Afghanistan Update, end of November 2008
Lt. Col. David Dressel, a pilot with the 75th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron, poses in front of an A-10 Thunderbolt II at Bagram Air Field, Afghanistan. Dressel, a native of Watertown, Minn., has flown more than 3,000 hours in the A-10 and is on track to reach 500 combat hours during his current deployment.
Photo by: 455th Air Expeditionary Wing
According to a Department of Defense press release, a coalition-forces vehicle and a van carrying Afghan civilians were involved in a traffic accident on Highway 1 in the capital city of Kabul on Friday, November 28, 2008.
Both of the vehicles were traveling east when the van attempted to move into the left lane of traffic. It struck the side of the coalition vehicle. The coalition vehicle’s driver was unable to swerve to avoid the van, the press release said, because of a median separating the east-bound and west-bound lanes of traffic. The Afghan van skidded off the highway and struck a roadside shop.
The release didn’t say whether or not coalition forces or Afghan civilians had been injured or killed as a result of the accident which was reported to the Afghan National Police. The incident is still currently under investigation.
“We regret this incident and express our condolences to the families and people involved,†said Army Col. Jerry O’Hara, U.S. Forces Afghanistan spokesman.
On Thursday, November 26, 2008, Afghan and coalition forces killed seven militants and uncovered three caches of drugs and improvised explosive device-making (IED) materials during a clearing operation in Nahr Surkh district, Helmand province.
On Wednesday, November 27, 2008, Coalition forces killed 15 militants and detained six suspected militants during an early-morning raid in Anizai, part of Zhari district in Kandahar province.
Afghan and coalition forces detained seven suspected militants during a combined operation aimed at disrupting the Haqqani terrorist network in Khost province.
US Forces Provide Medical Aid to Afghan Woman and her Baby
Also in Kabul, Afghanistan, coalition forces helped an Afghan woman and her seven-month-old son. The two, who were severely injured by militants during an operation in Kapisa on November 20, were released from a Coalition forces hospital in Bagram earlier this week.
The Afghan woman and child, believed to have lived with the militants, were hurt when one of the terrorists detonated a grenade inside their military compound. Coalition forces tried to provide medical care on the scene, but their injuries were so bad that they were evacuated to a military hospital in Bagram for further treatment.
They both sustained head trauma and fragmentation injuries from the grenade blast. Coalition forces’ doctors provided medical care and helped nurse them back to health. Coalition forces also arranged for the woman’s brother and mother to join her and her son on the military base, staying with them throughout their care.
“These militants continue to show a blatant disregard for the lives of Afghan citizens,” said Col. Jerry O’Hara, a Coalition spokesperson. “This woman and her child are another example of the indiscriminate pain these militants bring to the Afghan people.”
Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire and killed four armed militants. A search of the compound revealed multiple AK-47s, grenades and other military equipment. Coalition forces destroyed it to prevent future use. In total, the operation resulted in three suspected militants being detained.
“These militants continue to put innocent civilians in harm’s way by hiding amongst them and using them as human shields,” said O’Hara. “Afghan and Coalition forces remain committed to removing those networks that threaten the sovereign Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.”
November 28, 2008 Iraq
Last Friday, President George W. Bush and other senior U.S. officials hailed the new U.S.-Iraq security pact
“Two years ago, this day seemed unlikely – but the success of the surge and the courage of the Iraqi people set the conditions for these two agreements to be negotiated and approved by the Iraqi parliament,” Bush said in the statement. “The improved conditions on the ground and the parliamentary approval of these two agreements serve as a testament to the Iraqi, Coalition, and American men and women, both military and civilian, who paved the way for this day.”
“As the two agreements move to Iraq’s Presidency Council for final approval,” Bush said in the statement, “we congratulate the members of the Council of Representatives for coming together to approve these historic agreements that will serve the shared and enduring interests of both our countries and the region.”
The 30-article status-of-forces agreement, known by the acronym, SOFA, acknowledges that the U.S. troop presence in Iraq is temporary and at the request of the sovereign Iraqi government. Article 24 of the SOFA requires U.S. forces to withdraw from all Iraqi territory no later than Dec. 31, 2011. U.S. combat forces in Iraq also are required to withdraw from Iraqi cities, villages and localities no later than June 30, 2009.
This is Sgt Stryker Signing out.