Afghan Security Forces find large cache in Waza Kwah

PAKTIKA PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Soldiers from Company C, 3rd Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment and their Afghan partners seized a weapons cache near the Waza Kwah District in Paktika Province June 30.

The Soldiers, along with members of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan National Security Forces, acting on intelligence about insurgent activity, went to a suspected staging area and searched a series of hills and caves.

Members of the Afghan Border Police’s 7th Kandak found a cache hidden across 200 meters of rough terrain.

 “We confirmed the existence of an extensive cache network hidden amongst the small caves and rock formations in the ridgelines surrounding a small campsite,” said U.S. Army Capt. Scott Harris, Executive Officer of C Company, from Fayetteville, N.C.  “This will set the enemy back several weeks in his efforts to decrease security in the area.”

Among the items found were hand grenades, homemade explosives, rifles, bomb-making materials, a mortar round, mines, and rocket propelled grenades.

The discovery enabled the Afghan forces to prevent the Taliban from launching attacks and endangering lives, said Col. Naeem (one name only), the 7th Kandak commander.

“Taking this much materiel out of the hands of our enemy is a great accomplishment,” he said.