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“It's always a pleasure to work with our American partners,”

TF Iron eliminates insurgent IED team


By ~Army 1st Lt. R.J. Peek, TF Rakkasan ——--January 9, 2011

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GHAZNI PROVINCE – Soldiers form TF Iron Rakkasan and members of the AUP, using the Precision Threat Detection System (PTDS) blimp at FOB Andar, identified a group of insurgents with weapons and explosives Jan. 3.

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Soldiers of 3rd Bn, 187th Inf Regt, 3rd BCT, 101st AD, first identified 4 insurgents acting in a suspicious manner at a road intersection. As the insurgents began to move, TF Iron Rakkasan took quick actions to prevent the insurgents from emplacing an IED and escaping. A combination of hellfire missiles and 30 mm machine gun fire killed one insurgent, and drove the 2nd one to seek refuge in a nearby qalat. Through a combination of AH-64 Apache helicopter engagements and close contact with Soldiers on the ground, TF Iron, AUP and support elements killed 4 insurgents, and safely destroyed the IED. “It's always a pleasure to work with our American partners,” said AUP cmdr Zadir. “We strongly value working by their side, as they help us to make this area safer.” In order to destroy the IED material and to conduct sensitive site exploitation, Soldiers with Co A, 1st Bn., 187th Inf. Regt., maneuvered to the engagement site. With the assistance of the Afghan police, they cleared the house in search of the insurgent. “The guy was hiding in the back of a long narrow hall, used for sheltering sheep and cattle during the cold months,” said 1st Lt. Josef Kaplan, platoon leader with Co. A. “He created a very effective fatal funnel and was using the sheep as cover, and the thick walls to protect himself. It was clear that he was in for the fight and was not going to give up.” Two Afghan police and one American Soldier were wounded in the initial exchange, while attempting to coax the man out of hiding. The wounded were evacuated, while the rest of the combined forces captured an insurgent’s motorcycle, land mine, 40-lbs of explosives, an RPG, 2 RPG warheads, 2 AK-47s and 4 hand grenades. “The Afghan police were instrumental in the op,” said Kaplan. “We woke them up in the middle of the night, and within minutes, they were organized and ready to go. They were motivated and working hard. It was very impressive.”

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