02 Apr
United States Wars, News and Casualties
The War Criminals
How many Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion 15 years ago? Some credible estimates put the number at more than one million. You can read that sentence again.
The invasion of Iraq is often spoken of in our country as a “blunder,” or even a “colossal mistake.” It was a crime.
Those who perpetrated it are still at large. Some of them have even been rehabilitated thanks to the horrors of a mostly amnesiac citizenry. (A year ago Mr. Bush was on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show,” dancing and talking about his paintings.)
The war criminals, Bush,Cheney,Rice,Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, and Powell who sold us the war still go on doing what they do.
Iraq is now far worse than it was during Saddam’s reign. And that is what America’s war achieved and bequeathed to Iraqis.
We condemned children to death, some after many days of writhing in pain on bloodstained mats, without pain relievers. Some died quickly, wasted by missing arms and legs, crushed heads. As the fluids ran out of their bodies, they appeared like withered, spoiled fruits. They could have lived, certainly should have lived – and laughed and danced, and run and played- but instead they were brutally murdered. Yes, murdered!
The war ended for those children, but it has never ended for survivors who carry memories of them. Likewise, the effects of the U.S. bombings continue, immeasurably and indefensibly.
The McGlynn
War News
DAMASCUS (Reuters) – Amira Gharmoush’s family has been a victim of both sides of the war for the eastern Ghouta region near Damascus. The 67-year-old Syrian mother of nine is now hoping to piece back together what’s left of it.
Amira Gharmoush sits with her grandchildren outside a tent in Herjelleh shelter in Damascus countryside, Syria March 30, 2018. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki
She fled eastern Ghouta four years ago when, she said, one of her three daughters was killed by insurgents in the area, the last major rebel stronghold near Damascus until the Syrian government launched a ferocious campaign to recapture it.
Two her six sons accompanied her on her journey out of eastern Ghouta at the time. They were detained by the Syrian government and she has not heard from them since.
The other four sons stayed inside eastern Ghouta, separated from their mother by the frontlines of a war that has broken up countless families and killed hundreds of thousands of people over the last seven years.
As the frontlines shifted in recent weeks, Gharmoush was reunited with two more of her sons. They fled eastern Ghouta two weeks ago as the government offensive pushed closer to their homes, uprooting them and many thousands more………………..“My hope is that my sons who are in Ghouta get out, and that the ones who are detainees get out, and to bring my children together so we all live together,” said Gharmoush.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says more than 1,600 civilians have been killed in the government bombardment of the area, which has been besieged for years.
More than 140,000 people have been displaced from eastern Ghouta since the offensive got underway in February, according to figures cited by the Russian military and the Observatory.
Few American reporters have spent more time reporting from Iraq in the last 15 years than Alissa J. Rubin, who served as both a correspondent and the Baghdad bureau chief for The New York Times at the height of the conflict. Rubin returned to Iraq in 2014 to cover the rise of the Islamic State and was severely injured in a helicopter crash on Mount Sinjar while reporting on targeted attacks against the Yazidi population. She once again returned to the region in January 2018 for a coming article in The Times Magazine. On a drive to the Iraq-Syria border during her last trip, Rubin found that competing military and militia groups had set up checkpoints everywhere, making travel increasingly difficult. The following is an account of the nine hours it took her and her companions to drive 130 miles through more than 26 checkpoints.
LONDON (Reuters) – A British soldier killed by a roadside bomb in Syria was named as Sergeant Matt Tonroe of the Parachute Regiment, Britain’s defense ministry said.
He was the first British soldier to be killed in Syria fighting Islamic State militants.
“Tonroe, from the 3st Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, was tragically killed in action whilst on duty in the Middle East on the 29th March 2018,” the ministry said in a statement.
The 33-year-old had been attached to U.S. forces in an operation against Islamic State. A U.S. soldier was killed alongside him by the improvised bomb.
HODEIDAH, Yemen (Reuters) – An air strike by the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen killed 12 civilians, including seven children, in the costal city of Hodeidah on Monday, medics and a witness said.
Medics and a witness who saw the wreckage said the air strike had destroyed a house in al-Hali district, where displaced civilians from other provinces were settled.
The 12 victims were all from the same family, they said.
A spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition told Reuters: “We take this report very seriously and it will be fully investigated as all reports of this nature are – using an internationally approved, independent process. Whilst this is ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment further.”
Hodeidah is home to the impoverished country’s biggest port from where most of the humanitarian aid reaches millions of civilians on the brink of famine. The operation of port, controlled by the Iran-aligned Houthis, was not affected by the air strike.
Russia-brokered deal would pave way for government forces to retake rest of Syrian enclave
The key rebel group in the last significant centre of resistance in the besieged Syrian enclave of eastern Ghouta has reportedly struck a deal for fighters and civilians to leave, in what would be a major victory for Bashar al-Assad.
According to media and sources allied with the Assad regime, a deal brokered by Russia – Assad’s main supporter – will allow fighters from Jaish al-Islam to leave the town of Douma, paving the way for government forces to retake the rest of the one-time rebel enclave on the outskirts of the Syrian capital.
There was no immediate confirmation from the rebels, but the pro-regime newspaper al-Watan, quoting “diplomatic sources”, said that under the agreement the fighters would give up heavy weapons and leave Douma for northern Syria.
A media unit run by Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that has been fighting with the Syrian government, said a Syrian government-approved local council would run the city’s affairs after rebels withdraw.
