Coalition Forces Detain Seven Suspected Taliban, Kill Five

American Forces Press Service

April 27, 2007 – Coalition forces detained seven suspected Taliban members and killed five armed militants in operations in Afghanistan today, military officials reported. Coalition forces killed five armed militants in an early morning raid on a compound in the Qalat district of Zabul province today. Five others were subdued and taken into custody.

Credible information led the coalition to the compound suspected of sheltering local Taliban leadership connected to Mullah Dadullah Lang, officials said. The militants are suspected of smuggling weapons and planning attacks on coalition forces and peaceful Afghans in the area, officials added.

During the operation, armed militants attempted to engage the coalition forces with automatic weapons and were quickly killed. The compound was thoroughly searched, and forces discovered numerous AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades in the compound and in adjacent caves.

The weapons were destroyed in place.

"We will continue to work relentlessly to eliminate the source of terrorism," said Army Maj. Christopher Belcher, coalition spokesman. "The Taliban are on the run."

Elsewhere, two suspects were detained during an operation early this morning by Afghan and coalition forces in the Nangarhar province.

Credible evidence led coalition forces to the compound, suspected of harboring militants responsible for recent improvised explosive device activity in the Bati Kot area, officials said.

"These IED cells are a blight on Afghanistan," Belcher said. "They kill indiscriminately and put peaceful Afghans at risk."

During the operation, one suspect resisted and was subdued by coalition forces. No shots were fired and no one was seriously injured.

(Compiled from Combined Joint Task Force 82 news releases.)

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