DAILY SITUATION REPORT 13 May 2008

Strategic SSI - Afghanistan

DAILY SITUATION REPORT 21 JULY 2010

SAFETY AND SECURITY ISSUES RELEVANT TO SSSI PERSONNEL AND CLIENTS

Various Threat Reports were received of possible attacks in Kabul over the past few days, and the insurgent’s intent and capability to conduct attacks in the Kabul City remains elevated. There are daily Threat Reports, but the received reports are mainly generic and lacking detail. It is possible that suicide attacks and indirect fire attacks can be expected in the city, but no time frames and/or specific targets were reported. Any attack in the city can be seen as a success for the insurgents, and they will make maximum use of the propaganda value of such an attack.

MAJOR COUNTRY WIDE EVENTS

Attack: 21 Jul, Paktya Province, Gardez District, Gardez – Khost Highway, Bridge#3 - km 8

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Threat Reports Received Last 5 Days

INCIDENTS REPORTED FOR PERIOD 20 JULY TO 21 JULY 2010

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Killed and Wounded, Captured and Arrested as per the reporting’s of the SSSI DSR.

(Kindly note that these are from the SSSI DSR and are not official statistics and may differ from those released by ISAF or other agencies and organisations.)

SECURITY INCIDENTS REPORTED FOR PERIOD 20 JULY TO 21 JULY 2010

CENTRAL REGION

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Success: Cache Find: 19 Jul, Kabul Province, Khak-E Jabbar District, an ANP patrol discovered four rockets set up to be fired into Kabul City.

Success: Arrest: 20 Jul, Kabul Province, Mushaki District, an IM/ANSF raid pursuing an insurgent facilitator, was resisted by insurgents with small arms fire. Several insurgents were killed and two were arrested.

Demonstration: 20 Jul, Kabul Province, Mushaki District, Kata Sang, reportedly local demonstrators were protesting a pre-dawn raid by IM troops. It is said that IM troops killed three civilians and arrested another. Another resident stated that a teacher’s house and a farmer’s house were raided and that in the latter three men from the same family were shot dead. According to him no Afghan forces had been present during the operation.

IDF Attack: 19 Jul, Kabul Province, KAIA, Kabul City, PD-15, at 22h35 three rockets have been fired from the area of Koh-E Safi towards KAIA, where it impacted around the Qasab and Tangi Tara Kheyl areas. No casualties reported.

UXO: 20 Jul, Kabul Province, Kabul City, PD-11, an explosion occurred which was the detonation of a shell which was believed to have been a historic unexploded ordnance. Three civilians wounded.

IDF Attack: 20 Jul, KAIA, Kabul City, PD-15, at 00h45 two rockets were fired towards KAIA. No casualties reported.

Success: Cache Find: 20 Jul, Kabul Province, Kabul City, PD-7, an unspecified amount of explosives had been discovered by ANSF in PD-7.

Ambush: 17 Jul, Ghazni Province, Andar District, the DAC, an IM vehicle patrol came under insurgents attack with heavy and small arms. One IM member wounded.

Attack: 19 Jul, Ghazni Province, the DAC, Waghaz District, insurgents attacked an ANP checkpoint with small arms. No casualties reported.

Attack: 19 Jul, Ghazni Province, the DAC, Waghaz District, insurgents attacked the compound of the District Administrator. No casualties reported.

Success: IED Find: 19 Jul, Ghazni Province, Ghazni Districts, ANP/IM patrols found and defused two IEDs.

IDF Attack: 19 Jul, Ghazni Province, Muqur District, insurgents fired several mortars at an ANA Camp. No casualties reported.

Ambush: 20 July, Ghazni Province, Andar District, Chardiwal area, at 08h40 insurgents attacked an ANA convoy with small arms and RPGs. No casualties reported.

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Ambush: 19 Jul, Logar Province, Pol-E Alam District, Konjak, insurgents attacked an IM vehicle patrol with small arms. Three insurgents killed.

