Combined Forces Kill Insurgents, Detain Numerous Suspects

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21, 2010 – Partnered Afghan and coalition forces killed an undetermined number of insurgents and detained numerous suspects in recent operations, military officials reported.

In operations overnight:

-- An Afghan and coalition force targeting a Haqqani terrorist network facilitator responsible for the movement of weapons and fighters in the Ziruk district of Paktika province killed several insurgents and detained several suspects in an intelligence-driven operation. The targeted individual also enables communications within the network and commands a group of lower-level fighters, officials said. During the operation, several armed insurgents fired at the security force. Afghan and coalition forces returned fire. An initial assessment indicated that several insurgents were killed, but the security force was unable to conduct a full assessment of the area, officials said.

-- An Afghan and coalition security force continuing its search for a Taliban senior leader and key financier operating in Helmand province’s Marja district detained several suspected insurgents during an intelligence-driven operation in the province’s Washer district. The targeted individual plans and conducts ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and handles financing for insurgents operating in the district, officials said. The security force found and destroyed 300 pounds of ammonium nitrate, a banned fertilizer that can be used to make explosives.

-- In Kandahar province a combined security force searching for a Taliban facilitator who coordinates vehicle-borne bomb attacks detained several suspected insurgents in an intelligence-driven operation in the province’s Kandahar district.

In earlier operations:

-- A combined Afghan and coalition patrol killed two insurgents and detained 11 suspected insurgents in Helmand province yesterday. Multiple intelligence sources and tips from local residents led security forces to a compound associated with a Taliban bomb-attack facilitator. After the patrol surrounded the compound, Afghan forces received no response when they called for occupants to come out peacefully. Afghan forces entered the first building and were confronted by two armed men. The men failed to respond to several verbal warnings and were killed. Eleven men were detained, including a man who tried to disguise himself as a woman.

-- International Security Assistance Force officials confirmed that Fedayi, a senior Taliban military leader who conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and intimidation campaigns against Afghan civilians and government officials was among several insurgents killed in a precision airstrike in Baghlan province Oct. 19. ISAF officials also confirmed that Tanhah, a Haqqani terrorist network leader, was among the armed insurgents killed during an Oct. 19operation in Paktika province.

-- Afghan-led forces under the guidance of Afghan Border Police Commander Brig. Gen. Abdul Raziq Achekzai killed more than 20 insurgents during an Oct. 14-16 clearing operation conducted in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district. The operation also netted five roadside bombs, neutralized three houses that were booby-trapped to explode and destroyed multiple enemy tunnel and bunker systems, officials said. An Afghan National Civil Order Police brigade, Afghan National Police officers and members of Special Operations Task Force South also were involved in the operation.

In other news, a school bus carrying female students hit an insurgent-planted roadside bomb, killing nine people and wounding 10 others, in Nimroz province’s Khash Rod district yesterday.

Eight of the nine people killed were children. An ISAF helicopter evacuated three Afghan civilians to a coalition hospital for treatment.