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.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs ADM Mike Mullen spoke to officers at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Thursday. He said the military alone can’t solve the world’s conflicts.

Admiral Michael Mullen says U.S. and NATO troops will shift their focus to southern Afghanistan’s Kandahar Province following their current offensive against the Taliban in Marjah.

Commander of U.S. Central Command GEN David Petraeus says it is vital for coalition troops to avoid civilian deaths whenever possible.

As more soldiers head from Iraq to Afghanistan, proper training for different circumstances becomes vital for their success.

Iran remains a focus of concern for the U.S. military’s Central Command and for neighboring countries as well.

General David Petraeus, commander of U.S. Central Command, predicts a long, hard year in Afghanistan.

Pentagon officials say they took a calculated risk when they warned people in Marjah, Afghanistan, about their planned offensive to eliminate the Taliban.

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.

Coalition forces continue their offensive against Taliban holdouts in Afghanistan’s South, as part of Operation Moshtarak.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Israel to discuss Iran and the nuclear issue.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Admiral Mike Mullen visits Cairo, Egypt where he discusses Iran’s nuclear issues as well as the drawdown of US forces in Iraq.

Coast Guard helicopters and ground crews are supporting efforts to rescue a climber who fell into a crater Monday on Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.

Military leaders say Taliban resistance to the latest coalition offensive in southern Afghanistan has been lighter than expected.

As coalition forces continue their major offensive against insurgents in Afghanistan’s Helmand Province, officials hope to gain the trust of the local population.

U.S. forces nab top Taliban leader in secret raid.

U.S. forces in the Marja region of Afghanistan are engaged in a series of missions to prime the Taliban stronghold before a massive assault that’s expected soon, defense officials said today.

According to AFPS’ John J. Kruzel, firefights have erupted with Taliban militants as American troops continue positioning equipment and forces in the central Helmand province area for what is likely to be the scene of significant fighting.

“They are expecting a fight. I don’t know that they’re expecting Fallujah,” said a defense official speaking on background, referring to a heavy U.S. assault against Iraq-based insurgents in 2004. “Insurgents have been there a long time. This is a Taliban stronghold.”

In a rare glimpse at their playbook, U.S. and NATO military officials for months have remarked publicly on the strategic importance of the southern Afghanistan region and the goal to clear the area of Taliban fighters. The rationale for such a declaration of intent was to allow low-level Taliban fighters the chance to flee, and to warn civilians of the impending attack, officials said.

Marja, like other areas of Helmand, is a source of income for Taliban fighters, who cultivate poppy to yield opium and heroin for the lucrative drug market, according to reports. The U.S. State Department cites Afghanistan as the world’s largest producer of opium, and money from the drug trade is said to help in bankrolling terrorism.

“Marja has to be cracked open,” Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James T. Conway told Pentagon reporters in December. “The people there, I think, will welcome us when that happens, because the reports that we get is that there is a murder-intimidation campaign at work there — that people are being kept in, in many ways, against their will.”

Some 12,000 U.S. and NATO troops and 3,000 Afghan forces are expected to be involved once the larger-scale operation begins in earnest. Officials declined to reveal when the assault would start, saying only that it is expected to commence soon.

In the meantime, troops are conducting “shaping operations” to mold the battlefield in their favor before the offensive, said the defense official, who characterized the mission as a preparatory phase aimed at answering key tactical questions.

“When the operation begins, where do you want people stationed? Do you want Afghans here setting up roadblocks? Do you want Afghans on that hill with the proper overwatch authority on that particular valley? Do you have enough water set up? Food? Ammunition?” the official said.

Troops engaged in shaping the battlefield have encountered firefights as they prepare the area for more intense fighting, the official said.

“Some of it is tactical, some of it is logistical – it’s getting everything ready for the actual operation itself,” the official said, describing the ongoing operations. “That does sometimes entail small fire, firefights and even small battles, depending on where and how you’re doing it, and they’ve run into some firefights.”