Insurgent Attacks in Uruzgan Fail to Kill Officials

Insurgent Attacks in Uruzgan Fail to Kill Officials

The Australian Defence Force condemns the Taliban attacks aimed at civilians and that were intended to kill the Uruzgan Provincial Governor, his Deputy and a local security chief yesterday.

The attacks failed and all three local leaders remain alive as a result of the Afghan National Security Forces responding quickly and professionally to the insurgent action.

Just after midday yesterday (28 July 2011) the compounds of the Provincial Governor and a local security chief were attacked with a number of vehicle-borne Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and suicide bombers, followed by insurgents using small arms and rocket propelled grenades.

In a separate attack on Matiullah Khan’s compound, two suicide bombers activated their devices when United States troops entered the compound. The US soldiers only suffered relatively minor injuries and are being treated at the Role 2 military hospital at Multi National Base - Tarin Kot (MNB-TK).

Two Afghan National Police officers were killed and approximately six Afghan security force personnel were wounded in the attacks. No Australian personnel were killed or wounded in the attacks.

The Commander of Australian troops deployed to the Middle East, Major General Angus Campbell, said the insurgents continued to demonstrate their intention to kill the citizens of Uruzgan as part of their campaign to undermine security and stability in the province.

“Hard-line elements of the insurgency continue to pursue their campaign through violence and attempted targeted killings. Yesterday they paid a heavy price for their ambitions with all insurgents killed while failing to achieve their mission,” Major General Campbell said.

“Sadly, while casualty estimates are still not yet confirmed, it is reported that a number of children may be amongst those killed and injured. One of the locals killed was a prominent journalist and our condolences go to all the families in Tarin Kot that have been affected by the insurgents’ attacks.”

Afghan National Security Forces protected the Provincial Governor, Omar Shirzad and the Deputy Governor, Khodai Rahim Khan while responding to the insurgent attacks. They shot and killed one of the suicide bombers while a second suicide bomber activated his device without causing further casualties. The incident was effectively coordinated by an Afghan National Army officer at the Operations Coordination Centre.

No attacks were conducted against the ISAF base however there was a precautionary change in force protection measures.

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