By Capt. Kris Gardiner
TARIN KOT, Afghanistan - Afghan National Security Forces have disrupted insurgent actions in Uruzgan with a series of complex and short notice operations in the western part of the province.
Conducted between late August and mid-September, the operations involving 4th Brigade, 205th Corps, soldiers and Afghan National Police cut off insurgent resupply lines with Helmand province and drove outnumbered and outskilled fighters from around check points in Deh Rawud and Char Chineh districts.
It is the second time in recent months insurgents have failed to expel government forces from western Uruzgan.
Confidence levels within Uruzgan-based security forces are brimming as a result of their successes.
Commander of the 4th Brigade, Col. Mohammed Rasul Kandahari, says the Afghan National Security Forces have demonstrated to the people of Uruzgan that they are capable of securing the province.
“My soldiers and the police have again shown the insurgents that they have no place in Uruzgan,” he said.
“They offer nothing to the good people of Afghanistan, and have no place in the country’s future.
“The Afghan National Security Forces are the true protectors of the Afghan people and by [God] will we shall continue to succeed.”
The operation was conceived and planned in a matter of days after Afghan commanders received intelligence from the National Directorate of Security pointing to increased insurgent activity in Deh Rawud district.
Australian Security Force assistance adviser for Uruzgan’s Operational Coordination Center – Provincial Lt-Col. Paul Duncan, who observed the planning for the operation, said the cooperation displayed between the army, police and the NDS has established the ANSF as the dominant force in the region.
“The Afghan National Security Forces are now securing the province independently, and while their methods are different to ours, the important thing is they are effective at what they do,” he said.
“The strong response the Afghans provided to police who were under pressure in Char Chineh sent a very clear message to everyone in the area that the security forces are working together and if you attack one of them, the other will come to their aid.”
Operational reporting indicates more than 30 insurgents were killed during the month-long operation, while ANSF casualties were around half that number, with the police bearing the brunt during the initial wave of checkpoint attacks.
Security forces confiscated a number of weapons caches and destroyed around a dozen improvised explosive devices that were threatening the communities.
Part of the success was the support of the local population who spoke at length with senior members of the army and police during shuras held in each village the forces moved through.
The ANSF maintains pressure in western Uruzgan by denying the remaining insurgents freedom of movement and withering their power to threaten local communities.