Forces Kill Insurgents in Eastern Afghanistan Firefight

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From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 6, 2011 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force killed three insurgents in a firefight yesterday in eastern Afghanistan’s Paktika province, military officials reported.

The Afghan soldiers and International Security Assistance Force members were searching in the Jani Khel district for a Haqqani network leader who distributes weapons, ammunition and roadside bombs to other insurgent leaders when they were engaged by rocket-propelled grenade, machine-gun and small-arms fire. The combined force returned fire, killing three insurgents and wounding one other.

An Afghan woman was killed during the engagement, and another Afghan woman was wounded. Both were inside the building during the firefight, officials said.

Coalition forces transported the wounded for medical treatment. A local leader engagement will be held with the deputy governor to discuss the incident, officials said.

Multiple weapons were confiscated during the operations, including a machine gun with 500 rounds, and a rocket-propelled grenade launcher with multiple grenades. Three suspected insurgents were detained.

In other ISAF news from Afghanistan yesterday:

-- A combined force in Kandahar province’s Kandahar district captured a Taliban leader wanted for abductions in the area and for moving foreign fighters into Afghanistan.

-- Combined forces captured a Taliban leader and killed two insurgents in Helmand province’s Musa Qalah district after the insurgents fired at the force. The leader operated a roadside-bomb factory, distributed munitions and threatened local people by extorting food and money. The security force detained four additional suspects during the operation.

-- In Kandahar province’s Maiwand district, a combined force seized and destroyed 165 pounds of hashish.

-- A combined force killed an armed Taliban leader who fired on them in Logar province’s Muhammad Aghah district. The leader planned vehicle-bomb attacks and financed and managed insurgent fighters. The force seized weapons, including assault rifles and fragment grenades, and detained a suspected insurgent.