It has been confirmed that an insurgent leader was killed during an Afghan National Security Forces-led operation near Ghoresh, in Kandahar Province earlier this week.

The operation, supported by ISAF forces, was to apprehend the insurgent Mullah Mahmood. Mahmood facilitated and directed the placement of Improvised Explosive Devices within Kandahar Province, risking the lives of Afghan civilians, as well as Afghan National Security Forces and ISAF troops. He also had a known history of manipulating Afghans into becoming suicide bombers and was linked to numerous crimes in the area.

During the operation, Mahmood was given the option to surrender peacefully, but instead attempted to attack security forces and was killed. Fortunately, no civilian casualties resulted from his last act of violence.

Brigadier-General Richard Blanchette, ISAF Spokesperson, said: “The success of this operation shows the people of Afghanistan, and more precisely within Kandahar Province, that security and stability is of the utmost importance to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.”

“With Mahmood no longer operating in the area, the Insurgents’ ability to conduct operations will be significantly degraded in Kandahar province. The most important outcome from this operation is the benefit to the Afghan people. Their safety has improved as Mahmood’s blatant disregard for the lives of innocent civilians has been brought to an end.”

ISAF

Royal Marines from 42 Commando Group, operating as the Regional Battle Group for Southern Afghanistan, have seized and destroyed weapons and bomb-making materials in the latest wave of Operation SHAHI TANDAR (Royal Storm).

The Marines, alongside Afghan security forces, troops from the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment and 2-2 Infantry U.S. Army, launched the three-day operation from January 29-31, deliberately targeting the flow of weapons, explosives and IEDs used by the enemy.

The Marines of Lima Company used a rapid helicopter assault to deploy into an area in the western Afghanistan district of Zhari-Panjwayi, Kandahar province. The speed of the Marines’ raid caught the insurgents off guard as they systematically swept through the area conducting searches of compounds and farm buildings.

The Marines uncovered a large amount of stashed weapons hidden in one of the compounds, including a dozen AK-47 automatic rifles, magazines, ammunition, sacks of home-made explosives, detonator cord used to make IEDs, and six anti-personnel mines.

“This was a deliberately bold and targeted operation, aimed at degrading the insurgents capability in the area. As ever, the speed and agility of air manoeuvre and the thoroughness of the Marines’ searching techniques proved a robust recipe for success,” said Major Neil Willson, Chief of Staff of 42 Commando Group. “We dictate the pace of operations in this area, and the insurgents know this. They are constantly behind the game as we emerge from the Afghan winter.”

ISAF

Several Militants Killed in Maruf District, Kandahar province

Afghan national security forces and coalition forces killed several militants during a security patrol in Maruf District, Kandahar province, Monday [July 21 2008].

Militants attacked the patrol with small-arms fire and rocket propelled grenades from a fortified position.

ANSF and coalition forces returned small-arms fire and called for close air support. Several militants were killed and the position was destroyed.

No ANSF, coalition forces or civilians were killed or injured during this engagement.

ANSF, Coalition Forces Kill Militants in Shah Wali Kot District, Kandahar province

Afghan national security forces and coalition forces killed militants while on a security patrol in Shah Wali Kot District, Kandahar province, Monday [July 21 2008].

ANSF and coalition forces positively identified militants with weapons massing along a ridgeline and moving into fortified fighting positions.

The ANSF and coalition forces engaged them with small-arms fire and called for close air support, killing the militants.

No ANSF, coalition forces or civilians were injured or killed during the engagement.

Militants Killed in Wardak Province

Several militants were killed Tuesday [July 22 2008] during a coalition forces operation to disrupt militant activities in Wardak province.

Coalition forces searched several compounds in Sayed Abad District targeting a Taliban commander suspected of conducting attacks on coalition forces, including the, June 26, attack in Wardak resulting in the deaths of three coalition service members and an Afghan Interpreter.

The anti-Afghan forces attacked the coalition forces with grenades, machineguns and small-arms fire from a house where they were barricaded. Coalition forces returned fire using small-arms, grenades and an airstrike, ultimately killing the militants.

More than 15 insurgents were killed by Afghan National Army and Coalition forces in a farming compound west of Rawonay, Kandahar province, Saturday [June 14 2008], during a search for escaped prisoners from Kandahar City.

A large cache of munitions and IED components were discovered during the search. The combined forces used precision air strikes to destroy the compound after insurgents attacked with small-arms fire.

More than 15 insurgents were killed and five suspects were taken into custody by the ANA.

It has not been confirmed whether the insurgents or the five suspects in custody are escaped prisoners.

No civilian, Afghan or Coalition casualties were reported.

CJTF-101

Dude! Talk about the happiest place on earth!

The commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan congratulated that country’s Ministry of Interior today for finding and destroying a stockpile of about 236.8 metric tonnes of hashish.
“The Afghan National Police Special Task Force has made a huge step forward in proving its capability in curbing the tide of illegal drug trade in this country,” said General David McKiernan, ISAF commander. “With this single find, they have seriously crippled the Taliban’s ability to purchase weapons that threaten the safety and security of the Afghan people and the region.”

The hashish found weighed about as much as 30 double-decker London buses and had an estimated regional wholesale value of $400 million. ISAF officials estimate that the Taliban would have pocketed about $14 million from the sale of the drugs.

The Ministry of Interior’s Afghan National Police Special Task Force received a tip in the morning of June 9 about a possible stockpile of drugs located about 40 kilometres from the Pakistan border in the Spin Buldak District of the Kandahar Province. The Special Task Force found the drugs hidden in multiple trenches, and by the evening, they had destroyed all 236.8 metric tonnes by setting fire to the trenches.

“We, here at the Ministry of Interior of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, note the continuing improvements and professionalism of our Afghanistan National Police,” said Lieutenant General Ab-Hadi Khalid, Minister of Interior’s first deputy minister, during a press conference June 11. “It is due to the education and training they are receiving through the help of the international community.”

General McKiernan said, “The international community will continue to support the Afghan forces with more of the same training and support that helped them achieve such success in this mission.”

The Minister of Interior also reports that in a separate recent counter-narcotics operation in the Helmand Province, the Afghan National Police seized about 5,108 kilograms of opium, which has an estimated value of $30 million, and arrested 13 drug dealers.

“The Afghan National Police have many reasons to be proud this day,” General McKiernan added.

ISAF