Forces Detain Taliban Operators, Insurgents

American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2010 – Combined Afghan and international security forces detained two Taliban operators and numerous suspected insurgents during operations in Afghanistan over the past two days.

A combined Afghan and international security force searched a compound in Helmand province today and detained an undisclosed numbers of suspected insurgents.

In Logar province last night, a security force searched a compound and captured a Taliban operator responsible for providing weapons and refuge to Taliban members.

Also last night, a force searched a compound in Kandahar province and captured a Taliban operator with direct ties to several militant networks. Another insurgent was captured during the search.

In operations Jan. 23:

— A security force observed a man planting a homemade bomb near a patrol base in Helmand province. After the force fired warning shots, the man continued digging, and he was shot and killed.

— Troops discovered a cache of munitions in Kandahar province. The cache consisted of 38 rocket-propelled-grenade rounds, eight rifles and 2,200 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

— Forces operating in the Helmand province discovered a large cache of homemade explosives. The 680-pound cache included 36 five-liter jugs of explosives.

— A security force searched a compound in Helmand and captured a Taliban facilitator who is known to buy and transport weapons. The force found explosive materials during the search.

In operations Jan. 22:

— A combined security force searched a compound in Kandahar and captured a Taliban facilitator with close ties to several militant networks. The force also detained another suspected insurgent.

— In Zabul province, a force set up a temporary roadblock. The force searched a bus and detained suspected insurgents.

— Afghan citizens turned in a cache of munitions to Spanish forces based in Baghdis province. The cache consisted of 78 Russian mortar rounds, nine rockets and five Chinese rocket projectiles. All the munitions were in poor condition, adding to the hazard they posed to Afghan citizens, officials said.

(Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command news releases.)

Iraqi Forces Arrest Terrorist Trainers

American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25, 2010 – Iraqi special operations forces with U.S. advisors arrested four suspected terrorists wanted on warrants southeast of Baghdad today.

The suspects allegedly are affiliated with an al-Qaida terrorist cell in central Iraq. They are wanted for conducting attacks against Iraqi civilians and U.S. forces, as well as training suicide bombers.

Two of the suspects were women believed to be training to conduct suicide missions using car bombs.

In other operations today, Iraqi security forces arrested two suspected terrorists during a combined operation in southeastern Baghdad to arrest a terrorist cell leader. The cell leader is suspected of kidnappings and assassinations targeting security forces and government leaders.

Elsewhere, Iraqi police and U.S. advisors arrested four suspects while searching two homes for the man believed to have been involved in planning car-bomb attacks. A man who attempted to flee into another building later was caught by the security team.

In operations yesterday:

— Northwest of Mosul, Iraqi soldiers and U.S. advisors searched a home for a suspected explosives cell leader. Based on the results of preliminary questioning and evidence collected at the scene, troops arrested four suspected criminal associates of the warranted individual.

— Iraqi soldiers and U.S. advisors searched several buildings for a suspected al-Qaida member responsible for arranging meetings for high-level members of the terrorist group northeast of Baghdad. Soldiers found an assault rifle, nine ammunition magazines and a hand grenade hidden in the building.

In operations Jan. 23:

— Iraqi troops and U.S. advisors searched a home northeast of Baghdad for a suspected al-Qaida cell member believed to be involved in placing car bombs and kidnappings in the region. After questioning the occupants and collecting evidence, forces arrested the wanted individual and two suspected criminal accomplices.

— Iraqi soldiers and U.S. advisors searched a building for an al-Qaida member believed to be involved in explosive attacks, assassinations and kidnappings northeast of Baghdad. Three suspected criminal associates were arrested on site.

— Iraqi security forces captured a suspected senior terrorist cell member and two suspected criminal accomplices during a joint security operation conducted in northeastern Baghdad. The cell member is suspected of coordinating attacks for the terrorist group throughout the city.

(Compiled from U.S. Forces Iraq news releases.)

Iraqi Forces Arrest Suspects, Prevent Attacks

American Forces Press Service
MOSUL, Iraq, Jan. 22, 2010 – Iraqi Security Forces arrested nine suspected terrorists today during two joint operations targeting suspected al-Qaida members in northern Iraq.

An additional suspect was killed during one of the operations.

Iraqi forces executed both operations with court-issued warrants.

In northwestern Mosul, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched a residential building for a suspected al-Qaida in Iraq member wanted for illegally bringing hundreds of foreign fighters into Iraq. In addition, the warranted AQI member is believed to have distributed weapons and money to other terrorist-group members.

Following preliminary questioning and examination of evidence at the scene, the security team arrested a suspected criminal accomplice of the wanted man. As the team conducted further examination of the scene, the suspect freed himself from his restraints and attacked his guard. In self-defense, the security team member shot and killed the suspected terrorist.

In a separate operation in Sharqat, about 60 miles west of Kirkuk, Iraqi forces and U.S. advisors searched several residential buildings for an AQI leader believed involved in improvised explosive device attacks and trafficking foreign fighters into Iraq.

Evidence collected at the scene resulted in the arrest of nine suspected criminal accomplices of the wanted man.

In other operations in Iraq, members of the 2nd Iraqi Army Division detected and responded to three car bombs within 48 hours before the devices were able to kill civilians in Mosul, Iraq, military officials reported.

While guarding a Jan. 20, Iraqi soldiers perceived a threat from a bus approaching one of their guard posts and tried to stop the driver. He didn’t respond, so the soldiers engaged the vehicle with disabling fire before it reached its destination. A massive explosion erupted from the vehicle, injuring 10 civilians and four of the Iraqi soldiers nearby, but no one was killed.

