Force Kills Enemy Fighters, Seizes Weapons in Afghanistan

American Forces Press Service

July 22, 2009 - Afghan and coalition forces killed several enemy fighters, detained one other and destroyed weapons caches in operations in Afghanistan over the past two days, military officials reported. A joint Afghan and coalition force killed enemy fighters and detained a suspect on a Taliban compound in central Helmand province yesterday.

The force was pursuing a senior Taliban commander believed responsible for the recruitment of bomb-making technicians and the transfer of weapons and bomb-making materials into the region.

The combined force searched a compound near the village of Heyderabad after intelligence indicated militant activity there. The force engaged a group of enemy fighters after receiving fire.
The force detained an enemy fighter and seized an AK-47 assault rifle, a chest rack and 75 pounds of black-tar heroin.

When leaving the compound, the force was engaged multiple times and called in precision close-air support. Several enemy fighters were killed during the incident.

No Afghan or coalition force or civilian casualties were reported.

Elsewhere, Afghan National Police, aided by coalition forces, killed several militants and destroyed a large weapons cache in Zabul province's Arghandab and Shajoy districts July 20 during a cordon-and-search operation in an area known as a militant leader meeting point and Taliban recruiting area.

Upon entering a local village, militants engaged the Afghan-led joint force with small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire. The force responded with small arms and heavy weapons, killing multiple militants.

A search yielded a large weapons cache that included an estimated 7,000 pounds of explosives and other miscellaneous ammunition. The force destroyed the cache in place.

An Afghan National Police member and two coalition members were wounded. They were treated before being evacuated to a nearby coalition hospital. No civilian casualties were reported.

(Compiled from U.S. Forces Afghanistan news releases.)