Helmand province campaign
Encyclopedia
The Helmand province campaign is a series of military operations conducted by ISAF
forces against Taliban insurgents
in the Helmand Province
of Afghanistan
. Their objective has been to control a province that is known to be a Taliban stronghold, and a center of opium
production.
The deployment of international, mostly British
, forces was part of the stage three expansion of the ISAF mandate, to cover the southern regions of Afghanistan. Until then Helmand province had seen only a limited coalition presence.
In the spring of 2008, a battalion of U.S. Marines arrived to reinforce the British presence. In the spring of 2009, 11,000 additional Marines poured into the province, the first wave of President Obama's 21,000 troop surge into Afghanistan.
On June 19, 2009, the British Army (with ISAF and ANA forces) launched Operation Panther's Claw
and on July 2, 2009, US Marines launched Operation Khanjar, both major offensives into the province in hopes of securing the region before the Afghanistan presidential elections and turning the tide of the insurgency there.
.
In Helmand, the Afghan government only had a tenuous hold outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. The NATO presence in the province was sparse, limited to 130 American soldiers undertaking punctual anti-terrorist missions, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Through the month of April, a new British unit, the Helmand Task Force
, was deployed in order to counter the Taliban. The core of the fighting force was drawn from the 16th Air Assault Brigade, and in particular from the 3rd battalion, of the Parachute Regiment. Based out of Camp Bastion
, then under construction, the task force numbered 3,300 men, though only a third of these were combat troops.
During the first four months of its presence in Afghanistan, the Helmand Task Force was expected to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom, and help track down Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists. It was thus placed under the command of U.S. Major General
Benjamin Freakley, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 76. But being part of ISAF, it was also answerable to the ISAF Regional Command South, then led by a Canadian, Brigadier General
David Fraser
. This tangled chain of command was accompanied by a certain difficulty in defining the priority between two different and sometimes contradictory missions: either to win the support of the local population, or to fight and eliminate the Taliban.
. However, the intensification of Taliban attacks led to a dramatic change in this strategy. In early spring 2006, Baghran District
fell temporarily under insurgent control, and on May 18, a Taliban raid in Musa Qala
killed some twenty Afghan policemen.
The possibility of a Taliban offensive sweeping over the entire province was taken seriously by the provincial governor, Mohammad Daoud
, a personal ally and appointee of President
Hamid Karzai
. Daoud insisted that ISAF troops be deployed in the districts that were under immediate threat of Taliban attack: Sangin
, Now Zad, Musa Qala and the strategic hydroelectric
installations at Kajaki
. This was the beginning of the controversial "platoon house" strategy, that saw NATO troops, mostly British, tied down in remote outstations across northern Helmand. All posts attracted sustained and intensive Taliban attacks, and remained under siege for long periods. The Task Force's limited assets became dangerously stretched, leading to difficult situations in several cases.
On June 18, 2006, Jama Gul, a former district chief, was ambushed and killed in Sangin, along with four bodyguards. When a group of his relatives went to retrieve the bodies, 25 of them were killed. It was this incident, sometimes described as "face-off between two drug lords", that led to the deployment of ISAF troops in Sangin. On June 21, a company of British paratroopers moved into the town, ostensibly to rescue the son of the current district chief, who had been wounded in the fight. However, after a personal intervention by Hamid Karzai, they were ordered to remain in Sangin, in order to assert the faltering authority of the central government.
At first, the situation inside the town remained calm, but this changed after June 27, after a failed special forces raid in the Sangin area, during which two British soldiers were killed. On June 30, the insurgents launched their first frontal attacks on the district centre, garrisoned by British troops. The attackers were driven off, after having lost at least twelve killed. Despite this, the Taliban did not relent, and renewed their attacks every night, using small arms, RPGs, and 107 mm rockets. The British answered with machine guns, mortars and Javelin missile
s, and by calling in artillery and airstrikes. Resupply was sometimes interrupted for as long as five days, as Taliban fire would have put the helicopters at risk.
On July 15, as part of Operation Mountain Thrust
coalition forces conducted an offensive into Sangin district, supported by armour, in the shape of light tanks of the Household Cavalry Regiment
and Canadian
LAV III
s. In the face of overwhelming force, most of the Taliban retreated, and a supply convoy was escorted into the town. The garrison were able to strengthen their defenses after the arrival of an engineer unit.
After September 14, the fighting died down in Sangin. On September 21, the paratroopers occupying the government compound were replaced by a unit from 42 commando
, Royal Marines
. In March 2007, the Marines were in turn replaced by a company from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
. By this time, the Taliban had resumed their operations in the sector, and the fusiliers were attacked 79 times during their first twenty days in Sangin.
