Afghan and coalition forces killed a senior Taliban operative, detained numerous suspected insurgents and seized weapons and drugs in recent operations, military officials in Kabul reported.

In the Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak province today, Afghan and international forces captured a suspected Taliban subcommander allegedly responsible for conducting reconnaissance and planning attacks against coalition forces. Two other insurgents also were detained.

In other recent operations:

– An International Security Assistance Force patrol stopped a vehicle yesterday that was driving erratically in the Kandahar district of Kandahar province. When questioned, the driver gave evasive answers, so the patrol searched the vehicle and discovered 140 pounds of hashish. The drugs were turned over to the Afghan National Police.

– Afghan forces with ISAF partners killed Muhammad Yah, a senior Taliban commander in the Lashkar Gar district of Helmand province March 12. He was known to have planned and facilitated roadside-bomb attacks and to have directed suicide-bomb attacks in the area. While he primarily targeted Afghan forces and international partners, officials said, his attacks often killed or injured innocent Afghan civilians.

– A combined Afghan-international force captured a Taliban bomb-attack facilitator yesterday in Logar province. The facilitator is believed to be responsible for placing roadside bombs throughout the province’s Muhammad Aghah district.

– A combined force captured a Taliban subcommander and another militant in Kandahar’s Zharay district March 13. The combined force found bomb-making materials, including a rocket-propelled grenade, an artillery round, empty mortar cans, and rocket and mortar charts. The subcommander has been responsible for acquiring explosives and bomb-making materials and moving militant fighters to various safe houses, officials said.

– An Afghan-international force captured a Haqqani terrorist network commander and two other militants March 13 in Khost province’s Jaji Mayden district. He is believed to be responsible for directing attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. The search team found a shotgun, an automatic rifle, a grenade, some armor-piercing rounds, time fuses, blasting caps and a small amount of dynamite. Two other suspected militants also were detained.

– In the Zurmat district of Paktika province March 13, a combined force detained two suspected militants while pursuing a Taliban commander.

– Combined patrols found 11 rocket-propelled grenade warheads, 75 pounds of homemade explosives and bomb-making materials in Helmand’s Nad Ali district March.

– In Helmand’s Nawah-ye-Barakzai district March 13, a combined patrol detained two men after discovering 20 pounds of opium.

– An Afghan-international security force pursuing an al-Qaida commander in a rural area of the Asmar district of Kunar province March 13 killed six militants, all of whom apparently were foreign fighters, officials said. The militants fired on the combined force after the unit had called out for the occupants of a compound to surrender peacefully. A search of the compound revealed several automatic rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, ammunition and a land mine. A woman reportedly was killed in the cross-fire, and a joint investigation is under way.

– On March 12, Afghan forces killed eight militants and captured a foreign fighter facilitator in the Gulistam district of Farah province. Three of the eight militants killed were identified as foreign fighters. The combined force came under fire upon arriving at the compound targeted by the operation and returned fire, clearing the enemy from the compound. A militant who was wounded was found to be responsible for moving and equipping foreign fighters coming into Afghanistan. A search yielded rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns and hand grenades.

– On March 12, a combined security force in the Khost district captured a Haqqani subcommander responsible for buying bomb components and giving them to cell members, recruiting and training militants and conducting attacks against Afghan and coalition forces. Two other insurgents also were detained. The team recovered rifles, a blasting cap and a large amount of cash.

– Also on March 12, a combined force in Kandahar’s Arghandab district captured a Taliban leader responsible for planning attacks against coalition forces. Two other suspected militants also were detained.

– A combined patrol found three weapons caches within 100 yards of each other in the Tarin Kot district of Uruzgan province March 12. The caches contained three rocket-propelled grenades, a mortar round, two grenades, more than 20 yards of detonation cord and 350 rounds of small-arms ammunition.

– Afghan soldiers operating with ISAF forces in the Garm sir district of Helmand province discovered a significant cache of weapons and drugs March 12. The force found a Pakistani passport, a spool of command wire used for roadside bombs, 38 batteries, three loaded assault-rifle magazines, 27 shotgun shells, a pellet gun, a shotgun, an assault rifle, several rounds of ammunition, and about 400 pounds of opium.

Afghan and international forces found two enemy weapons stockpiles and a cache of drugs while patrolling together in Afghanistan yesterday, military officials reported.

