More than 10 insurgents killed after precision air strikes in northern Afghanistan

[News_Editor]

More than 10 insurgents killed after precision air strikes in northern Afghanistan

2010-10-18 18:52:39 GMT+7 (ICT)

KABUL (BNO NEWS) -- More than 10 suspected insurgents were killed on Sunday when coalition forces carried out precision air strikes in northern Afghanistan, the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) said on Monday.

The air strikes were carried out in a remote area of Dahanah-ye Ghori district of Baghlan province, targeting a senior military leader for Dahanah-ye Ghori and Pul-e Khumri districts.

According to ISAF, the leader is accused of planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and allegedly supplies financing, weapons and ammunition to Taliban leadership operating in the area. He is also believed to have planned attacks against checkpoints between Baghlan-e Jadid and Pul-e Khumri districts.

The force said it tracked down a group of armed insurgents to a remote area of Dahanah-ye Ghori district, where it planned precision air strikes on the group. "The strikes reportedly killed more than 10 insurgents armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons, but Afghan and coalition forces were unable to conduct a ground assessment," the alliance said.

ISAF said it is still gathering information to determine if the targeted individual, who was not immediately named, was among those killed in the strike.

In a separate operation on late Sunday, one man was killed by a joint Afghan-coalition force. ISAF said the operation took place at a compound south of Khalifeh Shirin Kowr in Nahr-e Saraj district of Helmand province and targeted a Taliban deputy leader for Nawa district.

Responding to intelligence information, the joint force went to the compound and called on all occupants to exit the building safely. "During the clearance, the security force killed a man when he charged at the security force," ISAF said, adding that two others were taken into custody after questioning the residents.

In another operation, on Saturday, ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces detained five suspected members of a Kabul-based kidnapping ring that targets Afghan government officials' families to attempt to influence them to act in favor of the Taliban.

ISAF said members of the group had kidnapped a boy in Kabul recently, after which the joint force launched an operation to free the child. "Upon surrounding the location, Afghan security forces entered the location and freed the boy without incident," the alliance said.

The kidnapped boy, the son of an Afghan government official, was unharmed and reunited with his family. The name of the government official was not immediately released.

Other security developments in Afghanistan:

• A detainee in ISAF custody was found dead in his holding cell in southern Afghanistan on Sunday, ISAF said on Monday. The detainee was captured during an operation on Saturday and was being held in Kandahar province. The cause of death was not immediately released.
• An Afghan and coalition force destroyed an insurgent weapons factory in the Sangin district of Helmand province on Monday, ISAF said. The force discovered that the building contained six 55-pound barrels of homemade explosives, scales, a boiler room, and a drying room. After documenting and taking pictures of the weapons, the force decided to strike the compound with three rockets to destroy the factory.
• A Haqqani Network facilitator who allegedly coordinated IED supplies and conducted IED attacks was detained along with several of his associates during a joint operation at a compound east of Ali Shir Alaqehdari in Terayzai district of Khost province, ISAF said on Monday.
• Several suspected insurgents were arrested overnight during an operation at a compound east of Salavat in Panjwa'i district of Kandahar province, ISAF said on Monday.
• An Australian soldier with the Special Operations Task Group was injured on Thursday when his vehicle rolled over during operations in northern Kandahar Province, the Australian Ministry of Defence confirmed on Monday. The soldier was not seriously injured.

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