, there were more than 800 American bases and outposts across the country.

 

[Hindustani78]

Two 1st Cavalry Division soldiers were among those killed in a Saturday suicide bomber attack in Afghanistan, the Defense Department announced Monday.

Sgt. John Perry, 30, and Pfc. Tyler Iubelt, 20, were deployed with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 1st Special Troops Battalion, 1st Sustainment Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, according to the release.

Since September, the Fort Hood, Texas-based unit has been supporting Operation Freedom's Sentinel, which replaced Operation Enduring Freedom following the end of U.S.-led combat operations in Afghanistan.

Perry enlisted in 2008 as a test, measurement and diagnostic equipment maintenance support specialist. He deployed to Afghanistan from August 2010 to July 2011 before deploying again in September of this year.

Staff Sgt. John Perry.
Photo Credit: Army

His awards and decorations include three Army Commendation Medals, the Army Achievement Medal, two Good Conduct Medals, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Korean Defense Service Medal and the Combat Action Badge.

Iubelt, a motor transport operator, enlisted less than a year ago, on Nov. 23, 2015.

His awards and decorations include the Afghanistan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Army Service Ribbon and Combat Action Badge.

Pfc. Tyler Iubelt.
Photo Credit: Army

Both soldiers received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for the action that resulted in their deaths Saturday, Fort Hood spokesman Chris Haug confirmed.

The attack on Bagram Airfield also claimed the lives of two American contractors and wounded 16 American troops and one Polish soldier.

The attack was carried out by "an apparent suicide bomber," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a Saturday statement. It happened about 5:30 a.m. local time.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack via a spokesman, the Associated Press reported, adding that it had been planned for four months.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://indianexpress.com/article/wo...ttacks-vehicle-in-kabul-killing-four-4378202/

An interior ministry official confirmed the attack but could not say immediately how many people had been killed or wounded.

By: Reuters | Kabul | Updated: November 16, 2016 11:14 am

A suicide bomber on a motorbike killed at least four people and wounded several in an attack on a vehicle carrying national security officials in Kabul, Afghanistan on Wednesday, a security official at the scene in the Afghan capital told Reuters. An interior ministry official confirmed the attack but could not say immediately how many people had been killed or wounded.

“The suicide bomber was on a motorbike and detonated himself in the Pul Mahmood Khan area (in Kabul). The target is unclear but there were casualties,” said Najib Danish, a spokesman for the interior ministry. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

 

[Hindustani78]

Remains of Pfc. tyler R Lubelt at Dover air base

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.thehindu.com/news/intern...-attack-in-Kabul-Official/article16670635.ece
Kabul November 21, 2016 14:49 IST
At least 27 people were killed and 35 injured following a suicide attack at a Shia mosque in the Afghan capital Kabul, with a rise in casualties feared, a government spokesman said on Monday.

“Until now, 17 wounded and eight dead bodies have been carried to hospitals by the Kabul ambulance. The number of casualties could be bigger,” said Mohmmad Ismail Kawusi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Health.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://zeenews.india.com/news/world...s-killed-in-afghanistans-uruzgan_1953830.html
First Published: Sunday, November 27, 2016 - 13:25
Kabul: A local Taliban leader and five Taliban insurgents were killed after the Afghan army launched an operation in the province of Uruzgan, the Defence Ministry said on Sunday.

"A Taliban local leader named Bismillah along with four insurgents was killed during a military operation in Dihrawud district on Saturday," Xinhua news agency cited a ministry statement as saying.

The raid was launched based on a tip-off and the insurgents exchanged fire with the security forces, leaving five dead, the statement said.

The Uruzgan province has been the scene of heavy clashes between Taliban and Afghan troops over the past couple of months.

The Afghan security forces had beefed up security operations recently as militants were attempting to take territory and consolidate their positions ahead of winter in the mountainous country.

IANS

First Published: Sunday, November 27, 2016 - 13:25

 

[Abu Zolfiqar]

what??? now dostam is acting like small child who got injured because he fell down?? The time of northern alliance is over. They failed to gain anything when there were no Talibans and Hikmatyar.

They certainly do have an expiration date. Let nature take its due course

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/21-militants-...und-raids-of-afghan-forces-in-nangarhar-02390
By Khaama Press - Tue Nov 29 2016, 12:03 pm
At least 21 militants were killed in a series of air and ground operations in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said the operations were conducted in Pacher Agam district.

The provincial police commandment said earlier this week this a clearance operation is underway to eliminate the loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group in the area.

The local security officials said at least 30 militants of the terror group were killed in the operations, including the shadow judge of the terror group.

However, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), in a statement said Monday that 44 militants of the terror group were killed along with the shadow judge.

The operations in Pacher Agam were launched amid concerns that the loyalists of the terror group are attempting to move towards the Tora Bora mountainous region in a bid to fortify their presence in the region.

The deputy house speaker of the Afghan Parliament Zahir Qadir earlier warned that serious efforts are underway by the loyalists of the terror group to establish the Khurasan Caliphate.

The operations have apparently been launched following Qadir’s comments after he alleged that the loyalists of the terror group have seized several strategic points in Pacher Agam which is close to Tora Bora.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/afghan-forces-clear-strategic-pacher-agam-district-of-isis-militants-02400
By Khaama Press - Wed Nov 30 2016, 5:46 pm
The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) cleared the strategic Pacher Agam district of the loyalists of Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

The provincial police commandment in a statement said at least 17 loyalists of the terror group were killed or wounded during the latest counter-terrorism operations.

The statement further added that the dead bodies of numerous ISIS militants were left in the area and several weapons and ammunition belonging to the terror group were confiscated.

At 13 ISIS militants were killed and 4 other were wounded during the operations, the statement said, adding that 6 Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were also discovered seized by the Afghan forces.

The statement also added that the Afghan forces rescued at least two civilians who were kept as hostage by the loyalists of the terror group.

The loyalists of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group have not commented regarding the report so far.

The ISIS loyalists have been attempting to gain foothold in the strategic Pacher Agam district in a bid to expand their presence and operations in this province.