Combined Force Arrests Senior Insurgent Leader

From an International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Release

KABUL, Afghanistan, Sept. 19, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested the senior Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader for Afghanistan’s Kunduz province in the province’s Qalah-ye Zal district today, military officials reported.

As the security force approached the IMU leader's location, he and another insurgent maneuvered from the compound and displayed hostile intent. The security force positively identified the insurgent threat and engaged. The insurgent was killed, and the IMU leader was arrested without injury. No civilians were harmed during the operation.

The detained senior insurgent leader is believed to have directed the terrorist organization’s insurgent activity in Kunduz province, including the financing, manning and provision of weapons and equipment for attacks on Afghan and coalition forces. He also provided training and direction to insurgents, resulting in several attacks using improvised explosive devices.

The security force also detained four suspected insurgents as a result of this operation.

In other operations today:

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban weapons specialist and killed two armed insurgents in the Muqer district of Ghazni province. As the security force approached his location, two armed insurgents opened fire on the Afghan and coalition troops. The security force engaged the armed insurgents, killing them. No civilians were harmed in the exchange. Prior to his arrest, the Taliban weapons specialist planned and executed several attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in the region using mortars and small-arms fire.

-- A combined force detained six suspects during a search for a Haqqani network weapons facilitator in the Gardez district of Paktia province. The sought-after Haqqani facilitator is believed to work with Haqqani and insurgent leaders throughout western Paktia province to acquire and distribute weapons for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained two suspects during a search for a Taliban facilitator in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. The Taliban facilitator is believed to acquire, transport and distribute lethal supplies for insurgent attacks against Afghan and coalition forces in Kandahar City.

-- A combined force detained two suspects in the Zharay district of Kandahar province. The security force also found and destroyed bomb-making components. No civilians were harmed during the operation.

In a Sept. 17 operation, one of the Haqqani network leaders behind an Aug. 7 attack on a coalition base in Logar province, was killed by a combined security force in Logar’s Pul-e Alam district. As the security force approached his location, he maneuvered from the compound and opened fire. The security force returned fire, killing him. Hemat was suspected of having supplied suicide bombers with equipment for the Aug. 7 attack, which wounded several Afghan civilians but failed to cause any significant damage to the coalition base. The security force also seized firearms and safely destroyed some explosives.

Combined Force Arrests Senior Insurgent Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON  – An Afghan and coalition security force arrested a senior Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan terrorist group leader in the Chahar Darah district of Afghanistan’s Kunduz province yesterday, military officials reported.

The insurgent leader directed improvised explosive device attacks in Kunduz province. He also acquired IEDs, weapons and rockets and distributed them to insurgents throughout the region, officials said.

The security force also detained two additional suspected insurgents and seized IED-making components during the operation, officials said.

In other operations yesterday:

-- In the Chimtal district of Balkh province, a combined force detained several suspects during an operation to arrest a Taliban weapons supplier. The weapons supplier provides machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs to insurgents in the district.

-- A combined force arrested a Taliban-affiliated insurgent who coordinated insurgent activity in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. He also acquired IED-making components for Taliban fighters in the area. The security force also detained one suspect during the operation.

-- In the Nawah-e Barakzai district of Helmand province, a combined force detained several suspects during an operation to arrest a Taliban explosives expert. The insurgent explosives expert operates throughout central Helmand, acquiring, constructing and distributing IEDs to insurgents.

-- In the Khugyani district of Nangarhar province, an Afghan-led, coalition supported security force arrested a Taliban leader responsible for multiple attacks on Afghan and coalition forces.

-- In the Sabari district of Khost province, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained several suspects and seized multiple weapons.

In other operations:

-- A precision airstrike killed multiple insurgents during a combined force operation against insurgents operating in combined force the Watahpur district of Kunar province. The airstrike caused no civilians injuries or property damage.

-- A combined force detained three suspects in the Gelan district of Ghazni province.

-- Also in the Gelan district of Ghazni province, another combined force detained multiple suspects and seized explosives during an operation to arrest a Taliban leader. The leader plans and directs attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The explosives were safely destroyed by the security force.

-- An Afghan-led, coalition-supported force arrested multiple insurgents during an operation in Kabul. The security force arrested the insurgents as they were finalizing plans for an attack in the Afghan capital. The security force also seized a large cache of explosives, suicide vest components, weapons and ammunition.

In an Aug. 11 operation, combined force discovered an insurgent bomb-making facility and seized more than 400 pounds of explosives, some IED-making components and detained one suspect in the Muqer district of Ghazni province.

