Afghan President Hamid Karzai has approved a program that will set up local police forces in towns and villages where the Taliban are attempting to infiltrate and intimidate the population, reports AFPS’ Jim Garamone.

The local police forces will bridge the gap until fully trained government forces can step in, Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell said at a news conference today.

“While we are simultaneously operating at a far higher tempo and degrading the Taliban so they are less of a threat to these local communities, we can utilize a willing, local, armed population to do community policing,” Morrell said.

The local police forces are not militias, Morrell explained. Karzai approved a plan to put up to 10,000 community police in place, to be paid by the government and to operate under the control of the Afghanistan’s interior ministry.

“This is about putting locals to work, so that they can be on watch in their communities for people who shouldn’t be there, and then work with the established security organizations – the [Afghan] army, the police, the coalition – to make sure they don’t menace their communities,” Morrell said.

Though the preferred solution in the country is a fully trained police force, a Defense Department official speaking on background said, “the recent discussion and decision is an encouraging sign of Afghan officials taking serious, detailed interest in both their short-term security needs and the long-term sustainability of security programs.”

Officials said examples of Afghan villagers banding together to deny the Taliban access to their towns have been encouraging.

“We clearly have seen examples of local communities repelling attempts by the Taliban to infiltrate and intimidate their communities,” Morrell said. “We have also, though, seen examples where there are communities that may not have stepped up in that demonstrable a way, but clearly want to and are looking for help in doing so.”

Since June 1, the Taliban have killed 89 percent of the civilians killed in Afghanistan. Morrell pointed out that if the coalition and Afghan government forces kill civilians, it is inadvertent. “By contrast, we know that the Taliban [are] deliberately targeting civilians,” he said. “And they are doing so at an increasingly high rate.”

Afghan and international security forces killed a large number of insurgents, including several key leaders for both the Haqqani terrorist network and the Taliban, in the Jani Khel district of Afghanistan’s Paktia province earlier this week, military officials reported today.

The security force killed Hamiddullah, a Haqqani network commander for the Sabari district in Khost province. Hamiddullah had direct ties to Haqqani senior leaders based in Pakistan and he reportedly was responsible for an ambush of an Afghan army unit in March that resulted in the deaths of three Afghan police officers.

According to intelligence information and local police, news of Hamiddullah’s death is expected to have significant disruptive effects on the insurgent network operating throughout Khost and Paktia, officials said.

Earlier this month, Afghan and international forces killed a number of Haqqani network fighters, including another Haqqani commander, Fazil Subhan, in Khost province.

In the recent two-day offensive operation on the largest insurgent camp in the area, assault forces also killed Qari Ismael, a Taliban leader for Jani Khel district, and Maulawi Sadiq, a known facilitator for foreign fighters.

After the fighting stopped, officials and village elders reported that a large number of foreign fighters, including Arabs, Uzbeks, Turks and Chechens, were among those killed. Afghan and coalition forces also found dozens of automatic weapons, multiple rocket-propelled grenade launchers and rounds, and communication equipment.

The Haqqani network is attempting to establish strongholds in the Khost-Gardez Pass in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Paktia and Khost provinces, officials said. Large numbers of foreign fighters remain interspersed in the ranks of the Taliban and Haqqani networks, and the area is used by insurgent groups to move supplies and foreign fighters into Afghanistan from Pakistan, they added.

No coalition forces were injured or killed despite engagement by heavily armed insurgents on four different occasions throughout the operation.

In an operation the night of June 21 in the Afghan capital of Kabul, Afghan security forces working with International Security Assistance Force partners found more than 11 tons of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer banned by the Afghan government because it can be used in making explosives.

Authorized by Afghanistan’s interior ministry, Afghan special police surrounded a compound housing several insurgents. After ensuring all residents exited safely and arresting the insurgents, police found the ammonium nitrate.

Based on a current ISAF analysis, officials said, this discovery eliminated more than 500 potential roadside bombs.

