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A Taliban improvised explosive device facility was destroyed by a coalition force air strike during a joint force deliberate clearing operation in Kunduz province yesterday.

Afghan and coalition forces cleared numerous buildings suspected of insurgent activity, including safe havens and weapons caches in the Shinwari village.

The security force identified five buildings that housed numerous explosives, IED's and weapons. The security force found that the facilities contained rockets, high-explosive artillery rounds, anti-personnel mines, 100 pounds of home-made explosives, 20 pounds of dynamite, rocket propelled grenades, 400 heavy machine gun rounds, a heavy-weapons system mount and IED making material.

After determining there was no other option to render the facility safe, the security force called in a precision air strike on four of the buildings to eliminate the threat and protect the local populace. Forces destroyed a fifth weapons cache near another building with a controlled detonation.

“Finding and removing such a large weapons facility is another example of the Afghan and coalition commitment to remove Taliban from local villages where they threaten or carry out attacks against the people of Afghanistan,” said Lt. Col. Patrick Hynes, International Security Assistance Force Joint Command Combined Joint Operations Center director. “Joint forces will continue applying pressure to the Taliban until they are no longer able to find safe havens in local villages.”

The security force is continuing their efforts to disrupt enemy safe havens, where Taliban leaders use villages throughout the area to conduct operational planning and facilitate attacks in northern Afghanistan.

Intelligence reports indicated the targeted location in the district was the possible staging area for a Dec. 19, 2010 attack on the Afghan National Army recruiting center that killed six Afghan soldiers and wounded several others.

Article by ISAF Joint Command