Australian Special Forces Eliminate Taliban Commander In Southern Afghanistan, 72 Virgins On Order

Hooray for the Australian special forces in Afghanistan as they have managed to kill Mullah Abdul Bari who was a wanted Taliban commander in the Afghan province of Uruzgan, which is in southern Afghanistan. He's dead. He's gone. He won't be missed or mourned...at least not on our side. Here's some of the details from Bloomberg:

Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Mullah Abdul Bari coordinated bomb attacks on international and Afghan forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the department said in a statement. Bari was killed in a recent operation by Australian and Afghan National Army troops, it said, without elaborating.
“His weapons of choice were roadside bombs and suicide bombers, and his death means that Taliban insurgents operating in the region have lost one of their key facilitators,” Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.

One of the reasons a putz like this is so valued by the Taliban is the fact that he had this expertise in roadside and suicide bombs. The Taliban are no where near as proficient in IED's and suicide belts as al Qaeda in Iraq has been so this is a big loss for the Taliwhackers.

At the same time, this continues a pretty good string of key kills by Aussie special forces. And while Australia hasn't exactly loaded up Afghanistan with their troops, their special forces have been very effective - we thank them from the bottom of our hearts. Good job!

Australian Special Forces Kill Taliban Commander in Afghanistan

April 1 (Bloomberg) -- Australian special forces killed a senior Taliban insurgent involved in organizing suicide attacks and training foreign fighters in Afghanistan, the Department of Defence said today.
Mullah Abdul Bari coordinated bomb attacks on international and Afghan forces in the southern province of Uruzgan, the department said in a statement. Bari was killed in a recent operation by Australian and Afghan National Army troops, it said, without elaborating.
“His weapons of choice were roadside bombs and suicide bombers, and his death means that Taliban insurgents operating in the region have lost one of their key facilitators,” Chief of Joint Operations Lieutenant General Mark Evans said.
Australia has about 1,100 soldiers under NATO command in Afghanistan, the most of any non-alliance member, and has said it is prepared to increase its troop presence if other countries with forces there do so. President Barack Obama is sending 17,000 extra U.S. soldiers and 4,000 military trainers to bolster international forces in Afghanistan and the South Asian nation’s army.
Civilian deaths in the Afghan conflict hit a record level last year. The increase came as the Islamist movement stepped up its offensive against Afghan troops and about 70,000 international soldiers deployed in the country in a bid to topple President Hamid Karzai’s government.
The announcement of Bari’s death came two days after an opinion poll was published showing two-thirds of Australian voters oppose sending more troops to Afghanistan. The survey was conducted last week after two Australian soldiers were killed, bringing the nation’s death toll in Afghanistan to 10.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, during a visit to Washington last week to meet with Obama, acknowledged that the war was becoming “increasingly unpopular” in Australia and elsewhere.
“But the bottom line is this: It’s the right place to be,” he said in a March 25 interview on the PBS television show “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.” Australian troops will remain in Afghanistan “for the long haul,” Rudd said.