NATO: Coalition convoy targeted in suicide attack in Kabul; casualties expected

[Hindustani78]

NATO contractors killed by Kabul car bomb identified as US citizens | Zee News

Last Updated: Sunday, August 23, 2015 - 09:11
Washington: Three US civilian contractors were among those killed by a car bomb that targeted their NATO convoy, the US-led coalition in Afghanistan said, making the attack that killed 12 people one of the most lethal to target US citizens in recent years.

The blast destroyed several vehicles, including a school van and an armoured pick-up truck believed to be used by the contractors which was left twisted and blackened.

"One Resolute Support U.S. contractor was killed and two Resolute Support US contractors died of wounds," the NATO coalition known as Resolute Support said in a statement late on Saturday.

Most of the dead were Afghan civilians and scores more were injured in the suicide attack outside a hospital on a busy residential street, heightening the anger felt in Kabul after a string of deadly blasts that killed dozens this month.

The Taliban, who are fighting to re-establish hard-line Islamist rule more than 13 years after the U.S.-led military intervention that toppled their regime, denied it was behind the attack. No group has claimed responsibility.

The U.S. embassy in Kabul condemned the bombing.

"The United States remains committed to assisting our Afghan partners in their efforts to ensure a peaceful future," it said in a statement.

The violence has strained Afghanistan`s ties with neighbour Pakistan, with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani accusing the Pakistan government of not doing enough to stop militants planning attacks from training camps he says lie across the border.

The official anger has spilled on to the streets, with protests against Pakistan`s alleged involvement in the recent bloodshed, including people burning the Pakistani flag and a campaign to boycott Pakistani products.

Saturday`s blast blew glass blown out of the windows of the Shinozada hospital and a six-storey building opposite. On its website, the Shinozada is described as Afghanistan`s first private hospital.

Reuters

 

[Hindustani78]

NATO troops killed in Afghanistan's Helmand, Taliban grab district | Zee News

Last Updated: Wednesday, August 26, 2015 - 17:41
Lashkar Gah: The Taliban seized a district headquarters in Afghanistan`s Helmand province on Monday despite US air strikes to repel them, and two NATO soldiers were shot dead by uniformed men on an Army base in the area, a stronghold for militants and opium.


The district of Musa Qala fell after the Taliban over-ran police and army posts in an offensive that lasted several days. Three US air strikes on Saturday killed up to 40 militants, but they regrouped and chased government officials out of town.

Elsewhere in Helmand, two men in military uniforms opened fire in the former British base of Camp Bastion, killing two NATO soldiers.

In the first summer fighting season since foreign troops formally stepped back from combat roles in the Afghan war, the Taliban have pushed into a number of districts but have struggled to hold them when the Afghan army counter-attacks.

Musa Qala and neighbouring Nawzad, which recently fell to the Taliban, saw some of the most lethal battles between Taliban insurgents and British and U.S. forces following toppling of the hardline Islamists` five-year rule in 2001.

Nearly 14 years later, the Taliban is still fighting a guerilla war aimed at returning to power.

"We left the district early in the morning because the Taliban were attacking from all sides," district governor Mohammad Sharif told Reuters by telephone.

"We had asked for reinforcements for days but none arrived and this was what happened," he said.

Strong through much of Helmand province, which is the largest producer of Afghanistan`s lucrative opium crop, the Taliban killed more than 400 British soldiers, who led the counterinsurgency there until pulling out last year.

Violence has increased sharply across Afghanistan since foreign forces mostly withdrew in December, leaving a small contingent of about 12,000 NATO troops to train Afghan forces.

The U.S.-led Resolute Support mission issued a statement confirming that two of its soldiers were killed in Helmand.

"Two Resolute Support service members died early this morning, when two individuals wearing Afghan National Defence and Security Forces uniforms opened fire on their vehicle," the alliance said in a statement. The attackers were shot dead.

It was the second incident this year involving Afghan troops, or people wearing Afghan uniforms, shooting at foreign soldiers. No group has claimed the attack.

The statement did not give further information on the exact location of the incident and nationalities of those killed, but most foreign forces operating in Helmand now are American.

A regional official said the incident involved two apparent Afghan special forces firing on their allies at the former Camp Bastion, a major base handed over to Afghan forces last year.

Reuters

 

[Hindustani78]

Two special operations airman died early Wednesday in Afghanistan after being wounded when two men wearing Afghan security forces uniforms opened fire on them Tuesday, according to the 24th Special Operations Wing.

