Combined Force Captures Several Taliban Leaders

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, March 9, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force captured several Taliban leaders during an operation in the Maidan Shahr district of Afghanistan’s Wardak province today, military officials reported.

Two of the leaders planned and conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the district along Highway 2, including an attack in January against a convoy that left three Afghan soldiers wounded.

The other leaders provided weapons and ammunition to a cell of multiple insurgents that conducted roadside-bomb and direct-fire attacks in the district. The security force detained an additional suspected insurgent in the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained another suspect in the Lashkar Gah district of Helmand province. The leader conducted roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan civilians and security forces throughout central Helmand province.

-- In Helmand’s Marjah district, a combined force detained multiple suspects while searching for a Taliban leader who directs attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and supplies insurgents with weapons and equipment.

-- A combined force captured a Haqqani network leader, detained a suspect and seized mortar rounds and explosive devices in the Bak district of Khost province. The leader directed roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces.

-- A combined force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The leader orchestrates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. He is also suspected in the January kidnapping of a man working at a coalition base in the Gardez district.

In operations yesterday:

-- A combined force captured two Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leaders, detained an additional suspect and seized a suicide vest, explosives, blasting caps and detonation cord in the Faizabad district of Badakhshan province. One captured leader, responsible for suicide bombings against Afghan government senior officials throughout Badakshan and Kunduz provinces, was wounded during the operation and received medical treatment. The other insurgent leader was a bomb-making expert who helped to plan suicide attacks.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and detained several suspects in Helmand’s Marjah district. The leader controlled an insurgent cell and organized roadside bombings, ambushes and attacks against Afghan civilians and security forces.

-- In the Kandahar district of Kandahar province, a combined force detained multiple suspects while searching for a Taliban leader who directs an assassination cell that targets senior Afghan government officials.

-- A combined force detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in Paktia’s Zurmat district who directs attacks against Afghan civilians and security forces.

-- In Khost’s Nadir Shah Kot district, a combined force captured a Haqqani network leader, detained multiple suspects, and seized a shotgun. The leader directed suicide-bomb attacks against Afghan civilians and security forces.

In March 7 operations:

-- A combined force in Helmand’s Lashkar Gah district captured a Taliban facilitator who supplied insurgents in central Helmand province and the Maiwand district of Kandahar province with weapons and ammunition. The security force also seized weapons in the operation.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban facilitator, detained another suspect and seized weapons in Helmand’s Nad-e Ali district. The facilitator provided weapons to insurgents.

In other news, an Afghan provincial response company supported by coalition mentors killed three insurgents while responding to an attack against an agricultural business development team in the Alisheng district of Laghman province March 6.