Attack: 19 Jul, Logar Province, Baraki Barak District, Shir Khan, insurgents fired upon an ANP Post in this area. No casualties reported.

IED: Jul, Uruzgan Province, Chaman Kalay, Deh Rawud District, Afghan PSC vehicle was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

Success: IED Find: 19 Jul, Uruzgan Province, Chorah District & Tarin Kot City & District, ANP found four IEDs respectively.

Success: IED Find: Jul, Wardak Province, Nerkh District, An ANP patrol found and defused an IED.

WESTERN REGION

Success: COIN OP: 19 Jul, Faryab Province, Ghormach District, Kowtal Jan, during an IM/ANSF operation, three insurgents were killed.

Ambush: 20 July, Faryab Province, Ghormach District, Abgarmak Village, at 10h00 an ANP convoy was hit by an IED and then attacked by insurgents with small arms. One ANP was killed.

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Success: COIN OP: Air Strike: 19 Jul, Farah Province, Pusht-E Rud District, AB Sorkh, during an ANP operation, with air support, when targeted a concentration of insurgents twenty-two of them were killed.

Success: COIN OP: 19 Jul, Farah Province, Bakwah District, Palwasheh, during an operation IM troops killed two insurgents and captured one.

Success: Cache Find: 18 Jul, Herat Province, Herat City, District 10, NDS discovered a cache containing six RCIEDs and 400kg of explosives.

IED: 19 Jul, Herat Province, Kushk-E Kohnah District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

Success: IED Find: 20 July, Herat Province, Guzarah District, Manzileyan Village, at 06h00 ANP discovered a RCIED which was emplaced on the main road leading to Syawshan Village.

IED: 18 Jul, Badghis Province, Jawand District, an IED exploded prematurely, injuring one insurgent as he was setting it up.

NORTHERN REGION

Ambush: 19 Jul, Jowzjan Province, Qush Teppeh District, Shir Bak, insurgents attacked anIM/ANSF patrol. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Balkh Province, Mazar-E Sharif City Roz-E Sharif, , an IED exploded injuring a child.

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Success: IED Find: 18 Jul, Kunduz Province, Khanabad District, Aqtash, ANP found an IED in a culvert.

IDF Attack: 20 July, Kunduz Province, Dasht Archi District, Qarluq, Jam Rajab and Abdulrasul areas, at 06h00, insurgents attacked ANSF positions with mortars, 107 mm rockets, RPG and small arms. Eight insurgents were killed and ten wounded.

IED: 20 July, Kunduz Province, Aliabad District, Chepguzar area, along Kunduz-Baghlan main road, a RCIED detonated and hit a passing ANP vehicle. Two ANP wounded. three female civilians and one child.

Demonstration: 20 July, Badakhshan Province, Zebak DAC, at 10h30 about 300 persons staged a demonstration criticizing the district authorities.

Attack: 20 July, Baghlan Province, Dahanah-I-Ghori District, Shari Now area at 04h30 insurgents attacked the District Police HQ with RPGs and small arms fire. Four ANP wounded.

Attack: Kidnap: 20 July, Baghlan Province, Dahana-I- Ghuri District, Bazari Postak area, at 05h00 insurgents overrun an ANP checkpoint and kidnapped seven ANP members who were killed later on execution stile. Three ANP members are still missing.

EASTERN REGION

Attack: 20 Jul, Nuristan Province, Barg-E Matal District, the DAC, insurgents attacked the DAC with IDF, small arms fire and RPGs against ANSF positions throughout the area. One ANP member killed and six wounded.

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Ambush: 19 Jul, Kunar Province, Chapah Darrah District, Wadi Garam, insurgents attacked an IM vehicle patrol with heavy and small arms. One civilian was injured.

IED: 19 Jul, Kunar Province, Chapah Darrah District, Wadi Garam, an IED was found and defused in the area.

