77 Americans wounded in Afghan truck bombing

The blast, which occurred late Saturday, shaved the facades from shops outside the Combat Outpost Sayed Abad in Wardak province and broke windows in government offices nearby, said Roshana Wardak, a former parliamentarian who runs a clinic in the nearby town of the same name. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight wounded civilians were brought to Wardak's clinic, two of them with wounds serious enough that they were sent to Kabul. She said one 3-year-old girl died of her wounds on the way to the clinic.

The attack was carried out by a Taliban suicide bomber who detonated a large bomb inside a truck carrying firewood, NATO said. It was unclear how many foreign and Afghan soldiers were serving on the base.

"Most of the force of the explosion was absorbed by the protective barrier at the outpost entrance," NATO said, adding that the damage was repairable and that operations were continuing.

Fewer than 25 Afghan civilians were also wounded, NATO said, adding that none of the 77 injuries sustained by the Americans were life-threatening. Spokesman Maj. Russell Fox said Sunday that all the international troops at the combat outpost are American.

The truck bombing came hours after the Taliban vowed to keep fighting U.S. forces in Afghanistan until all American troops leave the country and stressed that their movement had no role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

On Sunday, the U.S. Embassy in Kabul held a memorial service to mark the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. A military band played as American troops raised an American flag in front of about 300 assembled U.S. and Afghan officials.

Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan urged those assembled to honor the memory of those who died.

"On that day we lost mothers and fathers, sons and daughters we lost people of many nations and many religions, today we remember, we honor them all," he said.

The Afghan Foreign Minister said the attacks bound Afghans and Americans together in a "shared struggle."

In a statement emailed to media, the Taliban accused the United States of using the Sept. 11 attacks as a pretext to invade Afghanistan and said the international community was responsible for killing thousands of Afghans during the invasion and ensuing occupation.

"Each year, 9/11 reminds the Afghans of an event in which they had no role whatsoever," the Taliban said. "American colonialism has shed the blood of tens of thousands of miserable and innocent Afghans."

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, after the Taliban, who then ruled the country, refused to hand over Osama bin Laden.

The late al-Qaida leader was at the time living in Afghanistan, where the terror network had training camps from which it planned attacks against the U.S. and other countries.

"The Afghans have an endless stamina for a long war," the statement said. "Through a countrywide uprising, the Afghans will send the Americans to the dustbin of history like they sent other empires of the past."

The statement was issued by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, the official title used by the Taliban when they ruled the country.

The insurgent group continues to launch regular attacks and orchestrate assassination campaigns against those allied with the government. In addition to the attack in Wardak on Saturday, 10 Afghan civilians were killed in two separate roadside bombings.

Although the Taliban were swiftly driven from power by the U.S.-led coalition, they managed to use the years of the Iraq war — when America focused its military strength on the conflict against Saddam Hussein — to regroup, rearm and reorganize.

They began winning back ground lost to the international military coalition until President Barack Obama decided to send in 30,000 more troops last year to help.

Although the coalition has made some gains in the Taliban's traditional southern strongholds, violence has not abated around the country.

The U.S. has begun withdrawing some of its 100,000 troops and will send home 33,000 by the end of next year. The international military coalition has already begun transferring security responsibilities to newly trained Afghan forces with the aim of removing all their soldiers by the end of 2014.

Bin Laden was killed in May in a raid on his house in northwestern Pakistan by helicopter-borne U.S. Navy SEALs.

Associated Press writers Patrick Quinn and Heidi Vogt contributed to this report from Kabul.

(Photos added by Axis of Logic)

Source: MSNBC

3 Oklahoma soldiers killed in Afghanistan
Tulsa World
September 12, 2011

The men died Friday when their unit was attacked by small-arms fire.

Oklahomans learned on the 10th anniversary of the deadliest terrorist attack in U.S. history that the war those attacks led to had claimed the lives of three of the state's own.

The Department of Defense on Sunday identified the three as Sgt. Bret D. Isenhower, 26, of Lamar; Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, of Collinsville; and Pfc. Tony J. Potter Jr., 20, of Okmulgee.

They were serving with the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 279th Infantry Regiment, based in the Tulsa area, and died in Paktia province, the Defense Department said.

The men were killed Friday when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire. Two other soldiers were wounded, but are expected to recover from their injuries, according to a release from the Guard.

The Department of Defense on Sunday identified the three as Sgt. Bret D. Isenhower, 26, of Lamar; Spc. Christopher D. Horton, 26, of Collinsville; and Pfc. Tony J. Potter Jr., 20, of Okmulgee.

They were serving with the Oklahoma Army National Guard's 279th Infantry Regiment, based in the Tulsa area, and died in Paktia province, the Defense Department said.

The men were killed Friday when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire. Two other soldiers were wounded, but are expected to recover from their injuries, according to a release from the Guard.

"This is an extremely sad day for the 45th Infantry Brigade, the Oklahoma National Guard and the entire state," Maj. Gen. Myles Deering, adjutant general for Oklahoma, said in a statement. "These young men exemplified the courage and commitment of the finest citizen-soldiers. And, the fact that they all volunteered to join the military and serve during this time of war says a lot about their character and devotion to our country."

Potter was on his first deployment, and is the youngest guard member to die in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the guard stated. Potter, an Okmulgee High School graduate, joined the Oklahoma Guard in 2010 and was promoted to private first class in May, according to the release.

His mother-in-law, Somi Yarbrough, said Potter was a smart, ambitious young man who was very in love with his wife, Emily.

The two were married Dec. 22, and Emily Potter is currently pregnant with their first child, Yarbrough said.

"He was waiting for word from his wife to find out if they were having a boy or girl," Yarbrough said. "Unfortunately, he didn't make it long enough to find out."

The two met while taking a carpentry class three years ago at Oklahoma State University in Okmulgee, where they worked on several projects together and even helped build a house, she said.

"It was young love and true love," Yarbrough said. "Not just infatuation, but true love. That would have lasted for a lifetime. I truly believe they were actually soulmates."

Tony and Emily Potter lived in Miami, Okla., while Emily went to school at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College, Yarbrough said.

Potter was on the wrestling team at Okmulgee High School and was an honors student, she said.

Potter joined the Oklahoma National Guard to have a stronger sense of purpose and be able to serve others.

"He just believed in our country and wanted to serve our country and do something better with his life," Yarbrough said. "He was excited about what he was doing and proud to go and serve."

Isenhower joined the Oklahoma National Guard in 2006, three years after he graduated from Seminole High School, according to a release. He was promoted to sergeant in March and was a fire team leader.

His hometown, Lamar, is 30 miles east of Seminole and 40 miles south of Henryetta.

Isenhower was deployed in Iraq in 2007. His most recent deployment was his second.

Before he enlisted in the Oklahoma Guard in 2008, Horton graduated from the Missouri Military Academy. He was trained to be an infantrymen and was sniper qualified, according to the release. This was his first deployment.

"Our casualty assistance teams are currently with the families of these fallen heroes," Deering said in the statement. "While the fighting will surely continue in the weeks ahead for the brigade in Afghanistan, the families of these brave men are our priority back here at home."

These latest deaths bring to 10 the number of Oklahoma Guard troops killed in Afghanistan since July 29. Most have died in Paktia province.

The Oklahoma National Guard's 45th Infantry Brigade began moving some 2,200 troops into Afghanistan in mid-June for a nine-month deployment.

The Oklahoma Guard took over operational duties in Afghanistan in mid-July.

World Staff Writer Manny Gamallo contributed to this story.

(Photo added by Axis of Logic) 

Source: Tulsa World