Precision Strike Kills Warlord, Associates in Afghanistan

American Forces Press Service

June 10, 2009 - Coalition forces used a precision air strike in Afghanistan's Ghowr province yesterday to target a local warlord and Taliban commander responsible for attacks along the main highway in the border areas of Ghowr and Herat provinces, military officials reported. When intelligence sources recently confirmed Mullah Mustafa's location in a remote, mountainous area of Ghowr's Shahrak district, forces began planning an operation to remove him. Coalition forces observed armed sentries outside his compound, indicating the militant was concerned for his own safety. Reports indicated he recently had acquired six remotely controlled improvised explosive devices, distributing them to subordinates for use against the coalition.

Yesterday, coalition forces observed Mustafa moving by vehicle from the compound. When he stopped in a remote area, he was joined by multiple militants. After determining no civilians would be endangered, forces used precision aerial munitions to strike the group, killing Mustafa and as many as 16 other militants.

The commander of about 100 fighters in western Afghanistan, Mustafa recently met with senior Taliban leaders and reportedly had connections to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Quds Force, officials said.

(From a U.S. Forces Afghanistan news release.)