Attack: 20 July, Kunar Province, Nurgal District, Tora Taga area, at approximately 08h45 insurgents attacked an ANP checkpoint with heavy and small arms. No casualties were reported.

Attack: 19 Jul, Nangarhar Province, Achin District, the DAC, insurgents attacked the DAC. No casualties reported.

IED Attack: 19 Jul, Nangarhar Province, Behsud District, an IED attached to a fuel tanker exploded. No casualties reported.

Success: COIN OP: Arrest: 20 July, Nangarhar Province, Khugyani District, Wazir Tatang area, during an IM operation five insurgents were killed and five arrested.

Success: IED Find: 20 July, Nangarhar Province, Behsud District, between the PRT and Jalalabad Air Field on the main Jalalabad-Torkham road at 13h10 ANP discovered and defused an IED.

SOUTH EASTERN REGION

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Attack: 19 Jul, Paktya Province, Dand Wa Patan & Lijeh Ahmad Kheyl Districts, insurgents attacked IM vehicle patrols and an ANP post in Zurmat District with RPGs and small arms. No friendly casualties reported.

Insurgency: Murder: 18 Jul, Paktya Province, Gardez District, Chownay, insurgents shot dead a civilian who was accused of being an informant.

IED: 18 Jul, Paktya Province, Zurmat District, the DAC, An IED targeted an IM vehicle patrol.

Attack: 19 Jul, Paktya Province, Jani Kheyl District, insurgents attacked an ANP checkpoint. One ANP member wounded.

Attack: 19 Jul, Paktya Province, Gardez City, insurgents attacked an ANP checkpoint. One civilian killed.

Ambush: 20 July, Paktya Province, Shwak District, Shabak Tangai area, at 08h00 insurgents attacked an ANA/ANP convoy with small arms fire and RPGs. No casualties reported.

Ambush: 20 July, Paktya Province, Wuza Zadran District, Lakarai area, at 08h30 insurgents attacked a PSC convoy with small arms fire. No casualties were reported.

UXO: 21 Jul, Paktya Province, Shwak District, Gardez – Khost Highway ivo km 25. It is reported that during the recent heavy rains in the said area, an old soviet 122mm Artillery shell, without a nosecone primer, was washed up/uncovered close to the road construction site of an international road construction site on the said highway. The UXO was handed over to the ANA.

Attack: 21 Jul, Paktya Province, Gardez District, Gardez – Khost Highway, Bridge#3 - km 8. It is reported that the PSC team of an International Road Construction Company, was attacked at approximately 07:15 while ivo the said bridge. The attack was initiated by an IED and supported with small arms fire by insurgents on tactical terrain. Four local nationals PSC members and a TCN sustained injuries.

IDF Attack: 18 Jul, Khost Province, the DACs, Musa Kheyl and Nadir Shah Kot Districts, insurgents fired several mortars at ANSF locations in both the DACs. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Khost Province, Speyrah District, IED targeted an Afghan PSC/Militia car was hit by an IED. Two PSC members wounded.

IED: 19 Jul, Khost Province, Tereza’i District, an ABP vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. Two ABP wounded.

IED: 20 July, Khost Province, Khost (Matun) District, Khost City; an IED placed in a ditch detonated prematurely. No casualties reported.

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IED: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Khoshamand, District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Mata Khan, District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Bermal, District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Zargun Shahr District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Yusuf Kheyl District, an IM vehicle patrol was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

Ambush: 19 Jul, Paktika Province, Jani Kheyl District, the DAC, insurgents attacked an IM vehicle patrol. No casualties reported.

SOUTHERN REGION

Success: IED Find: 19 Jul, Zabul Province, Qalat City, Likak, ANP found and destroyed an IED made from a pressure cooker.

IED: 19 Jul, Zabul Province, Qalat District, Zanjar, an ABP patrol was hit by an IED. One ABP member wounded.

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Ambush: 19 Jul, Zabul Province, Tarnak Wa Jaldak District, Highway 1, Mohamad Rafiq Mandeh, a PSC escorted, logistics convoy came under attack by insurgents.