On April 5, 2007, coalition forces launched Operation Silver, as part of the wider Operation Achilles
, with some 1,000 troops. After giving advance warning of their offensive, they advanced into Sangin, which had been mostly abandoned by the insurgents. The new governor of Helmand Assadullah Wafa
, was able to install a new district governor, and ISAF claimed to have pacified the town. The Taliban claim to still control neighbouring areas. Since the end of the siege, the district compound has still come under attack, but the British have built two new forward operating base
s a few miles away that draw most of the Taliban attacks away from the town itself.
, to defend the district centre. Serving also as a prison and police station, the district centre was situated in the middle of the town, a situation that greatly hampered the defenders. The garrison consisted of some 80 Afghan policemen, who were more of a militia
than a police force, and were very unpopular among the local population.
The American unit present in Musa Qala was replaced on June 14 by a composite group of British troops, mostly pathfinders. The first heavy Taliban attack was launched on July 16, and though it was repelled with heavy loss, the insurgents maintained a constant pressure on the district centre. On July 26, the Danish
1 Light Reconnaissance
Squadron, known as "the griffin
s", arrived at Musa Qala to relieve the British troops. However, these could not be extracted until August 8, when a full battle group
operation, codenamed Operation Snakebite, was required to reach the town centre. The griffins were equipped with 16 Eagle
armoured vehicles, one lost during the fight to get in the town, most armed with a .50 calibre machine-gun. Their commander built a series of ramps enabling the vehicles to fire over the compound walls. With the support of a mortar team from the Royal Irish Regiment and abundant air support, the Musa Qala garrison was able to drive back all attacks, but the presence of large numbers of Taliban prevented them from venturing out of the base. On the 24 August, the Danish unit were extracted and assigned to the Canadian-led Op Medusa, the Danes were replaced by a mixed British detachment of paratroopers and Royal Irish rangers, whose weapons array was considerably less powerful, having only two .50 cal and eight GPMG machine-guns. Knowing the garrison was weaker, the Taliban launched two attacks with a group of 150 men on August 26/27. Both were driven off, after which the insurgents concentrated on indirect attacks with mortars and 107 mm rockets.
By the end of September, the fighting in Musa Qala had come to a stalemate. The Taliban had suffered heavy losses and had been incapable of driving the ISAF forces out of the town. The coalition had also suffered losses: three British soldiers had been killed in Musa Qala, and their control of the town didn't extend outside the compound walls.
Also, the British commanders feared that a resupply helicopter might be shot down, giving a propaganda victory to the insurgents. Both sides welcomed an initiative by the town elders, to negotiate a truce and avoid further bloodshed. The British agreed to withdraw from the city, and in return the tribesmen would deny sanctuary to the Taliban.
The agreement lasted 143 days, ending after the brother of a local Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghaffour
, was killed by an airstrike from an American B-1
bomber. The Taliban claimed this had occurred in an area covered by the truce. In retaliation a group of 200-300 insurgents stormed the town on February 1, 2007, executing the elder who had brokered the truce, and jailing several others. On February 4, Mullah Abdul Ghaffour himself was killed in an airstrike. On the same day, General David J. Richards, who had supported the truce, was replaced at the head of ISAF by General Dan K. McNeill
, who favoured a more aggressive approach.
In Musa Qala, the Taliban imposed their fundamentalist
interpretation of Muslim law, closing down schools, restricting women's movements, levying heavy taxes, and hanging those inhabitants they suspected of being spies. The Afghan government and the coalition refrained from retaking the town, to avoid causing civilian casualties.
The Kajaki dam is a particularly important installation, providing water for irrigation in the Helmand
Valley, and electricity for the whole province. Through early 2006, it came under increasing attacks by the Taliban, for whom even a brief occupation would serve as a propaganda victory. The dam was defended by a mixed force of Afghan policemen and security guards led by an American contractor
. Nightly Taliban mortar
attacks demoralised the defenders, who had no heavy weapons, and were unable to retaliate. In late June, a team of British paratroopers was deployed near Kajaki, and managed to ambush a Taliban mortar team, killing ten and wounding two. Thereafter, a permanent British military presence was established at the dam, where coalition troops occupied a series of fortified posts built by the Soviets during their presence in Afghanistan
. The Taliban grew more cautious, but continued their harassment attacks throughout July and the first half of August.
In February 2007, British marines from 42 commando conducted Operation Volcano
, clearing a safe zone around the dam and driving the Taliban out of mortar range. The main Taliban fortified position in the village of Barikju was cleared without casualties.
