Coalition Airstrike Kills Taliban Bomb Expert

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 23, 2012 – A coalition airstrike killed a Taliban expert bomb maker and wounded another insurgent in the Baghlan-e Jadid district of Afghanistan’s Baghlan province today, military officials reported.

The airstrike targeted the two insurgents as they were planting two roadside bombs. One bomb was a pressure plate device, and the other was remote-controlled.

Afghan and coalition security forces removed and destroyed both explosives and detained the wounded insurgent. The expert bomb maker built explosive devices for attacks against Afghan and coalition troops and trained other insurgents in constructing roadside bombs, officials said.

In other news, a combined force captured a Taliban facilitator and another suspect in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province today. The facilitator provided weapons and bomb-making materials to insurgents throughout the district and western Kandahar province. He also participated in illegal drug trafficking.

Also today, an Afghan-led force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained several other suspects and confiscated a shotgun in the Bati Kot district of Nangarhar province. The facilitator provided financial and logistical support to insurgents.