Attack: 18 Jul, Kandahar Province, District 9, Kandahar City, insurgents on a motorcycle shot dead an Afghan employed by the Kandahar PRT.

Success: IED Find: 18 Jul, District 2, Kandahar Province, Kandahar City, ANP found an IED.

Attack: 18 Jul, Kandahar Province, Zhari Districts, insurgents attacked an ANP Post. No casualties reported.

Attack: 18 Jul, Kandahar Province, Dand Districts, insurgents attacked an ANP Post. No casualties reported.

IED: 19 Jul, Kandahar Province, Khakrez District, Siyeh Sang, a civilian minivan was hit by an IED. Seven civilians killed and four wounded.

Ambush: 19 Jul, Kandahar Province, Arghandab District, insurgents attacked an ANP Patrol. No casualties reported.

Attack: 19 Jul, Kandahar Province, Dand District at the southern outskirts of Kandahar City, IM positions came under attack by insurgents with small arms and RPGs. Reportedly there were several civilian casualties.

IDF Attack: 20 Jul, Kandahar Province, Daman District, KAF, insurgents launched two rockets towards KAF. No casualties reported.

Ambush: 20 Jul, Kandahar Province, Highway 1, Zhari District, insurgents attacked an IM contracted logistic convoy’s CET with heavy and small arms. No casualties reported.

Ambush: 20 Jul, Kandahar Province, Highway 1, Zhari District, insurgents attacked an IM contracted logistic convoy’s CET with heavy and small arms. No casualties reported.

IED: 20 Jul, Kandahar Province, Highway 1, Zhari District, an IM contracted logistic convoy and CET was hit by an IED. No casualties reported.

IED: 20 July, Kandahar Province, Kandahar City, District 2, Herat Bazaar area, at 16h20 an IED detonated prematurely while an insurgent was transporting it in a hand cart. One insurgent was killed and one civilian wounded.

Attack: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Marjah District, insurgents attacked an ANP Post. No casualties reported.

Success: IED Find: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Lashkar Gah District, NDS discovered an IED in Joy Shakar, central Lashkar Gah. It was a yellow oil container with an RC initiator attached.

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Success: IED Find: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Lashkar Gah District, NDS discovered an IED around 6km east of Lashkar Gah Highway 601. This device was a 6” tube with an RC initiator, and had been made to look like a mile marker.

IED: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Nad-E Ali District, an IM patrol to the east of checkpoint Qudrat was hit by an IED. A supporting patrol in the same area was hit by a second device. The units were then targeted by RPGs. Two IM members wounded.

IDF Attack: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Sangin District, FOB Robinson came under IDF attack, which resulted in one IM member wounded.

Attack: 19 Jul, Helmand Province, Sangin District, PB Nabi came under attack by insurgents with grenades. No casualties reported.

Insurgency: Illegal VCP: 18 Jul, Nimroz Province, Khash Rud District, Pusht-E Hasan, insurgents set up an IVCP and checked local vehicles for GIRoA / ANSF members.

SPECIAL INTEREST NEWS

MEET AFGHANISTAN'S NEW INTEL BOSS

Foreign Policy By Kate Clark July 19, 2010

The appointment of a new head of Afghanistan's National Directorate of Security (NDS, the country's intelligence agency) has come with a lot less fanfare than the departure of the old one, Amrullah Saleh, who resigned after deep disagreements with the president over policy towards the Taliban. The acting director, Engineer Ibrahim Spinzada, has returned to the shadows and his day job as deputy head of the National Security Council (NSC), leaving one of his protégés, Engineer Rahmatullah Nabeel, in charge of Afghanistan's intelligence apparatus.