Since then, the situation around the dam has stabilised. Kajaki is one of the rare occasions during the Afghanistan war where both sides use fixed positions, and an actual front line
has developed.
IFV
s, Mastiff protected vehicles
and GMLRS
multiple rocket launchers. The new task force commander, Brigadier John Lorimer, also requested that Challenger 2 tanks and AS-90
self-propelled guns be deployed, but these were refused.
On March 6, Coalition forces began a series of large-scale operations, to systematically clear the entire province of enemy forces.
A number of sub-operations targeted specific sectors:
On May 12, Mullah Dadullah, second in command of the Taliban, was killed in Gereshk district, in a raid carried out by British SBS
commandos and Afghan troops. A significant feature of the operation was the end of the siege of Sangin where British troops had been cut off for more than nine months. This time, coalition forces built a number of patrol bases, manned by British troops and Afghan security forces, establishing a permanent presence in areas from where the Taliban had been expelled. Achilles ended on May 30, with the result that NATO forces managed to establish a foothold in enemy territory in Helmand.
, to remove a Taliban force whose presence threatened the security and stability of the Lower Sangin Valley
.
During the night, elements of the American 82nd Airborne Division mounted an aerial assault on a Taliban compound. One of the Chinook
helicopters taking part in the raid was apparently hit by an RPG
round and crashed, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian onboard. Lastay Kulang ended on June 14, with the strategic outcome unclear. NATO stated that their forces cleared Sangin and Gereshk of Taliban and thus secured the Kajaki District
. In contrast, the Taliban claimed that they still control much of Kajaki, and some of the Sangin districts. These claims were confirmed by the local residents, who complain that the Taliban returned as soon as NATO and ANA troops had left.
, before military engineers from 26 Engineer Regiment established a joint forward operating base. Sporadic fighting followed after that. And by early November operations ended with coalition troops establishing a firm frontline south of the Helmand river and were preparing for an attack towards Musa Qalah, which had been under Taliban control for eight months.
and from 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment
. During this operation, Warrior IFVs, manned by the Scots Guards
, made their first significant operational deployment in Afghanistan. Most of the remaining 500 men came from the Afghan National Army, while small contingents from Danish, Czech
and American forces also participated.
The objective of the operation was to dislodge the Taliban insurgents from their strongholds in the upper Gereshk valley.
The operation began on September 19, when the Scots Guards engineers threw a bridge over the Helmand river. During the early stages, coalition troops encountered heavy resistance and had to clear several compounds in close-quarter combat. An estimated 100 Taliban and at least six civilians were killed. Three British soldiers were also killed: two in an accident and one by an IED
.
The town had become a major Taliban drug trafficking station and had been considered to be of symbolic importance to both sides, to the Taliban in the sense that they can take and hold ground in Afghanistan in defiance of the Afghan government and NATO.
On December 6, 2007, British, Afghan and U.S. forces started their assault on the town. Initially the British and Afghan forces attacked in the afternoon, from three directions. Several hundred US troops were later dropped from helicopters and fought on foot through the night. The Taliban defences included hundreds of mines and it was reported that the moral among the Taliban forces was high. Up to 2,000 Taliban fighters were confirmed to be in the town. One British soldier, 12 Taliban fighters and two civilian children were killed on the first day of the operation.
By December 8, 2007, NATO troops captured two villages south of the town and advanced to within two kilometers from the outskirts. The Taliban were withdrawing to their defences in the town and more Taliban reinforcements were pouring into the district. The biggest problem for the coalition were mines. Both of the two fatalities sustained by the coalition at that point were the result of land mines.
On December 10, the Taliban withdrew their forces northwards into the mountains and Afghan troops entered the town, meeting little resistance. Two Taliban leaders were reportedly captured during the battle.
On December 12, the town finally fell to advancing coalition forces.
In early April 2008, a battalion of U.S. Marines were sent to Helmand to aid NATO forces in the fight.
1st Battalion, 6th Marines, the battalion landing team for the 24th MEU started their combat operations with an attack on the Taliban-held town of Garmsir
on April 28. The operation was carried out in conjunction with British troops of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Taliban forces however had withdrawn from the town and taken up position further south.
