Largest weapons cache ever found in Afghanistan: US
(Updated at 1620 PST)
BAGRAM: Romanian soldiers have uncovered thousands of rockets and more than a million rounds of ammunition in the largest weapons cache ever discovered by US-led forces in Afghanistan, the US military said Friday.
The 812th Romanian infantry uncovered three caches and two caves full of weapons Wednesday to Thursday during Operation Carpathian Lightning near Qalat, capital of southern Zabul province, US military spokesman Colonel Roger King told reporters.
The haul included 3,000 107mm rockets, 250,000 rounds of 12.7mm machinegun ammunition, about 1,000,000 rounds of small arms ammunition and other ammunition and mines, "making it the largest cache found to date by the coalition forces in Afghanistan," he said.
The operation was the third for the Romanian forces, who usually carry out "force protection" for the coalition base in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, King told reporters at Bagram air base north of Kabul. An Italian tourist was ambushed and shot dead near Qalat last week in an attack local officials blamed on Taliban and al-Qaeda extremists. He was the fourth foreigner to be killed in Afghanistan in the past three weeks and the second civilian. Afghan forces this week discovered a huge arms cache in caves near Maimana, capital of northwestern Faryab province. |
