Combined Force Detains Haqqani Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan  – An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Haqqani leader and several other insurgents during an operation in the Sarobi district of Afghanistan’s Paktika province today, military officials reported.

The leader controlled a large group of insurgents and conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the district, officials said.

The security force also seized several AK-47 rifles, grenades and magazines of ammunition.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- An Afghan-led force detained two suspects while searching for a Taliban leader in the Zharay district of Kandahar province. The leader coordinates roadside bombings and other attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- A combined force killed one insurgent and destroyed a weapons cache while searching for a Taliban leader in the Murghab district of Badghis province. The sought-after insurgent leader is responsible for supplying weapons and improvised explosive devices to insurgents for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

Combined Force Seizes Taliban Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

WASHINGTON, Feb. 3, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force captured a Taliban leader and detained one additional suspected insurgent during an operation in the Nahr-E Saraj district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The leader was a Taliban-appointed deputy and head of the insurgent group’s military commission in Badghis province, officials said. The captured leader arranged large-scale attacks, distributed weapons and collected taxes. He also represented both the Taliban and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan groups and was responsible for coordinating insurgent activities in Badghis and Faryab provinces.

In Afghanistan operations yesterday:

-- In the Bakwaw district of Farah province, a combined force detained three suspects and discovered a drug and weapons cache. The cache contained approximately 1,100 pounds of opium, 16 improvised explosive devices, several containers of explosive-making materials, $1.5 million in Pakistani currency and a motorcycle rigged with explosives to be used as a suicide vehicle-borne IED. The weapons were destroyed.

In Feb. 1 Afghanistan operations:

-- A combined force liberated a kidnapped Afghan citizen, detained several suspected insurgents and seized multiple small arms, ammunition and tactical vests in the Khoghjani district of Ghazni province. The rescued hostage received medical attention and was taken to a coalition hospital for further observation. No civilians were harmed and no shots were fired during the operation.

Combined Force Captures Taliban Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Jan. 31, 2012 – An Afghan-led and coalition-supported security force captured a Taliban leader during an operation in the Nahr-e Saraj district of Afghanistan’s Helmand province today, military officials reported.

The leader conducted attacks against Afghan forces and directed kidnapping operations throughout Badghis province, officials said.

One additional suspected insurgent was detained during the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader, detained two suspected insurgents and seized bomb-making materials in the Maiwand district of Kandahar province. The leader conducted attacks in Kandahar City.

-- In the Khost district of Khost province, an Afghan-led and coalition-supported force detained several suspects and seized weapons and chest racks while searching for a Haqqani network facilitator who conducts roadside-bomb attacks against Afghan forces and moves explosives from Pakistan.

Afghan President, ISAF Chief Condemn Insurgent Attacks

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From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Nov. 9, 2011 – A roadside explosion killed at least 10 people in northwestern Afghanistan’s Badghis province yesterday, marking the third day in a row during the Eid ul Adha holiday in which suspected Taliban insurgents have injured or killed innocent civilians, military officials reported.

Marine Corps Gen. John R. Allen, commander of the International Security Assistance Force, joined Afghan President Hamid Karzai in condemning this latest attack.

“These explosives planted by insurgents again targeted civilians, including children,” Allen said. “Their barbaric tactics have no place in society, and these enemies of peace will be held to account for killing and maiming the innocent children of this nation.”

According to the Afghan Interior Ministry, two policemen were killed in the Qadis district after their vehicle hit a mine planted by suspected Taliban insurgents. Nine civilians also were killed in the attack, including six children and two women, all from the same family. Two other policemen and another child were wounded in the explosion.

“These repeated attacks by alleged Taliban fighters are puzzling, particularly during one of the holiest celebrations of the year,” the general said. “The brutal nature of these Taliban activities demonstrates no regard for the lives and wealth of ordinary people.”

Another attack came on Nov. 7 near Pul-e Khumri at the office of Mullah Allam, a member of the Loya Jirga. A suspected Taliban suicide bomber detonated his bomb, killing himself and injuring six Afghan security force members.

On Nov. 6, seven civilians were killed and 17 others were wounded during a Taliban suicide attack at a mosque in the Jirqishlaq Hasan Tal area of Baghlan province.

