Murderer Killed in Coalition Raid in Kandahar

Murderer Killed in Coalition Raid in Kandahar Province

By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April 23, 2003 – Coalition forces in Afghanistan believe they killed the man who murdered a Salvadoran Red Cross worker March 27, officials at Combined Joint Task Force 180 said today.

The action occurred April 21 in Kandahar province in the southern part of the country. Coalition forces worked with officials of the Islamic Transitional Government of Afghanistan to develop the intelligence and coordinate the attack.

During the raid, special operations forces killed the unidentified assassin after he fired on the forces. The team detained seven of his accomplices.

Ricardo Munguia, the worker, was an engineer specializing in water projects. He was shot on a road in southern Helmand province. Munguia was the first humanitarian worker killed since the Taliban fell.

A coalition assault team built around an 82nd Airborne Division unit took intelligence gleaned from the raid and conducted an air assault search-and-seizure mission north of Kandahar yesterday.

Between 150 and 200 personnel participated in the raid. Four Black Hawk helicopters lifted the group to the vicinity of Shurkay. The unit detained another seven personnel and seized a cache of ammunition that included mortar rounds, rocket-propelled grenades and boxes of various small-arms rounds.

Other action included the firebase near Shkin coming under suspected rocket attack April 22. Two Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt IIs responded to coalition force request for close-air support. They did not drop any ordnance.

In further action, an Afghan military command post southeast of Khowst came under attack from anti-coalition forces. Again, commanders requested close-air support and enemy forces broke contact when A-10s arrived.

ENDS

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