Pictures from the Front Lines

Puma Launch

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Dylan Ferguson launches a Puma unmanned aerial vehicle in Afghanistan'a Ghazni province, June 25, 2012. Fergunson, a brigade aviation element officer assigned to the 82nd Airborne Division's 1st Brigade Combat Team, uses the Puma for reconnaissance for ground troops.

Machine Gun Training

U.S. Army Sgt. James Misch shows Afghan soldiers how to load an M2 .50-caliber machine gun during basic marksmanship training in Paktika province, Afghanistan, June 18, 2012. U.S. soldiers and Afghan forces routinely train together to strengthen their partnership and increase the Afghan force's ability to disrupt enemy activity. The U.S. solders are assinged to the 1st Infantry Divisions Charlie Troop, 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Inside the Denver JTTF, Part 1: Vigilance Against Terrorism

It was September 2009—a few days before the eighth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks—when the Denver Joint Terrorism Task Force (JTTF) received word that a Colorado resident and al Qaeda recruit was about to carry out a major terrorist attack. The jihadist needed to be located with the utmost urgency.

“We got the call on Labor Day,” recalled Special Agent John Scata, who supervises one of Denver’s two international terrorism squads, “and we immediately began working around the clock.”

Using the JTTF’s multi-agency approach to conducting investigations and gathering and sharing intelligence, task force members located Najibullah Zazi and helped track him to New York City, where he intended to become a suicide bomber in the subway system around the time of the 9/11 anniversary. “If we hadn’t found him in Denver as quickly as we did,” Scata said, “he might have gone into the wind and things could have turned out differently.”

Zazi and two of his high school classmates had previously traveled to Pakistan to receive al Qaeda training, including how to make bombs. His self-described plot to “weaken America” by killing innocent subway riders has been characterized as one of the most serious terrorist threats to the U.S. since the 9/11 attacks.

“Zazi is part of the spread of homegrown violent extremism in America,” said James Yacone, special agent in charge of our Denver office. “He was trained internationally but he became radicalized in the U.S. through the Internet. He was planning and facilitating his attack in Colorado, but his target was New York City.”

The plot was foiled thanks to an all-out effort by law enforcement and intelligence agencies around the world. Much of that effort was focused through Denver’s JTTF, which is comprised of more than 20 local, state, and federal agencies. There are actually three separate squads that form the task force—two that deal with international terrorism and one that concentrates on domestic terrorism.

Begun in 1994, Denver has one of the Bureau’s oldest JTTFs (our New York office established the first in 1980). “Our task force is very active,” said Yacone. “The Zazi case was well publicized, but our squads handle many other counterterrorism investigations—international and domestic. Protecting the country from terror attacks is the FBI’s number one priority.”

The JTTF’s team concept works well, Yacone explained. “All the local and state police officers and detectives on the task force have the same clearances that our agents do. They sit side by side, work together, and have the same access to all our resources.” More than 100 FBI-led JTTFs located around the country are organized the same way.

John Nagengast, a detective with Colorado’s Aurora Police Department, is a JTTF task force officer who worked on the Zazi case. “I am basically a local cop who deals with local crime,” he said. “Working the Zazi case opened up my world to the threat of terrorism.”

Nagengast explained that “a lot of entities were involved in the investigation, including the military and the intelligence community—and the Denver JTTF was central to the operation. We were ground zero for the Zazi investigation.” He added, “I got to see very quickly how the Bureau, locals, and state law enforcement came together with agencies around the world to prevent this attack. It was amazing to be a part of it.”

Denver: Crossroads of the Country

Denver’s JTTF is extremely active, said Special Agent in Charge James Yacone, because “we have a very large territory, a significant international footprint, and we are geographically located at the crossroads of the U.S.”

Contained within the Denver office’s area of responsibility are:

- Seven major military bases;

- About 400 defense contractors with security clearances who work on classified government projects;

- A constant stream of international visitors and students who come to the region for business, research, and academic pursuits; and

- More than 1,000 high-tech companies.

“All of those things require us to maintain a constant vigilance against terrorists and other extremists who would do us harm,” Yacone said. “That’s why the JTTF is critical to our operations and to the safety of the country.”

Next: The Colorado fusion center—a key JTTF partner.

Combined Force Detains Taliban Leader

Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases

WASHINGTON, July 2, 2012 – An Afghan and coalition security force detained a Taliban leader in the Panjwa’i district of Afghanistan’s Kandahar province today, military officials reported.