Afghan and ISAF forces have made significant progress in defeating insurgent networks in recent months, officials said. Combined forces have taken back key Taliban territory across Afghanistan, and are continuing to hold it, allowing security to continue to improve.

“We have reliable information showing that large numbers of Taliban and insurgent leaders are choosing to phone in their operational orders from Pakistan, abandoning their own foot soldiers, who are left behind to conduct the fighting,” Allen said. “The leaders have fled, forced out by the overwhelming ability of Afghan and coalition forces. Perhaps these Eid holiday attacks on civilians are a sign of just how ineffective and unreliable their ‘absent leader strategy’ can be.”

Combined Afghan and coalition forces are to continue a variety of operations in the coming months to further degrade insurgent networks and create lasting peace, officials said.

“Every single Taliban and insurgent fighter should take a moment to reflect on just what is at stake, and whether the fight against peace is still worth it,” Allen said. “If they … lack leadership and direction from those who cynically command them to their deaths from the safety of foreign lands, these may be signs that there is another path -- a path toward peace.

“For any insurgent fighter who believes they have had enough of the violence,” the general continued, “we encourage them to seek out a local reintegration center, and their village and district elders to become a positive, contributing member of Afghanistan's future."

Program Aims to Reintegrate Former Insurgents in Afghanistan

Check out these firsthand accounts of special operations combat on the front lines in Afghanistan.

By Karen Parrish

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Sept. 8, 2011 – An Afghan-led program to reintegrate former insurgents is helping to stabilize communities, districts and provinces throughout Afghanistan, the general leading NATO International Security Assistance Force’s contribution to this effort said.

British Army Maj. Gen. Phil Jones, director of ISAF’s Force Reintegration Cell, described to Pentagon reporters today via video uplink from Kabul, Afghanistan, the reintegration program’s role in Afghanistan’s long-term peace strategy.

There are now 2,418 former fighters enrolled in the program, Jones said, In contrast with this time last year, when the process existed only on paper.

“These are 2,418 men who are no longer shooting at the coalition and Afghan soldiers, no longer laying roadside bombs that kill innocent women and children,” he said.

Jones said the reintegration process works in phases: when former insurgents wish to enroll, Afghan officials interview them, take iris and fingerprint scans, and store that data in government systems. After the former fighters integrate back into their villages, international donations dedicated to community improvement take hold.

“The $142 million that is in the international trust fund is almost exclusively focused on community development projects,” he said, adding that both the central Afghan government and international donors emphasize former insurgents shouldn’t receive monetary incentives to lay down their arms.

In Badghis, where reintegration has been in place for nine months, there is now a vocational training center with 400 to 500 people going through the reintegration process, along with community members, enrolled in six-month programs, he said.

Former fighters do receive a stipend of roughly $120 per month for three months “to ease them out of the fight and ease them back into the communities,” Jones said.

“Fighters themselves have the greatest incentive of all, which is to be able to step off the battlefield with their honor and dignity intact and return to Afghanistan and live in peace,” he added. 

While reintegration has progressed quickly in some ways, Jones said, the process is slow and incremental, particularly in the volatile southern and eastern provinces.

“[The] huge challenge was to overcome some of the incredible skepticism and doubt that a peace program of any type could emerge in the middle of a conflict,” he added.

The Afghan approach to peace building and reintegration focuses on building trust and confidence “amongst people who have been fighting the government and each other for many years,” he noted.

“Through the outreach of political, social and religious leaders of the provinces and districts, peace is built village by village if necessary,” he explained. “So while we all feel a great sense of urgency to break the cycle of violence … [we must] respect the necessity of the courageous, patient, confidence-building and conflict resolution work of leaders and elders.”

At the end of the program’s first year, Afghanistan’s High Peace Council has a joint secretariat to manage the process, with peace committees in 32 provinces and secretariats in 25 provinces, he said, while reintegration is actually happening in 20 provinces.

“To my mind, that's a magnificent achievement,” he said.

Jones acknowledged the number of people being formally reintegrated is modest “in comparison to our scale of ambition.”

ISAF has estimated the number of insurgents in Afghanistan at 25,000, a mix of full-time fighters and villagers motivated by long-standing tribal or community conflict, he said.

“The overwhelming majority of groups joining the [reintegration] process so far have been low-level fighters,” he said. “But … we're seeing more significant groups beginning to flow in across the country.”