A combined patrol supporting Operation Moshtarak found a weapons cache in the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province. The cache contained two 23 mm artillery shells, four rocket-propelled grenades, an 81 mm mortar, a 105 mm mortar, a 107 mm mortar, two metal rods packed with homemade explosives, two five-gallon jugs filled with homemade explosives, 40 pounds of loose explosives, 2 pounds of TNT, 1 pound of propellant and 20 pressure plates. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the cache.

In the Chorah district of the Uruzgan province, a patrol found a weapons cache containing two bags of homemade explosives, a bag of black powder, eight rounds of ammunition and bomb components.

A combined patrol in the Kash Rod district of Nimroz province found and destroyed 4 pounds of amphetamines, 1 pound of opium and five gallons of acid.

Afghan and international forces seized large quantities of illegal drugs, detained suspected insurgents and seized illegal weapons in recent operations in Afghanistan.

An Afghan-international patrol discovered a large drug cache in the Kash Rod district of Nimroz province today.

The cache contained 55 pounds of wet opium, 100 gallons of liquid morphine, 30 gallons of liquid chemical precursors, 220 pounds of pure heroin and 110 pounds of heroin waste products.

In addition, the cache contained 660 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a material often used in homemade bombs. The Afghan government outlawed the material in January because of its use by insurgents. This amount of ammonium nitrate could have produced about 1,500 pounds of homemade explosives, officials said. The cache was destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team.

Another cache was found in the same district later this afternoon containing 88 pounds of opium gum, 88 pounds of morphine base, 39 gallons of precursor chemicals for opium processing and drug-processing equipment.

In a separate drug find yesterday, a combined patrol in the Reg-e Khan Neshin district of Helmand found about 200 pounds of marijuana, almost 50 pounds of hashish and 100 pounds of seeds. Three suspects were detained.

In other recent operations:

– An Afghan-international security force detained suspected insurgents today in a rural area of the Nawah-ye Barakzai district of Helmand province.

– Another combined force in Helmand today detained two suspected insurgents outside the town of Khugyani Gundey in the Nahr-e Saraj district.

– In Khost province last night, an Afghan-international security force outside the town of Surwapan Tuy in the Sabari district captured several insurgents and found multiple rifles, shotguns and grenades.

– In a separate Khost operation yesterday, a combined force near the village of Karizownah in the Sabari district detained several suspected insurgents, including a known Haqqani terrorist network facilitator responsible for the purchase and movement of weapons.

– International forces found 24 Chinese mortar grenades yesterday in Ghazni province. The munitions were destroyed by an explosive ordnance disposal team.

Combined Afghan-international operations in Afghanistan have killed several insurgents in recent days and led to drug and weapons confiscations, military officials reported.

A combined patrol operating in the Koti village of Kapisa province Feb. 27 used intelligence information to conduct an operation against an insurgent leader responsible for supplying weapons and equipment used in attacks against Afghan forces and members of the International Security Assistance Force.

During the operation, several armed men were observed near the compound. When the men displayed hostile intent, the patrol took defensive measures, killing several of the men.

Throughout the operation, Afghan National Police protected two women and two children in an adjacent compound. No civilians were injured.

Also on Feb. 27, a combined force operating in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province discovered a large amount of drugs. Led by Afghan National Police, the patrol discovered about 1,700 pounds of hashish on the trailer of a broken tractor. The drugs were confiscated and moved to a nearby police compound.

In another operation, Afghan forces turned a large weapons cache over to an ISAF explosive ordnance disposal team in the Bala Boluk district of Farah province yesterday. The cache consisted of three rockets, three mortar rounds, 30 hand grenades, 24 rocket-propelled grenade warheads, more than 700 large-caliber machine gun rounds, a pistol and a radio.

Another combined force captured two militants in a compound while pursuing a Taliban commander in Kandahar city last night. The force also found assault rifles, pistols, grenades and 200 blank identification cards.

A combined patrol destroyed four 107 mm rockets found in the Gelan district of Ghazni province yesterday.

No shots were fired and no Afghan civilians were harmed during the operations.

On Feb. 24, Afghan National Police, assisted by international forces, recovered two weapons caches after insurgents attacked a police checkpoint in Daykundi province. The caches, discovered in two locations, were found after insurgents engaged a checkpoint with machine-gun fire. The police returned fire and cleared a compound from which insurgents were seen firing.

The police discovered two assault rifles, two machine guns, a shotgun and about 5,000 rounds of ammunition. After searching the immediate area, the police also found 1,100 pounds of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which the Afghan government banned in January because it can be used to make explosives. The ammonium nitrate was destroyed on site with no injury to civilians or damage to property.

