Afghan-led Force Kills Insurgents, Detains Suspect

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

KABUL, Afghanistan, July 21, 2011 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed several insurgents and detained a suspected insurgent while searching for a Taliban leader in the Alisheng district of Afghanistan’s Laghman province yesterday, military officials reported.

The Afghan-led force killed several insurgents and detained the suspect after coming under fire upon entering the area.

In other operations yesterday:

-- An Afghan-led combined force in Balkh province’s Chimtal district, detained a Taliban logistics officer responsible for obtaining supplies and collecting taxes to fund Taliban operations, along with two of his associates.

-- In Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e Jadid district, a coalition airstrike killed a Taliban leader responsible for distributing roadside bombs, suicide-vest materials and weapons to other insurgents.

-- An Afghan-led combined force detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district. The leader is responsible for numerous ambushes and roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan forces.

-- In Kandahar’s Zharay district, an Afghan-led combined force detained numerous suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban facilitator responsible for the purchase and transfer of weapons for insurgents and for providing operational updates to other Taliban leaders in the area.

-- Also in Kandahar, a combined Afghan and coalition security force detained a suspected insurgent in the Zharay district. The target of the operation was a Taliban facilitator responsible for distributing weapons and roadside-bomb materials in the Maiwand and Zharay districts.

-- In Kandahar’s Ghorak district, an Afghan-led combined force detained a Taliban leader who directed insurgent operations in the area, along with two suspected insurgents.

-- An Afghan-led combined force in Wardak province’s Sayyidabad district killed several insurgents and detained numerous others after they came under insurgent attack while searching for a Taliban leader responsible for manufacturing roadside bombs and coordinating attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. While conducting a follow-on search of the scene, the force found and destroyed roadside bomb materials and several weapons.

In other news from Afghanistan, a coalition patrol in Helmand province’s Sangin district found and destroyed a cache of bomb-making materials that included 982 gallons of hydrogen peroxide, 1,000 pounds of sodium carbonate and 400 pounds of powdered carbon.