Combined Force Captures Taliban Facilitator

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON  – A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained several suspected insurgents during an operation in the Lashkar Gah district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator distributed weapons and explosives to insurgent fighters and coordinated roadside bomb attacks against Afghan forces throughout the area, officials said.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force in the Jalrayz district of Wardak province captured a Taliban facilitator who distributed homemade explosives and weapons to insurgent fighters throughout the Maidan Shahr district.

-- In the Khost district of Khost province, a combined force confiscated weapons and ammunition and detained several suspects while searching for a Haqqani leader. The leader constructs roadside bombs and distributes weapons to insurgents in the Bak and Terayzai districts.

-- In the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province, an Afghan-led and coalition-supported force captured a Taliban facilitator and detained a suspected insurgent. The leader conducted direct-fire attacks in the Nahr-e Saraj district and distributed ammunition and bomb-making materials to insurgent fighters throughout Helmand province.

-- Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, condemned a suicide car bomb attack in Helmand’s Lashkar Gah district that reportedly killed four innocent civilians and injured at least 30 others.

"On behalf of the entire ISAF coalition of 50 nations, I extend our deepest condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims of today’s attack,” Allen said.

"ISAF will continue to work alongside our Afghan National Security Force partners to pressure the insurgency to end these acts of terror, and to support the development of an increased security environment to promote peace in Afghanistan,” he said. “This is what the Afghan people want and deserve."

In operations yesterday:

-- In the Chahar Darah district of Kunduz province, an Afghan-led and coalition-supported security force detained several suspects and seized a prepared suicide improvised explosive device vest and about 4.4 pounds of homemade explosives during a search for insurgent suicide bombers. The targets were suspected of planning attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the Chahar Darah district.

-- A combined patrol discovered about 440 pounds of marijuana seeds in the Panjwa‘i district of Kandahar province.