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Numerous insurgents were killed or captured during recent Afghan-coalition operations conducted across Afghanistan, military officials reported.

In operations yesterday:

An Afghan-international security force detained a suspected insurgent in Helmand province while in pursuit of a senior Taliban tactical commander who is known to direct Taliban fighters in improvised explosive device attacks. He also coordinates kidnappings and intimidation campaigns against Afghan civilians. The security force went to a compound in rural Nad ‘Ali district to search the area. After securing the area, the suspected insurgent was detained for further questioning by the security force after interviewing the residents of the compound. Afghan and coalition forces have focused their attention on Helmand province over the last couple of months. Since May 1, more than a dozen Taliban leaders have been captured along with numerous suspected insurgents in operations there.

– An Afghan-international security force killed several insurgents and detained several more in Kunduz province last night. The security force was in pursuit of a Taliban subcommander who facilitates weapons and orders improvised explosive device and rocket attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces. The subcommander is in regular contact with Taliban and Haqqani Network senior leaders located in Pakistan. The security force went to the first of a series of compounds in the village of Qareh Khani in Chahar Darah district and Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to peacefully exit the compounds. One heavily armed individual ran outside the compound and engaged the security force. The combined force returned fire killing the insurgent.

The combined force moved to clear and secure the building. While clearing the area, the security force was engaged by an insurgent barricaded within one of the buildings and another insurgent in the courtyard. Returning fire, the assault force killed the insurgents. After the compound was cleared and secured, the assault force detained two suspected insurgents for further questioning.

At the second compound two armed males ran from the buildings into some thick vegetation. Afghan forces called for the individuals to peacefully surrender, however they engaged the combined force and were subsequently killed. After the second compound was cleared and secured, the security force questioned the remaining residents. One suspected insurgent was detained by the security force for further questioning. Weapons and IED materials including blasting caps and wire were found at the compounds. The women and children present were protected throughout the searches.

– Afghan and coalition forces in the Kabul area detained a Taliban facilitator last night believed to be in final preparation stages for attacks against the international conference. He is assessed to facilitate suicide bombers and weapons for the Kabul attack network. The security force went to the compound near Ahangaran in Musahi district and Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to peacefully exit the buildings. After the compound was cleared and secured, the combined security force detained the facilitator. No shots were fired and women and children present were protected throughout the operation.

– Afghan and coalition forces detained several suspected insurgents in Khost province yesterday, including a Haqqani Network commander responsible for planning and facilitating attacks against coalition forces in the province. The captured commander also is the head mullah of a madrassa in the village of Laken where he had planned attacks and recruited Haqqani operatives and suicide bombers. A security force went to a series of compounds near the village of Kamar Kala in Khost district and searched the area. After the security force cleared and secured the buildings, they detained the commander who identified himself as the targeted individual in the operation. Several additional suspected insurgents were also detained for further questioning. One AK-47 rifle was found at the scene.

– An Afghan and coalition security force detained several suspected insurgents in Kandahar province yesterday, including a Taliban weapons facilitator operating in Kandahar. The weapons dealer also assists with the movement of foreign fighters into the area and coordinates assassinations within Kandahar. The security force targeted a compound in the Zharay district in pursuit of the facilitator. Afghan forces used a loudspeaker to call for all occupants to peacefully exit the compound. After questioning the residents, the security force detained the facilitator and several additional suspected insurgents for further questioning. No shots were fired and the women and children were protected throughout the search.

– An Afghan civilian was wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in Charkh district, Logar province, yesterday. Afghan National Police transported the wounded civilian to a local hospital for treatment. According to confirmed reports, insurgents have killed 87 civilians and wounded 193 in the past three weeks.

– Six Afghan National Police were beheaded by insurgents in Dahanah-ye Ghori district, Baghlan province, yesterday. ANP forces successfully repelled an insurgent attack on a school, clinic and the district governors’ building in Dahanah-ye Ghori city, killing several insurgents. During the attack, insurgents overran a police checkpoint and killed the police officers by cutting off their heads.

