DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Afghan Security Forces, ISAF Counterparts Kill Senior al-Qaida Leader

DTN News - DEFENSE NEWS: Afghan Security Forces, ISAF Counterparts Kill Senior al-Qaida Leader
Source: DTN News - - This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. - American Forces Press Service
(NSI News Source Info) TORONTO, Canada - May 29, 2012: Afghan security forces and their International Security Assistance Force partners killed a senior al-Qaida leader in Kunar province May 27, a senior Defense Department spokesman told reporters at the Pentagon today.

Pentagon Press Secretary George Little conducts a press briefing at the Pentagon, May 29, 2012. DOD photo by Erin A. Kirk-Cuomo  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

“As a result of their efforts, alongside their coalition counterparts, they achieved a significant operational success in Kunar province … with the death of Sakhr al-Taifi,” Pentagon Press Secretary George Little told reporters.

Sakhr al-Taifi, al-Qaida’s second-highest leader in Afghanistan, had commanded foreign insurgents and directed attacks against coalition and Afghan security forces, Little said.

“He frequently traveled between Afghanistan and Pakistan, carrying out commands from senior al-Qaida leadership,” the press secretary said. “He also supplied weapons and equipment to insurgents in the east and managed transport of insurgent fighters into Afghanistan.”

Little said security forces identified Sakhr al-Taifi and another al-Qaida terrorist in Kunar province’s Watahpur district, and took careful steps to ensure no civilians were in the area before conducting a precision airstrike.

A follow-on assessment determined no civilians were harmed in this operation, he added.

“This operation is another example of our ongoing efforts to degrade and weaken al-Qaida’s leadership,” Little said, “and a reminder of the mission we are pursuing -- to ensure that Afghanistan, never again, becomes a safe haven for al-Qaida or its militant allies.”

However, “despite the unprecedented pressure we have applied, al-Qaida remains a threat to our forces and to our homeland,” he said. “And we will continue to pursue our goal of dismantling and ultimately defeating them.”

*Link for This article compiled by Roger Smith from reliable sources By Army Sgt. 1st Class Tyrone C. Marshall Jr. - American Forces Press Service
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DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Attackers In Afghanistan

DTN News - AFGHAN WAR NEWS: Afghan, Coalition Forces Kill Attackers In Afghanistan

Source: DTN News - - Compiled from International Security Assistance Force Joint Command News Releases - American Forces Press Service

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, - February 16, 2011: Afghan and coalition killed four insurgents in Afghanistan’s Kunar province yesterday, military officials reported.

Security forces fired on several insurgents behaving in a hostile manner in the province’s Darah-ye Pech district, officials said, killing three.

A separate combined patrol killed another insurgent after being fired upon in the province’s Tsowkey district.

In other news yesterday throughout Afghanistan:

-- Security forces killed two insurgents during a gun battle in Helmand province’s Musa Qalah district after a group of insurgents ambushed the troops with small-arms fire.

-- Forces killed an insurgent and wounded another in a shootout in Helmand province’s Kajaki district after being fired upon.

-- Acting on tips from local residents, Afghan and coalition troops detained several suspected insurgents, including a Haqqani terrorist network leader, in Khost province’s Sabari district. The suspected Haqqani leader is responsible for trafficking weapons to other fighters in the province.

-- Security forces captured several suspected insurgents with alleged ties to a Taliban bomb facilitator in Zabul province’s Shah Joy district. The facilitator reportedly is linked to several attacks throughout the province, officials said.

-- Forces detained two suspected insurgents, including a Taliban leader believed to be responsible for kidnappings, weapons trafficking and attacks on local security forces in Ghazni province’s provincial capital.

-- Security forces detained a suspected insurgent while searching for a Haqanni leader in Khost province’s Terayzai district. The targeted Haqanni leader is responsible for carrying out indirect-fire and roadside-bomb attacks on coalition convoys.

-- Afghan and coalition forces detained a Taliban leader in Wardak province’s Sayyidabad district, where he is known to have purchased weapons and bomb-making materials for senior Taliban leaders.

-- Security forces destroyed 4 tons of narcotics near Kandahar province’s Zharay district. The narcotics were found on an insurgent compound used for planning and facilitating attacks, officials said, and the compound also served as a hub for trafficking homemade bombs.

-- Security forces found several other weapons stockpiles throughout Afghanistan. The operations resulted in the seizure of more than 200 assault rifle rounds, 21 anti-personnel mines, 15 rocket-propelled grenades, 14 hand grenades, four assorted rockets and mortars. Various bomb-making materials also were discovered, including 11 blasting caps, eight bags of ammonium nitrate, five pressure plates, four cell phones, urea fertilizer, a roll of detonation cord and an electronic detonator. Forces also found 7,500 pounds of marijuana and a pound and a half of opium.

*This article is being posted from Toronto, Canada By DTN News ~ Defense-Technology News, contact: dtnnews@ymail.com

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DTN News: Complementary Operations Improve Afghan, Pakistan Border

DTN News: Complementary Operations Improve Afghan, Pakistan Border

*Source: DTN News / American Forces Press Service By John J. Kruzel

(NSI News Source Info) WASHINGTON, USA - August 5, 2009: Insurgent activity across the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders has declined as a result of complementary operations in the region, a U.S. commander said today. U.S. Army soldiers from Gator Company, 2-12 Infantry, 4th Brigade run for cover from small arms fire following an attack on a transport convoy in the Pesh Valley in Afghanistan's Kunar Province August 4, 2009. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon, Army Maj. Gen. Curtis M. Scaparrotti, commander of Combined Joint Task Force 82, which oversees Regional Command East in Afghanistan, noted the reduction in areas of his command.

“We have seen a decrease in the cross-border activity throughout [Regional Command East] as a result of the operation [in Pakistan],” he said, referring to the Pakistani army’s offensive against militants along its border region in recent months. The general said the most noticeable decline has occurred in Kunar province, where coalition and Afghan operations complemented Pakistani efforts across the border.

“There were not only the operations in Pakistan, but on our side as well, and it did have an impact of our enemies’ ability to move fighters across the border,” he added. One of the key features of the so-called “Af-Pak” policy that President Barack Obama’s administration rolled out in March was to broaden the operation in Afghanistan to include Pakistan.

U.S. officials in June praised the Pakistani military’s initiative against extremists within their borders as a reflection of Pakistan’s belief that the insurgents represent a major threat to the country.

Scaparrotti said that, after his top priority of protecting Afghan civilians, his next major priority is to build the Afghan National Security Forces -- another key component laid out in the president’s strategy. The general said that partnering between coalition and Afghan forces is uneven throughout Regional Command East, with some areas boasting stronger partnerships than others.

To shore up weaker bonds in some parts of the region, Scaparrotti said there will be a focus on collocating forces where feasible. “A partnership, to me, means that we, in every case that we can, collocate, particularly at headquarters level,” he explained. ”We do that already in many areas, but not all. We obviously operate together continuously,” he said.

The general added that a greater emphasis will be placed on cooperation at the planning phase, noting that he and his Afghan counterparts just wrapped up a two-day conference that covered issues related to increasing the partnership.

“So as we develop our plans, execute our operations and consider both the threat and security of the people; we’ve got to get together in a greater way than we’re doing it today,” he said. “It’s pretty good, but I believe we can do it even better.”