In a separate action yesterday morning, a combined Afghan-international patrol conducted an operation in Kandahar province to disrupt a network known to sell illegal drugs to finance the Taliban insurgency. After surrounding the compound of interest, Afghan special police ensured all residents exited safely. A man was detained, and police seized more than 140 pounds of opium.

No civilians were injured in either operation.

In other news from Afghanistan:

– An Afghan-international security force detained several suspected insurgents while pursuing a Taliban commander in Zabul province last night. The security force found and destroyed automatic weapons, rocket-propelled grenade boosters and ammunition. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during the operation.

– A separate Afghan-international security force operation detained several suspected insurgents and found 30 pounds of opium in Helmand province last night while searching for the newly appointed Taliban deputy shadow governor for Nawah-ya Barakzai district. No one was harmed, and the combined force protected a number of women and children during the operation.

– An Afghan-international security force detained the Taliban’s recently appointed chief of finance for Baghlan province, along with two other suspected insurgents, in Helmand the night of June 21. The Taliban finance chief also is a bomb-making expert and former district commander of at least three insurgent cells in Baghlan. No shots were fired, and the combined force protected the women and children present during the search. This operation continues a string of recent successes against Taliban networks in Baghlan, officials noted. In late May, combined forces removed three successively appointed Taliban provincial shadow governors for the province. Mullah Ruhullah was killed along with his deputy on May 14. His replacement, Maulawi Jabbar, was killed along with two Taliban commanders on May 28. Three days later, his replacement was detained by Afghan and coalition forces.

– Also on the night of June 21, combined forces acting on an Afghan civilian’s tip detained two foreign fighters in Kandahar province while pursuing the Dand district’s Taliban military commander, who is linked to suicide-bomb attacks in the province. No shots were fired, and the combined force protected women and children present during the search that led to the detention of two Pakistani men.

– On June 21, a combined security force detained several suspected insurgents in Helmand’s Nawa Barak district while pursuing a senior Taliban commander who operates in the area. The commander is a bomb-attack facilitator and Taliban fund raiser, officials said, and also is suspected of involvement in suicide-bomb attacks.

– Afghan and international partners conducted an operation in Helmand province the night of June 20 to disrupt a Taliban network that supplies explosives and other materials used in roadside bombs. When several insurgents failed to follow directions from Afghan special police and presented a deadly threat to the combined force, they were killed. Police ensured the remaining residents left the compound safely. Women and children were protected, and two men were taken into custody. No civilians were injured.

– An Afghan-international patrol confiscated more than a ton and a half of unprocessed opium and more than 20 pounds of heroin during a vehicle search June 21 in Helmand’s Garm Ser district. Two individuals were captured and detained when they fled from the vehicle.

The newly appointed Taliban shadow governor of Baghlan province was captured May 31 by an Afghan-international force as he prepared to leave for Pakistan.

His predecessor was killed in a coalition airstrike the previous day, and this capture marks the third time in as many weeks that the Taliban have had to replace named shadow governors for Baghlan province because of coalition operations.

An insurgent was killed and several other suspects also were detained by the assault force during the operation in Baghlan-e Jadid district after intelligence information revealed insurgent activity.

As the joint force prepared to transport troops from the completed operation, it was discovered that a helicopter’s transmission and engines were irreparably damaged and it could not return to its base. Troops left using another helicopter after maintenance experts inspected the aircraft and decided to destroy it on site. The helicopter did not receive any enemy fire.

In another operation, Afghan National Army soldiers of the 207th Corps, supported by troops with the NATO International Security Assistance Force, discovered a weapons cache in Bala Murghab, Badghis province, May 31 after receiving a tip from civilians.

The cache contained 11 mortar rounds, eight heavy artillery rounds, a mine, 100 steel projectiles and several items suitable for the production of improvised explosive devices.

Afghanistan national security forces with ISAF partners conducted an operation in the Baghran valley May 30 to disrupt Taliban command, control, and influence in the area, and to capture an insurgent who has supplied Taliban fighters with weapons and components for roadside bombs throughout northern Helmand province.

