War News for Tuesday, March 04, 2008

Nato is reporting the deaths of two ISAF soldiers in an explosion during a meeting at the Sabari District Center, Sabari District, Afghanistan on Monday, March 3rd. fifteen other soldiers were injured along with an Afghani policeman and four civilians were injured in the attack. We assume these to be American soldiers. The Washington Post reports that a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gates of the building in the Yaqoubi district of Khost province on Monday, causing a guard post to collapse and trapping soldiers inside, officials said.

Reuters is reporting the death of a US service member in a helicopter crash in Northern Iraq on Tuesday, March 4th. Seven other passengers were killed according to the U.S. military. The AP is reporting that the helicopter was carrying six Iraqis and two foreigners.


Security incidents:

Baghdad:
#1: Five U.S. soldiers were wounded in an improvised explosive device attack that targeted their patrol in southern Baghdad on Tuesday, a spokesman for the Multi-National Force (MNF) said. "The IED attack also wounded one civilian who happened to be near the explosion site," Abdul-Latif Rayan said in exclusive statements to Aswat al-Iraq – Voices of Iraq

#2: Around 3 p.m. a roadside bomb targeted civilians in Al Wathiq square causing no casualties.

#3: Another bomb targeted police patrols when they responded to the bombing. Two policemen were injured and one civilian was injured.

#4: Police found two unidentified bodies in Baghdad, one in Saidiyah and one in Sadr City.


Diyala Prv:
#1: A roadside bomb targeted an Iraqi army vehicle in Imam Wais area, killing one soldier and injuring two.

Baquba:
#1: Gunmen killed a civilian as he was leaving his house in Baquba.

Buhruz:
#1: Gunmen wearing Iraqi army uniforms kidnapped a civilian in Buhruz. His dead body was found today.

Muqdadiya:
#1: Diala police forces found 15 bodies in a mass grave in a village in Muqdadiya district, an official security source said on Tuesday. "A mass grave containing 15 corpses in Rukham village in Muqdadiya, northeast of Baaquba, was found by police forces," the source, who requested anonymity, told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq


Basra:
#1: Gunmen killed a police officer from Nassiriyah police and three of his body guards in central


Dour:
#1: Two members affiliated to local anti-Qaida Awakening Council armed groups were killed and three others injured in shootings in Salahudin province on Tuesday, a provincial police source said. The two anti-Qaida fighters were killed Tuesday when unknown gunmen showered their car with bullets while they were driving in the al-Dour town, 15 km east of Tikrit, the capital of the province, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.


Yathrib:
#1: In a separate incident, three more anti-Qaida fighters were wounded when another armed group attacked their checkpoint on Monday night in the town of Yathrib, 70 km north of Baghdad, the source said.


Al Hassan:
#1: Gunmen killed two civilians in Al Hassan village; the deceased were relatives of a leader of an awakening council.


Sharqat:
#1: An Iraqi army helicopter with two officers on board went missing north of Baghdad early Tuesday during bad weather, security officials told CNN. Authorities lost contact with the helicopter around 3 a.m. while it was on a security mission in Salaheddin province. The United States and Iraq have launched a joint search operation, the officials said. Witnesses said U.S. and Iraqi troops are going house to house in the town of Sharqat and neighboring areas, asking residents if they know of a helicopter making an emergency landing.

An Iraqi transport helicopter disappeared in northern Iraq after it was caught in a dust storm, Iraqi military officials said on Tuesday.

An Iraqi air force helicopter missing in northern Iraq has been found crashed in northern Iraq with all eight personnel on board killed, the U.S. military said on Tuesday. One U.S. service member was among those on board, it said in a statement

The ministry did not say how many people were on board, but an Iraqi air force official said eight were killed, including six Iraqis and two foreigners. The official, who did not elaborate, spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.


Mosul:
#1: Gunmen shot dead a policeman near his house in western Mosul, police said.

