OEF Update, Dec. 23, 2009: Joint Force Captures Kabul Criminal Group; Militants Killed, Detained; UK Casualty

Dispatches from the Front:

KABUL, Afghanistan, Dec. 23, 2009 -- In an Afghan General Directorate of Special Operations-led operation this morning several known instigators of a kidnapping criminal group were detained.

The Afghan force supported by ISAF forces, searched Police District 5 in Kabul City and detained the individuals who are linked to the facilitation and coordination of kidnappings in and around the city.

In other operations, an Afghan-international security force in Patkya killed several militants today, including a Taliban commander responsible for several IED attacks. The joint force also detained a couple of other militants.

The joint force moved to a compound west of the village of Goldad Kheyl in the Zurmat district after intelligence confirmed militant activity in the area. The security force encountered resistance and killed the Taliban commander and the militants.

In an operation in the Zabul province, a joint security force killed a militant, wounded another and captured a third today, after intelligence sources indicated a Taliban target on was in the Jeldak district near the village of Fuladgay.

In an operation in Nangarhar today, another Afghan-international security force captured a couple of suspected militants including a Taliban weapons facilitator responsible for several attacks.

The security force searched a compound north of the village of Dag Kalay in the Acheen district after intelligence detected militant activities. After an extensive search, the joint force found rocket-propelled grenade propellant. The security force then detained the militants.

In an operation in Wardak, a joint security force apprehended a handful of suspected militants today.

The joint force went to a compound in the village of Zamooch, in the Sayed Abad district, after intelligence sources discovered militant activities. While searching the compound the security force detained the suspected militants.

No civilians were harmed in these operations.

ISAF Casualty:

An ISAF servicemember from United Kingdom was killed by small arms fire in southern Afghanistan Monday.

(Compiled from NATO International Security Assistance Force news releases.)