Combined Force Detains 2 Suspects, Seizes IEDs

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – An Afghan and coalition security force detained two suspected insurgents during an operation to arrest an Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan leader in the Ishkamish district of Afghanistan’s Takhar province yesterday, military officials reported.

The IMU leader controls a group of insurgents responsible for attacks throughout Kunduz province, officials said.

The security force also seized several improvised explosive device components, officials said.

Also yesterday, an Afghan-led, coalition-supported force detained several suspects during an operation to arrest a Taliban leader in the Shah Wali Kot district of Kandahar province. The sought-after insurgent leader is a weapons supplier who distributes rocket-propelled grenades and IEDs to Taliban insurgents throughout the region.

In July 19 operations:

-- A coalition airstrike killed Haqqani network leader Abdul Wali and one other insurgent in the Sabari district of Khost province. Abdul Wali led a Haqqani cell that specialized in the production of IEDs used in attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. He also coordinated the shipment and distribution of explosive materials to insurgents.

-- A combined force killed four insurgents in Kunar province’s Ghaziabad district.

-- In Laghman province’s Mehtar Lam district, a coalition airstrike killed three insurgents.

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Logar province’s Baraki Barak district.

-- In Nangarhar province’s Pachir Wa Agam district, a combined force found and cleared two IEDs.

-- A combined force found and cleared an IED in Paktika province’s Sharan district.

-- A combined force detained an insurgent in Paktiya province’s Gardez district.

-- In Paktiya province’s Zurmat district, a combined force found and cleared an IED.

-- A combined force detained an insurgent in Paktiya province’s Zurmat district.

Uzbek National Sentenced to Nearly 16 Years in Prison for Threatening to Kill the President and Providing Material Support to Terrorism

BIRMINGHAM, AL—U.S. District Judge Abdul K. Kallon today sentenced Ulugbek Kodirov, an Uzbek national who has lived in the United States since 2009, to 15 years and eight months in prison for providing material support to terrorism, threatening to kill President Barack Obama, and illegally possessing a weapon.

U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Alabama Joyce White Vance, Department of Justice Assistant Attorney General for National Security Lisa Monaco; FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) Special Agent in Charge (SAC) Glenn N. Anderson; Secret Service SAC Roy Sexton; and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) SAC Raymond R. Parmer, Jr. announced the sentence.

Kodirov, 22, of Uzbekistan, pleaded guilty in February to one count of providing material support to terrorism, one count of threatening to kill the president, and one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. Kodirov is the first person to be convicted in the Northern District of Alabama for providing material support to terrorism.

U.S. Attorney Vance praised the quick response and careful investigative work by the Joint Terrorism Task Force for the Northern District of Alabama, which led to Kodirov’s arrest before anyone was harmed. “This case is a sobering reminder that terrorist activity can happen anywhere,” said U.S. Attorney Vance. “Our community has the coordinated efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement to thank for the immediacy of their response to this threat. This case has a happy ending—Kodirov is going to prison for more than 15 years, and no one in our community was hurt,” she said.

“This case demonstrates the continuing threat posed by violent extremists in this country and how law enforcement works together to neutralize such plots,” said Assistant Attorney General Monaco. “Today, Mr. Kodirov is being held accountable for his actions thanks to the efforts of the many agents, analysts, and prosecutors involved in this matter.”

FBI SAC Maley thanked the members of the Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF), which includes the Jefferson and Shelby, Alabama County Sheriff’s Offices; Birmingham, Hoover, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham Police Departments; the Transportation Security Agency; Secret Service; ATF; and the Department of Homeland Security. He also thanked the Pelham and Leeds, Alabama Police Departments for their assistance in this case. “The JTTF has been diligently investigating and building partnerships to protect Alabama from terrorists since 9/11, and its efforts put it in the unique position to interdict a violent act of terrorism. This case serves as a reminder of the dangers of the Internet on radicalizing our youth right in our own back yards, and all citizens and organizations need to remain vigilant on the ever-increasing threat from home-grown extremists,” he said.

“Mr. Ulugbek Kodirov came to the United States as a student and a welcomed guest. To date, that has dramatically changed,” said ATF SAC Anderson. “Kodirov will be serving time at the Federal Bureau of Prisons for his threats against President Obama and illegal possession of a firearm. It is shocking that he was willing to arm himself with hand grenades to further his agenda. Thankfully, this recipe for disaster was averted. ATF and our law enforcement partners will continue to work cases like these and other violent crime to keep cities, small and large, across America safe every day,” Anderson said.

