BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Police from Shkin, assisted by Coalition forces, arrested three men suspected of facilitating improvised explosive device operations near the Pakistan border in the Bermel District of Paktika Province, Afghanistan, Feb. 6.  Shkin ANP also discovered three IEDs on a frequently traveled road near the village of Kakakhel on the same day.
 The ANP officers were conducting a night patrol in the district when they spotted a vehicle moving slowly. Officers stopped the vehicle and questioned the men inside.  ANP officers noticed that the occupants seemed extremely nervous, so they decided to search the vehicle.  Officers found two rocket-propelled grenades, two mortars and blasting caps concealed in hidden compartments.
 A local villager alerted Shkin ANP officers of suspicious materials near a bridge in Kakakhel.  The officers found three IEDs, each consisting of a 107 mm rocket and an anti-tank mine.  The munitions were covered by dirt and placed in the roadway near a family home.  ANP officers inspected and determined the devices were set to explode and could have killed anyone passing along that portion of the roadway.
 ANP officers evacuated residents living near the IED, and then destroyed the device, making the roadway safe for travelers in the area.
 “Anyone passing along this roadway could have set off this device,” said a Coalition soldier.  “Insurgents who place IEDs in civilian areas are clearly a destructive force who exhibit no concern for the safety of the Afghan people.” 
 “Afghans are tired of insurgents conducting illegal activities in or near their homes,” said a Capt. Vanessa R. Bowman, a coalition spokesperson. “Villagers feel safe when the ANP patrol their areas. It’s one way of showing the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is committed to ensuring the safety and security of its citizens.”

Afghan National Police from Shkin, assisted by Coalition forces, discovered three IEDs on a frequently traveled road near the village of Kakakhel. the IEDs, each consisting of a 107 mm rocket and an anti-tank mine, were covered by dirt and placed in a roadway near a family home. (Photo by Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force – Afghanistan)