2012-10-S-004
For Immediate Release


KABUL, Afghanistan (Oct. 3, 2012)
Coalition forces have confirmed the deaths of two insurgent leaders targeted in a coalition airstrike Sept. 28 in Shindand district, Herat province.

*    Mullah Sultan, a top level Taliban leader, weapons supplier and member of the Taliban Quetta Shura of Bala Baluk district, is reported to have directed numerous attack against coalition forces, kidnapped Afghan civilians and conducted other criminal activities. Sultan is believed to have facilitated IED attacks and was also known to send insurgent fighters into villages in Farah to intimidate the local population into not supporting the Afghanistan government. 

*    Mullah Akhtar Mohammad, a Taliban leader in Shindand, Herat, was reportedly involved in the facilitation of suicide bombers and attacks on Afghan and coalition troops in the area. He is also known to have disrupted local elections in the district by intimidating the local population. 

The removal of these two insurgent leaders, said a coalition official, will have a major impact on Taliban command and logistics networks in Farah province.