Their departure from the battlefield is an important contribution to peace in Afghanistan, Jones said, where decades of conflict have left people cautious and wary.

“As the process continues to push ahead, we see confidence grow, enabling provincial peace councils across the country to build peace strategies and work on grievance resolution,” he said.

Jones said ISAF's role in the process is to work with Afghan military and civil partners to coordinate across governmental functions: security, political outreach, governance, rule of law and development.

“This is an Afghan program, designed by Afghans and led by Afghans.  But we're keen supporters, able and willing to do whatever we can to support the Afghan peace and reintegration program,” he said.

About two-thirds of former fighters in the reintegration program come from the country’s nine northern and four western provinces, Jones said. The remaining third come from the south and east, he said, including roughly 100 in Kandahar, 20 to 30 so far in Helmand, 40 to 50 in Kunar, and more than 100 in Laghman.

“It's emerging in much smaller groups in the south and east,” he said. “But this is where we're starting to see some of the real growth in people tackling this process.”

Helmand’s Governor Gulab Mangal “was one of the first to get into this, really working through the tribes, the tribal elders, through the religious leaders, to reach out to build peace,” Jones said.

Mangal has “relatively formally but very discreetly” reintegrated 200 to 300 former fighters “very quietly,” Jones added.

“They're not registered in our program yet,” he said. “They will come.”

In Helmand and other border provinces, Jones said, conflict is heavier and insurgent intimidation efforts stronger than in other areas.

“People [there] in some respects are still weighing up whether they really want to commit themselves conclusively to the government, but they wanted to step out of the fight; they want peace and stability,” he said.

Jones is now almost finished with his fourth Afghan tour since 2002. When his current stretch of duty started in May 2010, he said, “I was … quite shocked to find that some of my Afghan colleagues who I knew very well over the years felt profoundly gloomy about the future of Afghanistan.”

A year and a half ago, transition as a process didn't exist, Jones noted.

“There was a real concern that there was going to be a very precipitous drop-off of the international community this year, while the Taliban was still seen as an existential threat to the government in some provinces,” he said.

Since then, surges in troop numbers, civilian assistance and Afghan security capability have had “quite a profound effect,” he said.

“It hasn't tipped the strategic balance of confidence conclusively one way, but it's certainly reshaped it from a profound gloom to people who are starting to grapple with a more orderly future,” he added.

Afghans are more confident, as well, that the international community presence in their country will continue beyond 2014, he said.

“This is not a precipitous drop off the edge of a cliff at the end of 2014.  This is an orderly process of transition that hands over Afghan sovereignty in every respect,” he said. “There'll be a requirement for an international presence to support many parts of the growing elements of government for some time to come.”

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Cpl. William J. Woitowicz, 23, of Middlesex, Mass., died June 7 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command public affairs office at 910-440-0770.

Forces Detain Insurgents in Badghis Province

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, May 13, 2011 – Combined forces apprehended several suspected insurgents yesterday in the Murghab district of Afghanistan’s Badghis province, military officials reported.

Troops were searching for a Taliban weapons trafficker responsible for providing arms and explosives to enemy fighters when they noticed the suspects trying to flee, officials said.

In other operations yesterday throughout Afghanistan:

-- Security forces detained two suspected insurgents, including a Taliban leader and weapons trafficker connected to several recent attacks in Kandahar province’s Maiwand district. Troops also found more than 240 pounds of marijuana.

-- Afghan and coalition forces captured a Taliban financier who also works with Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin terrorists in Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e Jadid district.

-- In Khost province’s Sabari district, troops detained a Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin terrorist and one of his associates who are connected to several recent attacks in the area.

-- Forces found several weapons stockpiles. The operations resulted in seizure of seven rocket-propelled grenades, five mortar rounds, multiple explosive devices, hand grenades, assault rifles and assorted bomb-making materials.

Marine Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a Marine who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. David P. Day, 26, of Gaylord, Mich., died April 24 while conducting combat operations in Badghis province, Afghanistan.  He was assigned to 2nd Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Special Operations Regiment, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command, Camp Lejeune, N.C.

For additional background information on this Marine, news media representatives may contact the Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command public affairs office at 910-440-0770.