Engineer Nabeel is from Wardak and, according to Pajhwok News Agency, was born in 1968. He went to primary school in Kabul, then, after the Soviet invasion, to secondary school in exile in Peshawar. He also studied for a degree in engineering in Peshawar from a private university and then worked as an engineer with NGOs (reportedly in Peshawar and Jalalabad). By the late 1990s, he was working in Kabul for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), while Engineer Ibrahim was with UNHCR in Kandahar.

In late 2002, Nabeel went from being an engineer working on projects around Kabul to security officer at the Presidential Palace. He was one of a number of UNHCR staff who followed Engineer Ibrahim to the Palace (Ibrahim and Karzai know each other from Quetta -- there are family connections). The new recruitment was part of an attempt to create a

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professional, Afghan security apparatus at the Palace which would be unwaveringly loyal to Karzai.

Before then, the Afghan leader had been protected by three rings of security. The outer ring was staffed by guards who came exclusively from former president Ustad Rabbani's home village, Yaftal. Next came Shura-e Nazar soldiers, deployed by General Fahim (then Defense Minister) and finally, there was an inner circle of security men who had served under Dr. Najib. Karzai's initial decision in December 2001 not to bring his own tribesmen as guards, but to trust his predecessors' reportedly went down well with General Fahim; Karzai had argued that all Afghans were ‘his people.' Nevertheless, as the year wore on, just as his predecessors had done, he eventually decided to set up his own security system. In the summer of 2002, Washington drafted a detail of its soldiers as bodyguards for the Afghan leader. It also took charge of improving security at the Palace. Nabeel was part of the group which was given high-level, American training in order to guard Karzai. He went on to become head of the presidential special guards unit. After eight years at the Palace, during which time he became a general and, it's rumored, a two-star general, Nabeel has now become the head of the Afghan intelligence agency.

For Karzai's new policy towards the Taliban the NDS is crucial. It is the organization which deals with security prisoners and gathers intelligence on the insurgency, including trying to prevent attacks. It is a nationwide network which answers directly to the president (unlike the police whose chain of command goes through the Ministry of Interior or the army who go through the Ministry of Defense).

Is Nabeel up to the job? "He's certainly clever," was the conclusion of those AAN spoke to who knew him in the 1980s and 1990s. "He's not a bad man," was another comment on the man's character. He has received top-level security training from the Americans, has eight years of experience at the Palace and speaks the languages needed to deal not just with Afghans (Pashto and Dari), but also foreigners (English and Urdu). Crucially, he is a Karzai and Engineer Ibrahim partisan, promoted through their support. This is a very different background from Amrullah Saleh who was a protégé of Ahmad Shah Massoud and had risen up through the ranks of the Shura-e Nazar/Islamic State of Afghanistan intelligence agency. Indeed, one of Saleh's friends told to AAN, "President Karzai never trusted him regarding his personal security." Most importantly, the power behind the NDS throne -- as he is also at the NSC -- remains Engineer Ibrahim. Even though he apparently took a demotion, he has merely stepped back out of the limelight. This new appointment strengthens his hand considerably.

The man Nabeel will be working most closely with is his newly appointed deputy, General Hassamuddin Hassam, a Panjshiri who was working as a security advisor to the First Vice President, Marshal Fahim. Before that, Hassam was in charge of the military affairs department (riyasat-e ummur-e nezami) at the Ministry of Defense. He's from the pro- Fahim, rather than the pro-Dr Abdullah faction of Shura-e Nazar. General Hassam has replaced Qayyum Katawazai, who had only been in the job since April. Katawazai, who is from Paktika and is reportedly former PDPA, had been the governor of Paktika and before that, head of NDS in Kandahar and Ghazni (he had followed the now Minister of Borders and

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Tribal Affairs, Assadullah Khaled, as he moved about the country taking different governorships).

