Weapons Smuggler Killed in Afghanistan Military Mission

According to Combined Joint Forces, military forces seeking out Taliban weapons organizers killed multiple enemy fighters during a mission in the Helmand Province region, which is home to about 745,000 citizens and almost half of the opium produced in the world.

A Taliban weapons smuggler in the area was reported as supplying enemy fighters with different kinds of weapons and explosives, including those weapons whose purpose is to bring down military forces air craft. Coalition forces made a precision strike against the Taliban worker that was also believed to be connected to personally attacking Coalition aircraft.

The targeted individual was thought to be located in the Musa Qaleh district in a building that also held other enemy fighters. A combination of conventional munitions and precision guided munitions were used during the attack. The building was destroyed along with all that were inside.

"Coalition Forces' tireless efforts to degrade the Taliban's ability to fight are a vital part of making Afghanistan safer for the Afghan people," said Major Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesperson.

In other areas of Afghanistan, Coalition forces helped Afghan National Army personnel uncover a storage area of enemy weapons in the area of Khusf in Herat Province, which is a rocky and difficult area to navigate.

Information was given to the Afghan National Army about weapons storage areas located in a narrow ravine. There were two separate sites located within the mountain area. Military personnel had to climb 200 meters up an area that was a rock face before going down into the ravine. Weapons included in one of the caches were 19 107 mm rounds. 16 rounds were found in the other searched area.

There were no reports of any Afghan military personnel being injured during the mission to uncover the weapons from the mountains in the Heart Province area were able to locate all the weapons pertaining to the information that was given to them. It was a risky area to be in under any circumstances due to the rocky terrain and high rock walls that had to be scaled in order to get to the area.