Afghan War:Fourth Service Member Dies from Ghazni Explosion

The Pentagon has announced that,on 2 December 2018,a fourth US service member,Army SGT Jason Mitchell McClary,24,of Export,Pennsylvania,died from wounds received in a 27 November IED attack on a convoy in Andar District,Ghazni Province,Afghanistan.SGT McClary died in Landstuhl,Germany,to which he had been transported for further medical care.He is survived by his wife and two children.
The convoy was on a mission to engage the Taliban militants,after Ghazni leaders had requested  assistance from US Forces-Afghanistan.Unlike the other three fatalities,SGT McClary was not a Special Operations Forces member,but an infantryman serving with the 1st Battalion,38th Infantry Regiment,1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team,4th Infantry Division,out of Fort Carson,Colorado.He was serving in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel,the extension of the original combat mission against Islamist extremists following 9-11.*
SGT McClary had completed a tour in Iraq previous to his current deployment to Afghanistan,which began in April.He had received two Purple Heart Medals even before this incident.Among his other decorations were the Army Commendation Medal with Valor;Army Commendation Medal (Combat);NATO Medal;Afghanistan Campaign Medal with Campaign Star;Iraq Campaign Medal with Campaign Star;and the Combat Infantry Badge.*
LTC Christopher Roberts,commander,1st Battalion,38th Infantry Regiment,said that:
SGT McClary served honorably as an up-armored vehicle gunner for the Attack Company.His memory and contributions will never be forgotten.*
Two other US service members and a contractor were wounded in the attack.SGT McClary's death brings the US fatality count in Afghanistan for 2018 to 14,with five of them having occurred in November.*
"Rejoice not against me,O mine enemy;when I fall,I shall arise;when I sit in darkness,the Lord shall be a light unto me."
-Micah 7:8

Special Report:US Army Green Berets,Afghan Special Forces Killed in Joint NATO-Afghan Raid

Early on Thursday,3 November 2016,five Special Operations Forces members,including two US Army Green Berets and three Afghan Special Forces members,died in heavy combat with Taliban militants in Kunduz Province,Northern Afghanistan.The joint NATO-Afghan counterterror raid targeted senior Taliban commanders.It ended when airstrikes by both Afghan and then,when the Afghans did not succeed by themselves,NATO aircraft,were called in to rescue friendly forces surrounded by enemy fire,according to the Afghan Defence Ministry.*
Killed in the battle were Captain Andrew D. Byers,30,of Rolesville,North Carolina and Sergeant First Class Ryan A. Gloyer,34,of Greenville,Pennsylvania.CAPT Byers and SGT Gloyer were assigned to 2nd Battalion,10th Special Forces Group(Airborne),Fort Carson,Colorado.The 10th Special Forces Group(Airborne) conducts combat,unconventional warfare,special reconnaissance and foreign internal defence missions focused mainly in the US European Command Area of Responsibility.Since 9-11,they have seen action in both the Afghan and Iraq Wars,as well as service in Africa.*
Reports of up to 24 civilians being killed in the battle are being investigated by the US State Department.The Kunduz Provincial Police said the Islamist extremist Taliban took refuge in civilian homes in the village of Buze Kandahari,where the battle was concentrated,using them as human shields.Buze Kandahari is near Kunduz city,a frequent flash point in the 15 year-long conflict.

3rd Brigade Combat Team Leaves for Kuwait;Recidivist Former Detainee Killed in Afghanistan

The US Army's 3rd Brigade Combat Team held a farewell ceremony at Fort Carson,Colorado on Valentine's Day prior to leaving for Kuwait to serve as the US Central Command's Reserve force for the Middle East.More than 4,000 soldiers,along with their M-1 tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles,would be the first large scale combat unit to go in and confront ISIL in Iraq,should an emergency arise.Many of the troops are Iraq War veterans.The US withdrew its forces from Iraq in 2011,but has since sent in 2600 service members to train,advise and assist Iraqi and Kurdish forces in Operation Inherent Resolve,the multi-national anti-ISIL mission.
The Combat Team will also be available for humanitarian assistance and training of other armies in the region.The unit is confident and taking pride in being ready for any contingency.*
Last week,ISIL captured most of the strategic Iraqi town of al-Baghdadi,important for being located only nine miles from al-Asad Air Base,where 320 US Marines are stationed on a training mission.Fighting outside the town continues.Twenty to twenty-five ISIL militants and up to eight suicide bombers attacked the base dressed in Iraqi uniforms.According to the Pentagon,the militants apparently got to the base's outer perimeter and opened up with indirect fire.US helicopters were dispatched to the area,but didn't need to fire a shot.The Iraqi security force handled the militants admirably,killing most of them.
There are multiple entrances to the huge base,and it has been attacked many times over the years.It is pretty hard to penetrate a base of that size.As for indirect fire,rockets are usually fired by militants from a handmade rail,and their mortar fire is inaccurate without a forward observer,said General Mark Hertling,US Army Retired.
In any event,the area they attacked was some distance from the Marines' location. Still,they will probably attempt another assault on the base.*
ISIL is spreading its influence throughout the Middle East and beyond.It is now active to varying degrees in Afghanistan,Pakistan,Algeria,Libya,Yemen,Egypt,Iraq and Syria.Their presence in Afghanistan is nascent at best,said Pentagon spokesman Rear Admiral John Kirby last week.It's more aspirational than anything else.
All the same,US forces in Afghanistan conducted a precision strike in Helmand Province,resulting in the death of eight people engaged in hostile activity against US and Afghan forces,including Abdul Rauf Khadim,a former Taliban commander.Khadim was captured by US troops in Afghanistan in 2001.He was imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay facility and,upon his release in 2007,returned to his Taliban militant activities.Then last month,he swore allegiance to ISIL.He joined ISIL no more than a couple weeks ago,RADM Kirby indicated.