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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=442
Terrorists Killed in Thwarted Attack on Afghan Soldiers
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2006 – An estimated 18 to 20 terrorist extremists died in a thwarted attack on an Afghan National Army command post in the Bermel district of Paktika province early this morning, military officials said.
Five ANA soldiers were killed and six were wounded when their unit received small-arms and rocket-propelled-grenade fire from a group of extremists. Three of the wounded soldiers suffered only minor wounds and were returned to duty after being treated on the scene. The three other wounded soldiers were evacuated by air to a coalition medical facility for treatment, officials said. No report was available on their condition.
The ANA unit, with a coalition embedded tactical training team attached, repelled the attack by directing mortar and artillery fire from nearby coalition bases.
“With the coalition’s assistance, Afghan national security forces are gaining long-term capability and presence in these areas to provide security and stability to the Afghan people,” said Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force 76. “Steady progress is being made, and we will continue together to pursue the enemy wherever they try to hide.”
Meanwhile, Afghan and coalition forces continue operations in eastern Afghanistan to strengthen the government through an increased Afghan security presence and reconstruction and humanitarian aid assistance, officials said.
In other news from Afghanistan, a combined Afghan and coalition force killed three al Qaeda members and detained their three associates in an early morning raid Aug. 11 in Khowst province. Numerous AK-47 assault rifles with armor-piercing ammunition, along with grenades and other ordnance, were found at the location.
Fitzpatrick said the raid likely prevented more innocent Afghan civilian deaths, because these extremists “clearly had devious intentions to use these items to carry out violent acts.”
On Aug. 10, enemy extremists in Paktika province tried to abduct a truck driver who was delivering gravel to local villages in Zarghun Shahr district. The terrorist extremist ambushed the driver using small-arms fire. The driver was able to evade them and reported the incident to local authorities.
“This was not an attack against the coalition, or even against Afghan security forces,” Fitzpatrick said. “This was an attack against what we in America call “an average Joe” – a hardworking citizen, a man just trying to make a living, delivering gravel, that is part of this country’s reconstruction effort to improve lives, and get this country moving.”
(Compiled from Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases.)
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=443
Iraqi Hostage Recovered; Terrorist Cell Leader Captured
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Aug. 13, 2006 – U.S. soldiers in recent days have recovered an Iraqi hostage and captured a terrorist cell leader, officials said.
Multinational Division Baghdad soldiers from D Company, 1st Battalion, 502nd Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, captured the terrorist cell leader during an Aug. 10 cordon-and-search operation southwest of Baghdad.
The cell leader is directly linked to a July 17 attack on a local market in Mahmudiyah, which killed 40 Iraqis and wounded another 70 others.
“Our soldiers are simply awesome,” said Col. Todd Ebel, commander of 2nd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division. “This is the third top member of this violent and elusive terrorist cell we have detained in recent weeks.”
Also on Aug. 10, an Iraqi man being held hostage was freed after Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers found him blindfolded and bound in the back of a vehicle near Baqubah.
The rescue occurred after a 101st Combat Aviation Brigade helicopter that was patrolling the area spotted the vehicle. The pilot noticed a suspicious gathering of people around the vehicle and reported the sighting.
A ground patrol attached to the 3rd Heavy Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, was sent to the area to investigate and found the man who claimed to have been kidnapped in Baqubah on Aug. 2.
The soldiers treated the man for his injuries and provided him a cell phone to call his family before taking him to a nearby coalition base, military officials said.
This is the second hostage rescue by Iraqi and Task Force Band of Brothers soldiers in the past two weeks. On July 30, Iraqi and U.S. soldiers raiding a suspected terrorist weapons cache near Muqdadiyah freed another Iraqi man the day before he was to be “judged” and likely killed by his kidnappers, officials said.
Kidnapping, whether for ransom, terror or propaganda use, continues to be a key terrorist and criminal tactic throughout Iraq. Teamwork between coalition forces and increasingly capable Iraqi security forces, aided and abetted by local residents, is aimed at identifying and capturing these kidnappers, military officials said.
Tip lines have been established in the provincial joint communication centers in Iraq's northern provinces to allow residents to anonymously provide information about terrorist activity, officials said.
(Compiled from Multinational Corps Iraq news releases.)