A Battlefield Tourist

This Week in Afghanistan: January 20th – 26th

Jan 21 at 11:11pm by David Tate

January 20th

A British soldier is killed and five others wounded when their vehicles are hit by an IED northeast of Musa Qala, Helmand Province.

A government official in charge of Zabul Province’s Commision for National Reconciliation is executed.  Qayyum Mujadeddi was shot dead after his vehicle was pulled over outside the provincial capital of Qalat.  Mujadeddi’s driver and a guard were also kidnapped.

Seven Taliban fighters are killed in Musa Qala District, Helmand Province; an eigth insurgent is killed in neighboring Zabul Province.

A suicide bomber is shot and killed in Gurbaz district, Khowst Province, after approaching a police station.

Afghan National Army soldiers call in an airstrike on a man preparing a roadside bomb along a major highway in Nar-e Saraj District Helmand Province.  A few miles north of this incident, ANA soldiers call in an airstrike on a Taliban observation post.  A subsequent security patrol of the nearby town of Tambash turned up a cache of IED-making material, including a 105mm shell.  Tambash is considered by the coalition to be an insurgent center of activity.

Six Taliban fighters, including two leaders, are killed by Afghan Security Forces in Jalai district, Kandahar Province.  Several others are arrested.

The Afghan National Army will now eventually be 86,000 strong, 16,000 more than the original 2001 Bonn Agreement calls for.

January 21st

The United Nations Mine Action Center for Afghanistan reports a total of 143 people were killed and 438 injured across Afghanistan by unexploded and abandoned ordinance in 2007.  To underscore the issue, a Soviet-era mine was found next to an elementary school in Paktia Province.  The mine, which was safely removed, was 2-feet below the surface.  Locals say the area has been cleared of mines five times since the end of the Soviet occupation.

One man is killed and four others wounded when their civilian vehicle is hit by a roadside bomb in Khowst Province.

Seven men, including one admitted insurgent, are detained after an operation in Qalat district, Zabul Province.

Jan. 22nd

The deathtoll attributed to the harsh Afghan winter tops 300.  Provinces in the west and central Afghanistan are hit hardest.

Coalition forces, aiding Afghan Security Forces, capture nine suspected terrorists and kill one in Musa Qala district, Helmand Province.

A suicide bomber preparing for an attack in Khowst Provinice, stumbles down some stairs and explodes, killing himself and wounding three others.  It’s the second such mishap to be reported in as many days.

Jan. 23rd

One Canadian is killed an two others wounded when the armored vehicle they were in is hit by an IED in Panjwai district, Kandahar Province.

Nine suspected Taliban are captured and several others killed after coalition forces are attacked in Ghazni Province.

Jan. 24th

US forces reportedly kill as many as 10 Afghan police and two civilians during an operation in Ghazni Province.

The Canadian military has stopped transferring prisoners to Afghan custody because of concerns regarding the violation of the Geneva Convention.  The new procedure began in October 2007.

 Jan. 25th

An American Special Forces soldier is killed and three others, plus an interpreter, are wounded during a firefight in Barikowt, Nari district, Kunar Province.

Four Afghan National Army soldiers are killed when an IED hits their vehicle while patrolling in Khowst Province.

A cache of 130 mines found in Anardara district, Farah Province may have come from Iran.  The explosives were found in the home of a known Taliban commander and include 40 “sophisticated” remote contolled mines.

Jan. 26th

Top ten most wanted terrorist in Afghanistan, Darim Sedgai, is confirmed killed in a January 16th ambush in Pakistan.  Sedgai, who had a $50,000 bounty on his head, is the third Haqqanni network leader killed in recent months.

A burka-clad American woman is kidnapped in Kandahar City.   The 49-year old aid worker is employed by the Asian Rural Life Development Foundation.

A US paratrooper is killed in Waygal district, Nuristan Province.  The shooting may be a case of friendly fire.

2 Afghan police are killed and another eight wounded when their patrol is hit by an IED in Panjway district, Kandahar Province.