Combined Force Captures Haqqani Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 25, 2011 – A combined Afghan and coalition security force captured a Haqqani terrorist network leader and killed two Haqqani insurgents in the Nadir Shah Kot district of Afghanistan’s Khost province yesterday, military officials reported.

The leader coordinated attacks and was responsible for supplying insurgents with ammunition, small arms and rockets, officials said.

Intelligence sources and tips from civilians led the security force to a compound, where they were engaged by two armed insurgents, who they killed. After interviewing residents, the force identified and detained the Haqqani leader.

In other operations yesterday:

-- Combined forces acting on intelligence information detained numerous suspected insurgents while searching for a Hezb-E Islami Gulbuddin terrorist organization leader in Baghlan province’s Baghlan-e Jadid district. The leader is the chief logistics officer for operations and the chief political officer in Baghlan, and he leads a group of 25 fighters. During the search, the troops found several assault rifles, a shotgun, a pistol, a chest rack and ammunition magazines.

-- Multiple insurgents engaged an Afghan and coalition patrol in Kandahar province’s Zharay district, Kandahar province. The combined force repelled the attack and detained numerous persons of interest and found more than 3 tons of marijuana.

-- A coalition unit in Helmand province’s Marja district found 600 7.62 mm rounds, three loaded assault-rifle magazines, an assault rifle, a directional fragmentation charge, an ammunition container, a pair of binoculars, a mortar sight, and about 50,000 Pakistani rupees equivalent to about 500 U.S. dollars.

-- In Kandahar province’s Panjwai district, Afghan and coalition forces found 1,540 pounds of homemade explosives, along with several blocks of TNT.

-- A combined force detained two suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader during a security operation in Wardak province’s Sayyidabad district. The leader plans and participates in bomb and ambush attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In Ghazni province, a combined force captured a Taliban leader and several of his associates in the province’s Ghazni district. The leader directed supply movements and roadside-bomb attacks on coalition forces.

-- A combined Afghan and coalition force acting on intelligence information in Khost province’s Nadar Shah Kot district detained two suspected insurgents while searching for a Haqqani network facilitator responsible for providing safe havens for Haqqani leaders.

-- In Nangarhar province’s Sherzad district, a combined force captured a Taliban leader and several of his associates. The leader was a suicide-vest facilitator.

-- In Badghis province’s Murghab district a combined Afghan and coalition forces detained a suspected insurgent during a clearing operation to disrupt an insurgent safe haven.

In April 23 operations:

-- A combined force captured a Taliban leader and several of his associates in an intelligence-based operation in Kunduz province’s Kunduz district. The leader provided weapons and security for insurgents and was responsible for attacks on multiple targets, including polling places during September’s election. The force found blasting caps on two of the suspects and also found assault rifles, a rocket-propelled grenade with components, chest racks and multiple loaded magazines at the scene.

-- A combined force captured a Taliban financier and numerous suspected insurgents during an intelligence-driven operation in Kandahar province’s Daman district. The financier was responsible for transporting weapons and bomb-making materials, as well as funding Taliban cells. The combined force found an assault rifle and several pistols.

-- A coalition force in Kandahar province’s Panjwai district found a roadside bomb and saw several insurgents planting more. After several hours of observation, the insurgent compound was destroyed with high-explosive rounds and an airstrike.

-- In Logar province’s Charkh district, a combined force acting on intelligence information detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban facilitator who assists with the coordination, execution and training of attack techniques targeting Afghan and coalition forces.

-- Afghan and coalition forces detained numerous suspected insurgents in Kunduz province’s Kunduz district. Among those detained was a man suspected of leading a cell of 20 Taliban fighters and facilitating the shipment of homemade bombs throughout Kunduz. Another detainee is suspected of providing and building bombs for local Taliban groups.

-- A combined patrol in Helmand province’s Marja district found six rocket-propelled grenade rounds, a 15 mm shell casing, 700 machine-gun rounds, five 82 mm mortar charges, two radios, an electrical outlet tester and two handles used to change barrels on a machine gun.

In April 22 operations:

-- Afghan and coalition forces killed several insurgents, detained several others and secured enemy weapons in Uruzgan province’s Shahid-E Hasas district. The target of the operation was a compound associated with insurgents operating in the area. Several insurgents were killed when they engaged the patrol with small-arms fire, heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades. The force recovered an assault rifle with ammunition, nine grenades and a homemade bomb device.

