Combined Force Detains Taliban Facilitator

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, May 10, 2012 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban facilitator and another suspected insurgent in the Arghistan district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The facilitator supplied weapons, ammunition and equipment to insurgents operating in Kandahar City and the surrounding districts, officials said. He also managed Taliban supply routes into Kandahar province.

Also today, a combined force detained two suspects during a search for a Taliban leader in the Zurmat district of Paktia province. The insurgent leader coordinates and conducts roadside bombings, indirect-fire attacks and other operations against Afghan and coalition forces. He also is suspected of providing Afghan security force uniforms to insurgents for infiltration-style attacks.

During a patrol yesterday, Afghan border and customs police seized more than 35,000 pounds of ammonium chloride in the Spin Boldak district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province. Ammonium chloride is a fertilizer the Afghan government has banned because insurgents use it to make homemade explosives.

In May 7 Afghanistan operations:

-- A combined force killed an insurgent, detained several others and found bomb components and initiators during a firefight in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province.

-- A combined force detained an insurgent leader and several suspects in the Ghanzi district of Ghanzi province. The leader was responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the district.