After seizing Garmsir, the Marines pushed further south into an area where the insurgents had built bunkers and tunnels capable of withstanding coalition airstrikes. They ran into stiff resistance and the operation, expected to take a few days, lasted more than a month to complete. This alerted the ISAF
commander that the town was important to the insurgents, so he ordered the Marines to remain in the area, rather than clear the town and leave. He was also concerned that the Taliban would emerge after the Marines left, falsely claiming that they had run ISAF forces off.With the original mission changed, the Marines transitioned from combat operations to civil operations. The 24th MEU commander Colonel Peter Petronzio focused on protecting the local Afghans as they began to return to their homes after having been displaced by the Taliban. The Marines also continued their combat operations in the area, killing more than 400 insurgents between April and July 2008, according to governor Gulab Mangal.
On September 8, the 24th MEU returned control of Garmsir to British forces, after having operated in the area for approximately 130 days.
As the MEU deployed to Garmsir, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines deployed elements to Sangin
, Gereshk
, Musa Qaleh and Now Zad, as well as districts in Farah Province. The Battalion worked closely with the Afghan National Police
and the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan
in implementing police training and reform programs. Despite being deployed independent of the 24th MEU or any other Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the Battalion was engaged in heavy fighting throughout the tour. As a sign of the United States' increased troop commitment to Afghanistan, 2/7 was relieved by 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines and the Special Purpose MAGTF - Afghanistan in December, 2008.
(5 Scots) and Afghan National Army and Danish troops, backed up by British artillery and Apache helicopters.
The operations aims were to disrupt Taliban activities in the Upper Gereshk Valley, between the towns of Gereshk and Sangin, and strengthen the Afghan government’s control of the Musa Qaleh Wadi. Resistance from the Taliban was limited to indirect fire
and improvised explosive devices, the Taliban avoiding direct confrontations with coalition forces.
It was reported that a British helicopter killed a key Taliban leader called 'Sadiqullah' and up to ten members of his cell on 26 June 2008. They were said to be responsible for roadside bomb and suicide attacks against NATO and Afghan forces. The attack took place 10 kilometres north west of Kajaki in Helmand.
s, just 10 kilometers from the city. The local authorities were at first reluctant to call for help from ISAF forces, for fear their intervention might cause civilian casualties. In September, after both districts had fallen to the Taliban, British Army officials said these setbacks were caused by the defection of pro-government militias linked to local drug-trafficking mafias, that the Taliban had promised to protect from poppy-eradication programs.
On October 12, 2008, a force of around 200 Taliban launched a direct attack on Lashkar Gah, their most ambitious operation since 2006. The attack on the town came from three sides, and involved hundreds of militants using rockets and mortars. The Taliban forces were intercepted in the outskirts of the city by Afghan troops supported by Army Air Corps Apache
gunships. The attack was repulsed, and the Taliban suffered 50 killed according to NATO, or 62 killed according to local authorities, including their leader, Mullah Qudratullah, while coalition forces suffered no casualties. On October 15, 2008, another Taliban force staged an attack. 18 Taliban were killed and the attack was once again repulsed. However, this time six Afghan policemen were killed at a checkpoint just north of the city. On October 16, 2008, militants pressed with their attacks bombarding the city with rockets. One of them hit a market killing one civilian and wounding five others. At the same time, a NATO air strike in the neighboring district left 18 civilians from five families dead.
Between December 7 and December 25, 2008, British forces conducted Operation Red Dagger around the town of Nad-e-Ali in an attempt to capture four key Taliban strongholds. More than 1,500 troops were involved. The operation saw fierce trench battles reminiscent of the First World War and in knee-deep mud. British soldiers were involved every day in intense fire-fights that lasted from a few minutes to four hours at a range as close as 30 metres. British Marines at one point fought hand-to-hand in a "360-degree battle". Also involved in the fighting were Danish, Estonian and Afghan troops. The operation culminated in a battle on Christmas Day. The operation was declared a success, 100 Taliban fighters were killed, including a senior commander, at a cost of five British Royal Marines being killed.
tanks and British armoured vehicles, which was followed by an air assault by 500 Marines of 42 Commando into the insurgent-controlled area. During three days, the Coalition forces, supported by Apache and Cobra
helicopters, Dutch F-16s and UAVs, cleared Taliban compounds, which involved fighting at close quarters. Two Royal Marines were injured during the operation, while Taliban losses were estimated by local officials at 80-90 killed. Other estimates were 130 killed and 200-300 injured.
. Its stated aim was the securing of various canal and river crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence in an area described by Lt Col Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the 2009 Afghan presidential election.
3,000 British, 650 ANA, 700 Danish and 130 Estonians were involved in the operation which has been described as "one of the largest air operations in modern times" when, after midnight on June 19, hundreds of British soldiers were transported by 12 Chinooks into Babaji (North of Lashkar Gah) and supported by 13 other aircraft including a US AC-130H Spectre Gunship. They established a firm foothold and more troops moved in to secure the area.
