US soldiers are disrupting Afghan timber smuggling near the Pakistan border.
Units of Task Force Chosin have been targeting smugglers using donkeys to transport the timber through the Kornegal Valley.
The US Army says timber smuggling has happened for years but smugglers now had Taliban connections and the trade was being used to fund insurgency operations.
Soldiers have set up outposts to hinder the flow, resulting in illegal timber being abandoned by smugglers in the valley. Units have come under more focused attacks because of their efforts to stop the trade.
“These guys have been doing this for a while and have their routine down to a science,” said a US army commander. “Although the procedure may seem primitive, it works, and more lumber than we can imagine has been smuggled over the border in this way.”
Wood is initially floated down river, with smugglers riding lumber like rafts to pick-up points, where it is transported a short distance by truck before donkeys take over for the journey across the border.