The appointment of General Hassam means that the Panjshiris -- who have strong historic ties with NDS -- have not lost out completely and should still be protected under the new regime. Their ties date back to 1992, when the mujahedin captured Kabul and General Fahim, who had run Shura-e Nazar's intelligence arm during the jihad, was appointed head of the Islamic State of Afghanistan's intelligence agency. Fahim had appointed many of his people to posts in the agency, and although they fled with their comrades when the Taliban took power in 1996, they took back their old posts in 2001. Shura-e Nazar had led the Northern Alliance capture of Kabul and took control, not just of NDS (Engineer Arif, with Amrullah Saleh as his deputy), but both security ministries, Defense (General Fahim) and Interior (Yunus Qanuni), as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Dr. Abdullah) and the Office for Administrative Affairs, the quasi-prime ministry, without a prime minister.

The appointment of Engineer Nabeel means that, apart from the four years of the Taliban regime, this is the first time in almost two decades that a Panjshiri from Shura-e Nazar has not been in charge of Afghanistan's intelligence agency.

Kate Clark is a senior analyst at the Afghanistan Analysts Network, where this was originally.

GUNFIGHT KILLS 2 AMERICANS WHO TRAINED AFGHAN ARMY

New York Times By ALISSA J. RUBIN and RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. July 20, 2010 KABUL, Afghanistan

A seemingly routine training practice in marksmanship went fatally wrong on Tuesday when an Afghan Army sergeant turned his weapon on an American trainer and a gunfight began. When it was over, the sergeant, two American trainers and an Afghan soldier who had been standing nearby lay dead.

The fight, which also wounded a NATO soldier, occurred near the northern city of Mazar-i- Sharif at a training center for Afghan soldiers named Camp Shaheen, according to a statement from the NATO command and an Afghan defense official.

The camp is used to instruct Afghan recruits in weapons use and other basic military skills, said Brig. Gen. Gary S. Patton, the deputy commander for the NATO Training Mission- Afghanistan. He said the gunfight was under investigation by a joint American-Afghan team.

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General Patton said that he was uncertain about the motives of the Afghan sergeant, but that the military considered it “an isolated incident.”

If the sergeant’s actions proved to be deliberate, however, it would be the second time this month that an Afghan soldier purposefully killed members of the foreign forces here in the nearly nine-year-old war.

An Afghan Ministry of Defense official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the news media, said that the fight began with an argument between an Afghan sergeant and trainer named Jaffar and one of the American trainers. According to the defense official, the Afghan sergeant shot two American trainers; then a third American trainer shot and killed the Afghan sergeant as well as another Afghan soldier, who was an innocent bystander. The NATO soldier was wounded in the cross-fire.

General Patton’s account was more cautious, and he said that he was not sure who shot whom beyond the initial shots fired by the Afghan sergeant. He confirmed that the sergeant had been a trainer himself and that he had been involved in running the shooting range.

The training center is one of several operated by NATO, which usually has about 20,000 Afghan soldiers in training. Other centers are in Kabul, Herat and Gardez. The Mazar-i-Sharif site accommodates about 1,400 trainees, General Patton said.

The two dead Americans were civilian contractors with military experience, he said. He said he was not yet at liberty to release the name of their employer.

“The Afghan sergeant — the shooter — he was shooting people he was partnered with to train fellow soldiers; he initiated the shooting,” the general said.

The area was locked down afterward. While training was scheduled to resume Wednesday, the general said, “we are going to proceed with some prudent precautions at some of the ranges for everyone’s safety.”

On July 13 an Afghan soldier in Helmand Province killed three British soldiers in what Afghan and British commanders described as a premeditated attack.

Strengthening the Afghan Army is critical to the exit strategy of the United States and other Western countries, which on Tuesday endorsed a nonbinding timeline proposed by President Hamid Karzai to turn over primary security duties to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. But the recent attacks emphasize the vulnerability of Western forces assigned to work with Afghans.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Maj. Gen. Zahir Azimi — who after the killings of the British soldiers pledged to avoid similar episodes — said Tuesday that he hoped an investigation would “find out how such an event could have occurred to help us prevent any future acts.”

