OEF Summary, March 17, 2009: Troops in Afghanistan Kill 7 in Bomb-Making Bust

U.S. Army Spc. Stephen Highberger, left, and Pvt. Charles Joiner sit in a patrol base on an overnight mission near Forward Operation Base Lane in Zabul province, Afghanistan, March 13, 2009. Highberger and Joiner are assigned to Company B, 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Adam Mancini.)

Dispatches from the Front:

KABUL, Afghanistan, March 17, 2009 -- Afghan and coalition forces killed seven Taliban militants and detained three others during operations today to disrupt a bomb-making cell in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, military officials reported.

In the province’s Khakriz district, north of Kandahar, a combined force raided a compound known to house Taliban bomb makers. Two armed militants engaged the force with grenades. Both militants were killed in the firefight.

A female noncombatant was injured and was treated by medical personnel on site. Forces evacuated her to a coalition hospital, where she was listed in stable condition.

The assault force pursued several militants who fled the compound. Five militants armed with grenades and assault rifles were killed when they maneuvered on the forces. The forces detained three suspects near the compound.

Forces found multiple rocket-propelled grenades and about 500 pounds of potentially explosive material. They destroyed the building housing the explosive material, along with the RPGs.

Forces protected four women and 18 children during the operation.

(From a U.S. Forces Afghanistan news release.)

Tags: DOD, Military, War, United States, U.S., Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, OEF, al Qaeda, al Qaida, GWOT, terrorism, Taliban, Open Thread, Wire, Headlines, Dispatches from the Front
Global Tags: Washington DC, News and Politics, News, Politics, Current Events, Current Affairs, Life, Culture, Buzz, Tension