Afghanistan — Afghan, International Force Clears Haqqani Stronghold

WASHINGTON, June 14, 2010 — Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force offi­cials in Afghanistan have con­firmed that Fazil Sub­han, a Haqqani ter­ror­ist net­work com­man­der known to facil­i­tate for­eign fight­ers, was killed along with mul­ti­ple insur­gents by Afghan and inter­na­tion­al forces in a two-day offen­sive in Khost province last week, mil­i­tary offi­cials said.

The Haqqani fight­ers were in for­ti­fied fight­ing posi­tions in an area known for ambush attacks against inter­na­tion­al troops south­west of Kowte Kheyl in Khost’s Shamul dis­trict. The Afghan-inter­na­tion­al force also dis­cov­ered and destroyed a build­ing used to store ammu­ni­tion, heavy weapons and explo­sive materials. 

Haqqani net­work com­man­ders con­tin­u­al­ly seek to estab­lish strong­holds in Khost province to dis­rupt local gov­er­nance and facil­i­tate the move­ment of fight­ers, explo­sives and weapons into the coun­try, offi­cials said. They have ties to al-Qai­da and the Tal­iban, and claimed respon­si­bil­i­ty, along with Pak­istani Tal­iban mil­i­tants, for a dead­ly sui­cide attack in Decem­ber against intel­li­gence offi­cers in Khost. 

ISAF offi­cials also report­ed details of the fol­low­ing recent operations: 

— A com­bined Afghan-inter­na­tion­al force detained six sus­pect­ed insur­gents in Kun­duz province last night while search­ing for a facil­i­ta­tor respon­si­ble for plan­ning and coor­di­nat­ing attacks against Afghan and inter­na­tion­al forces. One man was killed after he reached for his weapon and dis­played hos­tile intent. 

— In the Charkh and Bara­ki Barak dis­tricts of Log­ar province last night, a com­bined force detained a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor respon­si­ble for impro­vised explo­sive device emplace­ment and attacks against inter­na­tion­al forces. 

— A com­bined Afghan and inter­na­tion­al force detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents in Zab­ul province the night of June 12 while search­ing a com­pound in the Shah Joy dis­trict in pur­suit of a Tal­iban com­man­der respon­si­ble for coor­di­nat­ing and assist­ing in direct-fire attacks and com­plex ambush­es against coali­tion forces. 

— An Afghan-inter­na­tion­al patrol dis­cov­ered ille­gal drugs, weapons and ammu­ni­tion, and detained sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents in Kun­duz province June 11. The patrol dis­cov­ered about 250 pounds of opi­um, 2,000 rounds of small-arms ammu­ni­tion and sev­er­al assault rifles and rock­et pro­pelled grenades north of Kun­duz city. Vil­lage elders con­vinced the sus­pects to sur­ren­der peace­ful­ly, and the opi­um and ammu­ni­tion were destroyed on site. 

— Afghan forces with ISAF part­ners con­duct­ed an oper­a­tion in the vil­lage of Chardah in Hel­mand province, June 11 to dis­rupt a Tal­iban net­work respon­si­ble for plan­ning and con­duct­ing attacks against Afghan and ISAF forces, and for sup­ply­ing mate­ri­als used in con­struct­ing road­side bombs. After sur­round­ing the com­pound where the Tal­iban insur­gents were sus­pect­ed to be, Afghan spe­cial police ensured all res­i­dents of the com­pound exit­ed safe­ly. Women and chil­dren were pro­tect­ed while sev­er­al sus­pect­ed insur­gents were detained. 

— An Afghan-inter­na­tion­al secu­ri­ty force cap­tured a Tal­iban sub­com­man­der and anoth­er indi­vid­ual sus­pect­ed of insur­gent activ­i­ty in Ghazni province’s Muqer dis­trict the night of June 11. The sub­com­man­der is believed to be respon­si­ble for plan­ning and con­duct­ing oper­a­tions against coali­tion forces, includ­ing plant­i­ng road­side bombs and gath­er­ing intelligence. 

— In Khost the night of June 11, a com­bined secu­ri­ty force detained a num­ber of sus­pect­ed insur­gents while pur­su­ing a Haqqani net­work IED facil­i­ta­tor in Khost province’s Sabari district. 

— An Afghan-inter­na­tion­al force con­duct­ed a num­ber of oper­a­tions against the Tal­iban in south­ern Hel­mand province over the past 10 days. The oper­a­tions took place in mul­ti­ple loca­tions in the Reg‑e Khan Neshin dis­trict, and were designed to dis­rupt and restrict the move­ment of Tal­iban fight­ers and the sup­ply of weapons into cen­tral Hel­mand province, offi­cials said. Tal­iban fight­ers engaged the Afghan-led com­bined force on numer­ous occa­sions, and sev­er­al of the insur­gents who engaged the com­bined force were killed. The team seized four assault rifles and a sniper rifle with ammu­ni­tion, as well as a mor­tar and rocket. 

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