Daily Security Brief: February 26, 2012

FARAH: A Taliban commander, who escaped from jail, was among five militants rearrested by a joint Afghan-international security force during an operation in the Bala Baluk district of western Farah province, an official said on Monday.

The operation was conducted in the Kalasa village, where the fugitive leader, Mullah Purdil, was re-arrested along with four of his accomplices, a police official told Pajhwok Afghan News on condition of anonymity.

He said three Kalashnikovs, four landmines, seven hand grenades and hundreds of bullets were seized during the operation, with the joint force and residents suffering no casualties.

Purdil, accused of terrorist activities on the Farah-Farah Rod highway, escaped from jail last year along with 11 other inmates. He rejoined the insurgency in Bala Baluk after his escape, the official said.

The governor’s spokesman, Naqibullah Farahi, confirmed Purdil had been detained again along with four other militants. However, he gave no further details.

–Zahin

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KAPISA: Two civilians were killed during a clash between Taliban and security forces in the Tagab district of central Kapisa province, an official said on Sunday.

The clash took place in the Joibar area, where an Afghan National Army (ANA) convoy came under attack, Tagab’s administrative head, Haji Shah Aqa, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

One of the rockets landed inside a house, killing two people, he said. It had so far been unclear as to who had fired the rocket, the official said.

Resident Khan Mohammad said: “Two members of a family were killed and four others injured when the rocket landed in their house”. There has been no word so far from the Taliban about the incident.

–Bakhtar Safai

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KUNAR: A kidnapped member of the High Peace Council released in eastern Kunar province on Sunday, an official said.

Maulvi Shafiullah, a resident of neighbouring Nuristan province, was kidnapped by unidentified gunmen in the Asmar district of Kunar on Jan 30.

He was freed this morning and reached Asadabad, the capital of the province, Governor Syed Fazalullah Waheedi told Pajhwok Afghan News.

He added Maulvi Shafiullah had been released due to efforts by tribal elders and the council. Neither ransom was paid nor Talban prisoners released in return for his release, the governor explained.

Shafiullah recalled he had been kidnapped during a visit to Asmar district in connection with the peace process. He was held kept him in mountainous area of the district, according to the official, who said nothing about the demands of his captors.

A local rebel commander had claimed responsibility for the kidnapping. “We have captured Shafiullah and his friends. He will remain in our custody till our colleagues are released,” the commander had said.

–Khan Wali Salarzai

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LAGHMAN: Unidentified gunmen shot injured a tribal elder along with his father and son in the eastern province of Laghman on Sunday, officials said.

Haji Shah Mard Khan, who heads the Qargahyee district development council, was attacked along with his father and son on his way to the district headquarters at around 7:30 am.

District chief, Saadullah Behbud, told Pajhwok Afghan News the injured were taken to the Mehtarlam Civil Hospital by police, who had launched an investigation into the incident.

His son Shah Mard Khan was shifted to the Jalalabad Civil Hospital in critical condition, Laghman Public Health Director Abdul Latif Qayyumi said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

–Obaidullah Baidar

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MAIDAN WARDAK: One militant was killed and 15 others detained during a string of operations in various provinces over the past 24 hours, an official said on Sunday.

The 15 suspects were detained by Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops in Kandahar, Kunduz, Balkh, Ghazni, Maidan Wardak and Logar provinces, the alliance said in a statement.

Maidan Wardak governor’s spokesman Shahidullah Shahid confirmed the arrest of nine suspected militants in the Sadmardi and Tukark areas of Nirkh district.

–Mohammad Farid Karimi

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URUZGAN: One policeman was killed and two others wounded in a roadside bombing in Tirinkot city, the capital of central Uruzgan province, on Sunday, an official said.

The explosion took place at around 11am in the Spilandi area, where a police vehicle hit a mine, police spokesman, Farid Ayel, told Pajhwok Afghan News. The injured policemen were shifted to a health facility.

Separately, an explosives-laden vehicle was detected and defused by police in the city on Sunday morning, first police district officer, Gul Agha said.

The vehicle had been parked inside a rice market, he said. A Pakistani national identity card was found from the vehicle.

—Ajmal Wisal 

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