The offensive claimed the lives of 15 British troops within a week including 8 within 24 hours. This contributed to the bloodiest week for British forces in Afghanistan so far.
The operation was declared "a major success" by British officials. They claimed the offensive secured land for around 100,000 people and started to break the "chain of terror" linking Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan to the UK.
However the security conditions for the Afghan presidential elections in the region were almost non-existent. In the Babaji area alone only 150 people came out to vote.
Using helicopters, Marines landed behind Taliban lines into areas where coalition forces had never been before. Simultaneously, other Marine elements pushed into remote areas by vehicle convoys. The initial stages of the operation were so sudden that Taliban forces were apparently taken by surprise. Their spokesman was quoted saying that he could not believe that the US had deployed so many troops, "I consider it a part of a psychological war," but vowed the Americans would still lose.
Marine units have now begun moving into the southern reaches of the Helmand River Valley, supported by fighter aircraft.
were killed, and two injured, by a U.S. F-15
fighter.
On September 26, 2007, two Danish soldiers were killed by a British missile in a "friendly fire
" incident. The British Ministry of Defence
appointed a board of inquiry
to investigate the affair.
. Due to his participation in opium-dealing and alleged links with the Taliban, the British demanded that he be replaced. In January 2006, President Karzai agreed to remove him, but the two men maintained cordial relations, and Akhundzada was appointed as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan
. His replacement, Mohammad Daoud, a British protégé, was obliged to accept Amir Muhammad Akhundzada
, the brother of Sher Mohammed, as his deputy, in order to pacify the Akhundzada family and their important tribal following. Amir Muhammad did not collaborate with Daoud, and constantly undermined his rule, eventually driving him from power in December 2006. Daoud's removal was also attributed to the Americans and to the hawk
s in the Karzai government, due to their rejection of the Musa Qala accord, that was seen as a "strategic disaster". In 2009, Sher Mohammed revealed that after his removal from power, he had encouraged some 3,000 of his fighters to join the Taliban, as he was no longer able to pay them.
Daoud's successor was Assadullah Wafa, an elderly man with poor health, who had had little authority in Helmand. In November 2007, Sher Mohammed was said to be vying to return to power in Helmand, taking advantage of rumours of defections of an important tribe to the government, and it was known that he had raised a 500-strong tribal militia to further his political ambitions. In March 2008 Assadullah Wafa was replaced by Gulab Mangal.
Fresh tensions became apparent, after Afghan officials revealed that a Taliban commander killed in 2007 by British SAS
and SBS forces near Sangin had in fact proved to be a Pakistani military officer. The British refused to publicize this evidence of Pakistani support to the insurgents, which further angered the Afghan government.
In September 2008, Hamid Karzai proposed to restore Sher Mohammed Akhundzada as the governor of Helmand province, believing that his tribal militia could help contain the Taliban. However, the British did not agree with this choice, in view of Akhundzada's alleged policy of encouraging Taliban attacks, and the risk that his return could spark new fighting between rival drug gangs. Prime minister Gordon Brown
threatened to withdraw British troops if Akhundzada was reinstated. Karzai responded by blaming the increased Taliban activity and opium production on British "interference".
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
forces against Taliban insurgents
Taliban insurgency
The Taliban insurgency took root shortly after the group's fall from power following the 2001 war in Afghanistan. The Taliban continue to attack Afghan, U.S., and other ISAF troops and many terrorist incidents attributable to them have been registered. The war has also spread over the southern and...
in the Helmand Province
Helmand Province
Helmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....
of Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Their objective has been to control a province that is known to be a Taliban stronghold, and a center of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
production.
The deployment of international, mostly British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, forces was part of the stage three expansion of the ISAF mandate, to cover the southern regions of Afghanistan. Until then Helmand province had seen only a limited coalition presence.
In the spring of 2008, a battalion of U.S. Marines arrived to reinforce the British presence. In the spring of 2009, 11,000 additional Marines poured into the province, the first wave of President Obama's 21,000 troop surge into Afghanistan.
On June 19, 2009, the British Army (with ISAF and ANA forces) launched Operation Panther's Claw
Operation Panther's Claw
Operation Panchai Palang, or Panther's Claw, was a British-led military operation of the Afghan War in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a permanent International Security Assistance Force presence in the area...
and on July 2, 2009, US Marines launched Operation Khanjar, both major offensives into the province in hopes of securing the region before the Afghanistan presidential elections and turning the tide of the insurgency there.
Prelude
In 2006, a revitalised Taliban conducted a number of large-scale military offensives against coalition troops in Helmand, Kandahar and other provinces on the border with PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
.
