250 Tons of Bomb-Making Material Found in Kandahar

NATO military forces together with the Afghan National Police seized 250 tons (225,000 kilograms) of bomb-making material in an operation in the southern province of Kandahar.

Photo: 250 Tons of Bomb-Making Material Found in Kandahar

A patrol investigating a warehouse found 1,000 bags of ammonium nitrate fertilizer, a material that is illegal in the country and is often used by insurgents to make bombs, and detained 15 people, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s force said today in an e-mailed statement. Another 4,000 bags were later found at a nearby compound, NATO said. Some 5,000 components used for making bombs were also discovered.

“This find will undoubtedly save many lives and points to the increasing capability of the Afghan national security forces,” Lieutenant Colonel Todd Vician, a spokesman for NATO’s International Security Assistance Force, said in the statement, Bloomberg reports.

Ammonium nitrate fertilizer, which is illegal in Afghanistan, is "a key ingredient of homemade explosives and used in the majority of main charges" for roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices, ISAF said.

CNN quoted Todd Vician as saying, "This was a tremendous success for the Afghan National Police who led this operation."

Roadside bombs, or improvised explosive devices, have plagued Afghan and international forces working to battle Taliban militants. ISAF said the latest fatality from a roadside bomb came Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, when a U.S. service member died in an IED strike.

ISAF also reported Tuesday another operation in Helmand province that led to detentions and the seizure of IED-making materials and bomb-making manuals, CNN reports.

Meanwhile, President Obama will receive four options on troop increases in Afghanistan. The president has yet to receive the options on paper but is due to receive them today.

The Situation Room meeting Wednesday will focus entirely on the four options, all of which contain an increase in current troop posture in Afghanistan. Various reports suggested Obama would receive five options. The officials Fox spoke with today were adamant the correct number is four.

The president has yet to decide on a troop deployment strategy, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said on Air Force One as the Obama flew to Ft. Hood to attend memorial services for those killed during last week's shootings.

No announcement on a revised military, diplomatic and develoment strategy will be made by Obama until after he returns on November 19th from his 8-day trip to Asia, FOXNews reports.