Afghan, Coalition Forces Detain Suspected Insurgents

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1, 2011 — A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion secu­ri­ty force detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents dur­ing an oper­a­tion in the Wash­er dis­trict of Afghanistan’s Hel­mand province yes­ter­day, mil­i­tary offi­cials report­ed.

The force was search­ing for a senior Tal­iban leader who is respon­si­ble for pro­vid­ing attack guid­ance to sub­or­di­nate insurgents. 

In oth­er oper­a­tions yesterday: 

– A com­bined force in Kan­da­har province detained a Tal­iban leader in Kan­da­har City. The leader was respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing road­side-bomb attacks against Afghan forces. 

– In Zab­ul province’s Shah Joy dis­trict, a com­bined force detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent while search­ing for a Tal­iban leader respon­si­ble for road­side-bomb attacks. 

– A com­bined force in Pak­tia province’s Zur­mat dis­trict detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents while search­ing for a Haqqani ter­ror­ist net­work leader who directs attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

– Also in Pak­tia, secu­ri­ty com­bined force detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents while search­ing in the Dzad­ran dis­trict for a Haqqani net­work leader respon­si­ble for attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

– In Pak­ti­ka province’s Mata Khan dis­trict, a com­bined force detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent while search­ing for a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor who finances insur­gent attacks and pro­vides safe haven for senior insur­gent leaders. 

In July 30 operations: 

– A com­bined secu­ri­ty force killed sev­er­al insur­gents and detained two sus­pects in Hel­mand province’s Kaja­ki dis­trict while look­ing for a Tal­iban financier who works with nar­cotics sup­pli­ers and insur­gent com­man­ders to finance Tal­iban oper­a­tions. As the secu­ri­ty force searched for the financier, they noticed sev­er­al men set­ting up a machine-gun attack and killed them. 

– In Faryab province’s Shirin Tagab dis­trict, a com­bined force act­ing on tips from local res­i­dents killed sev­er­al insur­gents who were plan­ning an ambush. The force fol­lowed intel­li­gence leads to the insur­gent oper­at­ing loca­tion, where they noticed sev­er­al men prepar­ing for the ambush on a sep­a­rate com­bined force. After assess­ing a threat, the secu­ri­ty force fired at the would-be attack­ers, killing sev­er­al. Oth­er sus­pect­ed insur­gents were detained for fur­ther questioning. 

– A com­bined force in Takhar province’s Talo­qan dis­trict detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents while search­ing for an Islam­ic Move­ment of Uzbek­istan ter­ror­ist orga­ni­za­tion sui­cide-attack coor­di­na­tor and planner. 

– A clear­ance oper­a­tion tar­get­ing a Tal­iban safe haven in Hel­mand province’s Kaja­ki dis­trict result­ed in a com­bined force detain­ing numer­ous sus­pect­ed insur­gents while clear­ing a known ene­my nar­cotics traf­fick­ing area. After leav­ing the area, the force was attacked with small-arms and rock­et-pro­pelled grenade fire from a near­by bunker. The force respond­ed with small-arms fire and close air sup­port, destroy­ing the bunker. 

– In Kan­da­har province’s Dand dis­trict, a com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor and anoth­er sus­pect­ed insur­gent dur­ing a night secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion. The cap­tured facil­i­ta­tor was respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing weapons for Tal­iban cells oper­at­ing in east­ern Pan­jwai district. 

– A com­bined force detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents in Zab­ul province’s Qalat dis­trict while search­ing for a Tal­iban leader respon­si­ble for attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

– In Kan­da­har province’s Spin Boldak dis­trict, a com­bined secu­ri­ty force found and seized more than 200 muni­tions, includ­ing rock­et pro­pelled grenades, mor­tar rounds, grenades, anti-tank rounds and rock­et boosters. 

– A com­bined force detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents in Lagh­man province’s Dowlat dis­trict while search­ing for a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor who coor­di­nates attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. Though women and chil­dren came out when the force called for peo­ple to exit the build­ings in the tar­get­ed com­pound, two men refused to com­ply and remained inside. Local women assist­ed the secu­ri­ty force in call­ing for the men to come out, but they refused to leave, and the secu­ri­ty force entered to appre­hend them peace­ful­ly. One of the men was killed when he charged the secu­ri­ty force, dis­play­ing hos­tile intent. It was lat­er dis­cov­ered that he was unarmed. Three peo­ple with sus­pect­ed Tal­iban ties were detained. The force found and con­fis­cat­ed weapons and muni­tions and destroyed 30 pounds of wet opium. 

– In Khost province’s Ter­ayzai dis­trict, a com­bined force detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents while search­ing for a Haqqani net­work leader who directs attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

– A com­bined force in Pak­tia province’s Zur­mat dis­trict cap­tured a Haqqani net­work leader respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing road­side-bomb attacks sup­ply­ing and stor­ing bomb-mak­ing mate­ri­als for oth­er insurgents. 

– In the same dis­trict, a com­bined force detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent while search­ing for a Haqqani net­work leader who con­ducts, coor­di­nates and directs road­side-bomb and indi­rect-fire attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

Source:
Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force