U.S., Afghan teams set up by insurgents posing as friendly militia, U.S. military says
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. military said a U.S. and Afghan team was lured to a meeting by insurgents posing as friendly militia members in eastern Afghanistan, triggering a shootout and a coalition airstrike on the compound. U.S. Navy Capt. Tom Gresback said the insurgents baited the team, inviting an Afghan militia leader, a U.S. service member and an interpreter to a security shura meeting on Thursday.
Gresback said that after the meeting finished, the insurgents opened fire. The militia leader was killed, and the American service member and the interpreter were wounded. He said that after the wounded were moved to safety, a coalition airstrike targeted the compound, killing 10 insurgents.
The mission was in Mohmand Valley in Nangarhar province where an affiliate of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has been active.
CBS national security correspondent David Martin reports that the U.S. service member is stable and has been transported from Afghanistan for recovery.
The local militia in Achin district was established by the Afghan government to provide a level of confidence to the Afghan people, Martin reports. Earlier this summer, locals began migrating back to Mohmand Valley after being forced from their homes as Islamic State of Khorasan militants emerged in the southeastern portion of Nangarhar in 2015, Martin reports.
Successful offensive operations in 2016 to severely reduce the number of militants were followed by the influx of Afghan National Defense and Security Forces that removed the group away from population centers and villages in 2017, Martin reports. Since late December, Afghan Commandos have led aggressive offensive operations, pushing the militants an additional 7 kilometers, about 4.3 miles, from their former defensive positions.