In Helmand, the Afghan government only had a tenuous hold outside the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah. The NATO presence in the province was sparse, limited to 130 American soldiers undertaking punctual anti-terrorist missions, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Through the month of April, a new British unit, the Helmand Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
, was deployed in order to counter the Taliban. The core of the fighting force was drawn from the 16th Air Assault Brigade, and in particular from the 3rd battalion, of the Parachute Regiment. Based out of Camp Bastion
Camp Bastion
Camp Bastion is the main British military base in Afghanistan. Accommodating 21,000 people it is situated northwest of Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand Province, and exists to be the logistics hub for operations in Helmand....
, then under construction, the task force numbered 3,300 men, though only a third of these were combat troops.
During the first four months of its presence in Afghanistan, the Helmand Task Force was expected to take part in Operation Enduring Freedom, and help track down Taliban and Al Qaeda extremists. It was thus placed under the command of U.S. Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Benjamin Freakley, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force 76. But being part of ISAF, it was also answerable to the ISAF Regional Command South, then led by a Canadian, Brigadier General
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
David Fraser
David Fraser (Canadian)
David Fraser is a major-general of the Canadian Forces. He was the commander of the Multinational Brigade for Regional Command South in Afghanistan's southern provinces in 2006...
. This tangled chain of command was accompanied by a certain difficulty in defining the priority between two different and sometimes contradictory missions: either to win the support of the local population, or to fight and eliminate the Taliban.
Outposts under siege
The initial mission of the Helmand Task Force was to carry out reconstruction and hearts and minds projects in the relatively safe area known as "the triangle", centered around Lashkar Gah and GereshkGereshk
Gereshk is a town in Gerishk District in Helmand province on the Helmand River in central Afghanistan, some northwest of Kandahar at 817 m altitude. Gereshk is the centre of a rich agricultural region with the Kajakai dam upriver diverting water to the Boghra Irrigation Canal. Gereshk was...
. However, the intensification of Taliban attacks led to a dramatic change in this strategy. In early spring 2006, Baghran District
Baghran District
Baghran is the northernmost district in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Its population, which is 90% Pashtun and 10% Hazara, was estimated at 82,018 in 2002...
fell temporarily under insurgent control, and on May 18, a Taliban raid in Musa Qala
Musa Qala
Musa Qala is a town and the district center of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, at and at 1043 m altitude in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its population has been reported in the British press to be both 2,000 and 20,000...
killed some twenty Afghan policemen.
The possibility of a Taliban offensive sweeping over the entire province was taken seriously by the provincial governor, Mohammad Daoud
Engineer Mohammad Daoud
Engineer Mohammad Daoud was the governor of Helmand province in Afghanistan.Daoud was appointed in December 2005, and replaced in December 2006.-Appointment as Governor of Helmand:...
, a personal ally and appointee of President
President of Afghanistan
Afghanistan has only been a republic between 1973 and 1992 and from 2001 onwards. Before 1973, it was a monarchy that was governed by a variety of kings, emirs or shahs...
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai
Hamid Karzai, GCMG is the 12th and current President of Afghanistan, taking office on 7 December 2004. He became a dominant political figure after the removal of the Taliban regime in late 2001...
. Daoud insisted that ISAF troops be deployed in the districts that were under immediate threat of Taliban attack: Sangin
Sangin
Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m altitude, 95 km to the north-east of Lashkar Gah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the...
, Now Zad, Musa Qala and the strategic hydroelectric
Hydroelectricity
Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...
installations at Kajaki
Kajaki
Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station for electricity and irrigation projects, the Kajaki Dam...
. This was the beginning of the controversial "platoon house" strategy, that saw NATO troops, mostly British, tied down in remote outstations across northern Helmand. All posts attracted sustained and intensive Taliban attacks, and remained under siege for long periods. The Task Force's limited assets became dangerously stretched, leading to difficult situations in several cases.
Sangin
The town of Sangin (population 30,000), is an important trading center of southern Afghanistan, and is believed to be the biggest opium market in the region. Thus it naturally became an important objective both for the Taliban and the coalition. Before June 2006, it was believed to be largely under insurgent control.On June 18, 2006, Jama Gul, a former district chief, was ambushed and killed in Sangin, along with four bodyguards. When a group of his relatives went to retrieve the bodies, 25 of them were killed. It was this incident, sometimes described as "face-off between two drug lords", that led to the deployment of ISAF troops in Sangin. On June 21, a company of British paratroopers moved into the town, ostensibly to rescue the son of the current district chief, who had been wounded in the fight. However, after a personal intervention by Hamid Karzai, they were ordered to remain in Sangin, in order to assert the faltering authority of the central government.