“This incident once again demonstrates the brutal, barbaric and senseless acts committed by the Taliban,” said Col. Rafael Torres, ISAF Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. “We remain committed to serving alongside our Afghan partners to improve security and development for all Afghans.”

In July 19 operations:

– An Afghan civilian was killed and eight civilians were wounded by insurgents’ small-arms and rocket-propelled grenade fire during an attack on an ISAF patrol in the Dand district of Kandahar province. The wounded were taken to Mirwais hospital in Kandahar. Afghan government and security forces officials are investigating the incident.

– An Afghan civilian was wounded in an improvised explosive device explosion in Charkh district, Logar province. Afghan National Police transported the wounded civilian to a local hospital for treatment.

In July 18 operations:

– Insurgents fired a mortar round at a large group of Afghan men, women and children gathered in northern Zabul province as they waited for regularly-scheduled medical outreach to begin. “Although no one was injured, this incident demonstrated to Zabul citizens the insurgents’ use of indiscriminate weapons fired against the local population,” said a coalition medical officer who was assisting with the outreach when the mortar landed nearby.

– Afghan government officials and district elders held a community outreach shura in Marjah and came away more water for the district. Afghan army and ISAF forces from the local village stability operation provided security to support the meeting between district elders and regional water and government officials to discuss the lack of water in southern Marjah, Helmand province. Yar Mohammad, the governor’s representative, said that improvement in the water supply available for local agricultural and civic requirements was possible — but would depend in part on assistance from elders in the region. The elders said they were willing to work together with others in the region to keep the canals clean and secure if district officials could make water available on a more consistent basis for residents of southern Marjah. Director Khan Agha of the Helmund Arghandab Valley Authority said he would take personal control of the Nad Ali district water supply and close the locks to the northeast for 10 days and open the feeder canals to southern Marjah to increase the available water for irrigation and other uses in the south.

The elders agreed to work closely with government officials to continue the collaborative approach to solving complex issues confronting the region. The elders also agreed it was important to include all parties from the area in future discussions of regional issues. Afghan and ISAF forces agreed to help government and elder representatives to support an expanded shura.

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Coalition officials in Afghanistan have released details of recent operations and insurgent attacks.

A combined Afghan-international security force detained a suspected insurgent on the outskirts of Kandahar City in Kandahar province last night while pursuing a Taliban commander known to traffic weapons and assist in bombing attacks against Afghan civilians and Afghan and coalition forces. No shots were fired, and the security force protected women and children who were present.

Also last night, a combined force killed a suspected insurgent and detained a number of suspected insurgents in Helmand province while pursuing a Taliban military commander in charge of fighters in parts of Marja and the Nad-e Ali district.

Several individuals attempted to escape as the security force approached a series of compounds in Nad-e Ali district. As the combined security force attempted to apprehend those fleeing, one man was killed when he displayed hostile intent.

On July 13, Afghan and international forces repelled an insurgent attack on an Afghan civil order police headquarters in Kandahar City. Insurgents attacked the headquarters perimeter with a vehicle-borne bomb, followed by small-arms, rocket-propelled-grenade and machine-gun fire. Police and international forces secured the headquarters and prevented insurgents from penetrating the perimeter while additional Afghan and international forces reinforced the headquarters’ defenses and successfully repelled the attack.

Three International Security Assistance Force servicemembers and five civilian workers were killed in the attack.

Several Afghan civilians, including a 4-year-old child, were killed and wounded by insurgent attacks in Helmand and Kandahar provinces yesterday.

Eight civilians were killed and four were wounded by a roadside bomb in Helmand’s Nad-e Ali district. Afghan security forces responded and transported the wounded to an Afghan military facility for treatment.

In another incident in Nad-e Ali, a 4-year-old child died following a roadside-bomb explosion.

Meanwhile, two Afghan civilians were wounded when insurgents attacked them with small-arms fire in their homes in Kandahar’s Zharay district. ISAF forces treated the wounded at a nearby facility and transported one of the wounded to another facility for further care.