World News @ Anderson Free Press
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Coalition and Afghan forces killed 14 militants and captured weapons caches during operations in Afghanistan over the past several days, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed five armed Taliban militants during an operation in Ghazni province's Andar district yesterday. The operation targeted a Taliban militant involved in terrorist activities intended to destabilize the region. The armed militants failed to follow coalition forces' commands to cease their hostile actions. Coalition forces engaged the militants, killing them.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Coalition officials denounced the "barbaric" and "cowardly" acts of terrorists who killed more than a dozen Iraqis and injured scores of others with bombings in Iraq over the past several days. In southern Baghdad on Oct. 12, five Iraqis were killed and 12 were injured by an explosion. An explosive ordnance detachment is investigating the scene to gather more information.
By Kristen Noel
Special to American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC – Despite transitioning Anbar province to Iraqi control last month, it's still too soon for U.S. troops to withdraw from the region, the commander of Multinational Force West said last week.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press ServiceABOARD A MILITARY AIRCRAFT – While the alliance's transformation is the scheduled topic of discussion at a NATO defense ministerial conference this week in Budapest, Hungary, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said today that Afghanistan and Russia also will be high on the agenda.
Vocie of AmericaNEW DELHI, INDIA - Officials say a suicide bomber triggered a blast Monday morning at the opening ceremony of an office of the main opposition party (United National Party) in the northern town, Anuradhapura.
Voice of AmericaWASHINGTON, DC - U.S. stocks opened sharply lower, mirroring losses in Europe, Asia, and much of the developing world. In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial average crossed below an important psychological floor, the 10,000 mark, for the first time since October, 2004. The Dow was more than four percent lower in early trading. It has lost about a quarter of its value this year.
Voice of AmericaBANGKOK, CHINA - Nervous investors fled markets Monday in Asia. Hong Kong's key Hang Seng Index closed down five percent while Tokyo's benchmark Nikkei 225 index fell to its lowest closing level since February 2004 at 10,473 points. Indonesia's stock market plunged 10 percent, the steepest single day decline on record.
By Army Sgt. David Hodge
Special to American Forces Press ServiceFORWARD OPERATING BASE FALCON, IRAQ – Two Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers streamlined the voting process for hundreds of servicemembers and civilians here Oct. 3-5. Army Sgts. Asa Rubman and Rachel Littenberg, paralegal specialists assigned to the 4th Infantry Division's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, said they noticed some apathy among soldiers toward voting in the November general elections and decided to spearhead a voting drive.
By Army 2nd Lt. Gordon Bostick
Special to American Forces Press Service
JAMILLA, IRAQ – Iraqi children in Baghdad's Sadr City district are preparing to start the school year in safer, refurbished facilities, thanks to the work of U.S. soldiers here.By Fred W. Baker III
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC – Violent attacks in northern Iraq have dropped by 60 percent in the past year, and progress in the region has left the insurgency broken, a senior commander in the area said today.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – A terrorist detonated a suicide vest Oct. 5 in Mosul as coalition forces were trying to capture a wanted man. Coaliton forces entered a building looking for the man and were shot at by enemy fighters. One man in the building detonated the vest he was wearing.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – Coalition forces killed five enemy fighters in operations Oct. 3, targeting al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorist networks in eastern Afghanistan. Coalition forces targeted a Taliban sub-commander in Andar district who is known to plan and coordinate bombing attacks in Ghazni province. He is also wanted for helping move foreign fighters into Afghanistan.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – On Thursday, October 2, 2008, coalition forces captured five suspected Iranian-backed illegal militia members during an operation in Baghdad's Rusafa neighborhood, military officials reported.
Based on intelligence information, coalition forces targeted a suspected senior leader believed to be involved in smuggling Iranian-supplied lethal aid into Iraq. He is believed to be a key facilitator in planning and conducting attacks on Iraqi and coalition forces, officials said.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC – An Afghan civilian was killed and four were wounded on the morning of October 3, 2008, when militants attacked a village in eastern Afghanistan where coalition and Afghan troops were on patrol, military officials reported.
The firefight started when militants engaged the joint forces with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Matin, a village in the Pech district of Konar province, officials said.
By Navy Seaman William Selby
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC - With terrorists on the run and violence down, coalition forces are now also able to concentrate on areas other than the battlefield, thanks to the improvement of the Iraqi security forces, a military official said yesterday.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
FORT LESLEY J. McNAIR, D.C. – Until Iran decides to change its approach to the world, the United States shouldn't reach out to the nation, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said on Monday, September 29, 2008.Gates discussed the recent history of U.S.-Iranian relations in answer to a question posed by a student at the National Defense University.
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC - Sept. 26, 2008 – Things are looking up in Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, a region that has been declared poppy-free and experiences little insurgent-generated violence, senior U.S. officials posted in Afghanistan told Pentagon reporters today.
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC (Sept. 24, 2008) – The partnership between the coalition and the Iraqi government has been enormously productive and is continuing to pay dividends, Brig. Gen. David Perkins, a coalition spokesman in Baghdad, said. Perkins and Iraqi Army Maj. Gen. Qasim Atta spoke about a range of subjects during a news conference today.
By Navy Seaman William Selby
Special to American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC – A team of 170 U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines have been tasked with recruiting, training and equipping the Afghan National Army Air Corps.
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON,DC - Amid an 80-percent drop in violence and with further withdrawals of U.S. forces in sight, the coalition in Iraq has reached the "endgame," Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said here today.
Voice of AmericaWHITE HOUSE - The president and Mrs. Bush met with pro-democracy and human rights activists while in New York for the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. Speaking to reporters after their meeting, President Bush said he assured those activists that the U.S. government believes in the universality of freedom and America has an obligation to help others realize the blessings of liberty.
United NationsU.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the meeting warning that the world faces multiple crises and urged the international community to take a united approach in resolving them.
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press ServiceWASHINGTON, DC - The Pakistani government is looking at a proposal by Afghanistan to create a joint force tasked with combating insurgents along their shared border, the Afghan defense minister said today.
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, DC - Coalition forces today killed a terrorist insurgent suspected of leading al-Qaida in Iraq bomb attacks throughout the Tigris River Valley, according to military reports. The wanted man was among seven killed in operations in the Tikrit area, military officials said.
By Army Maj. Lorraine Januzelli
Special to American Forces Press ServiceBAGHDAD, IRAQ – Multinational Division Baghdad calls them "Sons of Iraq." Their countrymen call them the "Volunteers." Both are fitting namesakes for the 28,000 Baghdad residents who formed citizen militias last year, in coordination with the Iraqi security forces and Multinational Division Baghdad, to protect their communities against al-Qaida in Iraq and other violent extremists.
