Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Insurgents in Nangarhar

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2010 – Afghan and coalition forces targeting a Taliban leader who operates in Nangarhar province’s Sherzad district killed several insurgents during an intelligence-driven overnight operation.

The Taliban leader planned and led attacks during Afghanistan’s September elections and coordinates attacks against Afghan and coalition forces, officials said.

The security force took enemy fire from small arms and rocket-propelled grenades near the targeted compound multiple times throughout the operation. The security force responded, killing several insurgents. The security force was unable to conduct a complete assessment of the area following the engagements, officials said.

In other news from Afghanistan:

-- Afghan and coalition forces targeting the Taliban district leader for Helmand province’s Musa Qalah district, who also facilitates roadside-bomb attacks, detained two suspected insurgents and killed one during an overnight operation. The targeted man leads a network of bomb experts, supplying senior Taliban leaders in the area with lethal technology and training, officials said. Intelligence tips led the security force to a compound in the province’s Kajaki district, where they detained the suspected insurgents, one of whom identified himself as an opium farmer. As the security force was preparing to leave the area, they shot and killed an armed insurgent carrying an assault rifle and a grenade after he threatened the force. The security force also found and destroyed a pressure-plate bomb and multiple grenades at the scene.

-- Afghan and coalition forces west of Kandahar City captured a Taliban attack cell member whose group was responsible for several assassinations of Afghan government officials, including a National Directorate of Security agent last month, during an overnight operation in Kandahar province.

-- In a separate overnight operation in Kandahar City, Afghan and coalition forces captured a Taliban facilitator who brings suicide bombers, weapons and ammunition into the city, as well as one of his associates.

-- Afghan and coalition forces targeting a Taliban facilitator who builds and plants roadside bombs in Zabul province’s Shah Joy district detained several suspected insurgents during an intelligence-based overnight operation.

-- A combined Afghan and coalition security force targeting a Haqqani terrorist network facilitator of weapons and bomb-making materials, detained two suspected insurgents during an overnight operation in Khost province’s Sabari district.

-- International Security Assistance Force officials confirmed that Qari Amil, a senior Haqqani leader responsible for suicide-bomber attacks as well as facilitating fighters from Pakistan into Khost province and Kabul, was killed during an overnight operation in Paktia province Oct. 30. The security force killed at least nine throughout the operation, including three other Haqqani leaders.

Afghan and coalition forces protected any women and children present during the operations, officials said.