-- In Kandahar province’s Kandahar district, Afghan and coalition forces found two poppy fields. Afghan forces plowed both fields and burned the plants. The illicit poppy and drug trade helps to finance the insurgency.

-- In Nimroz province’s Knash Rod district, coalition forces found and destroyed 3,274 pounds of opium gum and 272 pounds of heroin. The drugs were destroyed by security forces.

-- A coalition forces patrol in Paktia province’s Sayyid Karam district found about 2,000 machine-gun rounds, a machine gun, three rocket-propelled grenade fuses and a mortar fuse, a rifle and various articles of tactical clothing.

-- Afghan and coalition forces killed an insurgent who advanced on them with a pistol and detained several suspects while searching for a roadside-bomb facilitator in Takhar province’s Ishkamish district. The facilitator, an explosives expert, supports both Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan and Taliban senior leaders.

-- Afghan and coalition forces acting on intelligence information detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban facilitator in Helmand province’s Kajaki district. The facilitator coordinates the movement of narcotics to Nimroz province and receives weapons shipments. He also directs roadside-bomb placement and ensures Taliban leaders have received bomb components. The force also discovered 400,000 in Pakistan rupees, the currency typically used for drug and weapons transfers, officials said. The sum is the equivalent of more than 4,700 U.S. dollars.

-- In Kandahar province’s Zhari district, Afghan and coalition forces acting on intelligence information detained a suspect while searching for a Taliban leader involved with numerous attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- Coalition forces in Ghaqzni province’s Andar district used close-air support to kill two insurgents who were observed digging a hole near a road and dropping an object into it while others set up multiple ambush positions and an observation post with radios and weapons. A ground force recovered two assault rifles, a machine gun, a motorcycle and a 40-pound pressure-plate bomb from the site.

-- In Wardak province’s Sayed Abad district, Afghan and coalition forces killed an insurgent who tried to fire on them and detained several suspects while searching for a Taliban leader who coordinates operations in the district and maintains close associations with other Taliban leaders in the area. The force found and destroyed grenades, a bomb initiator and chest racks along with the dead insurgent’s assault rifle.

-- In Paktia province’s Shwak district, Afghan and coalition forces acting on intelligence information captured a Haqqani network facilitator who plans attacks against coalition forces and transports and supplies bomb-making materials for other Haqqani insurgents.

-- During an intelligence-based clearing operation in Logar province’s Baraki Barak district, Afghan and coalition forces detained two men with suspected ties to the Taliban insurgency after talking with local residents about insurgent activity in the area.

-- In Nimroz province’s Chakhansur district, a coalition patrol found and destroyed 4,180 pounds of opium gum, 264 pounds of heroin and 12 bags of fresh opium.

-- Coalition and Afghan forces in Kandahar province’s Zharey district found and destroyed 1,500 pounds of hashish.

In April 21 operations:

-- A combined Afghan and coalition force vehicle interdiction operation secured a large quantity of narcotics in Kandahar province’s Spin Boldak district, destroying about 4,190 pounds of opium gum, 264 pounds of heroin and 12 bags of fresh opium.

-- Also in Kandahar, a combined force conducting a vehicle interdiction operation in the Maiwand district found and destroyed about 15 tons of bomb-making chemicals.

Forces Capture Terror Group’s Top Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, April 22, 2011 – Combined forces captured the top Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group leader in Afghanistan April 20 in the Khanabad district of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province, military officials reported today.

Troops had been conducting clearing operations in search of the leader for several weeks, officials said, noting he’s the direct contact between Taliban leaders in Afghanistan and Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leadership in Pakistan, and is responsible for training and operations in both countries.

NATO and Afghan forces throughout Afghanistan have killed more than 20 Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorists in the past two months, including four senior leaders, officials added.

In operations yesterday throughout Afghanistan:

-- Afghan and coalition forces killed several insurgents in a gun battle after being ambushed in Paktika province’s Yahya Khel district. Ground forces returned fire and held off the attack until a coalition air weapons team arrived.

