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Coalition troops keep pressure on al-Qaeda, Taliban in Afghanistan

WASHINGTON (Army News Service, March 28, 2003) -- As Operation Valiant Strike drew to a close in the Sami Ghar mountains about 130 kilometers east of Kandahar, Afghanistan, a new operation near Bagram started March 27.

Troops from the 505th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, launched Operation Desert Lion this week in the Kohe Safi Mountains near Bagram Air Base.

The soldiers found two caches of weapons that included 107mm rockets, mortar rounds, recoilless rocket rounds and cases of machine-gun ammunition just five kilometers from the air base. Disposal experts blew up the caches in place.

Combined Joint Task Force-180 spokeswoman Capt. Alayne Cramer said coalition troops had searched the area before. "Intelligence sources and tips from local Afghans suggested we revisit the area," Cramer said.

Operation Valiant Strike began March 20 and involved special operations forces, the 82nd Airborne Division's 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Romanian soldiers, about 600 soldiers in all.

The operation's purpose was to clear and search villages and caves, gather intelligence, search for weapons caches and seek out remaining al-Qaeda and Taliban forces.

The operation resulted in the detention of nine Afghans with suspected Taliban ties, and the confiscation of Taliban pamphlets and recruiting documents, rifles, heavy machine-guns, rocket-propelled grenades, 82mm mortar rounds, and 107mm rockets, said Task Force-180 officials.

Valiant Strike was a direct result of intelligence gleaned over the past few weeks, including interrogations of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, a top al-Qaeda lieutenant captured in Pakistan March 1, officials said.

Each phase of the operation started when task force soldiers conducted an air assault in the vicinity of the village to be searched. Unit leaders, task force civil affairs specialists and translators made contact with village elders and asked them to tell the heads of households to declare any weapons. They explained that females would search village women in a separate area. Task force officials also explained that the houses would be searched for contraband.

While the villagers were cooperative, and in some cases friendly and hospitable, the searchers still found weapons and other contraband. Some confiscated materials were found in the houses and some weapons were even found in manure piles and haystacks.

"It's a good mission, we have these guys on the run," said Spc. Dwayne Bailey, a medic with the 504th Parachute Infantry Regiment. "We've captured quite a few guys and the rest are on the run so they don't have any time to plan any missions, that's the best part."

In Kabul, Afghanistan, the seventh battalion of Afghan National Army recruits graduated from the Military Training Center. The army will use the more than 600 graduates to bring its first two battalions up to full strength. The Afghan national army now has more than 3,000 soldiers.

(Editor's note: Compiled by Bruce Anderson from articles by Jim Garamone, American Forces Press Service and Spc. Marie Schult, Combined Joint Task Force 180 Public Affairs)