PRESS RELEASE | Feb. 16, 2009
Militants killed in precision strike in Badghis province
By None , U.S. Forces – Afghanistan

Joint Press Release

February 16, 2009

Release Number: 20091602-02

Militants killed in precision strike in Badghis province

KABUL, Afghanistan – Coalition forces used a precision air strike near Darya-ye-Morghab, Badghis province, Feb. 15, targeting the Taliban leader of Badghis province and eight of his associates.

Coalition forces learned through intelligence sources that Mullah Dastighir and a group of associates were co-located in Darya-ye-Morghab, a village near the Turkmenistan border, approximately 550 km west of Kabul.

Once the exact location of the militants was confirmed, forces engaged the target compound with a precision air strike, destroying a building and killing the militants inside. Surrounding structures remained intact, sustaining minimal external damage from fragmentation.

Dastighir was responsible for an increase in violence in Badghis over recent months, including attacks against Afghan National Security Forces and International Security Assistance Forces. In November, Dastighir was responsible for an attack on an Afghan National Army convoy that killed 13 soldiers.

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Contact information:

Ministry of Defense, Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Press office telephone: 93 (0) 20 210 2742

US Forces Afghanistan Public Affairs, office telephone: 93 (0) 799 51 2919