ANA and ISAF troops of Regional Command West rebuild a bridge destroyed by the Insurgents and dispose unexploded ordnance west of Farah

ANA Forces along with Italian Task Force South of ISAF’s Regional Command West have restored freedom of movement between Farah and Pusht Rod, after insurgent elements had destroyed a bridge and disseminated improvised explosive devices and ordnance.

Local communities had warned Afghan and ISAF Troops based in Farah that an explosion had taken place near Pusht Rod, causing the collapse of a concrete bridge crossing local irrigation channels and linking the western part of the province with Farah.

A joint Afghan-International 2-phase operation was launched to recover the bridge and restore freedom of movement. In the first phase, the itinerary to Pusht Rod was cleared from IEDs and unexploded ordnance, with the disposal of 4 devices in a safe and controlled way.

In the following phase, a prefabricated concrete bridge was laid down after the rubble resulting from the insurgents’ action were removed.

“We responded quickly to a very hostile act by the insurgents against the communities of Pusht Rod that are using every day the road to bring their products to Farah’s markets” said colonel Franco Federici, the commander of Task Force South.

Mr. Abdul Ghafoor, Pusht Rod’s district manager personally thanked “ISAF forces for having promptly reconstructed the bridge, avoiding serious economic problems to many villages around Pusht Rod that exploit the road to Farah”.