If confirmed, the deal would mark the culmination of stop-start negotiations over the town as Jaish al-Islam has reiterated its refusal to surrender
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Iraqi Special Forces carried out on Sunday an unexpected military operation in Anbar province, managing to kill 10 Islamic State (IS) militants, including a senior leader, who is code-named as the IS slaughterer, intelligence sources were quoted as saying.
The sources said, in statements to Shafaq News, that the troops launched the operation after receiving information about a plot by IS militants to target security forces in Anbar desert.
“Immediately, the troops geared up to hunt for IS plotters, who took the Anbar desert as a shelter, managing to kill 10 of them,” the sources pointed out, noting that among those killed in the operation is “Abu Taha al Tunsi, also known as the IS slaughterer, and nine of his companions.”
According to the sources, the troops also found a secret tunnel that was used by IS militant in Anbar desert.
Anbar (Iraqinews.com) – Three civilians were killed and injured Monday in a bomb blast in Anbar province, a security source with Anbar police was quoted as saying.
Speaking to Basnews website, the source said, “A bomb believed to be left by Islamic State militants went off in al-Tin district in al-Qa’im, west of Anbar, leaving one person dead and two others injured.”
“Security forces combed the blast site in search of other explosives,” the source pointed out.
He noted that the dead body was moved to the forensic medicine department, while the injured were carried to hospital for treatment.
Violence in the country has surged further with the emergence of Islamic State extremist militants who proclaimed an “Islamic Caliphate” in Iraq and Syria in 2014.
The surge in violence between armed groups and government forces has resulted in over 3 million internally displaced persons across Iraq and left more than 11 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
Baghdad (Iraqinews.com) – A security expert has warned that about 95 percent of Islamic State (IS) leaders are still hiding in different areas inside and outside Iraq, urging Iraqi authorities to act immediately to capture them as soon as possible.
“The most prominent IS leaders are funding terrorist activities of the group from outside Iraq,” expert Fadel Abu Reghif told the London-based Asharq Al-Awsat, adding that Iraqi authorities must act immediately to arrest them and bring them to trial for their crimes.
Commenting on reports about the capture of the Islamic State’s so-called slaughter Abu Taha al Tunisi and nine of his companions in a security crackdown in Anbar province Sunday, Abu Reghif said, “Nobody can ignore the fact that 95 percent of IS leaders did not fight, but they preferred to escape and hide in different areas inside and outside Iraq.”
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — An Afghan official says at least 48 schoolgirls have been sickened at a high school in southern Helmand province in what authorities suspect is a case of group poisoning.
Dr Nisar Ahmad Barak says the girls were admitted on Monday at his hospital in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital, with headache and vomiting but that they are all now in stable condition and receiving treatment.
He didn’t have any other details and could not speculate on what type of poisoning may have been involved.
Ahmad Bilal Haqbeen, deputy director at Helmand’s education department, says the girls are all from 11th grade at the city’s Central Girls School. He says an investigation is underway.
Most of Helmand province is under the control of the Taliban who oppose girls’ education.
By Khaama Press on 02 Apr 2018 4:04pm
Conflicting reports emerge regarding a deadly airstrike in northern Kunduz province as dozens of people are feared dead. The military officials are saying that a deadly airstrike targeted the leadership council members of the Taliban group in northern Kunduz province of Afghanistan. The 20th Pamir Division of the Afghan Military in the North said the
By Khaama Press on 02 Apr 2018 2:48pm
Militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group suffered casualties during a clash with the police forces in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan. The provincial government media office in a statement said the clash took place in the vicinity of Haska Mina district on Saturday. The statement further added that
War Casualties By Name – Search by Name
Recent Casualties
Color Denotes Today’s Confirmation
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Master Sgt. Jonathan J. Dunbar, 36, of Austin, Texas, died March 30 in Manbij, Syria as a result of injuries when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated near his patrol. The incident is under investigation.
Dunbar was assigned to Headquarters, U.S. Army Special Operations Command, Ft Bragg, North Carolina.
The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of seven airmen who were supporting Operation Inherent Resolve. They died March 15 when an HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter crashed in western Iraq. The cause of the crash is under investigation.
Captain Mark K. Weber, 29, of Colorado Springs, Colorado. He was assigned to the 38th Rescue Squadron at Moody Air Force Base, Georgia.
Captain Andreas B. O’Keeffe, 37, of Center Moriches, New York.
Captain Christopher T. Zanetis, 37, of Long Island City, New York.
Master Sergeant Christopher J. Raguso, 39, of Commack, New York.
Staff Sergeant Dashan J. Briggs, 30, of Port Jefferson Station, New York.
Master Sergeant William R. Posch, 36, of Indialantic, Florida.
Staff Sergeant Carl P. Enis, 31, of Tallahassee, Florida.
Both were assigned to the 308th Rescue Squadron, Air Force Reserve, at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida. For more information, media may contact the 920th Rescue Wing public affairs office at 321-615-0329.
The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Inherent Resolve.
Sgt. 1st Class Maitland Deweever Wilson, 38, of Brooklyn, New York, died March 7 in Landstuhl, Germany from a non-combat related incident. The incident is under investigation.
Wilson was assigned to the 831st Transportation Battalion, 595th Transportation Brigade, Manama, Bahrain.
Care for Veterans:
PTSD: National Center for PTSDPTSD Care for Veterans, Military, and FamiliesSee Help for Veterans with PTSD to learn how to enroll for VA health care and get an assessment.
All VA Medical Centers provide PTSD care, as well as many VA clinics.Some VA’s have programs
specializing in PTSD treatment. Use the VA PTSD ProgramLocator to find a PTSD program.If you are a war Veteran, find a Vet Center to help with the transition from military to civilian life.
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