Airstrikes Kill Taliban Leaders, Other Insurgents

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Oct. 19, 2010 – NATO’s International Security Assistance Force today confirmed that recent precision airstrikes over Afghanistan’s Baghlan province had killed two senior Taliban military leaders and 13 other armed insurgents.

ISAF targeted Abdul Jamil, the Taliban leader in Baghlan’s Dahanah-ye Ghori and Pul-e Khumri districts, and Juma Din, the Taliban leader in the Baghlan-e Markazi district, in the Oct. 17 air strikes. Both were confirmed dead today, as well as 13 other insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons.

Jamil was known to lead roadside-bomb attacks and attacks on vehicle checkpoints and to supply financing, weapons and ammunition to Taliban leadership in the area, officials said.

After intelligence information tracked a group of armed insurgents to a remote area, officials said, ISAF forces confirmed insurgent activity and carefully planned to ensure no civilians were present before conducting the precision air strikes on the group.

In operations conducted last night in Afghanistan:

-- A combined Afghan and coalition force captured a Haqqani terrorist network leader who coordinated roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan and coalition forces during an operation in Khost province’s Terayzai district. The force identified and detained the man and several of his associates at a compound in the district. The security force found a grenade and shotgun, along with multiple assault rifle magazines at the scene.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban bombing cell leader and one of his associates in Helmand province. The targeted man is suspected of leading a cell in Nawa-ye Barakzai that burned down an area school in July and is responsible for bombing attacks in the area.

-- A combined force detained two insurgents in Helmand’s Nahr-e Saraj district while targeting the Taliban deputy leader for the Nawah-ye Barakzai district. While clearing the targeted compound, the force killed a man when he charged at them. The security force detained two suspected insurgents.

-- A combined force detained several suspected insurgents in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district while searching for a senior Taliban leader who coordinates bombing attacks.

-- A combined force targeted a Taliban leader in Ghazni province who distributes bombs and bomb components to insurgents throughout the province. The man reportedly distributed more than 90 roadside bombs prior to the Sept. 18 parliamentary elections. Based on intelligence tips, the force targeted a compound in the province’s Ghazni district, where they detained two suspected insurgents.

-- Combined forces detained several suspected insurgents in Paktika province during an operation aimed at capturing the Haqqani network’s district leader for Zirok.

-- A combined force detained numerous suspected insurgents in Kandahar’s Dand district while targeting a Taliban member who leads suicide-bomb attacks in the area.

In operations yesterday:

-- Partnered forces detained a suspected insurgent during an operation targeting a Taliban leader who became the shadow governor for Baghlan province after the former shadow governor, Mullah Ismail, was killed in an Oct. 6 combined operation. The targeted man is responsible for bombing attacks and is believed to have been involved in the disappearance of U.S. soldiers in November.

-- Afghan and coalition forces killed numerous insurgents in northern Kandahar province’s Shah Wali Kot district. The force was on a dismounted patrol after receiving intelligence reports that many insurgents, including many high-ranking leaders, would be present. As the patrol entered the area, they were met with heavy small-arms and machine-gun fire. The force cleared the insurgents’ firing positions, killing more than 10 insurgents and detaining several more, including one who was taken to a coalition hospital for medical care. The patrol recovered 23 assault rifles, nine heavy machine guns and nine pistols.

-- In Helmand’s Lashkar Gah area, tips from residents led a combined force to the suspected location of the shadow mayor of Nahr-e-Seraj, who also is a mid-level Taliban leader who plans and participates in bombing and small-arms attacks. As the force arrived, several armed men presented a threat to the patrol and were killed. After securing the compound, the patrol detained several men.

-- A combined patrol in Helmand’s Sangin district discovered a building containing six 55-pound barrels of homemade explosives, scales, a boiler room, and a drying room. After cataloguing and taking pictures of the weapons materials, the force determined the best way to destroy the materials was to conduct a precision artillery strike. The forces verified no civilians were present and maintained control of the area until three rockets hit the factory, destroying it and its contents.

In other news from Afghanistan:

-- ISAF officials confirmed the capture of a senior Taliban leader during an Oct. 17 operation in Kandahar province. The man is suspected of directing bombing attacks and moving fighters and materials. A combined force detained the man and several of his associates at a compound in the Panjwai district. An automatic weapon and multiple loaded magazines were found at the scene.

-- ISAF officials confirmed that a combined team of Afghan and ISAF forces detained leaders of a kidnapping ring based in the Afghan capital of Kabul on Oct. 16. The men were arrested during a combined mission to free the young son of an Afghan government official. The force freed the kidnapped boy without incident and detained five suspects.

Afghan and coalition forces protect women and children present during their operations, officials said.