|
WASHINGTON, Sept. 13, 2004 – Recent unrest in Herat was confined to a small area of the city and was quickly brought under control, according to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan officials.
Afghan National Police and Army elements and coalition forces restored order after a small band of local nationals, most between ages 15 and 25, began throwing stones. There were no direct-fire incidents between coalition forces and anyone else in Herat as a result of the coalition's dealing with protesters. Coalition forces used extreme restraint in dealing with the unrest caused by protestors and did not fire a single round, according to command officials. Afghan National Army and coalition forces remained at a distance to assure the crowd remained peaceful during two non-violent demonstrations today. The streets are currently vacant in Herat and the city is calm with Afghan soldiers and police continuing to patrol to ensure security and order. The security of Herat and all the country's provinces concern officials. But with continued Afghan Army and police presence, assisted by the coalition, this disturbance will not disrupt the transfer of governmental authority in Herat, upcoming free elections, or Afghanistan's continued peace and stability. Since Sept. 11, Afghanistan insurgents have been killed or detained and weapons caches found in other areas Operations in the vicinity of Shinkay have resulted in more than 15 enemy insurgents killed and three detained, according to the news release. Among those killed and detained were foreign nationals. Operations also resulted in the capture of a global positioning system, a video camera with tapes, drawings of possible IEDs and mine layouts, two AK-47 assault rifles and four grenades by coalition forces. Coalition soldiers also discovered a weapons cache north of Deh Rahwod on Sept. 12. The cache contained 12 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 31 recoilless rifle rounds, one 82 mm mortar tube, 17 anti-personnel mines, 58 82 mm mortar rounds, 17 88 mm mortar rounds, 17 grenade fuses, one anti-tank mine, 45 mortar fuse heads and one RPG launcher. Two more weapons caches were discovered Sept. 11, including one north of Orgun- E. That cache contained nine fragmentation grenades, 35 anti-personnel mines with fuses and six rocket-propelled grenades with five boosters. The other cache, discovered northeast of Qalat, contained 150 RPGs, three cases of mines, two cases of unknown ammunition, one 75 mm recoilless rocket round and 500 cases of small-arms ammunition of different calibers. An explosive ordnance disposal team was slated to destroy the weapons. (Based on news releases and statements from Combined Forces Afghanistan Command.)
|
