Afghanistan — Forces Conclude Operations Near Pakistan Border

WASHINGTON, April 7, 2011 — Afghan and coali­tion forces con­clud­ed oper­a­tions in the Marawara dis­trict of Kunar province today after clear­ing out insur­gent fight­ers near the vil­lages of Sarow­bay, Barawar­low Kalay, Shiru­gay, Kowt­gay and the sur­round­ing area, mil­i­tary offi­cials report­ed.
The com­bined secu­ri­ty force moved into a moun­tain­ous area near the Pak­istan bor­der to dis­rupt insur­gent activ­i­ties in the region and pro­tect cit­i­zens who live there. More than 80 insur­gents were killed in the oper­a­tion.

Insur­gents had been using the area to move sup­plies and men into Kunar province and to stage attacks on Afghan and coali­tion forces. The insur­gents in the tar­get­ed area were tied to kid­nap­pings, intim­i­da­tion and numer­ous attacks through­out the province. More than 100 insur­gents were engaged dur­ing the offen­sive oper­a­tion that took place near the Afghanistan-Pak­istan border. 

“I con­sid­ered the oper­a­tion to be very effec­tive bring­ing secu­ri­ty and sta­bil­i­ty to the area. In coop­er­a­tion with our inter­na­tion­al friends, we dis­rupt­ed insur­gents’ safe havens,” said Afghan army Maj. Shirin Agha, pub­lic affairs offi­cer, 2nd Infantry Brigade, 201st Corps. “Most impor­tant­ly, there weren’t any civil­ian casualties.” 

Dur­ing the oper­a­tions Afghan and coali­tion forces found numer­ous weapons caches, seiz­ing sev­er­al uni­forms, more than 1,100 machine-gun rounds, 2,000 rounds of AK-47 rifle ammu­ni­tion, more than 200 hand grenades, 33 rock­et-pro­pelled grenades, 22 recoil­less-rifle rounds, nine mines, sev­er­al sniper and AK-47 rifles, six heavy machine guns, six mor­tar rounds, impro­vised explo­sive device-mak­ing mate­ri­als and Tal­iban propaganda. 

Afghan and coali­tion forces also cap­tured a radio sta­tion that had been used as part of a net­work that direct­ed attacks on civil­ians and recruit­ed weapons and money. 

In oper­a­tions yesterday: 

— A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force killed sev­er­al insur­gents, detained numer­ous sus­pect­ed insur­gents and dis­cov­ered a weapons cache dur­ing a secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion in the Qais­ar dis­trict of Faryab province. The forces dis­rupt­ed a Tal­iban safe haven known for impro­vised explo­sive device activ­i­ty and weapons cache sites near Khwa­ja Kin­ti vil­lage in the dis­trict. While con­duct­ing the search, the com­bined secu­ri­ty force was attacked by insur­gents. The force engaged the indi­vid­u­als, killing sev­er­al. They also detained numer­ous sus­pect­ed insur­gents for fur­ther ques­tion­ing. The force dis­cov­ered and destroyed a weapons cache with two IED pres­sure plates, ammu­ni­tion for mul­ti­ple weapons sys­tems, three 100-foot spools of det­o­na­tion cord, three chest racks, mul­ti­ple rock­et-pro­pelled grenade rounds, one RPG pro­pel­lant, 11 RPG boost­ers, 10 pounds of ammo­ni­um nitrate, one main charge for an explo­sive, two 107 mm war­heads, two 82 mm mor­tar rounds, and numer­ous vests with sniper rifle rounds sewn into the inside of the pockets. 

— A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force cap­tured a Tal­iban leader and two oth­er sus­pect­ed insur­gents dur­ing a raid in the Andar dis­trict of Ghazni province. The cell leader was an IED expert who main­tained con­nec­tions with Tal­iban lead­er­ship in the area. 

