PRT/NURISTAN: SEIZURE OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL NEAR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 005395

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR SA/FO, SA/A, S/CR, SA/PB,
S/CT, EUR/RPM
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN
OSD FOR DFATA
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, POLAD
TREASURY FOR D/S KIMMITT, APARAMESWARAN, AJEWELL
RELEASABLE TO NATO/AUST/NZ/ISAF

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER ASEC SNAR KCRS AF
SUBJECT: PRT/NURISTAN: SEIZURE OF EXPLOSIVE MATERIAL NEAR
NEW PRT SITE


1. (U) SUMMARY: PRT Nuristan assisted Afghan
National Directorate of Security (NDS) officers in
the seizure of material that could be used to make
explosives which was being transported in the
direction of a region in western Nuristan noted
for its lucrative illegal mining activities.
Nothing indicates that the seized material was
directly intended for terrorist activities, but
the seizure will cause discomforting to those used
to profitting from the illegal mining activities.
ISAF's establishing a presence in western
Nuristan may encourage a more aggressive approach
by local law enfourcement officials. The
Embassy is pressing the Ministry of Mines to
develop regulations needed to implement the law
recently passed to help bring illegal mining
under control. End Summary.

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Middle of the Night Seizure
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2. (SBU) At approximately 0200 on October 22, Afghan
Security Guards employed by the PRT to provide
security, stopped two vehicles, a lorry and a Hilux
pick-up, that were traveling together on the road that
passes the entrance to PRT Nuristan. Inspection of
the lorry revealed more than 150 110-pound bags, most
of which appeared to contain ammonium nitrate, which
can be used in explosives. Some of the bags had
Cyrillic script, others were labeled as containing
sugar. Found in the Hilux were boxes labeled as
filled with acne medication but which contained 159
small brake fluid cans that were filled with a silvery
metallic paste. In the Hilux were also three local
Afghan National Police.


3. (SBU) The vehicles had raised suspicions because they
were traveling slowly and late at night. Lorries do
not normally travel in this region after dark. PRT
Nuristan had recently heard reports that a lorry would
be transporting explosives up the Alingar road and, in
response, took measures to increase vigilance for
suspicious vehicles.

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No Good Explanation Offered
--------------


4. (U) The occupants of the vehicles, when initially
questioned offered different stories. The local
police insisted that they were simply hitching a ride
back to their base at Nurgaram District headquarters
from Nangerach village, which lies about two km south
of the PRT. The driver of the lorry at first said
that the ammonium nitrate would be used for explosives
in road construction (see para 10) but subsequently
changed his story and said that it would be used
for in connection with mining activities -- which
at this point are illegal in Nuristan Province.

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PRT-NDS Cooperation
--------------


5. (SBU) The PRT notified the district NDS personnel
based at Nangerach who shortly arrived at the PRT.
NDS directed that vehicles and occupants be held
pending investigation at a location along the road
that was not in or adjacent to the PRT. The bags were
unloaded from the lorry and scanned with a metal
detector. No triggering devices or other suspicious
items were found in either vehicle.


6. (SBU) PRT Nuristan contacted RC East which

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dispatched a team from Jalalabad to examine the
material. The team arrived in the afternoon, took
samples and preliminarily identified the cans as
containing magnesium paste. The ammonium nitrate,
which can also be used as fertilizer, was found to be
finely ground, suggesting that it was intended to be
used for explosives rather than fertilizer. Because
the mining that is being conducted in Nuristan Province
is illegal, the NDS confiscated the material. The
vehicles and their occupants were released.

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Misleading Press Reports
--------------


8. (U) Reports in the press about this seizure, which
cite an ISAF statement, describe the vehicles as
carrying bomb-making materials. The reports
incorrectly locate the seizure as having occurred in
Laghman Province rather than Nuristan Province. The
articles juxtapose the report of this seizure with the
uptick in suicide and other bomb attacks in recent
weeks in Kabul, implicitly drawing a relationship that
does not seem to be warranted.

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Comment
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9. (SBU) The explanation offered that this
material was intended for use in mining is plausible.
Material and supplies bound for mines in western
Nuristan must be transported over the road that run
past PRT Nuristan. That does not mean, however, that
the use would be benign and pose no threat. The
gem mining that takes place in the region is being
done largely on public lands, and is illegal.
The use of crude mining techniques (involving
explosives) reduces the value of the precious
gems produced and degrades the source. The
manner in which the gems are smuggled out and
trafficked in no way benefits the government and
the people of the region. There are reported ties
to anti-government elements.


10. (SBU) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has
two road construction projects in the Alingar
River basin that will dramatically ease access
to western Nuristan's prime mining districts.
Only one of the projects requires blasting, and
the contractor for the other project has not yet
received approval from the MOI to purchase and
transport blasting materials. While these roads
will facilitate ISAF and Afghan security and law
enforcement operations in this isolated and
largely lawless region, they may also make it
easier to move the illegally mined and trafficked
gems.


11. (SBU) ISAF's move to establish a permanent
and active presence in western Nuristan -- and its
involvement in this seizure likely caused
discomfort among parties involved in illegal mining
and related activities who were used to operating
at will. The cooperation between PRT and local
officials in making the seizure signaled support
for enforcement of laws that do exist. It may
encourage local officials to move on their own
in future instances.


12. (SBU) Parliament passed a mining law which
has the potential for helping bring illegal
mining in Nuristan under control, but the
Ministry of Mines has not developed the regulations
that implement the law. Embassy will continue to

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press the Ministry to issue regulations
expeditiously, and will help develop ministry
officials' capacity to implement the regulations
and enforce the law.
NEUMANN