Ottawa Marine survives Afghanistan explosion

Ottawa Marine survives Afghanistan explosion

Afghanistan: 4 Iowa soldiers injured by bomb

Four soldiers with the Iowa National Guard have been wounded when their patrol vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Afghanistan during a combat mission on Wednesday 18th May.

The injured soldiers were taken to a Military hospital at Bagram.

The four soldiers, serving with 34th Infantry Division are, Sergeant Chisum Frisch, Specialist Jacob Hutchinson both from Cedar Falls, Specialist Benjamin Ward from Rowley and Private 1st-class Tanner Williams from Tama.

The military has not given further details of the wounded soldiers conditions.

Iraq: 3 Norwegians injured in bomb blast

BAGHDAD, 16th May: Three Norwegian nationals and two Iraqis were wounded in a roadside bomb attack in Baghdad today, an Interior Ministry source said.

The attack took place in the morning on a main road in New Baghdad district when a roadside bomb struck a convoy of vehicles carrying Norwegian contractors working on a project for Iraq's Water Resources Ministry, the source said on condition of anonymity.

The blast wounded three Norwegians and two policemen guarding their convoy.

Thailand: 2 monks killed by roadside bomb

BANGKOK, 16th May: Two Buddhist monks were killed and two soldiers seriously wounded in a roadside bomb explosion in southern Thailand early today, police said.

The attack occured around 6 am local time when six soldiers were taking two monks to collect alms in Yaha district, Yala province, the Thai News Agency (TNA) quoted police as saying.

The two monks died at the scene, and two injured soldiers were rushed to Somdej Phra Yupparaj hospital for treatment, TNA said.

Police said the bomb was a homemade explosive device built into a cooking gas cylinder hidden on the roadside.

The bomb was attached to an electric detonation wire over 100 metres long extending into the nearby roadside forest, and that it was triggered manually using a battery.

Police blamed separatist militants for the attack.

More than 4,000 have been killed by suspected separatists since January 2004 in three southernmost provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat, and some parts of Songkla province.

Bombs cleared from 'ghost town'

British bomb disposal experts have carried out their largest clearance of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence said.

An 80-strong team cleared a "deserted ghost town", searching and clearing 75 compounds as well as miles of tracks and alleyways.

During the painstaking eight-day fingertip search of Char Coucha in Helmand the team diffused nine bombs and discovered nine ordnance caches.

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U.S Marine loses both legs in IED blast

Cpl. Marcus Dandrea

A 21-year old U.S Marine corporal was severely injured in an explosion in Afghanistan.

Cpl. Marcus Dandrea had both of his legs amputated at the knee three days ago, after he stepped on an improvised explosive device while on patrol, according to his family.

Mark Dandrea said he learned the extent of his son’s injuries in a predawn telephone call from him Friday, according to an interview with Times-Union news partner First Coast News.

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Bomb and weapons cache seized

Kabul (25th Feb 2011): In Zharay district, Kandahar province, an Afghan National Security Force and ISAF patrol discovered an IED cache consisting of 28 x 3 litre jugs, two 20 litre jugs and eight 5 litre jugs filled with homemade explosives, one pressure cooker filled with HME material, two 18kg containers of heavy machine gun ammunition rounds and one type 65 mortar filled with HME material. All items were wrapped in detonation cord, ready to be emplaced as improvised explosive devices, the ISAF patrol reported.

A second cache site was found in the area consisting of one 2000 litre tank filled with multiple 155 mm rounds, various anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, multiple jugs of homemade explosives, pressure plates and detonation wire.

In Panjwa’i district, Kandahar province, an Afghan and coalition forces patrol discovered a weapons cache consisting of 11 grenades, 200 7.62 mm rounds, three RPG warheads, several loose weapon parts, 20 litres of ammonium nitrate, 75 metres of detonation cord, two rolls of copper wire, and various additional IED components and instruction manuals.

All weapons have been or will be destroyed by security forces.

New remote tool to detonate IEDs in Afghanistan

Soldiers in Afghanistan could detonate improvised explosive devices (IEDs) with a remote tool created by researchers in Switzerland.

The technology can activate homemade landmines at a distance of up to 25m by transmitting electromagnetic waves at a range of frequencies. This inducts a current in the devices and causes them to explode.

Researchers from the Swiss technology institute EPFL have worked for two years with the universities of Colombia and Los Andes to overcome the difficulties of removing IEDs, which are especially hard to find because they tend to be mostly made of plastic.

Read more at The Engineer

Night patrols lower number of bomb attacks

PANJWAII DISTRICT, Afghanistan — Canadian troops working to stabilize one of the most troublesome districts in Afghanistan have been substantially expanding their frequency of night patrols, a nerve-racking venture for the soldiers that seems to be producing big dividends with the local population.

Taliban insurgents have previously owned the nighttime hours in many areas of Panjwaii, using the cover of darkness to plant improvised explosive devices and intimidate villagers. The decision by the Canadians to increase their presence at night has the goal of disrupting both activities.

"If we are there by day, there by night, in vehicles, on foot, everywhere, then the insurgent has nowhere to go," said Maj. Francois Dufault, deputy commander of the current battle group, featuring the 1st battalion of the Royal 22nd Regiment based in Valcartier, Quebec.

Read full story at Canada.com

British photographer fights for life after Afghanistan explosion

A British photographer is fighting for his life after being hit by a roadside blast in Afghanistan.

Giles Duley was embedded with US troops in Kandahar when he was critically injured by an improvised explosive device (IED) on Monday.

The 39-year-old has been jetted back to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham for further surgery after undergoing multiple amputations at the local UN Hospital in Kandahar.

Read full story at Birmingham Mail

British soldier hunts down insurgent across minefield

An insurgent bomber, caught red-handed laying deadly improvised explosive devices, is facing a life of imprisonment after a British soldier from the 1st Battalion Irish Guards gave chase across a minefield to catch him.

The insurgent, who could have caused the deaths of many troops or Afghan civilians, is facing Afghan justice thanks to Guardsman Lewis Wilby's heroic actions.

Despite being weighed down with more than 60lbs (27kg) of kit, the 26-year-old Irish Guardsman outran the bomber, sprinting across uncleared ground where IEDs were known to have been laid, and caught him as he tried desperately to hide out in a local villager's compound.

Read full story at MOD Defence News