20 killed in Nangarhar onset

KABUL: At least 20 insurgents were killed and 21 others were arrested in an operation carried out by Afghan and foreign forces in eastern Nangarhar province, local officials said on Sunday. The operation was launched one week ago in Shirzad district of Nangarhar province to wipe out insurgents from the area. The operation will soon be expanded to two other districts in the province, officials added.

The militants have suffered heavy casualties in the operation so far, Alishah Paktiawal the police chief of Nangarhar said. “A Taliban commander was also killed in clashes with Afghan and foreign troops in the operation,” Paktiawal added. There were no civilian and military casualties in the operation, local officials said.
Shirzad district, bordering Pakistan, is one of the volatile areas where Taliban militants have been active. Afghan and Nato forces have also launched military operations in the northern Afghanistan in which insurgents have suffered a lot of casualties so far. -NNI

Read more »

Posted in: Afghan,district,forces,insurgents,Kabul,killed,launched,militants,military,officials,Taliban

Securing AfPak border, a tall order: Pentagon

WASHINGTON: Acknowledging that terrorist have a safe haven inside the tribal areas of Pakistan from where they operate and cross over to Afghanistan, a top Pentagon official said that it would be a tough job to seal the AfPak border.
“As far as the border itself, I think it is naive to say that we can stop, you know, forces coming through the border,” said Col Viet Luong Commander, Task Force Rakkasan and 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division.
“In order to secure the border, as well — as you know, it takes a lot. It takes effort on the other side, by the Pakistanis,” said Luong, who is responsible for eastern Afghanistan which includes the volatile Khost province and 261-km of AfPak border.
In a special video-conferencing with Pentagon reporters from Kabul, he said, “As our footprint is expanded along the security line of effort, it’s harder and harder for these guys to come and bed down in these villages.”

Read more »

Posted in: Afghan,Afghanistan,AfPak,border,effort,forces,line,Pentagon