FGM-148 Javelin
The FGM-148 Javelin is a United States-made man-portable third generation anti-tank missile fielded to replace the Dragon antitank missile.-Overview:Javelin is a fire-and-forget missile with lock-on before launch and automatic self-guidance...
s, and by calling in artillery and airstrikes. Resupply was sometimes interrupted for as long as five days, as Taliban fire would have put the helicopters at risk.
On July 15, as part of Operation Mountain Thrust
Operation Mountain Thrust
Operation Mountain Thrust was a Canadian and Afghan-led operation in the war in Afghanistan, with more than 2,300 U.S., 3,300 British troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, about 3,500 Afghan soldiers and large air support...
coalition forces conducted an offensive into Sangin district, supported by armour, in the shape of light tanks of the Household Cavalry Regiment
Household Cavalry Regiment
The Household Cavalry Regiment is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and is one of two regiments that are formed from the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1992, under the Options for Change reforms, by the amalgamation of The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. Both regiments were...
and Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
LAV III
LAV III
The LAV III armoured vehicle is the latest in the Generation III Light Armoured Vehicle series built by General Dynamics Land Systems, entering service in 1999. It is based on the Swiss MOWAG Piranha IIIH 8x8....
s. In the face of overwhelming force, most of the Taliban retreated, and a supply convoy was escorted into the town. The garrison were able to strengthen their defenses after the arrival of an engineer unit.
After September 14, the fighting died down in Sangin. On September 21, the paratroopers occupying the government compound were replaced by a unit from 42 commando
3 Commando Brigade
3 Commando Brigade is a commando formation of the British Armed Forces and the main manoeuvre formation of the Royal Marines. Its personnel are predominantly Royal Marines, supported by units of Royal Engineers, Royal Artillery, The Rifles, and the Fleet Air Arm, together with other Commando...
, Royal Marines
Royal Marines
The Corps of Her Majesty's Royal Marines, commonly just referred to as the Royal Marines , are the marine corps and amphibious infantry of the United Kingdom and, along with the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary, form the Naval Service...
. In March 2007, the Marines were in turn replaced by a company from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on April 23, 1968, as part of the reforms of the army that saw the creation of the first 'large infantry regiments', by the amalgamation of the four English fusilier...
. By this time, the Taliban had resumed their operations in the sector, and the fusiliers were attacked 79 times during their first twenty days in Sangin.
On April 5, 2007, coalition forces launched Operation Silver, as part of the wider Operation Achilles
Operation Achilles
Operation Achilles was a NATO operation, part of the war in Afghanistan. Its objective was to clear the Helmand province of the Taliban. The operation began on March 6 of 2007 and the offensive was the largest NATO based operation ever held in Afghanistan to date...
, with some 1,000 troops. After giving advance warning of their offensive, they advanced into Sangin, which had been mostly abandoned by the insurgents. The new governor of Helmand Assadullah Wafa
Assadullah Wafa
Assadullah Wafa is the former governor of the Afghan province of Helmand, and formerly governor of Kunar Province of Afghanistan and a previous governor of the Paktia Province where he was succeeded by Hakim Taniwal. His first name is sometimes spelled "Asadullah"...
, was able to install a new district governor, and ISAF claimed to have pacified the town. The Taliban claim to still control neighbouring areas. Since the end of the siege, the district compound has still come under attack, but the British have built two new forward operating base
Forward Operating Base
A forward operating base is any secured forward military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support tactical operations. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, or other facilities. The base may be used for an extended period of time. FOBs are traditionally supported...
s a few miles away that draw most of the Taliban attacks away from the town itself.
Musa Qala
After May 18, 2006, coalition troops were deployed in Musa QalaMusa Qala
Musa Qala is a town and the district center of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, at and at 1043 m altitude in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its population has been reported in the British press to be both 2,000 and 20,000...
, to defend the district centre. Serving also as a prison and police station, the district centre was situated in the middle of the town, a situation that greatly hampered the defenders. The garrison consisted of some 80 Afghan policemen, who were more of a militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
than a police force, and were very unpopular among the local population.
The American unit present in Musa Qala was replaced on June 14 by a composite group of British troops, mostly pathfinders. The first heavy Taliban attack was launched on July 16, and though it was repelled with heavy loss, the insurgents maintained a constant pressure on the district centre. On July 26, the Danish
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
1 Light Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance is the military term for exploring beyond the area occupied by friendly forces to gain information about enemy forces or features of the environment....
