KABUL, Afghanistan – An Afghan and coalition security force, targeting the Taliban shadow governor for Kandahar province, detained numerous suspected insurgents in the province Thursday.
The shadow governor is responsible for prosecuting the Taliban’s agenda in the traditional heartland of the insurgency, and reports directly to Taliban senior leadership in Pakistan.
Afghan and coalition forces are currently executing the third phase of Operation Hamkari in and around the city of Kandahar, designed to destabilize Taliban strongholds and increase security, paving the way for effective governance and long-term development.
Intelligence tips, led the security force to target a series of compounds in Spin Boldak district to search for the shadow governor. As the joint security force began to clear and secure the first targeted compound, a group of suspected insurgents, some armed and wearing masks, attempted to escape in a vehicle. The security force pursued and detained the suspected insurgents peacefully.
During the clearance, the security force found 500 pounds of marijuana, IED materials, multiple automatic weapons, grenades, rocket-propelled grenade boosters and a significant amount of AK-47 ammunition at the scene.
After initial questioning, the security force detained more than 10 suspected insurgents. The assault force did not fire their weapons and they protected the women for the duration of the search.