Combined Afghan and international patrols uncovered six caches scattered throughout Afghanistan yesterday, netting rocket-propelled grenades, mortar rounds, rifles and a multitude of other weapons.

A combined patrol found a weapons cache in Nuristan province last night. The cache consisted of 12 107 mm rockets, two rocket-propelled grenades and two recoilless rifle rounds.

An Afghan civilian led a patrol to a weapons cache in Wardak province, yesterday. The cache contained four 122 mm rockets.

In Helmand province yesterday:

– An Afghan civilian told a combined patrol about a weapons cache buried in a field. The patrol found 22 mortar rounds.

– Another security force found 12 recoilless rifle rounds, eight mortar rounds, an illumination round and a weapons tripod.

– A combined patrol with Operation Moshtarak found a cache containing 10 pounds of rocket propellant, a pressure plate and two mortar rounds.

– Another patrol in the same district received a tip from an Afghan civilian about a cache. The cache contained 20 pressure plates, command wires and explosives.

All of the weapons found have been or will be destroyed, officials said.

A combined Afghan and international force interdicted three vehicles in three separate engagements, resulting in more than 10 militants killed while pursuing a Taliban commander in Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday.

The force was sent to a rural area in the Washir district after intelligence reports revealed militants were in several vehicles.

One of the vehicles drove away and attempted to elude the assault force. As the force attempted to stop it, weapons were pointed at them through the open car windows. The coalition force engaged and killed the militants who were in the car.

After the fire fight the ammunition inside the vehicle continued to detonate, causing the force to pull back to a safe distance.

Another associated vehicle, with one occupant, drove out of the village, with the coalition force in pursuit. The car stopped and the occupant drew an automatic rifle and attempted to fire on the force, which then killed the militant.

A third vehicle was located, and armed militants got out of both sides of the vehicle and engaged the pursuing force. The joint force returned fire killing several militants.

As the force engaged the third car, it received machine gun and rocket-propelled-grenade fire from the nearby village. As the fire fight continued, militants from the village tried to approach the burning vehicle several times, but were driven off as explosives and ammunition inside the vehicle continued to detonate.

To reduce the possibility of civilian casualties in the village the combined force then broke off the fight and returned to base.

In another event yesterday, an Afghan and international security force searched a compound in Khost province and detained two suspected militants.

No shots were fired and no Afghan civilian were harmed during the operation.

In Kunduz province last night, an Afghan and international security force killed a militant and detained two others while pursuing a Taliban commander.

While searching a compound in the Chahar Darah district, the force came under small-arms fire.

They returned fire, killing one militant. They also recovered an automatic rifle and a grenade.

In other operations, a joint patrol discovered a weapons cache and detained 11 suspected insurgents after an initial explosives discovery led to a large weapons cache in Paktika province yesterday.

The cache consisted of an anti-tank mine, two homemade bombs, a thousand feet of detonation cord, 12 rocket-propelled grenades, six mortar rounds, two pounds of plastic explosive, six blasting caps, 200 rounds of small-arms ammunition, cell phones, hand-held radios and radio base stations, and various other electronic components. An explosive ordnance team destroyed the cache.

In Ghazni province yesterday, an Afghan civilian delivered 15 rocket-propelled grenades to international forces.

Afghan and international forces captured two suspected enemy subcommanders and seized caches of weapons and drugs in recent operations in Afghanistan, military officials reported.

An Afghan-international force captured a Haqqani terrorist network subcommander responsible for coordinating attacks on Afghan and coalition forces during a combined operation last night in the Sabari district of Afghanistan’s Khost province. The captured subcommander also is accused of arranging delivery of weapons to other Haqqani network operatives. The combined force also detained a pair of other suspected insurgents.

In the Wali Mohammad Shaheed district of Ghazni province yesterday, a combined force captured a Taliban subcommander accused of leading rocket attacks against Afghan and coalition forces and being involved with operational planning and the movement of weapons. Another suspected insurgent also was detained.

International Security Assistance Force servicemembers on a routine patrol in Helmand province today seized 800 pounds of marijuana, 600 pounds of marijuana seeds and 200 pounds of opium seeds. They detained two suspects and turned them over to Afghan authorities, and the drugs were destroyed.

In the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand province yesterday, an International Security Assistance Force patrol found five mortar shells, a missile, a radio, binoculars and numerous bomb-making components. A combined Afghan-international patrol in the same district found a 108 mm illumination bomb, two rockets and two 40 mm bombs.