Afghan army commandos and their coalition partners killed four militants while simultaneously protecting nearly 90 civilians in an early morning operation today in western Afghanistan, military officials reported.

The combined forces were conducting a raid on a compound, targeting a Taliban commander in Farah province’s Dowlatabad village when they received fire from several enemy fighting positions. The combined forces quickly returned fire and also established a security perimeter to protect the civilians, who included 30 children, officials said.

The exchange of fire resulted in the deaths of four enemy fighters who local residents confirmed were Taliban militants.

During the search for more militants, commandos discovered a fully operational explosive device in a local mosque. Commandos removed the bomb and destroyed it. The detonation caused minor damage to the mosque’s exterior wall, for which the commandos provided compensation to village elders. The operation also uncovered numerous small arms weapons and bomb-making materials.

No Afghan, coalition or civilian casualties resulted from the operation, officials said.

In other news from Afghanistan, Afghan and coalition forces killed 10 militants near Highway 1 in the Nahr Surkh district of Helmand province yesterday. The forces were conducting a security patrol when they were attacked by militants with small-arms and machine-gun fire. They returned fire, killing the 10 militants.

During the engagement, an Afghan soldier was shot in the back. He was treated on site and transported to a nearby Coalition medical facility. No other Afghan or coalition forces or civilians were injured during the engagement, officials said.

Also yesterday, Afghan and coalition forces killed four armed militants and detained eight others yesterday during an operation in Kapisa province in which an Afghan woman and child were injured when the insurgents used them as human shields, officials said.

In the Tagab district, coalition forces provided medical care to the Afghan woman and child, whom the forces believe lived with the militants. The two were injured when one of the militants detonated a hand grenade. They are recovering at a military hospital, officials said.

The operation targeted the Hizb-e-Islami Gulbuddin terrorist network, which is known to plan and coordinate attacks against civilians and coalition forces, including an attack in August that killed 10 French soldiers, officials said.

As the force attempted to search the compound, they received a large volume of small-arms fire and hand grenades from militants barricaded in a section of the compound. Coalition forces responded with small-arms fire and killed them.

A search of the compound revealed multiple AK-47 assault rifles, hand grenades and other military equipment, which were destroyed to prevent future use. The force detained three suspected militants as a result of the operation.

In Khowst province, Afghan and coalition forces captured a targeted Haqqani terrorist network operative and five other suspects during a combined operation in the Mandozai district. The wanted man is a suspect in roadside and suicide bombings, officials said. Troops searched the compound without incident.

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Coalition forces and Afghanistan national police have been teaming up to infiltrate anti-Afghan cells in the Khowst province, proving how effective combined-joint information and assets can be.

Army 1st Lt. Shane Oravsky, Delta Company’s 3rd Platoon leader, 2nd Battalion, 506th Infantry Regiment, Combined Task Force Currahee, teamed up with Shambawat checkpoint commander Arafatullah on the mission.

The ANP have had an enormous amount of success in ensuring their area of operation is no longer considered a safe zone for extremists, or an easy supply route for enemy weapons from Pakistan.

“(This) area of operation is pretty quiet on its own because it has been considered a safe zone that enemy insurgents can move into and stage attacks elsewhere within the brigade’s area of operation,” said Capt. Nicholas Howard, company commander. “They have very good police to work with around the town of Shambawat, and a phenomenal checkpoint commander who has an enormous amount of information.”

The platoon’s aggressive patrolling approach, partnered with information gathered by Arafatullah, led to the discovery of several large caches and several militant sub-commanders being detained.

“In one cache, we captured 89 anti-personnel RPG’s, 61 anti-tank RPG’s, 25 mortars and 99 boosters, just to name some of the munitions that were seized,” said Oravsky. “We got into a firefight not too long ago and ended up capturing the Taliban who fired on us and finding the cache they were guarding and seizing it.”

It would be an understatement to say their efforts in halting the flow of enemy weapons and fighters through their area is going unnoticed by Taliban leaders.

“We have information that the very highest levels of terrorist organizations know Arafatullah by name and are very concerned because they know between him and us,” said Howard. “We are doing a very affective job of interdicting them in this area.”

There have been multiple failed attempts to assassinate the checkpoint commander.

On June 12, Arafatullahs’ personal vehicle left the Shambawat checkpoint and was attacked by Taliban assassins. A counter-ambush was planned from information gathered days before that attempt, which foiled the assassination attempt, and left two Taliban fighters dead.

“We have confirmation from several sources that during the recent assassination attempt, Arafat (shot) and (killed) an extremely high-value enemy target that we have been pursuing for some time,” Howard said.

Oravsky and his platoon are not exactly flying under the radar either.

“I do the same thing the guy before me did, whenever I meet someone I give them my name and number, so it’s all over the place now,” Oravsky said. “It’s mostly for village leaders and the police to call if they need help with anything, but it has been found by coalition forces in objective houses after raids so they might be gunning for us too because of the relationship we have with Arafatullah.”

The relationship between the two is not something that came about overnight, it is a friendship that had to be earned.

“The 82nd Airborne company here before us handed them off to us and it took a couple weeks to gain their trust and for them to want to become close with me and my guys,” said Oravsky. “At first they were testing us but once they realized that we will respond when they need our help they have really latched on to us, and us to them, and we’ve become really good friends since then. It’s more than a working relationship we have with Arafatullah and his guys, it’s a friendship, and they are just like any other Soldiers we work with in the company.”

Arafatullah admits he is very happy to have the opportunity to serve his country while working with Oravsky and the third platoon.

“We always share information enabling us to work jointly on missions’ to defeat the Taliban, the enemy of Afghanistan,” said Arafatullah.

“If other people would work together, jointly, the way we do with third platoon, then I believe very soon Afghanistan will have peace and everyone here will be able to enjoy living in a good environment,” said Arafatullah. “When the Taliban were here, it was a disaster for the people and I am working to change that. I don’t let them shoot their rockets or plant their (improvised explosive devices). I get asked why I work with the coalition forces and I say it’s because I serve my people and my country. The reason the Taliban tries to kill me is because I won’t let the enemy of my country do their job.”

The Mandozai District of the Khowst province is no longer a safe place for the Taliban, and Arafatullah plans to keep it that way long after third platoon is gone.

“What we see with Arafatullah is that his knowledge of the area is vastly superior to anything we can ever get,” said Howard. “He knows the culture and the people in and out. He lives and works in the same district so he knows when bad guys are around. If we can get them to start putting together targeting packages and to take the initiative the way Arafatullah is doing then we won’t need to be here, and that’s the goal.”

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By Spc. Casey Ware
102nd Mobile Public Affairs Detachment