Daily Security Brief: March 13, 2012

HERAT/KUNDUZ: Five rebels were arrested in western Herat province, while 20 artillery shells and explosives seized in northern Kunduz province, officials said on Tuesday.  

Three people along with as many AK-47 assault rifles and a rocket launcher were apprehended during a joint security operation in the Sanogia village of Guzra district, police spokesman, Col. Noor Khan Nikzad, told Pajhwok Afghan News.

Another operation in the Qudosabad village of Kehsan district resulted in the arrest of two suspected militants carrying four Kalashnikovs, two pistols and three guns, he added. 

In Kunduz, 20 artillery shells and explosives were recovered from a house in the Naw Abad village of Chardara district on Monday night, said Syed Sarwar Hussaini, the police spokesman.

The operation was conducted by Afghan and International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops, Hussaini said, adding no arrest could be made in connection with the seizure.

–Quraishi & Wahidullah

mm/ma

ISLAMABAD: The CIA-operated drone fired missiles on insurgents killing six rebels in South Waziristan, Pakistan, an official said on Tuesday.

A government official confirmed with Pajhwok Afghan News, in condition of anonymity, that the US pilotless aircraft targetted an insurgent’s vehicle in Barmal, on the outskirts of Wana, South Waziristan’s capital.

He said six occupants in the vehicle were killed in the attack.

A local reporter, Zafar Wazir, said the air raid was conducted in the mountainous area where people rarely commuted. 

He said the spy aircraft was still hovering over the area, creating panic among local residents.

—Qaisar Yosufzai

mrh/vp

NANGARHAR: Government land measuring 50 acres was retaken from its illegal occupants during an ongoing campaign against land grabbers in eastern Nangarhar province, officials said on Tuesday.

The campaign is aimed at recovering state land grabbed by powerful people in Behsud district, said the district chief, Niamatullah Noorzai, who added the drive would continue until all the state land was retaken.

A large number of houses illegally build on a government land in the district were demolished as part of the campaign on Monday, he said.

Without giving a specific figure for the houses erased, the district chief warned of legal action against individuals possessing government land.

A few months back, some people were killed in a clash between land grabbers and security forces near the Kabul Bus Stand in Jalalabad, the provincial capital.

—Abdul Moeed Hashmi

frm/ma