Afghan, Coalition Patrol Kills Insurgents, Seizes Weapons

WASHINGTON, July 11, 2011 — A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion patrol killed sev­er­al insur­gents dur­ing a search for a Tal­iban leader dur­ing an oper­a­tion in the Saraj dis­trict of Afghanistan’s Hel­mand province yes­ter­day, mil­i­tary offi­cials report­ed.

The oper­a­tion also result­ed in the dis­cov­ery of an impro­vised explo­sive device fac­to­ry. The patrol seized 16 impro­vised explo­sive devices, eight anti-per­son­nel mines, six grenades, sev­er­al rock­ets, two sui­cide IED vests packed with explo­sives and det­o­na­tors, a large amount of IED com­po­nents and small-arms ammunition. 

In oth­er Afghanistan oper­a­tions yesterday: 

— In the Kun­duz dis­trict of Kun­duz province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained two sus­pects while search­ing for a Tal­iban leader. The leader plans and con­ducts attacks against local Afghan gov­ern­ment offi­cials and Afghan Nation­al Secu­ri­ty Forces. 

— An Afghan-led force killed one armed insur­gent and detained sev­er­al sus­pects dur­ing a secu­ri­ty search in the Gho­rak dis­trict of Kan­da­har province. The force was in the dis­trict search­ing for a Tal­iban senior mil­i­tary leader respon­si­ble for plan­ning and exe­cut­ing road­side bomb attacks. Sev­er­al indi­vid­u­als with sus­pect­ed ties to the Tal­iban were detained for fur­ther questioning. 

— A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion patrol dis­cov­ered a vehi­cle being pre­pared for use as an IED at a secu­ri­ty check­point in the Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict of Hel­mand province. The patrol dis­cov­ered more than 1,300 pounds of home­made explo­sives anda cord lead­ing to a 9‑volt bat­tery and six home­made det­o­na­tors hid­den in var­i­ous com­part­ments through­out the vehicle. 

— In the Qalat dis­trict of Zab­ul province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained one sus­pect­ed insur­gent dur­ing an overnight secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion. The tar­get of the oper­a­tion was a Tal­iban leader respon­si­ble for kid­nap­ping and killing Afghan gov­ern­ment offi­cials in the province. 

— Dur­ing a secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion in the Zharay dis­trict of Kan­da­har province, an Afghan-led force detained two sus­pect­ed insur­gents. The force was in the area search­ing for Tal­iban insur­gents respon­si­ble for dis­trib­ut­ing weapons. 

— Also in the Zharay dis­trict, an Afghan-led force detained a sus­pect­ed insur­gent. The secu­ri­ty force was in the area search­ing for a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor respon­si­ble for the move­ment of explo­sives and personnel. 

— In the Mata Khan dis­trict of Pak­ti­ka province, an Afghan-led force cap­tured a Tal­iban leader and one asso­ciate dur­ing an overnight oper­a­tion. The leader was respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing and con­duct­ing road­side bomb, sui­cide and ambush attacks. 

— In the Sabari dis­trict of Khost province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained a Haqqani facil­i­ta­tor and sev­er­al sus­pects dur­ing an overnight oper­a­tion. The Haqqani facil­i­ta­tor is linked toco­or­di­nat­ing the trans­fer of weapons, ammu­ni­tion and explo­sive materials. 

In July 9 operations: 

— An Afghan-led com­bined secu­ri­ty force detained two Haqqani lead­ers and sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents dur­ing an overnight search in the Sabari dis­trict of Khost province. The first Haqqani leader was respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing indi­rect fire, road­side bomb, and direct fire attacks against the Afghan army. He also financed and sup­plied sub­or­di­nate fighters. 

The sec­ond leader coor­di­nat­ed large scale and indi­rect fire attacks against the Afghan a. He also sup­plied sub­or­di­nate fight­ers with weapons and sup­plies. The secu­ri­ty force also dis­cov­ered sev­er­al grenades, AK-47 rifles, chest racks and armor-pierc­ing ammunition. 

— In the Ghazni dis­trict of Ghazni province, an Afghan-led com­bined force killed one Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor and detained two suspects.

In July 8 operations: 

— A com­bined Afghan-coali­tion force seized a drug cache and detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents dur­ing an oper­a­tion in the Mai­wand dis­trict of Kan­da­har province. About 772 pounds of dry opi­um was con­fis­cat­ed. All drugs were safe­ly destroyed on site. 

— In the Zharay dis­trict of Kan­da­har province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force dis­cov­ered a weapons cache con­sist­ing of four 155mm rounds and five 82mm recoil­less rifle rounds. 

— Also in the Zharay dis­trict of Kan­da­har province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force dis­cov­ered and seized a drug cache con­sist­ing of 132 pounds of opium. 

— In the Muham­mad Aghah dis­trict of Log­ar province, an Afghan patrol dis­cov­ered a weapons cache. The cache con­sist­ed of three rock­et pro­pelled grenade launch­ers, five rock­et pro­pelled grenade rounds, sev­en mines, approx­i­mate­ly 50 feet of det­o­na­tion cord, four radio adapters, two remote con­trols, one glob­al posi­tion­ing sys­tem and three 36-inch antennas.

— A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained an Islam­ic Move­ment of Uzbek­istan explo­sives expert and one of his asso­ciates dur­ing an overnight oper­a­tion in the Kun­duz dis­trict of Kun­duz province. The explo­sives expert, who recent­ly returned from Pak­istan, was the lead insur­gent explo­sives train­er in north­ern Afghanistan and a liai­son with the Taliban. 

— In the Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict of Hel­mand province, an Afghan-led force detained sev­er­al sus­pects. The tar­get was a Tal­iban leader who coor­di­nates move­ment of explo­sive mate­ri­als for insur­gents through­out the district. 

— An Afghan-led force detained a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor and sev­er­al of his asso­ciates dur­ing an overnight search in the Andar dis­trict of Ghazni province. The facil­i­ta­tor is respon­si­ble for assist­ing sui­cide attacks and plan­ning large scale attacks against Afghan secu­ri­ty forces. 

— In Khost province, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force cap­tured a Haqqani net­work facil­i­ta­tor and sev­er­al asso­ciates dur­ing an overnight oper­a­tion in the Sabari dis­trict. The facil­i­ta­tor was respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing mor­tar attacks against the Afghan army. 

— Also in the Sabari dis­trict, an Afghan-led secu­ri­ty force detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents. The tar­get of the search was a Haqqani net­work leader respon­si­ble for road­side bomb and direct-fire attacks against the Afghan army. 

— Dur­ing a secu­ri­ty search in the Khugyani dis­trict of Nan­garhar province, an Afghan-led force detained mul­ti­ple sus­pects. The secu­ri­ty force was search­ing for a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor who sup­ports the move­ment of fight­ers and weapons with­in the dis­trict, and is also respon­si­ble for direct fire attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces. 

Source:
Com­piled from Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force Joint Com­mand News Releases 

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