Abdul Waheed Wafa contributed reporting. Privileged and Confidential 15 This information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this information is strictly prohibited without the explicit approval from StrategicSSI Management. Strategic SSI - Afghanistan

WEATHER FORECAST

Afghanistan Weather for Thursday 22 July 2010 Kabul Jalalabad Mazar Kandahar Herat

Clear Rain 30% Clear Clear Clear 30° C | 17° C 34° C | 21° C 36° C | 20° C 39° C | 28° C 34° C | 18° C

Farah Khost Kunduz Gardez Faizabad

Clear Rain 20% Clear Rain 20% Rain 20% 40° C | 26° C 28° C | 19° C 35° C | 20° C 24° C | 14° C 35° C | 11° C

CALENDAR

20 Jul 10 - Kabul Conference 19 Aug 10 - National Day. 11/12 Aug-10/11 Sep 10 - Ramadan 18 Sep 10 - Parliamentary Election 08 Oct 10 - Parliamentary Election Preliminary Results Expected 30 Oct 10 – Parliamentary Election Final Results Expected 16 Nov - 17 Nov 10 - Eid-al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice).

Note. Muslim festivals are timed according to local sightings of various phases of the moon and the dates given above are approximations. During the lunar month of Ramadan that precedes Eid al-Fitr, Muslims fast during the day and feast at night and normal business patterns may be interrupted. Some disruption may continue into Eid al-Fitr itself. Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha may last up to several days, depending on the region.

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NEWS / INFORMATION

British forces could leave Afghanistan next year Prime Minister David Cameron has said British forces could begin pulling out of Afghanistan within... Taliban behead six Afghan policemen Taliban fighters overran a police checkpoint in northern Afghanistan and beheaded six police officers, NATO said... No agreement over transit trade with Afghanistan yet: Pak Commerce Ministry Pakistan's Commerce Ministry has rejected media reports regarding the country signing a trade agreement with...

Obama vows to keep up war in Afghanistan President Barack Obama has vowed to continue the war in Afghanistan to deny an even larger safe haven to Al Qaeda terrorists trained in Afghanistan and the tribal regions along the Pakistani... Karzai sees foreign troops withdrawal by 2014 Afghan forces will be ready to take responsibility from foreign troops for fighting the Taliban within four years, President Hamid Karzai has... Osama, Mullah not in Pakistan: Gilani Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani Tuesday said neither Taliban chief Mullah Omar nor Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden are in Pakistan, a media report... Karzai gets approval for key plans at Afghan conference The international community at a conference on Afghanistan here Tuesday gave more control over aid money to the Afghan government, but also approved a plan to hand over security responsibility to national forces by... NATO military presence foments Afghan violence: Iran Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said here Tuesday that the presence and increasing number of NATO troops was stirring up violence in... US believes Osama, Mullah Omar in Pakistan: Hillary Clinton U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Tuesday that she believed that Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mulla Omar were in... For harried local Afghans, Taliban, Kabul Conference is just an exercise in futility While the world's leaders are meeting in Kabul to chalk out a strategy to rebuild and develop the war tattered country, far outside the conference hall a common Afghan man is hardly concerned over the efforts being made by the international community to ensure a bright future for the country's future...

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ACRONYMS:

