Saturday, November 19, 2011

Two key Taliban financiers and facilitators captured in Kandahar

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – In an operation that lasted just 40 minutes, Afghan and coalition security forces captured a Taliban financier and improvised explosive device facilitator in eastern Zharay district Nov. 17. The Afghan army and national police planned, rehearsed and led the operation.

Afghan soldiers with the 3rd Kandak, 3rd Brigade, 205th Corps, partnered with soldiers from Combined Task Force Spartan’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, to apprehend the two men, who are linked to insurgent operations in Senjaray and Kandalay.

Haji Pyrow Jan was a mid-level insurgent facilitator who financed insurgent operations through profits earned at a series of gas stations he owns along Highway 1, the main thoroughfare running through Zharay and Maiwand districts. When Afghan and coalition security forces detained Pyrow Jan, they used an Afghan-issued warrant to seize financial records and bookkeeping documents that will be exploited by Afghan and coalition forces’ law enforcement authorities.

Pyrow Jan’s accountant, who is suspected of being the key bookkeeper for insurgent operations in the area, was also detained at the scene.

Approximately 40 minutes after Haji Pyrow Jan’s capture, Afghan and coalition security forces captured Abdul Khaliq, a known Taliban intimidation cell leader. He is also a murder suspect in the deaths of several Afghan civilians throughout Kandalay and Senjaray.

Khaliq was known to frequent the Senjaray Bazaar, where he planned and coordinated operations in a shadowy manner under the cover of the flourishing bazaar.

Since April, Afghan and coalition security forces have seized nearly $850,500 in weapons and drug caches, and have killed or captured 41 high-value insurgents operating in the area.

Coalition forces’ leaders from the 2-87 Infantry Battalion and CTF Spartan are confident that the captures of Haji Pyrow Jan and Abdul Khaliq will reduce funding for insurgent operations in the winter and may affect operations into next spring.

Story by Capt. Kevin Sandell

3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Public Affairs

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