Joint Force Clears Enemy Safe Havens in Musa Qal'ah
ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-10-CA-018  For Immediate Release Download PDF   KABUL, Afghanistan (Oct. 2) - Afghan and coalition forces conducted another multi-day deliberate clearing operation aimed at disrupting the Taliban's freedom of movement in southern Afghanistan. The operation started Sept. 30 and ended Friday night.   The joint force encountered continuous enemy contact, including rocket-propelled grenade, machine gun, recoilless rifle, mortar and small-arms fire throughout the operation. Multiple precision air strikes and direct fire from coalition aircraft, along with direct fire from the ground force, was employed in order to suppress enemy fire.   As other joint forces are heavily engaging the Taliban outside the city of Kandahar, combined security force operations continue to clear outlining Taliban safe havens throughout southern Afghanistan. This multi-day operation focused on a rural, agricultural region of Musa Qal'ah district in Helmand province where Taliban leaders use villages throughout the area to conduct operational planning, prepare and train for attacks.   The security force began the operation Thursday night, targeting several compounds in the area. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to exit the buildings peacefully and then the combined force cleared and secured the compounds. The security force detained four suspected insurgents throughout the operation.   "Afghan and coalition forces are repeatedly hitting the insurgents in their backyard, leaving no time for them to regroup," said U.S. Army Col. Rafael Torres, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director.   "The goal is to disrupt the enemy's sanctuaries and staging areas in the south, which are used for attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces. Ultimately, these continued efforts will allow the Afghan people to build more security and governance without the worry of Taliban threats."   Due to the on-going enemy contact, the security force was unable to conduct battle damage assessments of the engagement areas. The security force is still collecting information to determine the number of enemy killed in action.   The security force protected the women and children for the duration of the searches.