-- Combined forces detained several suspected Taliban operatives in Badghis province’s Murghab district, in an operation to uncover a Taliban safe haven allegedly used as a supply and weapons point. The operation also resulted in seizure of an assault rifle with associated ammunition, a pistol and bomb-making materials.

-- Security forces in Zabul province’s Shah Joy district detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban weapons trafficker. The weapons trafficker also is responsible for financing attacks against security forces. Troops also found and destroyed bomb-making materials.

-- In Logar province’s Charkh district, forces detained several suspected insurgents while searching for a Taliban leader who leads an insurgent cell responsible for numerous attacks.

-- Security forces detained numerous suspected insurgents while searching for a Haqqani network terrorist responsible for directing, planning and carrying out attacks on security forces in Paktia province’s Shwak district.

-- A combined force captured two Taliban leaders in Nangarhar province’s Sherzad district. One is a weapons trafficker and planner, while the other is responsible for planning operations in the area.

-- Based on tips from local residents in Kandahar province’s Zharay district, troops captured the leader of all Taliban operations in the district and one of his associates.

Army Casualty

The Department of Defense announced today the death of a soldier who was supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

Sgt. Jose M. Caraballo Pietri, 32, of Yauco, Puerto Rico, died April 10 in Badghis province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small arms fire.  He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 84th Field Artillery Regiment, 170th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, Baumholder, Germany.

For more information, media should contact the U.S. Army Europe public affairs office by e-mail at ocpa.pi@eur.army.mil or by phone at 011-49-6221-57-6647.

Partnered Forces Target Taliban in Helmand

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON – A partnered Afghan and International Security Assistance Force patrol killed several insurgents during an operation targeting two Taliban leaders in Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday, military officials reported.

The two Taliban leaders are active in facilitating and conducting attacks against Afghan and ISAF forces, officials said.

As the patrol was clearing the targeted compound, they were engaged by numerous armed insurgents. The force returned fire, killing several insurgents. Rifles and a pistol were found during a subsequent search of the area.

One man was detained during the operation and was taken by Afghan authorities for processing and further questioning.

In other operations in Afghanistan yesterday:

-- In an intelligence-driven operation, Afghan and coalition forces in Wardak province captured a Taliban leader involved in the manufacture of roadside bombs and in conducting attacks against coalition forces in the province’s Sayyidabad and Jaghatu districts. Recent reporting indicates his associates shot several Americans in the Jaghatu district, officials said.

-- Afghan and coalition forces acting on intelligence information detained more than 10 suspected insurgents as they targeted a former Haqqani terrorist network shadow governor in Khost province who is responsible for coordinating insurgent operations against the Bak District Center.

-- Coalition forces conducted an intelligence-driven precision airstrike in Badghis province’s Bala Murghab district, killing one insurgent. The strike’s target is responsible for numerous attacks against ISAF and Afghan forces elements, as well as kidnapping-for-ransom operations, officials said, emphasizing that the strike was conducted after ensuring no civilians were present. ISAF officials said they still are gathering information to determine whether the targeted man was the individual killed in the strike.

--In Nangarhar province’s Rodat district, Afghan and coalition forces killed an armed insurgent who threatened their security team during an intelligence-driven operation targeting a Taliban facilitator.

-- In Helmand province, a partnered security team detained numerous suspects and seized several “night letters” as they searched several buildings for a leader of Taliban fighters in Marja and Lashkar Gah. Taliban leaders deliver threats in night letters, bearing a Taliban symbol as letterhead, to local civilians and government officials, officials explained. The letters carry threats of death to recipients and their families if they do not comply with Taliban demands.

-- A partnered security force acting on intelligence information detained seven suspected insurgents during an operation targeting a Taliban leader in Gardez province.

In other news, a combined Afghan-ISAF patrol found and destroyed several weapons caches in Kabul province’s Sarobi district Dec. 15. Multiple intelligence sources and tips from local residents led the patrol to the caches, officials said.

The caches included 15 82 mm mortar rounds, 22 cans of heavy machine gun rounds, 15 82 mm high-explosive mortar rounds, 35 82 mm white phosphorus mortar rounds, 61 high-explosive 62 mm mortar rounds, 18,560 anti-aircraft rounds, two anti-personnel mines, 180 40 mm grenades, eight rocket-propelled grenades, 79 recoilless rifle rounds and various bomb-making materials.