U.S. and Afghan soldiers on patrol came under fire from insurgents July 8 in Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Afghan soldiers, assisted by coalition forces, captured a Taliban leader and known weapons facilitator in the Bala Balouk district of Afghanistan’s Farah province Feb. 21, military officials reported today.

After the mission, Afghan and coalition leaders met with village elders to assess security and distribute food and medical supplies. No civilian casualties or property damage were reported.

In other recent operations:

– In Helmand province today, an International Security Assistance Force patrol in Nad-e Ali in found four mortar rounds, pressure plates and bomb-making materials. They later found an improvised explosive device made of a 55 mm illumination round packed with homemade explosives and another IED consisting of a pressure plate and six mortar rounds. An explosive ordnance disposal team destroyed the munitions.

– An Afghan-international security force captured a Taliban sub-commander with links to several militant networks last night in the village of Zhawrah in the Chak-e Wardak district of Wardak province. He’s believed to be responsible for planning attacks on coalition forces. During the operation, a militant was killed when he confronted the assault force with an imminent threat. Another insurgent also was detained.

– A combined Afghan-international patrol found a weapons cache containing a rocket, grenades and ammunition in the Arghandab district of Kandahar province yesterday.

With large packs and complete sets of personal protective equipment, Marines from Headquarters and Service Company of 3rd Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, arrived at the makeshift rifle range here Jan. 23 under rain-threatening clouds.

“There’s going to be a lot of pivoting and shooting, facing away from the target and turning around very quickly; usually engaging the target with two shots at a time,” said Marine Corps Cpl. Sandro Ola, a field radio operator. “It’s very quick and to the point.”

The drills also consisted of firing while moving toward the target, reloading rifles quickly and correcting weapon malfunctions while under pressure, reports AFPS’ Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Tommy Bellegarde.

Ola, from Anchorage, Alaska, said he thinks the firing drills will benefit the Marines who will be working with Afghan soldiers to conduct counterinsurgency operations in southern Helmand province.

“It’s very crucial that we have this training,” he said, “[so that] when we have the opportunity to take that shot, we know when to take it and when not to take it.”

The drills consisted of two separate shooting sessions, one during the day and the other at night. During the night-fire portion, Marines used night-vision goggles and laser-aiming devices to help them see their targets.

“The more training they have with their gear and [optics] and everything, the more comfortable they are when it comes to the real thing,” said Marine Corps Staff Sgt. William Hart, who’s in charge of the range.

The Marines agreed that repetitive training is a key element for combat readiness.

“The whole point … [is] to get you used to moving around and shooting with your rifle,” said Marine Corps Pfc. Joseph Attaway, an administrative clerk from Statesboro, Ga. “Whenever the time comes when you have to shoot, you just do it out of habit.”

Afghan soldiers confiscated heroin and opium from a vehicle trying to bypass a checkpoint in Afghanistan’s Helmand province yesterday, military officials reported.

When Afghan soldiers tried to detain the driver, he accelerated the vehicle dragging a soldier along. Fellow soldiers fired warning shots and attempted to fire vehicle-disabling shots. When that didn’t work, the soldiers fired lethal shots into the vehicle wounding the driver, who later died of his wounds.

More than 130 pounds of processed heroin and a small quantity of opium were recovered. The soldier was not seriously injured in the incident.

Also yesterday, a joint patrol discovered 540 pounds of ammonium nitrate and a weapon in Kandahar province. The ammonium nitrate was in containers typically used in homemade bombs.

Military officials said this could have been turned into nearly 1,000 pounds of explosives.

In other operations yesterday:

– A combined Afghan and international security force stopped a vehicle in Kandahar province. During the stop, the force detained several insurgents and killed a Taliban explosives operator responsible for attacks against Afghan and coalition forces.

– A force searched a compound, and detained a pair of suspected militants in Kandahar province.

– While searching a compound in Kunduz province, a force faced an imminent threat and then took hostile gunfire. They returned fire, killing three militants. Multiple weapons were found on site, including rocket-propelled grenade rounds.

While flying back to the base, the assault force helicopters received hostile fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms. The aircraft immediately returned fire, killing two militants. The helicopters were not damaged and returned to the base without incident.

– A security force searched a compound in Logar province last night and detained a suspected militant.

– In Helmand yesterday, a combined force discovered a weapons cache after coming under fire by insurgents. The cache contained 10 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, two grenade launchers, 16 circuit boards, 11 bomb initiators, nine pressure plates, six time-delay devices, three hand-held radios, two assault rifles and other bomb-making materials.