Re-enlistment in Kabul
Sgt. 1st Class Phillip Wire of Oglesby, Ill., stands atop Ghar Mountain at Kabul Military Training Center, Kabul, Afghanistan. Wire, a member of Delta Security Force, Based at Camp Phoenix in Kabul along with several members of his unit and other Soldiers, he made the early morning climb for the re-enlistment of four of his fellow Soldiers.
Photo by Sgt. James Sims
Iraq and Afghanistan Updates
Sgt. Stryker here with another update on the military doing great things around the world. From stopping the bad guys and denying them their weapons to rebuilding businesses and industries, the US military and coalition forces are working together to get the job done. That’s to be applauded.
Over the past four days Iraqi and U.S. forces thwarted a convoy attack, detained suspected criminals and seized weapons, according to Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.
February 15, 2009 in Iraq:
Iraqi security forces and U.S. soldiers captured a suspected criminal as he was about to attack a convoy February 15, 2009 in northwestern Baghdad’s Mansour district. U.S. soldiers engaged a suspected criminal approaching the convoy with small-arms fire. The individual was carrying two handheld, shaped-charge grenades. When wounded, the man dropped an already armed grenade, causing it to detonate.
Iraqi and U.S. forces apprehended the alleged criminal and safely recovered the other grenade, as well as a fragmentation grenade. U.S. soldiers treated and transported the suspect to a coalition medical facility for numerous injuries suffered in the ensuing blast. No other injuries or damage were reported.
In other Baghdad operations over the last few days:
An Iraqi army patrol southwest of the capital city discovered a cache containing 4 tons of homemade explosives. U.S. soldiers assisted the Iraqi soldiers with securing the cache.
Iraqi security forces, assisted by U.S. soldiers, secured a weapons cache while conducting combat operations in the New Baghdad district yesterday. Acting on a tip, national police discovered 47 120 mm mortar rounds.
Iraqi and U.S. soldiers on a joint patrol discovered an improvised explosive device yesterday in the Mansour district. An explosive ordnance disposal team responded to the site and used an EOD robot to investigate the IED. EOD technicians determined the device a hazard to move, and they destroyed it on site.
Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, Coalition and Afghan forces have killed 16 insurgents in western Afghanistan in recent days, including at least three Taliban commanders, according to U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases.
A coalition forces precision strike on February 17, 2009, killed a militant commander affiliated with the Hezb-e-Islam Gulbuddin organization and other Taliban commanders near Gozara district in Herat province. Coalition forces learned that a key militant commander and a group of militants were in the vicinity of Gozara district, east of Herat. Once their exact location was confirmed, coalition forces engaged the hideout with a precision strike, destroying two vehicles and killing the militants inside their compound.
The militant commander was believed to be responsible for increasing violence in Herat over recent months, including attacks against a United Nations Assistance Mission compound and attacks against the Herat City Airport, both in May.
Also on February 17, 2009, Afghan National Army commandos, assisted by coalition forces, killed five insurgents while searching the compound of a suspected weapons facilitator in the Qala Ga district of Farah province, east of the Iranian border. The five insurgents were killed in three separate buildings within the compound after attacking the combined forces with small-arms fire as troops searched the area.
The commandos discovered a large quantity of weapons, ammunition and other military equipment during the search including 45 AK-47 assault rifles, two machine guns, two rocket-propelled-grenade launchers, four rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, 10,000 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, two grenades, a mortar sight, a set of commercial-grade night-vision goggles and 12 sets of body armor. The search also yielded 150 pounds of opium.
The Afghan soldiers protected 29 men, 35 women and 41 children during the operation. No military or civilian casualties were reported.
In other recent Afghanistan operations:
Coalition forces used a precision air strike in Badghis province near the Turkmenistan border yesterday, killing the Taliban leader of the province and eight of his associates. Coalition forces learned through intelligence sources that Mullah Dastighir and a group of associates were in the Darya-ye-Morghab village. Forces engaged the target compound with a precision air strike, destroying a building and killing the militants inside. Dastighir was believed to be responsible for increasing violence in Badghis in recent months, including attacks against coalition and Afghan security forces and a November attack on an Afghan National Army convoy that killed 13 soldiers.
Afghan National Police and coalition forces detained a suspected roadside bomb facilitator Feb. 15 while searching a compound in the Gereshk district of Helmand province. The man is suspected of distributing bomb-making materials to insurgent commanders throughout the Gereshk district and surrounding areas.
Afghan National Army and coalition forces conducted an early morning search Feb. 15 of a suspected insurgent compound near the Khak-e-Safid village in Farah province, which resulted in the killing of a Taliban commander. When combined forces entered the compound, the man had an AK-47 assault rifle aimed at them. Coalition forces fired on the subject in self-defense, killing him. Afghan and coalition forces identified the militant as a known senior Taliban commander and weapons facilitator within Farah province. No military or civilian casualties were reported during this operation.
This is Sgt. Stryker signing out.