Taliban IED Facilitator Targeted in Helmand
Taliban IED Facilitator Targeted in Helmand
ISAF Joint Command - Afghanistan 2010-09-CA-011  For Immediate Release Download PDF   KABUL, Afghanistan (Oct. 1) - Multiple intelligence sources and tips from local civilians led Afghan National Security and International Security Assistance Forces to a compound associated with an insurgent leader and improvised explosive device expert during an operation in Helmand province yesterday.  As the strike force prepared to enter the target area, several armed insurgents were seen running into a tunnel system used by insurgents to formulate a defense of the compound. They were seen taking up firing positions and were preparing to engage the strike force from a flanking position. The strike force then engaged the armed insurgents using precision fire, killing two.  The combined force then moved to clear the target compound. At the first building they called-out to the occupants, giving them a chance to come out peacefully. An insurgent and a woman exited the building. When the insurgent moved quickly into the shadow of the building, retrieved a weapon and attempted to engage the strike force they shot and killed him. When the combined force searched the building, they found numerous rocket-propelled grenades and launchers in the room the insurgent had exited.  Following this engagement, three men, four women and six children exited a building in another part of the compound. They told the patrol of a number of Taliban fighters were staying in a separate part of the compound.  As the force moved through the compound, they discovered a cache of RPGs, four AK-47s and numerous explosives. They continued to call out to the inhabitants, resulting in another man, woman and seven children exiting. The women and children were protected.  While clearing yet another building in the compound, the force discovered two live IEDs - 104 mm shells wired to explode. Another successful call-out led to three men, six women and nine children leaving the building.  All weapons and explosives were destroyed on site by the combined force.   The target of the search is a senior Taliban facilitator linked to the planning and facilitating of suicide attacks. He also procures and distributes IED components and weapons, acts as a Taliban paymaster to senior leaders, is a tactical instructor and procures poisons for insurgent use.