A U.S. explosive ordnance team investigated the blast crater and determined that about 500 pounds of explosives were on the bus.

Also on Jan. 20, a 2nd Iraqi Army Division patrol saw a truck parked alongside the road in a Mosul neighborhood. Sheet metal welded over the truck’s bed drew the patrol’s attention. The Iraqi troops reported the truck to their superiors, and a combined U.S. and Iraqi explosives ordnance disposal team was called on the scene. The Iraqi team pulled 100 pounds of cell-phone-initiated explosives out of the vehicle.

Yesterday, a truck driver who was stopped at a checkpoint near an Iraqi army headquarters tried to detonate a bomb in his vehicle. The bomb only partially exploded.

The forces shot at the driver, and he was forced to run from his truck; unable to complete his suicide mission.

The man ran into a nearby house and threw two grenades at soldiers in close pursuit, injuring an Iraqi army lieutenant. The soldiers surrounded the house and methodically started clearing the building. During the operation, the would-be suicide bomber was shot and killed during an exchange of gunfire at close range.

Troops inspecting the vehicle found seven 55-gallon drums of ammonium nitrate. Soldiers removed the vehicle from the town, and it was detonated.

(From a U.S. Forces Iraq news release.)

Marines Draw Out Taliban in Helmand Province

By Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James W. Clark
Special to American Forces Press Service
HELMAND PROVINCE, Afghanistan, Jan. 22, 2010 – Stepping gingerly over rocks and uneven ground, Marines from Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, and the Afghan National Army soldiers attached to them, patrolled to the north of Observation Post Huskars here Jan. 18.

The patrol stalked through a small, barren crop, just large enough to sustain the inhabitants of a nearby compound, which now lay abandoned. As the column made its way past homes and farms, there was a rising sense that something was amiss; there wasn’t a villager in sight.

Passing through a small archway in a mud wall and out across an open plateau, the Marines’ suspicions were realized as several flat and hollow cracks rang out. Dust kicked up around ankles, and clumps of dirt flew from the walls as bullets struck all around the patrol. Sprinting to get behind cover to return fire, the Marines had achieved their objective. They had located the Taliban.

For the next five hours, Marines and Afghan soldiers traded fire with insurgents. The sun had set by the time the patrol withdrew, and they had uncovered a cache of about 1,300 pounds of ammonium nitrate, which is a prime ingredient in homemade explosives and against Afghan law to own. One suspect was detained, several insurgents were wounded or killed, and there were no Afghan army or Marine casualties.

“The original goal of the patrol was to do [census operations] and see who was living in the buildings,” explained Marine Corps 1st Lt. Shaun Miller, the company’s executive officer. “We wanted to get the lay of the land and interact with local leaders and elders.”

Although the initial plan was to interact with villagers in the north, each time the Marines pushed beyond the walls of Observation Post Huskars, they took fire from insurgents.

“Every time we’ve gone out on patrol we’ve gotten into firefights,” said Miller, who paused for a moment to speak over a radio to a Marine on patrol who had reported seeing a rocket-propelled grenade gunner. “We’ve been here for five days and have launched over 20 patrols, and as soon as we go more than one mile outside of the wire, we encounter heavy enemy resistance. It’s like [the Taliban] are drawn to us.”

The increase in patrols and subsequent engagements with insurgents serves to buffer friendly villages to the south of Observation Post Huskars from the Taliban north of the Marines’ position.

“To the north, the majority of the compounds are abandoned and are being used by insurgents,” explained Miller. “However, in the south, villagers have asked for our help, [and have] even led us to where improvised explosive devices were planted so that we could destroy them.”

As the light began to fade and the Marines switched to night vision, infrequent tracer rounds and pop shots would clip and skim over the compound where the patrol had taken refuge. Meanwhile, they waited for explosive ordinance disposal Marines to arrive and destroy the homemade explosive ingredients found earlier in the day.

With the events of the day behind them and the bomb ingredients destroyed, the patrol set off toward its camp to catch a few hours of rest before going out again the following morning.

(Marine Corps Lance Cpl. James W. Clark serves with the 1st Marine Division’s Regimental Combat Team 7 public affairs office.)

16 Insurgents Killed, Troops Find Explosives

American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12, 2010 – International forces on patrol in Afghanistan’s Helmand province have killed 16 insurgents and uncovered a stash of bomb-making material during multiple operations over the past several days.

A security force today noticed two men in a large truck acting suspiciously. Upon searching the vehicle, they found 39 bags of fertilizer containing ammonium nitrate — a common ingredient in homemade explosives — as well as 16 jugs similar to those used in previous bombings and three pressure cookers. The security force confiscated the items and detained the suspects.

In Helmand province yesterday, forces saw a large number of insurgents preparing ammunition and observed insurgent mortar teams moving equipment near a safe house. An unmanned aerial vehicle launched a Hellfire missile, killing 13 insurgents.

Also in Helmand yesterday, three armed insurgents were killed after they took up previously used firing positions. An unmanned aerial vehicle killed the men with a Hellfire missile.

In operations elsewhere:

— A combined Afghan and international security force killed known insurgents in Herat province yesterday during an operation to capture a known explosive operator.

— A force captured a Taliban commander and other militants responsible for deadly explosive attacks after stopping a vehicle on a highway in Kandahar yesterday. After several warnings, the force was met with an imminent threat and killed one insurgent.

(Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command news releases.)

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