The Afghan and ISAF combined force surrounded numerous compounds suspected of being hideouts for insurgents in the valley. After ensuring all residents exited the compounds safely, the combined force detained two men. Several women and children were protected in the operation, in which no shots were fired and no civilians were injured.

General Stanley McChrystal says coalition forces are working to stop Iran from providing material to the Taliban.

An Afghan-international security force killed more than two dozen insurgents and captured several others while pursuing a senior Taliban commander in Afghanistan’s Kunduz province last night, military officials reported.

The combined force went to a compound in the province’s Kunduz district, after intelligence information confirmed the Taliban were staging for a large attack. As the Afghan-led element moved into the target area, it immediately began receiving fire from a mosque and surrounding woods, and then returned fire. Shortly after, several armed men ran toward and fired on the combined force. They were engaged and killed. Other insurgents were killed as they continued to fire on the combined force with machine guns, automatic rifles and hand grenades.

Close-air support was used, officials said, but not on the mosque and not on the compound, which received only minor damage. No civilians were harmed during this operation, officials added.

In other news from Afghanistan, several insurgents were killed and about a dozen others were detained as a combined Afghan-international patrol searched for a Pakistani-based Taliban commander in Helmand province last night.

As the combined force approached the compound in the province’s Sangin district, it began receiving fire. Several armed men were seen moving to a nearby tree line, and they were engaged and killed. The security force captured several other militants as they searched in and around the compound. The combined force found multiple automatic rifles and chest racks, and a tunnel system in the compound was discovered and cleared.

The targeted militant is a Pakistani-based Taliban commander responsible for attacks against the International Security Assistance Force and is believed to be involved in training and moving foreign fighters.

In Kandahar province last night, a combined force in the Ghorak district captured a Taliban commander responsible for attacks on coalition patrols and bases. He also has been involved in planting roadside bombs and facilitating movement of foreign fighters, officials said. Two other militants were also captured.

The security force found multiple automatic rifles and about 100 pounds of heroin. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during the operation, officials said.

In Logar province last night, several suspected militants were detained by an Afghan-international security force pursuing a Taliban commander. No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during the operation. The targeted insurgent is a Taliban subcommander believed to be heavily involved with roadside-bomb attacks and small-arms ambushes against coalition forces.

In the Nad-e Ali district of Helmand yesterday, a combined patrol found a weapons and drug cache consisting of an 82 mm rocket, a rocket-propelled grenade tail fin, a 105 mm shell casing, a 30 mm shell casing and 24 pounds of opium.

Also yesterday, an ISAF patrol found three rocket-propelled grenades, three shotguns, two grenades and two mortar rounds in Kandahar’s Zharay district.

A Taliban commander and a few other insurgents were captured by an Afghan-international security force in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province last night.

The combined force captured the Taliban commander responsible for planning and executing attacks against coalition forces during an operation in the province’s Khakrez district. He also is heavily involved in organizing suicide attacks, mortar attacks and buying bomb components. A few other insurgents also were captured.

In Helmand province’s Nad-e Ali district last night, a combined security force detained several suspected militants for questioning.

Yesterday in Khost province’s Nadir Shah Kot district, a combined patrol found seven rocket-propelled grenades, a machine gun, four rifles, nine assault rifle ammunition magazines, four bandoleers, 200 rifle rounds, and 30 machine gun rounds. Afghan soldiers determined the weapons were from two tribes that had been fighting and detained five people from each tribe for questioning.

In Kandahar province’s Maiwand district May 5, an International Security Assistance Force patrol stopped a suspicious vehicle and found a large amount of money and seven pounds of opium. Afghan authorities detained three people.

No shots were fired, and no one was harmed during any of these operations, officials said.

Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell says the DoD is looking into European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company’s request for an extension of the Air Force’s KC-X tanker competition.

Military officials say operations to clear the Taliban from Kandahar Province, Afghanistan, are underway.

Members from Wisconsin’s Army Reserves are preparing for a deployment to Afghanistan.

Nearly 1,000 Massachusetts National Guardsmen are on duty this morning helping residents battle rising floodwaters across the state.