KABUL (PAN): Afghan and Combined Joint Task Force-82 soldiers have successfully completed an operation aimed at disrupting militant preparations to disrupt the upcoming presidential election in the southeastern Khost province.

The US military said on Monday Operation Champion Sword, which concluded on July 31, saw large portions conducted by the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, in Sabri and Terezai districts of the volatile province.

The commander of Company D, 1st Battalion, 501st Infantry Regiment, who conducted missions in Sabri, said: "The purpose of this operation was to remove enemy elements and to target the major players in the area who are not only targeting the district, but also facilitating terror operations throughout the entire province."

Captain Pat Tabin added: "Part of this is to disrupt what we know the enemy is going to try to do during elections, and the other part is that Sabri needs to be cleaned up. They go hand in hand."

In a statement, the US military said the week-long operation consisting of daily air-assault missions produced the capture of 14 known militants in Khost -- all of whom played vital roles in militant cells in the region.

Seized during the operation were five caches containing explosives materials, AK-47 rifles, other small arms weapons and ammunition, hand grenades, dozens of mortar rounds, large sums of money and medical supplies.

"The benefit of destroying caches is that we remove those weapons off the battlefield," explained Tabin. "This affects the enemy in two ways -- one, we remove the weapons from (the insurgents) who are out there trying to blow people up for money and take it out of his hands, and two, we are making the financiers pay, because they have to replace the weapons."

One militant was killed while attempting an attack on the paratroopers providing security for a search team. "It was successful. We caught the bad-guys," said 1st Lt. Dan Perpich, a platoon leader for Company D. "The intelligence they generated is going to push further operations in this district, and the province as a whole."