BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – Afghan National Security Forces and Coalition soldiers discovered several underground weapons caches in the Deh Rawood District, Oruzgan Province, Afghanistan, Jan. 26.
 The combined force was conducting a security patrol in the district to eliminate insurgent activity. Insurgents attacked from several different firing positions with small arms and automatic weapons fire, rocket-propelled grenades and mortar fire during the patrol along the Helmand and Tiri Rivers near the villages of Tarak and Kakrak.
The ANSF-led force, consisting of the Afghan National Army’s 201st Kandak; Afghan National Police; Kandahar Auxiliary Unit; and Coalition soldiers, immediately returned fire and called in close-air support aircraft to drop precision-guided munitions to disrupt the attack.
The combined force searched the area where the attacks originated when the engagement ended. The search turned up a number of underground weapons caches hidden in compounds near the village.
In one weapons cache, 12 RPGs and boxes of 7.62mm ammunition were stockpiled in a 15-feet (4.5 meter) deep hole. Another underground cache, held an anti-aircraft gun. A third cache held several automatic weapons, ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades. A final weapons cache was found in the largest hole and may have been used as a make-shift medical treatment area for insurgent fighters. Inside the 10-foot (3 meter) by 30-foot (9 meter) cave, ANSF soldiers found more ammunition and RPGs. They also found several boxes of medical supplies.
“These insurgents were definitely prepared for a fight,” said Army Maj. Chris Belcher, Combined Joint Task Force-82 spokesman. “ANSF soldiers stopped the attack and expelled the insurgents from the area. The insurgents won’t use these fighting positions for attacks in the future.”
“ANSF and the government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan are keeping the pressure on the insurgents throughout the winter,” Belcher said. “Removing weapons and former safe havens from insurgent control will make the area safer for Afghan citizens.”