Capt. Matthew D. Roland, 27, and Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley, 31, were wounded while at a vehicle checkpoint at Camp Antonik, a forward operating base in Helmand Province, according to a 24th SOW news release.

“The losses of Matt and Forrest are a terrible blow to everyone who knew them,” Col. Wolfe Davidson, 24th SOW commander, said in a news release. “These two combat controllers were incredible warriors who not only volunteered to join our nation's Special Operations Forces, but earned their way to the tip of the spear in defense of our nation.”

Capt. Matthew D. Roland, left, and Staff Sgt. Forrest B. Sibley died early Wednesday in Afghanistan after being wounded when two men wearing Afghan security forces uniforms opened fire on them Tuesday.(Photo: Air Force)

 

[Hindustani78]

Afghan insurgents kill NATO force member in attack on US base | Zee News

Last Updated: Wednesday, September 23, 2015 - 14:20
Kabul: Afghan militants killed a NATO coalition force member during an attack on the US air base at Bagram, outside Kabul, NATO said in a statement on Wednesday.


The attack on the main military airfield in Afghanistan took place on Tuesday evening and the nationality of the service member could not immediately be released, a NATO official said.

The NATO statement did not identify which militant group was responsible for the attack, though most of the groups active fall under the broad umbrella of the Taliban.

Bagram air base, which is guarded by US Marines and partnered forces, frequently comes under rocket attack from militants.

Fighting in Afghanistan has escalated since most foreign forces withdrew from last year and Afghan forces are bearing the brunt of the conflict.

A Taliban government was ousted by a US-led coalition in 2001 and its militants have been waging an increasingly violent insurgency for over a decade.

On Tuesday alone, at least 25 members of the Afghan Army and police were killed in clashes, an interior ministry report showed.

The NATO coalition has lost nine members of its force this year. Around 13,000 NATO troops are engaged in a new two-year training mission.

In addition, several thousand US military personnel are still engaged in combat duties but details of their operations have not been disclosed.

Reuters

 

[Hindustani78]

A suicide bomber attacked a convoy of foreign troops during the Sunday morning rush hour in the Afghan capital, flipping an armored vehicle on its side and wounding at least three civilians.

Taliban insurgents fighting to topple the foreign-backed Kabul government claimed responsibility for the attack, which followed a series of bombings in the city in August.

TV footage showed an armored vehicle from a British convoy on its side as Afghan security forces cordoned off the street in the Joi Sheer neighborhood.

"It was a suicide bombing against a foreign forces convoy in a crowded part of the city and there are casualties," said Najib Danish, deputy spokesman for the interior ministry.

Danish did not specify whether there were casualties among the foreign forces but an interior ministry statement said three civilians had been wounded.

The U.S.-led Resolute Support military coalition in Kabul confirmed that one of its convoys was struck by a bomb. "No casualties are reported at this time," said spokesman Colonel Brian Tribus.

The Taliban said Sunday's attack killed a number of foreign troops. The group typically inflates casualty figures they inflict on Afghan and coalition forces.

The attack came during a period of heightened tension following intense fighting between government troops and the Taliban around the northern city of Kunduz, which fell briefly to the Islamist movement at the end of last month.

Fighting between government forces and the Taliban continues on the outskirts of Kunduz.

(Reporting by Hamid Shalizi; writing by James Mackenzie; editing by Nick Macfie)

 

[Hindustani78]

British troops among five killed in Kabul chopper crash

Two Britons were among five NATO troops killed in a helicopter crash in Kabul, a second blow for British forces after a Taliban suicide bomber targeted their convoy in the capital.

The incidents came just two weeks after the resurgent militant group overran the key northern city of Kunduz, their biggest military victory in 14 years of war.

The helicopter crashed yesterday while landing at the NATO headquarters in Kabul, the military coalition said, ruling out any insurgent activity behind the incident.

"The (crash) resulted in the death of five Resolute Support (NATO) personnel and the injury of five others," it said in a statement, without revealing their nationalities.

The defence ministry in London confirmed that two British Royal Air Force personnel were among those killed, adding that an investigation had been launched into the crash.

The latest deaths bring to 456 the total number of British forces, personnel and defence ministry civilians killed serving in Afghanistan since it joined the US-led invasion of the country in 2001.

The crash came just hours after a Taliban suicide car bomber struck a British forces convoy in central Kabul, wounding at least three civilians including a child, Afghan officials said. No British casualties were reported.

