ANA commandos conduct 1,000 operations

KABUL): Seventy armed insurgents have been killed, 10 injured and 41 others detained during a thousand operations by the Afghan National Army’s Commando Unit over the past three months, an official said on Sunday.

The unit commander, Brig. Gen. Syed Abdul Karim, told a news conference in Kabul the operations remained focused on searches, clearing areas of insurgents and rescue efforts.

Three commandos were killed and eight others wounded during their operations, when 160 different weapon and ammunition depots were also seized, Karim said.

In response to a question, he said most of the operations were led by the commandos, with foreign troops on a stand-by mode to help during an emergency situation.

He added the commando unit was able to launch night time operations and most of such operations were conducted in line with the directives of Chief of Army Staff and the Ministry of Defence.

Established in 2005, the unit’s strength had reached 9,000, he said, adding it was equipped with NATO-standard heavy and light weapons.

He added the commando troops were based in all provinces and had the capability to deal with any emergency situations.

The commando troops took part in special operations aimed at rescuing victims of snow avalanches in Salang pass and a Pamir plane crash, he concluded.

mm/ma

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