ISAF Joint Command morning operational update

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

08.30.2011

Courtesy Story

ISAF Joint Command

KABUL, Afghanistan – A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed more than 10 insurgents and detained another nine during separate, overnight searches targeting a Haqqani Network attack cell in eastern Afghanistan.

The targets of the searches were several Haqqani facilitators responsible for planning an imminent attack on Kabul city under direction from Haqqani leaders based in Pakistan. Tips from local citizens indicated the insurgents’ locations and that they were organizing the attack to happen in the next few weeks.

In Nerkh District, Wardak province, while initiating the search, the force was attacked by multiple groups of insurgents armed with rocket propelled grenades. Responding to the attacks, the force returned fire, killing several.

A separate team, led by Afghan troops, searched for another facilitator at a compound in Andar District, Ghazni province. As the force initiated the search they were engaged by a group of armed insurgents who were barricaded in a nearby building. The force made several attempts to call upon the insurgents to leave the building, however the insurgents continued to fire. As a protection measure, the force called in air strikes to engage the armed men. Multiple insurgents were killed and several were detained as a result of the strike. Following the engagement, members of the security force met with local leaders, who indicated the building the insurgents had taken over was the village mosque.

In addition to the searches in Wardak and Ghazni, multiple individuals with suspected ties to the facilitators were detained in Sabari District, Khost province.

No civilians were harmed as a result of the searches, according to operational reporting.

Additionally, International Security Assistance Force officials have already taken steps to convene a shura with local leaders in Ghazni and allocate resources to re-build the mosque that was destroyed during the engagement with the insurgents.

This is one of several recent instances of insurgents using mosques as fighting positions or as ammunition storage spaces. Last month, a group of Haqqani insurgents used a mosque as a defended position while attacking Afghan and coalition security forces during an operation in Bermal District, Paktika province. During that engagement on July 20, the militants were armed with grenades, AK-47 rifles, and chest racks. Additionally, on August 9 in Zharay District, Kandahar province, the security force discovered a mosque which insurgents were using as a storage facility for explosives.

Since the beginning of the year, combined security forces have captured or killed over 100 Haqqani insurgents in Khost, Ghazni, and Wardak provinces. More than 50 of which were leaders or facilitators.

In other ISAF news throughout Afghanistan:

South

In Zharay District, Kandahar province, an Afghan and coalition combined security force detained a Taliban facilitator and two of his associates during a security operation, yesterday. The facilitator was responsible for acquiring and moving weapons, and also financed Taliban operations in the district.

An Afghan and coalition combined security force detained multiple suspected insurgents during a security operation targeting a Taliban facilitator in Nad Ali District, Helmand province, yesterday. The leader coordinates the movement of weapons and roadside bomb materials in the region.

East

A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed two insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader in Khugyani District, Nangarhar province, during an overnight operation. As the force conducted the search, it was threatened and engaged by insurgents. The security force responded by engaging and killing the two attackers.

The original target of this operation was the Taliban-appointed deputy governing official for operations in Azrah District, Logar province. As a senior leader, he directs attacks against Afghan security forces and facilitates suicide bomb attacks in the region.

• Date Taken: 08.30.2011
• Date Posted: 08.30.2011 03:26
• Story ID: 76160
• Location: KABUL, AF