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BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (January 29, 2008) - Villagers in
Afghanistan have helped coalition and Afghan security forces
recover numerous weapons caches over the last two months, military
officials reported.
By telling their nation's security forces where weapons are
hidden or turning them in to government authorities, the citizens
are fulfilling a civic responsibility and showing that they're
tired of insurgent activity in their region, said Army Maj. Chris
Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force 82 spokesman.
In Bonta, located in the Dara Noor district in the northernmost
section of Nangarhar province, villagers reported a weapons cache
consisting of 30 rocket-propelled grenades and five anti-personnel
mines Jan. 27. A week earlier in Trelay, in the Achin district on
the Pakistan border, citizen reports led to an insurgent stash of
20 anti-personnel mines.
In Deh Bala district, which also borders Pakistan, villagers
found and reported a cache of five anti-tank mines, 20 120 mm
mortar rounds, five 82 mm mortar rounds and three 82 mm recoilless
rifle rounds Jan. 14. The same day, a combined force recovered nine
blocks of TNT, 22 fuses and a Chinese-made projectile in the
Jalalabad district in the northern part of the province. A cache
recovered Jan. 16 in Khogyani district consisted of 68 82 mm and 25
75 mm recoilless rifle rounds.
In December, villagers in nearby Paktya province turned in more
than 700 weapons and munitions, including 247 rocket-propelled
grenades and three launchers, 99 hand grenades, 124 anti-personnel
mines, 11 82 mm recoilless rifle rounds, 14 82 mm mortars, 10
anti-tank mines, 200 anti-tank mine fuses, three remote-controlled
improvised explosive devices, four Kalashnikov machine guns, and
two RPD machine guns.
Insurgents frequently use these weapons to attack Afghan or
coalition forces or to terrorize Afghan citizens throughout the
province, Belcher said. "Recovering these weapons will enhance
security," he added.
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