Afghanistan War News Updates -- July 28, 2010

Pentagon Report Shows Huge Jump in IED Attacks in Afghanistan -- Defense Tech

The chart above shows monthly IED “incidents,” defined as IEDs placed by insurgents and either found or detonated, in Afghanistan from January 2004 to April this year. It comes from an alarming report from the Pentagon’s Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) that was provided to CSIS’s Anthony Cordesman.

The JIEDDO data shows an astounding jump in IED incidents occurred beginning summer 2009 — coinciding with the Marine offensive in the Helmand River Valley — and IED attacks have steadily mounted. There were more than 1,000 IED incidents during March, April and May of this year; nearly half of total incidents involved IEDs detonating. As the JIEDDO brief notes, a “significant number” of IEDs may have been emplaced but were never found or detonated.

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More News On Afghanistan

Blast kills 25 on bus in southern Afghanistan -- L.A. Times
Bus hits roadside bomb, killing 25 in Afghanistan -- AP
Afghanistan bus blast 'kills 25' -- BBC
Insurgents Strike Bus in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Separate roadside blasts kill 27 Afghan civilians -- CNN

Body of Missing U.S. Sailor Is Found in Afghanistan -- New York Times
Missing U.S. Navy service member confirmed dead in Afghanistan -- L.A. Times
One Sailor's Body Found, One Missing In Afghanistan -- NPR/AP
2 missing U.S. sailors in Afghanistan took wrong turn, NATO says -- Washington Post

Afghans And NATO At Odds Over Civilian Deaths Report -- New York Times/Reuters
Allegations of Civilian Casualty in Logar Province Are False -- US Department of Defense

House Democrats Buck President Obama on Afghanistan -- ABC News
Sharp dissent as $37b OK’d for Afghan war -- Boston.com
US Congress approves new funding for Afghan war -- BBC
House GOP helps Obama fund war -- Washington Times
Congress gives Obama long-delayed Afghan war funds -- Reuters
House approves $37 billion war-funding bill -- Washington Post
House Approves $59 Billion for Afghan War -- Wall Street Journal
House Passes Afghan Troop Surge Bill -- CBS News

Close Air Support of COP Kahler at Wanat -- Captain's Journal
In Afghanistan, No Shortage Of Suicide Bombers -- NPR
Security experts urge reconciliation in Afghanistan -- CNN
Poor security, lack of government challenge Kandahar operation -- McClatchy News
U.S. General Wants Afghan Militants Branded Terrorists -- New York Times/Reuters
Mattis Backs 2011 Drawdown Date, Kandahar Ops -- The Danger Room

WikiLeaks: For public, it confirms worst about Afghanistan -- Christian Science Monitor
WikiLeaks highlights U.S. hurdles in run-up to Afghanistan withdrawal -- Xinhuanet