AFGHANISTAN (BNO NEWS) – A number significant weapons caches were found in southern Afghanistan, the Australian Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday.

Australia’s 2nd Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-2), in partnership with the Afghan National Army (ANA), had uncovered six caches of weapons over a 24 hour period during security operations.

The caches contained a significant quantity of ammunition and improvised explosive device (IED) components. Included were a quantity of ammunition for pistols, rifles and larger caliber weapons, along with a considerable number of rocket-propelled grenades.

These finds brings the number of caches uncovered by ANA and Australian forces during Operation BAZ PANJE, which concluded earlier this month, up to 55, according to Acting Chief of Joint Operations, Air Vice Marshal Greg Evans.

The operation was launched in late September of this year to clear former insurgent strongholds in the Mirabad valley, in Oruzgan Province.

Air Vice Marshal Evans states that finding these weapons caches during the current harsh Afghan winter will have a direct and significant impact on the safety and security of the Afghan population because it prevents these munitions from being used against locals, as well as the Afghan National Security Force and ISAF forces.

Since the end of Operation BAZ PANJE, seven more weapons caches have been uncovered in the Mirabad valley, bringing the total cache finds in the area up to 62.