The British defence ministry confirmed their convoy came under attack and said the explosion was caused by an improvised explosive device.

The rush-hour bombing caused a powerful explosion in the capital, sending plumes of smoke into the sky and littering the area with charred pieces of twisted metal.

The Taliban said yesterday's attack was carried out to avenge the recent "barbaric bombardment in Kunduz that martyred our civilians and doctors".

On October 3 a US air strike pummelled a hospital in Kunduz run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), killing at least 12 staff and 10 patients.

The medical charity shut down the trauma centre in response, branding the incident a "war crime" and demanding an international investigation into the incident, which sparked an avalanche of global condemnation.

The Pentagon announced Saturday it would make compensation payments for those killed or injured in the strike, while suggesting that US forces in Afghanistan could also pay for repairs to the hospital.

But MSF yesterday said it had officially not received any compensation offer, adding that it would not accept funds for repairs in line with its policy of rejecting support from governments.

President Barack Obama has apologised over the strike, with three different investigations -- led by NATO, US forces and Afghan officials -- currently under way

 

[JOEY TRIBIANI]

What the fcuk NATO is still doing in Afghanistan?!?!

Saving Ana's *** .

 

[JOEY TRIBIANI]

Negotiate with taliban or die . two options for afghan government.

 

[JOEY TRIBIANI]

Why dnt they ask india to send some troops there ?

 

[Hindustani78]

Lithuanian army officer injured in helicopter crash in Afghanistan - EN.DELFI

The joint staff of the Lithuanian armed forces has reported that the crash happened at 11.50 AM on Sunday in the territory of the NATO training mission Resolute Support in Kabul. The injured Lithuanian officer, identified as Major P.M., was immediately taken to a military hospital in Bagram. His life is not in danger, a Lithuanian army spokesman, Donatas Suchockis, was quoted by BNS on Monday.

"The helicopter was conducting a flight from the airbase of Kabul International Airport to the mission Resolute Support headquarters," Brigadier General Vilmantas Tamošaitis, chief of the Lithuanian army's joint staff, said on Sunday. "It is a very unexpected and shocking piece of news for us and our colleagues, their relatives. The Lithuanian officer is in treatment in the Bagram military hospital in Afghanistan."

The injured officer's family had been informed, he said. The Ministry of National Defence has reported on Monday that the Lithuanian officer sustained multiple contusions and a shoulder injury, but no life-threatening wounds. More exhaustive data of medical examination will be provided later. Soldiers of the National Support Element reported from the hospital of Bahram where the injured officer is treated that he could speak and suffered no bone fractures.

Chief of the Joint Staff of the Lithuanian Armed Forces Brigadier General Vilmantas Tamošaitis says that the injured Lithuanian, after a thorough medical examination at the hospital of Bahram, most probably will be transferred to Europe for further treatment in a few days. The officer is conscious and can speak. Five people were killed as the Puma Mk2 helicopter crashed, the BBC reports. NATO's Resolute Support mission, which was launched after its combat mission ended, consists of more than 13,000 troops from 42 countries, including 20 from Lithuania.

 

[MEAGAN FOXSS]

GOOD JOB NO PLACE FOR HIDING FOR FOREIGNERS FOREIGNERS NOT BELONG TO AFGHANISTAN WEATHER NATO OR AMERICA :: THANKS

 

[Hindustani78]

The aide-de-camp to the Air Force Academy superintendent was one of two airmen killed Sunday when a British helicopter crashed at Camp Resolute Support in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Maj. Phyllis J. Pelky, 45, was assigned to the Air Force Academy headquarters staff, according to an Academy news release. She was originally from Rio Rancho, New Mexico.

Master Sgt. Gregory T. Kuhse, 38, was also killed. Kuhse, of Kalamazoo, Michigan, was assigned to the 3rd Manpower Requirements Squadron at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois.

Two British troops and a French contractor also died in Sunday’s crash.

Master Sgt. Gregory T. Kuhse, 38, was killed in Sunday's helicopter crash. (Photo: Air Force)

 

[Hindustani78]

The remains of Senior Airman Nathan Sartain are loaded into a hearse at Emerald Coast Funeral Home on Oct. 14, 2015 in Fort Walton Beach, Florida, near Eglin Air Force Base. Sartain was killed when an Air Force military transport plane crashed in eastern Afghanistan on Oct. 2, 2015. Five other airmen and five civilian passengers were also killed. Nick Tomecek/Northwest Florida Daily News via AP