NATO-led force frees Afghan policeman from Taliban captivity in southern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

NATO-led force frees Afghan policeman from Taliban captivity in southern Afghanistan

2010-10-06 18:19:57 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) on Wednesday confirmed that a man who was discovered shackled and locked in a room during an operation in southern Afghanistan was in fact an Afghan National Police member.

The operation took place in southern Afghanistan's Helman province on Monday when Afghan and coalition security forces detained several suspected Taliban insurgents while in pursuit of a suspected Taliban leader who allegedly commands up to 20 fighters in the Sistani area of Marjah district.

The alliance said intelligence tips led the joint security force to a remote compound in Marjah district to search for the Taliban leader. They used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to exit the buildings peacefully and then moved in to clear and secure the compound.

In one of the buildings, the security force found a man shackled and locked in one of the rooms, who claimed to be an Afghan National Police member and said the Taliban had kidnapped him. On Wednesday, ISAF was able to confirm his story.

"The man is an Afghan reserve police member in Marjah and was kidnapped at a checkpoint approximately one week prior to his rescue," an ISAF spokesperson said.

U.S. Army Colonel Rafael Torres, the director of the ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center, welcomed the release. "We are extremely happy we were able to free this brave policeman," Torres said. "Afghan civilians are standing up for the country they love when they join police and military forces, the Taliban are terrorizing these people who only want to establish a secure Afghanistan."

During the same operation, several suspected insurgents who were inside the compound were taken into custody after being questioned at the scene. ISAF did not say how many suspected insurgents had been taken into custody.

The security force also found multiple grenades, AK-47 magazines and ammunition, along with 20 pounds of wet opium inside the compound.

On Tuesday, the hunt for the targeted Taliban leader - who is also believed to be responsible for the kidnapping of the Afghan policeman - continued in Helmand province. During that operation, two suspected insurgents were detained.

During another operation on Tuesday, ISAF said Qari Ziauddin, the Taliban shadow governor for Faryab province, was killed during a precision air strike in a remote area of Dowlatabad district.

ISAF said Ziauddin is alleged to have been directly associated with and took operational orders from a Pakistan-based leader of the northern front. "Based on intelligence sources, coalition forces tracked the Taliban shadow governor to a remote area of Dowlatabad district," the alliance said.

The force then planned a precision air strike, which resulted in the death of Ziauddin. "A follow-on joint ground force went to the engagement site to assess the results of the strike," ISAF said. "As coalition forces approached, armed individuals threatened the security force." Four suspected insurgents were killed during the engagement.

The security force also searched a series of caves and discovered a destroyed machine gun, multiple automatic weapons, grenades, magazines and machine gun ammunition along with improvised explosive device material including blasting caps and detonation cord at the scene. They also discovered a weapons cache, but large secondary explosions prevented the force from assessing the contents.

Other security developments in Afghanistan on Wednesday:

• Two suspected insurgents were killed and several others were detained during a joint operation in the village of Ghaziabad in Nurgal district of Kunar province, in the country's north. ISAF said that recent reporting led the security force to target a series of compounds in the village and, when they arrived at the scene, the security force immediately received enemy fire. Two insurgents were killed when the force responded. In addition to the fatalities and arrests, ISAF said the force also discovered and destroyed multiple weapons and more than a thousand rounds of AK-47 ammunition.
• In the Rashidan district of Ghazni province, in eastern Afghanistan, Afghan and coalition security forces targeted a Taliban senior leader who is alleged to facilitate weapons, conduct attacks and leads an improvised explosive device (IED) cell in the Jaghato district of neighboring Wardak province. The forces, following intelligence tips, cleared a building and were confronted with a suspected insurgent who threatened them. "They engaged and killed him," ISAF said, adding that another suspected insurgent was taken into custody. The force also discovered and destroyed a recoilless rifle with rounds, multiple magazines and machine gun ammunition at the scene.
• ISAF on Wednesday confirmed that Sainullah, a Haqqani Network facilitator who supplied weapons used for attacks throughout the Musa Khel district of Khost province, was killed during a joint security force operation on Monday. The alliance said it approached a remote compound in the Sabari district to search for the facilitator and was approached by several armed insurgents who threatened the force. "The security force engaged the insurgents, killing three, including Sainullah," ISAF said, adding that one suspected insurgent was taken into custody after questioning at the scene. The force also recovered a machine gun along with IED materials.
• A Taliban IED operative, who allegedly also facilitated and conducted heavy machine gun and small arms fire attacks against coalition force convoys, was arrested during an operation that targeted a compound in the Andar district of Ghazni province.
• One suspected insurgent was killed and several others were arrested during an Afghan-led operation in Kandahar province, in southern Afghanistan. The operation targeted a Taliban senior leader based in Dand district who allegedly coordinates IED attacks and commands a kidnapping cell that targets Afghan government officials and local civilians who are supportive of coalition forces. Multiple grenades were thrown at the security force from a nearby wood line when the troops cleared the targeted compound in the village of Bur Mohammad in Zharay district. As forces responded, one suspected insurgent was killed. Several others were detained after questioning at the scene.
• During an overnight operation in the Sabari district of Khost province, Afghan and coalition security forces captured a Haqqani Network facilitator who allegedly supplied weapons, ammunition and reportedly suicide bombers for attacks throughout the district. Besides the suspected facilitator, several of his associates were also taken into custody.

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