One U.S. soldier killed, two wounded in southern Afghanistan
One U.S. Army soldier was killed and two others were injured in southern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said July 5.
The U.S. said that Pfc. Hansen B. Kirkpatrick, 19, of Wasilla, Alaska, was killed July 3 by indirect fire in Helmand Province. He was assigned to the 1st Brigade Combat Team of the 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss, Texas.
Two soldiers were wounded in the attack. Their wounds aren’t considered life-threatening and they’re being treated at a coalition medical facility.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, a Pentagon spokesman, said the soldiers were outside the base in the Nawah district, working with their Afghan partners. They were hit in by a mortar.
There has been a recent increase in U.S. military deaths and injuries in Afghanistan as the fighting season with the Taliban becomes more intense and American forces work more closely with their Afghan partners in the battle.
Hundreds of U.S. forces, including Marines, are in the south. AP
Pakistan test-fires short-range ballistic missile
Pakistan says it has successfully tested a short-range surface-to-surface ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
The military said July 5 the NASR is a high-precision weapons system with the ability for quick deployment and a range of 70 kilometers, or 43.5 miles. It added that this system will augment credible deterrence against prevailing threats more effectively.
Army chief Gen. Qamar Javed Bajwa, who was at the launch, said that Pakistan will go to any lengths to ensure regional peace and stability and underlined the missiles are meant to stress that war is not an option.
He also said that Pakistan’s strategic capability is a guarantee of peace against a highly militarized and belligerent neighbor — an obvious reference to archenemy India. AP
Russian bombers strike Islamic State group in Syria
The Russian military says its bombers have fired cruise missiles at the Islamic State group in Syria.
The Defense Ministry says Tu-95 bombers launched X-101 cruise missiles on IS facilities in the area along the boundary between the provinces of Hama and Homs. It says three ammunition depots and a command facility near the town of Aqirbat were destroyed in the July 5 strikes.
The ministry said the bombers flew from their base in southwestern Russia and launched the missiles at a distance of 1,000 620 miles from the target.
Russia has waged an air campaign in support of Syrian President Bashar Assad since September 2015. The Russian military has used the campaign to test its latest weapons, including long-range cruise missiles, in combat for the first time. AP