AA Anti-Aircraft MNF Multi National Forces AGE Anti-Government Elements (Generic term for MO Modus Operandi insurgent groups) MOD Ministry of Defence ABP AFGHAN Border Police MOI Ministry of Interior ADZ AFGHAN Development Zone (in Central NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation HELMAND around LKG) NBC Nuclear, Biological and Chemical AEF AFGHAN Eradication Force NBD Non-Battle Death ANA AFGHAN National Army NBI Non-Battle Injury ANP AFGHAN National Police NDA NAD-e ALI (in HELMAND Province) ANSF AFGHAN National Security Forces NFDK No Further Details Known ANSO AFGHAN NGO Safety Office NGO Non-Governmental Organisation AMF AFGHAN Militia Forces NSTR Nothing Significant to Report AO Area of Operations NDS National Directorate of Security (Afghan) AP Anti-Personnel OEF Operation Enduring Freedom (US Operation APC Armoured Personnel Carrier with a separate command structure and remit to AQ Al Qaeda ISAF, predominantly operating in the ASF AFGHAN Special Forces EASTERN region) AT Anti-Tank OP Observation Point BBRCIED Bicycle Borne Remote Controlled Improvised OPCEN Operations Centre Explosive Device OPSEC Operational Security BBIED Body Borne Improvised Explosive Device P2K PAKTIKA, PAKTIA & KHOWST BDA Battle Damage Assessment PAK PAKISTAN BME Bomb Making Equipment PB Patrol Base BP Border Post PBIED Person Born Improvised Explosive Device CAS Close Air Support PD Police District CASEVAC Casualty Evacuation PEF Poppy Eradication Force CNP Counter Narcotic Police PPIED Pressure plate IED CivPop Civilian Population PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team COIN (Ops) Counter Insurgency (Operations) PSAF Precision Small Arms Fire CoP Chief of Police PSC Private Security Company CP Checkpoint PSD Protective Security Detail CQA Close Quarter Assassination QRF Quick Reaction Force CWIED Command Wire IED Recce Reconnaissance DC District Centre RC Radio controlled / Remote controlled (as in DDR Disarmament, Demobilisation, Reintegration RCIED) DF Direct Fire RL Rocket Launcher DIAG Disarmament of Illegal Armed Groups RPG Rocket Propelled Grenade EF Enemy Forces (Generic term for insurgent RTA Road Traffic Accident groups) SAF Small Arms Fire EOD Explosive Ordnance Disposal SAFIRE Surface-to-Air Fire FOB Forward Operating Base SAM Surface-to-Air Missile FP Firing Point SF Special Forces / Security Forces GIRoA Government of the Islamic Republic of SIOC Security Information Operations Centre AFGHANISTAN SOP Standard Operational Procedure GOA Government of Afghanistan SRA Security Risk Assessment GR Grid Reference (Provided in MGRS – Military SVBIED Suicide Vehicle Born Improvised Explosive Grid Reference System) Device GSK GERESHK (in HELMAND) S Suicide i.e. SIED – suicide IED, SVBIED – HIG HEZB-I-ISLAMI GULBUDDIN suicide VBIED HME Home-made explosives (usually fertiliser- TB TALIBAN based) TBD To be determined HMG Heavy Machine Gun TTPs Tactics, techniques and procedures HQ Headquarters UGV Upper GERESHK Valley (HELMAND HVT High Value Target Province) IDF Indirect fire (Rockets and mortars) UN United Nations IEC Independent Election Commission UN DSS United Nations Department of Safety and IED Improvised Explosive Device Security IM (F) International Military (Forces) USV Upper SANGIN Valley (HELMAND Province) INGO International Non-governmental Organization UXO Unexploded Ordnance INS Insurgent(s) VBIED Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device ISAF International Security Assistance Force VCP Vehicle Check Point (Also, IVCP – Illegal IVO In the Vicinity Of (i.e. mil-speak for near) VCP) JEMB Joint Election Management Body VOIED Victim Operated IED JTF Joint Task Force WB World Bank KAF KANDAHAR Airfield WFP World Food Program KAIA KABUL International Airport WIA Wounded in action KCP KABUL City Police WHO World Health Organisation KIA Killed in action LKG LASHKAR GAH (in HELMAND Province) LN Local National (i.e. Afghan) MCIED Motor cycle improvised explosive device MCN Ministry of Counter Narcotics MEDIVAC Medical Evacuation MG Machine Gun MIA Missing in action Privileged and Confidential 18 This information is intended only for the use of the individual or entity to which it is addressed and may contain information that is privileged, confidential and exempt from disclosure under applicable law. You are hereby notified that any dissemination, distribution, or copying of this information is strictly prohibited without the explicit approval from StrategicSSI Management.