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Ministry of defense
PAO
Media Analysis section
Media Analysis Executive Summary for
2 June – 2015
61 Insurgents Killed in ANSF Military Operations.
Tolo news
At least 61 insurgents have been killed and six others injured in a series of coordinated operations over the past 24 hours by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said in a statement on Monday.
In addition, 72 others were injured and another was arrested.
The operations were conducted in Kunduz, Badakhshan, Zabul, Uruzgan, Badghis, Nimroz and Kandahar provinces, the statement said.
"During the same 24 hour period, Afghan National Police discovered and defused nine different types of IEDs placed by enemies of Afghanistan for destructive activities in Baghlan, Balkh and Paktiya provinces," it said.
The MoI, however, did not comment on whether any security force members were injured during the operations.
India exporting medicines to Afghanistan at minimal cost.
Ani news
New Delhi, June 1 (ANI): India is exporting medicines to Afghanistan at a cost much lower than the pharmaceutical products of western nations to tap the healthcare market in the war-torn country.
Currently, 96 per cent of Afghanistan's pharmaceutical needs are met from overseas imports with a large part of it coming from India.
Cooper Pharma, a Delhi based pharmaceutical company, is among many Indian firms exporting medicines to Afghanistan. The company supplies a wide range of medicines to Afghanistan since 1993, including antibiotics, oral antibiotics, injections and syrups at a very low price.
Director of Cooper Pharma Limited Abhishek Bhargava said that the medicines coming to Afghanistan from the US and Europe are very expensive due the high premium charged by them.
"So, the second option there is Pakistan, with whom they have land connectivity. Production cost and cost of the medicines from Pakistan is quite high as compared to India. So with the efforts of the Indian manufacturers and Indian government, India is now gaining foothold in Afghanistan market and a number of Indian companies are operating there. Indian products are also better in packaging, better from the cost point of view and each company has a better range of products," he said.
India has been exporting medicines to Afghanistan since 1992. The export of 48 million dollars of medicines to Afghanistan is expected to rise by 500 million dollars in the next three years.
Bhargava further said that doctors and distributors in Afghanistan have a positive opinion about Indian pharmaceutical products.
"We are supplying good quality products to them. The packaging is also good, we are getting positive reports from the doctors and the distributors. So the popularity is spreading by word of mouth. We are also supplying to the government of Afghanistan. The products are in circulation throughout the country including major government hospitals, the ministry stores outside the hospitals and retail outlets owned by the government," he said.
"People are aware of the quality of Indian medicines so automatically the sale is increasing without any special efforts," he added.
India is not only exporting medicines to Afghanistan but is also helping in providing medical and technical assistance to improve the healthcare sector in the country ravaged by years of conflict.
Taliban Attack Regional Afghan Police Headquarters .
Voa NEWS
ISLAMABAD—
Afghan officials said Monday that a late night Taliban attack on an eastern provincial police headquarters left five insurgents dead and up to 10 policemen wounded.
Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Seddiqi says security forces captured one of the attackers alive in the terrorist raid in the city of Jalalabad, near the Pakistani border.
The attack began shortly before midnight with a suicide bomber detonating his explosives-packed vehicle near the entrance gate, clearing the way for several heavily armed insurgents to force their way into the premises.
Provincial officials say Afghan forces inside the compound engaged the assailants, sparking a gunfight that continued into Monday morning and ending when security forces overpowered the attackers.
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, however, said four of its men took part in the assault. In a statement emailed to reporters, he claimed an “important meeting” of senior police and counterterrorism local as foreign officials was underway at the police headquarters at the time of the attack.
He gave a much higher figure of Afghan security personnel killed or wounded in the raid. But the insurgent group often exaggerates casualties and other details about such incidents of violence.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, while addressing security forces in western Herat province during a visit on Monday, said that insurgent attacks particularly in northern Afghanistan are aimed at disrupting implementation of economic projects.
He praised the national forces as “the guardians of national unity” for making concerted efforts to eliminate insurgents. Ghani went on to say, "the enemy wants us weak, but the government will only negotiate with the Taliban from a position of strength."
There no signs of any peace dialogue taking place between the Taliban and the Afghan government to end the violent insurgent campaign. Analysts say the increase in Taliban attacks could be an attempt to strengthen its bargaining position if and when the Islamist group decides to come to the table.
Three civilians killed, five wounded in rocket attacks in southern Afghanistan.
Khaama press
Three civilians lost lives and five others wounded after rockets landed on residential areas in southern Afghanistan.
Officials in southern Kandahar province say that a rocket landed in Surkh Abad area of Ghorak District around 08:00 am this morning leaving two civilians killed and another wounded.
Those killed are father and son and the one wounded is a child of the same family.
Another rocket hit a compound in Helmand province leaving a woman killed and four people wounded.
Officials say the rocket landed in Shakar Shila area of Sangin District. Those wounded in the strike were immediately transported to a nearby medical facility by the security forces for treatment.
This is third rocket landing on civilian-populated areas in two days.
A rocket landed at a school in Logar province that claimed the lives of a teacher and student yesterday.
Renzi pays surprise visit to troops in Afghanistan.
