Afghan commandos detained 20 suspected insurgents during a clearing operation Sept. 14 in Kunduz province’s Chahar Dara district.
Story by Staff Sgt. JaJuan Broadnax CJSOTF-AFG KUNDUZ PROVINCE, Afghanistan-The 5th Special Operation Kandak’s 1st Company conducted a clearance operation after increased enemy activity in and around the district’s Nowabad village.
Two local residents were injured the previous day when their vehicle struck a roadside bomb intended for Afghan National Security Forces patrolling the area. Also, that day, Afghan Local
Police were attacked at a nearby checkpoint.
The detainees were turned over to the Chahar Darah Afghan National Police and National Directorate of Security. No shots were fired during the operation.
Afghan commandos with the 7th Special Operations Kandak gather 1,500 kilograms of homemade explosive material Sept. 8, 2013, in Azan village, Kajaki district, Helmand province, Afghanistan. (Photo courtesy of 7th Special Operations Kandak)
Story by Staff Sgt. Osvaldo Equite CJSOTF-AFG HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Afghan commandos detained two suspected insurgents and found several weapons and drug caches in an operation that concluded Sept. 9 in Helmand province.
Commandos of the 7th Special Operations Kandak targeted insurgent safe havens and Taliban command centers in three districts during a combined clearing operation with the 215th Afghan
National Army Corps.
The commandos carried out concurrent operations north of the Helmand River in Musa Qaleh, Kajaki, and Sangin districts from Sept. 6-9. Meanwhile, Afghan soldiers from the 215th Corps, Afghan Local Police and Afghan Uniformed Police staged to execute clearing operations in Sangin under the command of Maj. Gen. Malouk.
Afghan commandos repelled a steady wave of insurgent attacks throughout the operation. Insurgent groups attacked the commandos with machine gun fire, shoulder-fired rockets and mortars while
other insurgents fled the commandos’ advance.
The commandos found and destroyed several caches consisting of 30 50-kilogram bags of explosive material and 18 kilograms of unprocessed opium as well as antennas and radio batteries used with communications equipment.
These findings were significant, said Ummar Zawaq, Helmand provincial spokesman. Insurgents use the material to make homemade bombs and target security forces and innocent civilians.
The unprocessed opium is worth an estimated $90,000 if processed as heroin, according to a United Nations Drugs and Crime report released in May. Insurgents fund much of their operations with drug money.
The two suspected insurgents detained during the operation are believed to be connected to 16
bombings and attempted bombings in the area.
The commandos detained the suspects based on information gathered by Afghan Security Forces in Helmand and Kandahar, which is a significant achievement in itself. Until recently such responsibility fell solely on U.S. coalition forces in the area. The combined operation was one of the largest Afghan-led security operations in the province, demonstrating the ability of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to deny insurgent freedom of movement and bring security to the
populace.
Story by Staff Sgt. Richard Lower CJSOTF-AFG HERAT PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Afghan National Army Special Forces soldiers from the 4th Special Operations Kandak killed Taliban leader Haji Mobine Sept. 12 in Herat province’s Shindand District.
Afghan Special Forces killed Mobine in a raid just after midnight in the North Baktabad village. He and another militant opened fire as ANASF members assaulted the insurgent compound. The elite soldiers returned fire, killing both rebels.
ANASF captured Mobine in early July and released him to village elders after he promised to stop his criminal activities. Still, he continued to intimidate villagers through threats and murders.
Mobine’s homemade explosives killed countless Afghan civilians, despite the Taliban’s claims that they are used to kill foreign invaders.
Story by Staff Sgt. JaJuan Broadnax CJSOTF-AFG BADAKHSHAN PROVINCE, Afghanistan - Afghan commandos from the 5th Special Operations Kandak killed 13 insurgents in Operation “Hindu Kush” Sept. 11-12 in Badakhshan province’s Warduj District.
After intercepting insurgent radio communications and receiving enemy small-arms fire, Afghan
commandos and soldiers from the 209th Afghan National Army Corps returned fire and eliminated the enemy threat.
Operation “Hindu Kush” began Sept. 6 to root out insurgent safe havens throughout the province. So far, at least 22 insurgents were killed. Afghan forces cleared numerous villages in search of
Taliban, including a house they believe belongs to the Taliban shadow governor in the province, Qari Fasaihuddin.
There have been no reports of Afghan military or civilian casualties. Also, there are no reports of structural damages at this point in the operation.
The operation is still ongoing.
KABUL, Afghanistan (September 13, 2013) – The International Security Assistance Force strongly condemns the senseless killing of four civilians and the wounding of at least two more when Taliban forces targeted an ISAF convoy with a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device in Kandahar province today.
ISAF expresses its sympathies to the families of those killed and wounded in today's attack. We continue to stand beside the Afghan people and call on the Taliban to cease their indiscriminate use of IEDs that kill innocent Afghan men, women and children.
VOA News September 15, 2013 Officials in southern Afghanistan say gunmen have shot and wounded a senior female police officer, just months after her female predecessor was killed.
Authorities say Nigar, who like many Afghans uses only one name, was shot Sunday by gunmen on a motorbike in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital of Helmand province. Officials say the gunmen escaped.
Nigar had replaced the late Islam Bibi as a senior investigator. Bibi was shot dead in July.
Bibi was widely seen as an example of how opportunities for women have improved in Afghanistan since the repressive Taliban regime was ousted in 2001.
However, Bibi, who was 37 years old and the mother of three, received regular death threats from people who did not approve of her career, including her brother who tried to kill her three times.
Authorities say the accident happened Saturday in Samangan province's Ruyi Du Ab district.
Workplace safety standards are poor in Afghanistan, as in many developing countries.
The government hopes to develop a wealth of mineral resources on its territory, a challenging goal as it battles a Taliban insurgency.
Army officials say that Major-General Sanaullah Niazi was returning to his regional headquarters Sunday after visiting an outpost near the Afghan border when a roadside bomb blew up his vehicle.
The attack took place in the district of Upper Dir. A lieutenant colonel was also among the victims.
Insurgent violence has frequently targeted security forces in parts of northwestern Pakistan, but killing senior generals is extremely rare.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said that “such cowardly acts” will not harm the morale of the armed forces, adding the army has made “substantial sacrifices to protect the nation against the menace of terrorism”.
A spokesman for the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bombing.
The latest violence comes just days after Prime Minister Sharif’s government organized a national conference in which major political parties endorsed his plan to engage in peace talks with the Taliban.
However, there is widespread skepticism about peace talks. Critics maintain that previous attempts emboldened the militants and allowed them to regroup and continue their anti-state activities.
National Security Affairs Editor Ejaz Haider works at a commercial Pakistani TV station. He says Sunday’s attack could part of efforts by the Taliban to strengthen their bargaining position before any talks. “Now, this is the kind of the thing that the state should be doing. But unfortunately the state, instead of doing this, instead of talking from a position of strength, has actually put all its eggs in the talks basket without really creating space for itself which will make peace talks meaningful or they will have the advantage of talking from a position of strength," he said.
The Taliban is waging a bloody insurgency that has killed thousands of Pakistanis, including security forces, in recent years.
The Islamist group has welcomed the government’s peace move and indicated it is open to talks, but the spokesman defended Sunday’s attack, saying there is no ceasefire yet.
The militants reportedly demand that Pakistan release all Taliban prisoners and withdraw its troops from tribal areas before they will participate in peace talks. Most political analysts think authorities are unlikely to accept these demands and say the latest bombing may have dealt a blow to the prospects for peace efforts.