Royal Marines find huge Taliban bomb factory

Times:

One of the largest hauls of weapons, explosives and bomb-making equipment ever found in southern Afghanistan has been uncovered by the Royal Marines in a huge underground cavern in Kandahar province, the Ministry of Defence disclosed yesterday.

The hidden bomb factory was discovered after a night-time assault last week on a Taleban compound which involved elements of 42 Commando Royal Marines, a Royal Canadian battle group and Afghan troops.

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Hidden in the underground cavern were all the ingredients for making improvised explosive devices, such as pressure-plate triggers, explosives, detonators, fuses and ball-bearings, used to create shrapnel. A store of 20 kilos of opium was also discovered.

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This should be a blow to Taliban logistics in the area at a minimum. Replacing this cache will take a major effort by the Taliban and should give NATO an opportunity to watch their supply routes. It would also be a good time to put additional pressure on the Taliban in the Kandahar area to further stress their logistic capacity.

Update: Strategy Page has more on why the operation was so successful.