Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48026
Afghan National Army Defeats Taliban in Key Southern Province
By David Mays
Special to American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – Afghan National Army soldiers assisted by coalition advisors have completely wiped out Taliban insurgents in a key southern province, a coalition commander said today.
“My assessment of the threat in this province is that the insurgency has suffered a total defeat this summer due to the combined efforts of the ANA and coalition forces,” Army Lt. Col. Karl Slaughenhaupt told online journalists and “bloggers” during a conference call from the tiny Afghan town of Qalat.
Slaughenhaupt is senior advisor to 2nd Brigade, 205th Corps, of the Afghan National Army. He and his coalition team members support ANA troops as they patrol vast, sparsely-populated Zabul province, through which runs the vital but extremely dangerous highway that links Afghanistan’s capital, Kabul, with its major southern city, Kandahar.
“Anti-government elements initially began their spring offensive by conducting fairly spectacular platoon-size, complex attacks and ambushes along Highway 1 targeting Afghan and coalition security forces,” the colonel said. “However, these attacks resulted in significant enemy losses.”
In response to massive firepower and calculated combat of Afghan soldiers, the colonel explained, Taliban fighters resorted to planting IEDs, ambushing citizens on secondary roads, and planning attacks on coalition forward operating bases.
Second Brigade just wrapped up a week-long campaign during which one such planned attack on Forward Operating Base Baylough, in Deh Chopan district, a remote area in northern Zabul province, was decidedly foiled. “This operation was a complete success on a variety of levels,” Slaughenhaupt said.
Afghan soldiers tracked nearly 100 Taliban fighters as they approached the coalition base, the colonel explained. They then pinned down the enemy in rugged terrain, blocking any chance of escape. U.S. commanders verified insurgents’ position using an unmanned aerial vehicle then called in airstrikes by two F-15 fighter jets, Slaughenhaupt said. Meanwhile, U.S. and Romania ground forces, Afghan National Police officers, coalition special operations teams, as well as provincial reconstruction, civil affairs and medical teams, rushed in to assist, he said.
“This is a great example of full-spectrum, counterinsurgent operations, combining kinetic and non-kinetic operations to simultaneously defeat the insurgents while reaching out to the Afghan people,” he said. “This is a decisive victory in what has been traditionally considered an insurgent safe haven.”
This is the second such counterinsurgency mission conducted in the province in recent months, the colonel explained. And once again, he said, Afghan soldiers proved they have what it takes to get the job done. “The ANA on more than one occasion demonstrated incredible tenacity by rallying back after being ambushed and inflicting heavy losses on the enemy by fire and maneuver,” he said. “Bottom line: that when the ANA gets in a fight, they win.”
Ultimately, securing the country will depend upon gaining the support and trust of its citizens, Slaughenhaupt said, adding that Afghan troops understand that. As an example, he cited a recent search operation in an Afghan village that turned up no sign of insurgents or weapons. It was clearly safe and secure, the colonel explained. Even so, the Afghan commander insisted his troops remain in the village for a few hours just to get to know and befriend those who live there.
“The Afghan soldiers, from the brigade commander down to privates, seem to inherently understand the need to interact in a positive way with the locals,” he said. “He understands the importance of winning hearts and minds, and soldiers seem to get it and just do it naturally.”
(David Mays works for the New Media branch of American Forces Press Service.)
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=48028
roops Kill 10, Capture Three, Destroy Weapons in Iraq
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 2, 2007 – Coalition and Iraqi forces killed 10 insurgents, captured three others and destroyed weapons in Iraq over the past two days, military officials said.
Southeast of Baghdad in Salman Pak today, coalition forces targeted an alleged foreign terrorist facilitator with ties to senior al Qaeda members in the Arab Jabour area.
As troops approached the targeted building, armed terrorists engaged them with small-arms fire. To suppress the enemy fire, troops engaged the terrorists and called for supporting aircraft. Ground forces observed multiple secondary explosions from one of the buildings after coalition aircraft engaged it, which may indicate explosives were housed inside, military officials said.
The ground force continued to receive fire from several individuals who emerged from the target area. Coalition aircraft engaged and killed the enemy fighters. After the firefight, coalition forces found the lifeless bodies of 10 terrorists, two of whom were armed with suicide vests.
At the site, troops also discovered a small weapons cache, which included several suicide vests, heavy machine guns and anti-aircraft artillery. The building and cache were safely destroyed to prevent further use by terrorists, officials said.
In a separate operation today near Shaqat, coalition forces captured a wanted individual and another suspect. Military officials believe the wanted individual is an al Qaeda cell leader responsible for facilitating communications from network members to senior al Qaeda leader Abu Ayyub al Masri.
In Kirkuk, troops nabbed one suspect during an operation targeting a leader of the al Qaeda suicide-bomber network. Reports indicate the targeted individual is responsible for organizing, planning and directing car-bomb attacks against local Iraqi citizens. Military officials believe he is also a foreign-terrorist facilitator associated with al Qaeda in Iraq and foreign terrorist leaders.
“We’re continuing to clear and hold areas where terrorists think they can hide,” said Army Maj. Winfield Danielson, a Multination Force Iraq spokesman. “By disrupting their operations, we are helping to ensure the safety of Iraqi citizens.”
South of Baghdad yesterday, pilots destroyed an anti-aircraft weapon, military officials said. The Apache pilots, members of 1st Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division, spotted two suspected insurgents walking away from the weapon, which they had covered with a tarp. The pilots destroyed the weapon with a Hellfire missile.
(Compiled from Multinational Force Iraq and Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)