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Clearing Weapons Caches in Afghanistan
 Coalition forces continue to discover and confiscate or destroy a significant number of weapons caches - 10 more since Jan. 8, a military spokeswoman said today at a news conference in the Afghan capital of Kabul. Army Lt. Col. Pam Keeton, deputy public affairs officer For Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, said six of those 10 caches were turned in to coalition forces either by local police or by local citizens. Two caches each were discovered in Hilmand and Nangarhar provinces, and one cache each was discovered in Ghazni, Warkak, Zabul, Kandahar, Paktika and Kunar provinces, Keeton said. Two caches of note, she explained, were the ones in Wardak and Zabul provinces. The cache in Wardak had an anti-aircraft gun, a machine gun, a 82 mm mortar system, 100 cases of 12.7 mm rounds, 100 cases of 14.5 mm rounds, 100 rocket-propelled grenade rounds, 50 82 mm mortar rounds, 100 107 mm rockets, 16 122 mm rockets and 100 anti-personnel mines. The Zabul cache contained 500 62 mm mortar rounds, 120 cases of 14.5 mm rounds, 66 cases of 12.7 mm rounds, 22 82 mm mortars and other munitions of different caliber and size. Near Shindand in Herat province, a civilian truck hit and detonated a mine emplaced in the road Jan. 10, Keeton said, killing the driver and seriously wounding the two passengers injured. "This incident, and others like this, underscores the importance of the discovery and destruction of weapons caches -- getting these dangerous munitions out of the hands of those who use them indiscriminately to harm civilians and soldiers." Posted by: Anonymoose 2005-01-16 |
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