THE FORGOTTEN WARS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN

IRAQ

News

10/23/12 BBC: Eight killed in attacks on Baghdad Shia districts At least eight people have been killed in car bomb and mortar attacks in predominantly Shia districts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, officials say. Most of the deaths occurred in Shula, in the city's north-west, where at least one car bomb exploded. One report spoke of three simultaneous blasts.

10/21/12 CNN: Twin blasts kill 11 in Iraq Twin roadside bombs exploded in an outdoor market in northwestern Baghdad Saturday, raising fears that a recent surge in violence is not over. The attack on the Bab al-Darwaza market in the Shiite neighborhood of Kadhimiya killed at least 11 people dead, Baghdad police officials said.

10/21/12 independent: Iraq records huge rise in birth defects It played unwilling host to one of the bloodiest battles of the Iraq war. Fallujah's homes and businesses were left shattered; hundreds of Iraqi civilians were killed. Its residents changed the name of their "City of Mosques" to "the polluted city" after the United States launched two massive military campaigns eight years ago. Now, one month before the World Health Organisation reveals its view on the legacy of the two battles for the town, a new study reports a "staggering rise" in birth defects among Iraqi children conceived in the aftermath of the war.

AFGHANISTAN

News

10/27/12 DoD: Army Casualty Identified (2 of 2) Staff Sgt. Kashif M. Memon, 31, of Houston, Texas. He was assigned to the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne), 95th Civil Affairs Brigade (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C...died of wounds suffered Oct. 25 when their unit was attacked by small arms fire in Khas Uruzgan, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan

10/27/12 DoD: Army Casualty Identified (1 of 2) Sgt. Clinton K. Ruiz, 22, of Murrieta, Calif. He was assigned to the 9th Military Information Support Battalion (Airborne), 8th Military Information Support Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C. ...died of wounds suffered Oct. 25 when their unit was attacked by small arms fire in Khas Uruzgan, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan

10/27/12 KP: 6 Afghan civilians shot dead on Kabul-Kandahar highway According to local authorities in eastern Ghazni province of Afghanistan, Afghan police forces discovered bodies of 6 Afghan civilians who were shot dead on Kabul-Kandahar highway. Gen. Mohammad Hussain provincial security chief for eastern Ghazni province said the individuals were killed on Friday in Kabul-Kandahar highway.

10/27/12 KP: British troops deaths in Afghanistan ‘not due to friendly fire’ An initial review into the deaths of a Royal Marine and an army medic in Afghanistan has revealed the killings were not caused by “friendly fire”, the Ministry of Defence has said. Corporal Channing Day, 25, who served with the 3 Medical Regiment, and Corporal David O’Connor, 27, of 40 Commando, were fatally injured while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province on Wednesday.

10/27/12 WaPo: As US and allies shift away from Afghan combat, some see stalemate even as Taliban weaken A new chapter of the Afghanistan war is opening with a slimmed-down Western force doing more advising than fighting, a resilient Taliban showing little interest in peace talks, and Americans tempted to pull the plug on a conflict now in its 12th year.

10/26/12 NATO: ISAF casualty KABUL, Afghanistan (Oct. 25, 2012) — An International Security Assistance Force service member died following an insurgent attack in western Afghanistan today.

10/26/12 LATimes: 'The Black Tulip' shows Afghanistan's triumphs, tragedies Made under challenging circumstances, "The Black Tulip" is an earnest melodrama about Afghanistan's tumultuous recent past, told through the triumphs and ordeals of a progressive Kabul family.

10/26/12 AP: Suicide bomber at Afghanistan mosque kills 36 A suicide bomber blew himself up outside a mosque in northern Afghanistan on Friday, killing 36 people and wounding 23, officials said. The attack in the town of Maymana, capital of northern Faryab province, came as people were gathering at the mosque to celebrate the Eid al-Adha holiday.

10/25/12 NYTimes: Four International Service Members Killed in Afghan Attacks Two attacks in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday and Thursday killed four international service members, and in both cases there are continuing investigations into whether they were insider attacks, with members of the Afghan security forces responsible, officials said.

10/25/12 NATO: U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Casualties KABUL, Afghanistan (Oct. 25, 2012) — Two U.S. Forces-Afghanistan service members died after an individual wearing an Afghan National Police uniform turned his weapon against them in Khas Uruzgan, Uruzgan.

10/25/12 independent: US soldier stationed in Afghanistan 'watched wife have sex with 15-year-old girl on webcam' A US Army soldier serving in Afghanistan who allegedly watched his wife have sex with a 15-year-old girl over Skype, has been charged with child sex abuse.

10/25/12 MoD: Corporal David O’Connor and Corporal Channing Day killed in Afghanistan the Ministry of Defence must confirm the deaths of Corporal David O’Connor from 40 Commando Royal Marines and Corporal Channing Day from 3 Medical Regiment on Wednesday 24 October 2012 while on patrol in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand Province. Corporal O’Connor and Corporal Day were participating in a patrol with C Company, 40 Commando to conduct low level training with the Afghan Local Police. While en route to conduct that training, the patrol came under small arms fire near the village of Char Kutsa. As a result of the engagement Corporal O’Connor was fatally injured alongside his colleague and patrol medic, Corporal Day.