Afghan, Coalition Forces Target Taliban Leadership in 3 Operations
ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan
2010-12-S-189
For Immediate Release
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KABUL, Afghanistan (Dec. 17, 2010) – Afghan and coalition forces continued to disrupt terrorist activities and apply pressure on Taliban networks during security operations in Nangarhar, Paktiya and Helmand provinces yesterday.

A second security force detained numerous suspects and recovered multiple night letters as they targeted a Taliban leader during a security operation in Helmand province.
The joint security team detained the suspects as they searched several buildings for an individual who leads Taliban fighters in Marjah and Lashkar Gah.
Taliban leaders deliver threats in night letters, bearing a Taliban symbol as letterhead, to local citizens and officials. The letters carry threats of death to recipients and their families if they do not comply with the demands of the letter. Intelligence reports indicate the targeted individual is also involved in planning suicide improvised explosive device attacks against coalition forces in Marjah.
Forces followed leads to a series of targeted locations in Marjah, where Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call the occupants out of the buildings peacefully before conducting a search. The security team detained the individuals based on initial questioning at the scene and discovery of the night letters.

The assault force protected the women and children for the duration of the searches.