(ANSA) - Rome, June 1 - Premier Matteo Renzi is paying a surprise visit to Italian troops in Afghanistan on Monday, ANSA sources said. The leader of the centre-left Democratic Party was flying to Herat, where Italian troops have a base, the sources said. They added that the trip was linked to the celebrations for Italy's Republic Day national holiday on Tuesday.
High cost of healthcare for UK military amputees from Afghan conflict revealed .
3.imperial.ac.uk/news
Researchers have calculated that £288 million is the cost of lifetime care for amputee veterans from the Afghanistan conflict.
Roadside bombs or improvised explosive devices (IEDs) were a leading cause of injury in UK armed forces personnel serving in the conflict in Afghanistan, which occurred between 2001 and 2014. More servicemen and women have been surviving blast injuries in recent years, thanks to better protection equipment, improved medical care and the rapid evacuation of casualties. However, surviving patients have complex wounds and the long-term medical and financial impacts of their injuries are still being investigated.
Understanding the cost implications is an important part of planning how to care for injured veterans in the long-term, in order to make their lives more comfortable.
–Professor Anthony Bull
Director of CBIS from Imperial College London
Researchers from TheRoyal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies (CBIS) at Imperial College London have carried out a comprehensive analysis highlighting the extent and nature of amputations on British service personnel from the Afghan conflict and calculated the long-term healthcare costs. This is the first study to place a figure on the long-term cost of care for British amputees in this context.
The team say understanding the projected healthcare costs will enable policy makers to more adequately prepare for the needs of these veterans in the future. The study also sheds light on the continued research needed to understand the long-term impact of these blast injuries.
In the study, the researchers found that from the first roadside blast casualty in 2003, to the UK’s withdrawal in 2014, there were 265 casualties who sustained 416 amputations. The most common type of amputation from IEDs was above the knee, with 153 casualties, followed by 143 below the knee.
The team calculates that medical support for these veterans over an average remaining lifetime of 40 years will be approximately £288 million, when the combined cost of trauma care, rehabilitation and prosthetics are factored in.
However, the overall costs could climb even higher when factoring in: illnesses, not directly related to blast injuries; amputees receiving new prosthetics, following design improvements; and economic losses resulting in veterans being forced to drop out of the workforce due to their injuries.
The study, published today in the journal Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, highlights the need for policymakers to develop a long-term approach to caring for amputees.
Professor Anthony Bull, co-author of the study and Director of CBIS from Imperial College London, said: “The Centre is focused on supporting the military to ensure the best care possible for veterans who have their lost limbs while serving their country. Understanding the cost implications is an important part of planning how to care for injured veterans in the long-term, in order to make their lives more comfortable.
Ongoing evaluation of these injured soldiers will be needed to assess the level and specialisation of care required as they age. It is likely that these veterans will be subjected to chronic health problems experienced by the general population as well as specific issues as a result of their injuries.
The lives of these servicemen and women could be improved if policymakers develop more effective and sustained medical and social support.
“Our research is a great example of scientists from the Blast Centre and Ministry of Defence working together to shed light this massively important issue. However, we still have a very long way to go to understand the long-term impact that these injuries have on our servicemen and women. That is why we are working with The Royal British Legion and the Government to carry out more research in this field.”
Sue Freeth, The Royal British Legion’s Director of Operations, said: "This is the first attempt we know of to publish an independent estimate of the lifetime health care cost of the British service personnel seriously injured by IEDs in Afghanistan. The Legion has been concerned for some time that the lifetime care of seriously injured veterans was under estimated.
This paper should alert health commissioners to the scale of the problem, and help them to plan ahead to meet the lifetime health care needs of this generation. Many of the injured veterans from Afghanistan have survived only because of the innovation of modern military and NHS medicine and medics on the battlefield, and the need for a lifetime of health care to support them is in danger of being over looked as the spot light moves away from this conflict."
A breakdown of the healthcare costs by the researchers show the base cost over 40 years of single amputees was £0.87 million ($US 1.34 million) for a transtibial or below the knee amputees, £1.16 million ($US1.79 million) for a through-knee amputee, and £1.16 million ($US1.79million) for a transfemoral or above the knee amputees.
The researchers compared their costs to a study carried in 2010, which shows the estimated healthcare budget needed for US amputee veterans from the Afghan conflict. The study showed the lifetime cost of healthcare for veterans who had lost an arm was $US 0.82 million, $US 1.46 million for veterans who had lost a leg, $US 2.12 million those who had lost both arms and $US 2.90 million for multiple limbs.
To carry out the study, the researchers used a four part methodology. This included analysing previous studies on the cost of amputee care in the UK; using an economic model to estimate the cost for long-term healthcare costs of veterans; and carrying out a statistical cost comparison between British veterans from Afghanistan and veterans from previous conflicts such as the Vietnam War. They also did a retrospective investigation of trauma-related amputations recorded in the UK Joint Theatre Trauma and Prosthetic database, which belongs to the Ministry of Defence.
CBIS researchers are now collaborating on a study with the British Military and King’s College London to investigate the health and well-being of veterans over a 20 year period. The aim is to find ways of improving the long-term support for people who have sustained blast injuries.
TheRoyal British Legion Centre for Blast Injury Studies (CBIS) is the first collaboration of its kind in the UK, where civilians including engineers and scientists are working alongside military doctors, supported by charitable funding, to improve protective gear and develop better treatments for people injured from roadside bombs or IEDs.
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