#2: At least five people were wounded, including three policemen, when a roadside bomb detonated near their patrol in eastern Mosul, said Brigadier-General Khalid Abdul-Sattar, Iraqi security spokesman in Nineveh province.

#3: Three policemen were killed in a roadside bomb explosion in Mosul on Tuesday, a Ninewa security spokesman said. An improvised explosive device (IED) went off next to a passing police patrol in al-Jammal neighborhood, east Mosul, leaving three policemen and two civilians wounded," Brig Khalid Abdel Sattar, spokesman for Ninewa operation's command, said.

#4: Meanwhile, the security official noted "an IED blew up targeting a U.S. troop patrol in Suq al-Maash neighborhood, west Mosul, causing no casualties to either military forces or civilians."

#5: A police force found two corpses dumped in Mosul on Tuesday, a security source said.

#6: Security forces on Tuesday killed a suicide bomber driving a car bomb targeting a checkpoint in western Mosul, the spokesman for the Ninewa operations command said."Police and army forces killed a suicide bomber driving a car rigged with explosives towards a checkpoint in al-Thawra neighborhood in western Mosul," Brig. Khaled Abdul Sattar told Aswat al-Iraq - Voices of Iraq



Afghanistan:
#1: A suicide attack on a government office guarded by Afghan and NATO troops in eastern Afghanistan left two alliance soldiers dead and four more wounded, a U.S. military spokesman said Tuesday. The bomber rammed an explosives-laden car into the gates of the building in the Yaqoubi district of Khost province on Monday, causing a guard post to collapse and trapping soldiers inside, officials said. The explosion also killed two Afghan civilians and wounded three Afghan policemen, said provincial police chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub.

#2: A suicide car bomber attacked a government building Tuesday in eastern Afghanistan, killing a policeman. The car bomber tried to hit a government building in the Tani district of eastern Khost province, but Afghan guards opened fire toward the car, said Khost Gov. Arsallah Jamal.A policeman was killed and five other people, including an Afghan soldier, were wounded in the explosion that followed, said district police chief Guldat Hamim.


On the home front:

#1: A soldier killed two other soldiers -- including a New Hampshire native -- and poured acid on their bodies in an attempt to dispose of them, a prosecutor said Monday.
more stories like this. Spc. Ivette Gonzalez Davila, 22, of Bakersfield, Calif., was ordered held without bond for investigation of aggravated first-degree murder as well as kidnapping. She was accused of taking the married couple's 6-month-old girl. The victims were identified as Timothy Miller, 27, originally of Nevada, and Randi Miller, 25, of Laconia, N.H. Timothy Miller was apparently shot in a bathtub at the couple's suburban Parkland home, while Randi Miller was shot on a bed and then moved to the bathtub, police said in court documents.

#2: Some Arkansas National Guard members were injured when a severe thunderstorm struck Camp Shelby, Mississippi. The guard members are training at the facility in preparation for deployment to Iraq.High winds and a possible tornado damaged a barracks building at Camp Shelby. Fourteen guard members suffered minor injuries. All were treated and released from local hospitals.

#3: The American army is investigating shocking footage of a grinning Marine throwing a yelping puppy into a gully in Iraq.



Casualty Reports:

Staff Sgt. Scott Adams Last January, on that sixth tour, Adams was on patrol near Baghdad when a bomb ripped through the vehicle he was in. In the moments after the Humvee caught on fire. "That didn't work for me because I was doused in diesel (fuel), and the white phosphorus was on there, plus all the uneven gear that was on there," Adams said in an interview from his temporary home in San Antonio. "One of the soldiers tackled me and put me out with a fire extinguisher." The last thing Adams remembers was the nurse and doctor arguing over taking his temperature. "And I don't remember anything from that point until the end of February, because I was in a coma," said Adams. When Adams woke up, he was burned over 47 percent of his body. His back was broken in eight places. A blood clot ran the entire length of one leg, and that's just the start. Adams developed sleep apnea, can't remember things, and has post-traumatic stress disorder. And his arms were so limited, he couldn't feed himself without extra-long utensils.