U.S. Airstrike In Helmand Province, Afghanistan Kills Senior Taliban Commander

Yesssss! Not only did we get a decent sized death count in an airstrike in Helmand province back a few weeks ago but now it is learned that we got a pretty good sized fish in the process as well.

From the report from The Long War Journal:

The International Security Assistance Force has confirmed that a second Taliban commander was killed in a mid-November airstrike on a Taliban command and control center in Kajaki, a district in northern Helmand province that has seen an increase in ISAF activity over the past several weeks.

ISAF confirmed today that Noor Mohammad was killed in the Nov. 20 airstrike that also killed Mullah Abdul Qayoum, the Taliban's shadow governor for the district of Sangin and overall military commander in northern Helmand, along with 10 other Taliban fighters. Qayoum commanded an estimated 20 to 25 cells consisting of about 30 to 50 Taliban fighters, or an estimated 600 to 800 fighters total, ISAF told The Long War Journal.

Mohammed "was an improvised explosive device facilitator who planned, coordinated and executed numerous IED attacks" against ISAF and Afghan forces. "He was critical to the procurement of IED materials and subsequent construction of IEDs in Sangin district," and served under the command of Qayoum.

ISAF and Afghan forces have also conducted three other operations in Kajaki over the past month. Yesterday, ISAF and Afghan special operations forces targeted a Taliban leader who aids in suicide and IED attacks in northern Helmand. "The Taliban leader is involved in the facilitation of suicide bombers and is an expert in the construction of improvised explosive devices, suicide vests and other explosive components," ISAF stated in a press release. An undisclosed number of Taliban fighters were killed and captured after opening fire on the ISAF and Afghan assault force.

As you read above, the beauty of these airstrikes that take out these Taliban commanders is the fact that these are the individuals who often are coordinating all of the IED placements - they are not only involved in the training and such but they are the ones that direct where the plantings are going to go. Let's face it, if we have some dumber than a post low level jihadi out there just digging holes and putting a mine in it, we aren't going to see much threat to our troops - it's these senior Taliban commanders, many who were around in the days of the Russian conflict, that know about our troop movements and know vulnerabilities.

So, have a nice day in "paradis", Noor Muhammad, and don't tell us that we didn't tell you that there weren't any virgins down there.

ISAF kills Taliban commander in airstrike in northern Helmand


The International Security Assistance Force has confirmed that a second Taliban commander was killed in a mid-November airstrike on a Taliban command and control center in Kajaki, a district in northern Helmand province that has seen an increase in ISAF activity over the past several weeks.

ISAF confirmed today that Noor Mohammad was killed in the Nov. 20 airstrike that also killed Mullah Abdul Qayoum, the Taliban's shadow governor for the district of Sangin and overall military commander in northern Helmand, along with 10 other Taliban fighters. Qayoum commanded an estimated 20 to 25 cells consisting of about 30 to 50 Taliban fighters, or an estimated 600 to 800 fighters total, ISAF told The Long War Journal.

Mohammed "was an improvised explosive device facilitator who planned, coordinated and executed numerous IED attacks" against ISAF and Afghan forces. "He was critical to the procurement of IED materials and subsequent construction of IEDs in Sangin district," and served under the command of Qayoum.

ISAF and Afghan forces have also conducted three other operations in Kajaki over the past month. Yesterday, ISAF and Afghan special operations forces targeted a Taliban leader who aids in suicide and IED attacks in northern Helmand. "The Taliban leader is involved in the facilitation of suicide bombers and is an expert in the construction of improvised explosive devices, suicide vests and other explosive components," ISAF stated in a press release. An undisclosed number of Taliban fighters were killed and captured after opening fire on the ISAF and Afghan assault force.

In the first week of November, ISAF and Afghan troops conducted a multi-day clearing operation in Kajaki that resulted in an estimated 10 Taliban fighters killed. The combined forces targeted "enemy safe havens in Helmand province, where Taliban leaders use villages throughout the area to conduct operational planning and prepare for attacks."

And on Nov. 4, in a rare show of airpower, seven USMC F/A-18's blitzed "21 known enemy firing points and weapons caches" near the Kajaki Dam. The fighter-bombers dropped 14,000 pounds of ordnance on the targets, killing 14 Taliban fighters.

The district of Kajaki has vexed ISAF for years. The Kajaki Dam is a vital resource in need of maintenance and upgrading to provide electricity to southern Afghanistan. But the Taliban have kept the dam under a virtual siege, cutting off key roads and ambushing security forces and supply convoys. Past ISAF operations to clear the Taliban from Kajaki have failed, while the fighting and attacks have halted major upgrades. Meanwhile the Taliban have hijacked power lines from the dam and charged Afghans for the use of electricity.

Kajaki has become a fallback position for the Taliban as ISAF and Afghan forces press operations in the northern and central districts of Now Zad, Nad Ali, Musa Qala, and Sangin. The districts of Baghran and Washir remain Taliban havens.

The Taliban and al Qaeda are known to have operated training camps in Baghran. At these camps, fighters were trained in suicide tactics, IED emplacement, and small unit tactics.