Afghan Commandos remove more than 100 Taliban from Kunduz

Photo By Staff Sgt. Jaerett Engeseth | An Mi-17 helicopter prepares to take Afghan special operators to the cutting edge of battle. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Jaerett Engeseth)  

AFGHANISTAN

12.11.2017

Story by Capt. Scott Newman 

NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan

The 10th Special Operations Kandak concluded a series of focused offensive operation in Kunduz province on Dec. 10, 2017 resulting in the removal of 101 Taliban fighters from Imam Sahib district, Kunduz province. Over the course of five days, 74 Taliban were killed, 27 insurgents were wounded, and 87 defensive fortifications were destroyed.

Four local Taliban leaders, Mawlawi Musa, Qari Amir Mazhari, Mansour and Abdul Hakim, were reported as killed by locals. In additional to the Taliban’s personnel loses, 11 IEDs were removed from the district along with stores of weapons, ammunition, and vehicles.

Denying the Taliban a safe haven in Imam Shib district was made possible by the cooperation among a number of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces to include the 20th Afghan National Army Division, Afghan National Police, and Afghan Local Police.

During the course of 2017, the Taliban have attempted to seize provincial capital district centers with no success. The combination of cooperation amongst the ANDSF and the growing capability of the Afghan Special Security Forces have enable prolonged offensive operations into Afghanistan’s harsh winter season.

Four thousand additional Commandos will join the force before the start of the traditional fighting season in April 2018. The first Mobile Strike Kandak Commando force graduated from the Commando Qualification Course on Dec. 6 and begins the inaugural Cobra Strike Mobility Course at Pul-e-Charki on Jan. 13.

• Date Taken: 12.11.2017
• Date Posted: 12.11.2017 07:22
• Story ID: 258212
• Location: AF