The Taliban leader directed attacks throughout northern Kandahar, in addition to supplying weapons and explosives to other insurgents operating in the region, officials said.

Officials said the security force also detained two suspected insurgents during the operation.

In other Afghanistan operations today:

-- In the Ghazni district of Ghazni province, a combined force apprehended a Taliban improvised explosive device specialist, killed one insurgent, detained two suspects and seized multiple firearms, grenades and explosives. The detained IED expert coordinated and conducted attacks against Afghan and coalition forces throughout the region.

-- A combined force detained several suspects during a search for a Taliban leader in the Maidan Shahr district of Wardak province. The leader coordinates insurgent activity, transports weapons, and facilitates attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

In July 1 Afghanistan operations:

-- In the Deh Rawud district of Uruzgan province, a combined force discovered a drug cache containing 33,660 pounds of hashish and detained three suspects. The drugs were destroyed.

-- A combined force-requested airstrike killed numerous insurgents during a search for an al-Qaida leader in the Watahpur district of Kunar province. The al-Qaida leader trains other insurgents operating in Kunar, Nuristan and Laghman provinces. No civilians were harmed and no civilian property was damaged during the operation.

-- In Paktika province’s Yosuf Khel district, a combined force responded when an insurgent self-detonated an improvised explosive, killing himself in the process. Coalition forces detained one suspect.

-- A combined force killed nine insurgents during a firefight in Paktika province’s Bermal district.

-- An insurgent self-detonated an improvised explosive, killing himself in the process, in Nagarhar province’s Rodat district.

-- A combined force detained one suspect in Logar province’s Charkh district.

-- A combined force killed nine insurgents during a firefight in Kunar province’s Watahpu district.

-- A combined force detained two suspects in Khowst province’s Bak district.

-- A combined force detained a Haqqani leader, killed one insurgent, captured two other insurgents and seized multiple grenades and an AK-47 rifle in the Nerkh district of Wardak province.

-- A combined force killed several insurgents during a firefight in the Sar-e Pul district of Sar-e Pul province.

-- In the Nad ‘Ali district of Helmand province, a combined force detained multiple suspects and seized several weapons during a search for a senior Taliban leader. The Taliban leader controls insurgents in the Nawah-ye Barakzai, Washer and Nad ‘Ali districts.

-- A combined force detained a Taliban weapons specialist as well as two other suspects and seized explosives in the Ghazni district of Ghazni province.

In June 30 operations:

-- In the Ahmadabad district of Paktiya province, a combined force-requested airstrike killed numerous insurgents during a search for a Haqqani leader. The airstrike caused no civilian injuries or property damage.

-- A combined force detained three insurgents in Paktiya province’s Jaji Maidan district.

-- A combined force detained three insurgents in Paktiya province’s Yousef Khel district.

-- A combined force detained one insurgent in Khowst province’s Khowst district.

-- A combined force detained six insurgents in Ghazni province’s Muqer district.

Afghan Forces Take Security Lead in Southern Afghanistan

From a Regional Command South News Release

KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan, July 2, 2012 – Afghan national security forces formally assumed responsibility for security in southern Afghanistan in a ceremony at Camp Hero in Kandahar province yesterday.

Previously, the NATO-led International Security Force’s Regional Command South was responsible for security in Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan, and Daykundi provinces.

“It wasn't that long ago that we had no security forces,” said Maj. Gen. Abdul Hamid, commander of the Afghan army’s 205th Hero Corps. “We started from scratch, and today we have everything. I assure that there is no doubt that the [Afghan army] is ready to be independent, and we are ready for this moment right now.”

The ISAF-trained Afghan national security forces include the army, uniformed police, border police and civil order police.

“This is a step that will be marked in history for the people of Afghanistan,” said Army Maj. Gen. James L. Huggins, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division and Regional Command South. “We are ready for all of this because of all of you [and] because of the Afghan leadership.”

Army Casualties

The Department of Defense announced today the deaths of two soldiers who were supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.

They died June 24, in Kandahar, Afghanistan.  They were assigned to the 96th Transportation Company, 180th Transportation Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command (Expeditionary), Fort Hood, Texas.

Killed were:

Staff Sgt. Robert A. Massarelli, 32, of Hamilton, Ohio, and

Sgt. Michael J. Strachota, 28, of White Hall, Ark.

For more information, media may contact the III Corps and Fort Hood Public Affairs Office at 254-286-5139.