Central Uruzgan insurgent commander killed

Central Uruzgan insurgent commander killed during partnered Afghan and Australian Operation

The commander of the district-level insurgent group operating in central Uruzgan was killed during a deliberate Afghan and Australian Special Forces operation against a gathering of insurgents on Wednesday, 1 June 2011.

The Taliban’s Shadow District Governor for Chora, Mullah Gul Akhund, was meeting with other insurgents in the Karmisan Valley to the north-east of Chora when they were confronted by a rapidly closing force from the Afghan National Police and Special Operations Task Group (SOTG).

The insurgent group attempted to evade capture and engaged the partnered Afghan and Australian force. In the ensuing small-arms engagement, Mullah Gul Akhund was killed.

While securing the area, the partnered force found and identified the body of prominent insurgent bomb maker and tactical commander Shah Mamood.

The Commanding Officer of the SOTG (who cannot be named for operational security reasons) Lieutenant Colonel G said the deaths of the two insurgent commanders will have an immediate and profound effect on the cohesiveness and control of the central Uruzgan insurgent network during the traditional summer fighting season.

“Mullah Gul Akhund was a district-level insurgent commander responsible for the coordination of several cells dispersed across central Uruzgan,” Lieutenant Colonel G said.

“Importantly, he was a man who was wanted by Afghan authorities for ordering the assassination of government officials and tribal elders, and ordering multiple attacks on coalition and Afghan forces.”

Mullah Gul Akhund is known to have played a key role in the manufacture and facilitation of Improvised Explosive Devices (IED), an indiscriminate weapon that continues to cause harm to many more innocent Afghans than it does ISAF troops.

He is known to have only recently returned to Uruzgan in an effort to coordinate the 2011 insurgent fighting season.

“Both Mullah Gul Akhund and Shah Mamood had direct links to the senior insurgent leadership and represented a clear threat to coalition and Afghan forces, as well as Afghan locals in the area.”

“Their deaths will significantly disrupt the command and control network in Uruzgan and inhibit IED distribution in the area. It comes at a crucial time, as the coalition braces itself for the commencement of the summer fighting season.”

Several other insurgent fighters were also detained, and a significant quantity of weapons, including assault rifles and grenades was also recovered during the mission.

No Afghan or Australian troops were wounded or killed during the mission.

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