“In the fight against domestic terrorism, it is absolutely essential that federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies work closely together to share information and chase down leads,” said HSI SAC Parmer. “In this case, the JTTF worked exactly as it is intended to by identifying and eliminating a serious threat to the president of the United States.”

“The Secret Service values its role as a member of the Joint Terrorism Task Force and our partnerships with task force members representing local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies,” said Secret Service SAC Sexton. “A dangerous situation was thwarted and the person behind it was stopped because of the hard work of our dedicated task force investigators.”

Kodirov acknowledged in his guilty plea that he had been in communication with an individual whom he believed to be a member of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU) and that Kodirov interpreted these conversations to mean that he should kill President Obama. Kodirov then took steps to obtain weapons to carry out his plans to kill the president. The IMU is designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. State Department. Kodirov also showed jihadist websites and videos on his computer to another individual and told that person that he wanted to assist others in jihad overseas, according to his plea agreement.

Kodirov also acknowledged that he had lengthy conversations in July 2011 with a different individual about Kodirov’s desire to kill President Obama and possible ways to carry out the assassination. That individual traveled to Birmingham to meet Kodirov and introduced him to another individual, an undercover agent, from whom Kodirov intended to obtain weapons he would use to kill the president.

The three men met on July 13, 2011, at a motel in Leeds. In that meeting, the agent presented a fully automatic Sendra Corporation Model M15-A1 machine gun, a sniper rifle with a telescopic sight, and four disassembled hand grenades and asked Kodirov if he would like to use any of them to “carry out his plan to kill the president,” according to the plea agreement. Kodirov chose the M15-A1 machine gun and the hand grenades and left the meeting with the weapons. Agents arrested Kodirov before he left the motel.

Kodirov entered the United States on a student visa in June 2009. His visa was revoked on April 1, 2010, for failing to enroll in school. Thereafter, he was unlawfully present within the United States. He was living in an extended-stay motel in Pelham at the time of his arrest.

The FBI, ATF, HSI, and Secret Service investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael W. Whisonant Sr. and Ryan K. Buchanan prosecuted the case with assistance from the Counterterrorism Section of the Justice Department’s National Security Division.

NATO: Central Asian Nations Approve Afghanistan Exit Routes

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON – NATO has reached agreements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan to allow troops and equipment to transit these Central Asian nations to and from Afghanistan, NATO’s secretary general said yesterday.

“These agreements will give us a range of new options and the robust and flexible transport network we need. I thank all three partner countries for their support,” Rasmussen told reporters during his monthly briefing from NATO headquarters in Brussels.

“NATO will continue to actively engage with Afghanistan’s neighbors,” he added, “to build wider support for the country’s stability.”

During a briefing at the Pentagon today, spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby said the United States also has bilateral agreements with the three nations through the Northern Distribution Network, to move goods in and out of Afghanistan.

“We are very appreciative for those arrangements and continue to use them,” Kirby added.

Such ground routes are needed to supply the war in Afghanistan and will be critical as the combat role of NATO’s International Security Assistance Force comes to an end in 2014, and troops and equipment begin to make their way home.

Shorter routes through Pakistan have been closed since November, after a cross-border incident involving NATO troops in Afghanistan mistakenly killed 24 Pakistani soldiers.  Defense Department and NATO officials have said that negotiations are underway with Pakistan to reopen the routes.

Kirby said defense officials “do believe having the ground gates open at Chaman and the Torkham gates [on the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan] for the flow of coalition traffic in and out of Afghanistan remains valuable.”

He added, “And we continue to be in discussions with our Pakistani counterparts about trying to get those gates open and, in general, trying to improve the relationship with Pakistan writ large.”

In Brussels, Rasmussen said he invited Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari to last month’s NATO summit in Chicago, during which “President Zardari confirmed that it is his clear intention, it is the intention of Pakistan, to engage positively in finding solutions to the conflict in Afghanistan.”

The secretary general declined to comment on details of the negotiations with Pakistan, adding, “I'll just reiterate that I still hope that a solution can be found in the very near future.”

At the same time, he said, “we actually concluded a number of very important transit agreements at the Chicago summit and of course that will contribute in a very positive way to our operation in Afghanistan as we gradually wind down our combat operation towards the end of 2014.”

NATO already has a reverse transit arrangement with Russia, Rasmussen added, “and the fact that we have now concluded … three concrete transit arrangements with Central Asian countries at the Chicago summit will make the use of the Russian transit arrangement even more effective.”

The secretary general also declined to comment on details of the Central Asian transit agreements but said, “ … We have concluded agreements that are of mutual satisfaction of the involved partners.”