Afghanistan — Combined Force Kills Dozens of Insurgents

WASHINGTON — An Afghan-inter­na­tion­al secu­ri­ty force killed more than two dozen insur­gents and cap­tured sev­er­al oth­ers while pur­su­ing a senior Tal­iban com­man­der in Afghanistan’s Kun­duz province last night, mil­i­tary offi­cials report­ed.

The com­bined force went to a com­pound in the province’s Kun­duz dis­trict, after intel­li­gence infor­ma­tion con­firmed the Tal­iban were stag­ing for a large attack. As the Afghan-led ele­ment moved into the tar­get area, it imme­di­ate­ly began receiv­ing fire from a mosque and sur­round­ing woods, and then returned fire. Short­ly after, sev­er­al armed men ran toward and fired on the com­bined force. They were engaged and killed. Oth­er insur­gents were killed as they con­tin­ued to fire on the com­bined force with machine guns, auto­mat­ic rifles and hand grenades. 

Close-air sup­port was used, offi­cials said, but not on the mosque and not on the com­pound, which received only minor dam­age. No civil­ians were harmed dur­ing this oper­a­tion, offi­cials added. 

In oth­er news from Afghanistan, sev­er­al insur­gents were killed and about a dozen oth­ers were detained as a com­bined Afghan-inter­na­tion­al patrol searched for a Pak­istani-based Tal­iban com­man­der in Hel­mand province last night. 

As the com­bined force approached the com­pound in the province’s San­gin dis­trict, it began receiv­ing fire. Sev­er­al armed men were seen mov­ing to a near­by tree line, and they were engaged and killed. The secu­ri­ty force cap­tured sev­er­al oth­er mil­i­tants as they searched in and around the com­pound. The com­bined force found mul­ti­ple auto­mat­ic rifles and chest racks, and a tun­nel sys­tem in the com­pound was dis­cov­ered and cleared. 

The tar­get­ed mil­i­tant is a Pak­istani-based Tal­iban com­man­der respon­si­ble for attacks against the Inter­na­tion­al Secu­ri­ty Assis­tance Force and is believed to be involved in train­ing and mov­ing for­eign fighters. 

In Kan­da­har province last night, a com­bined force in the Gho­rak dis­trict cap­tured a Tal­iban com­man­der respon­si­ble for attacks on coali­tion patrols and bases. He also has been involved in plant­i­ng road­side bombs and facil­i­tat­ing move­ment of for­eign fight­ers, offi­cials said. Two oth­er mil­i­tants were also captured. 

The secu­ri­ty force found mul­ti­ple auto­mat­ic rifles and about 100 pounds of hero­in. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed dur­ing the oper­a­tion, offi­cials said. 

In Log­ar province last night, sev­er­al sus­pect­ed mil­i­tants were detained by an Afghan-inter­na­tion­al secu­ri­ty force pur­su­ing a Tal­iban com­man­der. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed dur­ing the oper­a­tion. The tar­get­ed insur­gent is a Tal­iban sub­com­man­der believed to be heav­i­ly involved with road­side-bomb attacks and small-arms ambush­es against coali­tion forces. 

In the Nad‑e Ali dis­trict of Hel­mand yes­ter­day, a com­bined patrol found a weapons and drug cache con­sist­ing of an 82 mm rock­et, a rock­et-pro­pelled grenade tail fin, a 105 mm shell cas­ing, a 30 mm shell cas­ing and 24 pounds of opium. 

Also yes­ter­day, an ISAF patrol found three rock­et-pro­pelled grenades, three shot­guns, two grenades and two mor­tar rounds in Kandahar’s Zharay district. 

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