Airstrike Kills Insurgent Transporting Weapons

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan , Sept. 13, 2012 – A precision airstrike in the Mota Khan district of Afghanistan’s Paktika province yesterday killed an armed insurgent transporting weapons, military officials reported.

An Afghan and coalition security force identified the insurgent transporting weapons, including a heavy machine gun, toward a populated area, officials said, and ordered the strike after ensuring no civilians were nearby.

A post-strike assessment determined no civilian property was damaged and no civilians were harmed, officials said.

In an operation today, a combined force in the Baraki Barak district of Logar province detained several suspected insurgents during an operation to arrest a Taliban leader suspected of commanding dozens of insurgents and directing them in attacks against Afghan and coalition security forces. The security force also seized and destroyed a rocket-propelled grenade launcher, several RPGs and ammunition for assault rifles and heavy machine guns.

Also today, coalition forces confirmed they killed Taliban insurgent leader Maulawi Matin in Helmand province’s Marjah district in a Sept. 11 airstrike. He is believed to have led a large cell of fighters and was involved in the facilitation of weapons, ammunition and bomb components throughout Helmand. He also had links to other key insurgent leaders in the region, operating as a liaison with higher-level Taliban leadership based in Pakistan, officials said.

Officials also confirmed today that Afghan and coalition security forces in the Pul-e Alam district of Logar province arrested a Taliban facilitator Sept. 11. He is believed to have directed several insurgent cells in the region, providing weapons and instruction for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He is also believed to have enforced Taliban law on the local population and to have overseen the execution of several Afghan civilians, officials said. The security force also detained several other suspected insurgents and seized and destroyed several weapons, rocket-propelled grenades and more than 25 pounds of explosives.

In an operation yesterday, Afghan special police from the provincial response company in Wardak province found and destroyed munitions, bomb-making materials and other insurgent equipment during a search with coalition advisors in the province’s Shahr district. The search yielded artillery rounds, rocket-propelled grenades, rockets, mortar rounds, fragmentation grenades, improvised explosive devices and a large amount of shrapnel for use in roadside bombs. The special police also found Afghan national security forces uniforms and cell phones.