— An Afghan and coali­tion force cap­tured a Tal­iban leader and detained one sus­pect­ed insur­gent dur­ing a secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion in Bara­ki Barak in Log­ar province. The leader facil­i­tat­ed IED com­po­nents and coor­di­nat­ed attacks with oth­er insur­gent lead­ers in the dis­trict. Also in Bara­ki Barak, a sep­a­rate com­bined force cap­tured a Tal­iban facil­i­ta­tor and one sus­pect­ed insur­gent. The facil­i­ta­tor pro­vid­ed ammu­ni­tion and IED mate­ri­als to Tal­iban associates. 

— In War­dak, a com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained numer­ous insur­gents while search­ing for a Hezb‑E Isla­mi Gul­bud­din net­work leader in the Nerkh dis­trict. The net­work leader rais­es funds in order to plan and coor­di­nate attacks against Afghan and coali­tion forces with oth­er Hezb‑E Isla­mi Gul­bud­din lead­ers in the dis­trict. Fifty pounds of mar­i­jua­na was dis­cov­ered and safe­ly destroyed. No shots fired and no civil­ians harmed dur­ing the operation. 

— A com­bined Afghan and coali­tion force detained numer­ous sus­pect­ed insur­gents while tar­get­ing a Tal­iban leader dur­ing a secu­ri­ty oper­a­tion in the Zharay dis­trict of Kan­da­har province. The leader acquires IED com­po­nents for dis­tri­b­u­tion through­out the dis­trict. He also facil­i­tates the coor­di­na­tion and exe­cu­tion of IED attacks. 

— An ISAF patrol oper­at­ing in the Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict of Hel­mand province dis­cov­ered a weapons cache con­sist­ing of more than 200 7.62 mm rounds, 50 com­mer­cial det­o­na­tors, 22 pounds of explo­sive chem­i­cals, assort­ed trans­mit­ters, receivers and oth­er com­po­nents. The explo­sive mate­ri­als were destroyed on site. 

— Afghan and ISAF troops repelled an insur­gent attack and dis­cov­ered a large nar­cotics cache in the Khash Rod dis­trict of Nim­roz province. A com­bined secu­ri­ty patrol was engaged by sev­er­al insur­gents with small-arms fire. The com­bined forces returned fire, forc­ing the insur­gents to flee. The secu­ri­ty patrol found a large nar­cotics cache con­sist­ing of 220 pounds of opi­um, 17 pounds of hero­in, and chem­i­cals and nar­cotics para­pher­na­lia, one heavy machine gun, one AK-47 rifle, one shot­gun and three full AK-47 magazines. 

— Dur­ing sep­a­rate clear­ing oper­a­tions in Hel­mand province’s Musa Qal’ah dis­trict, two ISAF patrols observed sev­er­al armed insur­gents dis­play­ing hos­tile intent against coali­tion forces. After estab­lish­ing pos­i­tive iden­ti­fi­ca­tion, the ISAF patrols engaged the ene­my posi­tions killing the insurgents. 

— In the Nahr‑e Saraj dis­trict, an Afghan army and ISAF patrol was engaged by insur­gents. The com­bined patrol returned fire and called for air sup­port. The air weapons team killed two insurgents. 

— In Kan­da­har province Afghan and ISAF troops found sev­er­al weapons caches in the Arghandab dis­trict. The caches con­sist­ed of one AK-47 rifle, mul­ti­ple anti-per­son­nel mines, hand grenades, mul­ti­ple auto­mat­ic weapons, heavy machine guns, indi­vid­ual and belt ammu­ni­tion and sev­er­al IED-mak­ing components. 

— In the Chorah dis­trict of Uruz­gan province, a com­bined patrol dis­cov­ered a weapons cache con­sist­ing of 1,000 7.62 mm rounds, sev­en rock­et-pro­pelled grenade rounds and sev­en RPG motors. 

— In the Shin­dand dis­trict of Her­at province, an Afghan civil­ian turned in a weapons cache to coali­tion offi­cials. The cache con­sist­ed of 30 mor­tar rounds and sev­er­al types of ammunition. 

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

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