Squadron, known as "the griffin
Griffin
The griffin, griffon, or gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle...
s", arrived at Musa Qala to relieve the British troops. However, these could not be extracted until August 8, when a full battle group
Battlegroup (army)
A battlegroup , or task force in modern military theory, is the basic building block of an army's fighting force. A battlegroup is formed around an infantry battalion or armoured regiment, which is usually commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel...
operation, codenamed Operation Snakebite, was required to reach the town centre. The griffins were equipped with 16 Eagle
MOWAG Eagle
The MOWAG Eagle is a wheeled armored vehicle designed by the Swiss MOWAG corporation. It has gone through several generations of development. The current vehicle, introduced in November 2003, is the Eagle IV, which is based on the Duro IIIP chassis...
armoured vehicles, one lost during the fight to get in the town, most armed with a .50 calibre machine-gun. Their commander built a series of ramps enabling the vehicles to fire over the compound walls. With the support of a mortar team from the Royal Irish Regiment and abundant air support, the Musa Qala garrison was able to drive back all attacks, but the presence of large numbers of Taliban prevented them from venturing out of the base. On the 24 August, the Danish unit were extracted and assigned to the Canadian-led Op Medusa, the Danes were replaced by a mixed British detachment of paratroopers and Royal Irish rangers, whose weapons array was considerably less powerful, having only two .50 cal and eight GPMG machine-guns. Knowing the garrison was weaker, the Taliban launched two attacks with a group of 150 men on August 26/27. Both were driven off, after which the insurgents concentrated on indirect attacks with mortars and 107 mm rockets.
By the end of September, the fighting in Musa Qala had come to a stalemate. The Taliban had suffered heavy losses and had been incapable of driving the ISAF forces out of the town. The coalition had also suffered losses: three British soldiers had been killed in Musa Qala, and their control of the town didn't extend outside the compound walls.
Also, the British commanders feared that a resupply helicopter might be shot down, giving a propaganda victory to the insurgents. Both sides welcomed an initiative by the town elders, to negotiate a truce and avoid further bloodshed. The British agreed to withdraw from the city, and in return the tribesmen would deny sanctuary to the Taliban.
The agreement lasted 143 days, ending after the brother of a local Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghaffour
Abdul Ghafour (Mullah Abdul Ghafour, Taliban commander)
Mullah Abdul Ghafour is a Taliban commander that ISAF forces claim was killed by an airstrike on February 4, 2007.-Summary executions in January 2001:...
, was killed by an airstrike from an American B-1
B-1 Lancer
The Rockwell B-1 LancerThe name "Lancer" is only applied to the B-1B version, after the program was revived. is a four-engine variable-sweep wing strategic bomber used by the United States Air Force...
bomber. The Taliban claimed this had occurred in an area covered by the truce. In retaliation a group of 200-300 insurgents stormed the town on February 1, 2007, executing the elder who had brokered the truce, and jailing several others. On February 4, Mullah Abdul Ghaffour himself was killed in an airstrike. On the same day, General David J. Richards, who had supported the truce, was replaced at the head of ISAF by General Dan K. McNeill
Dan K. McNeill
Dan Kelly McNeill is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He served Commander, Coalition Forces, Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and as Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command from 2004 to 2007...
, who favoured a more aggressive approach.
In Musa Qala, the Taliban imposed their fundamentalist
Islamic fundamentalism
Islamic fundamentalism is a term used to describe religious ideologies seen as advocating a return to the "fundamentals" of Islam: the Quran and the Sunnah. Definitions of the term vary. According to Christine L...
interpretation of Muslim law, closing down schools, restricting women's movements, levying heavy taxes, and hanging those inhabitants they suspected of being spies. The Afghan government and the coalition refrained from retaking the town, to avoid causing civilian casualties.
Kajaki dam
Helmand River
The Helmand River is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primarily watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin....
Valley, and electricity for the whole province. Through early 2006, it came under increasing attacks by the Taliban, for whom even a brief occupation would serve as a propaganda victory. The dam was defended by a mixed force of Afghan policemen and security guards led by an American contractor
Private military company
A private military company or provides military and security services. These combatants are commonly known as mercenaries, though modern-day PMCs refer to their staff as security contractors, private military contractors or private security contractors, and refer to themselves as private military...
. Nightly Taliban mortar
Mortar (weapon)
A mortar is an indirect fire weapon that fires explosive projectiles known as bombs at low velocities, short ranges, and high-arcing ballistic trajectories. It is typically muzzle-loading and has a barrel length less than 15 times its caliber....
attacks demoralised the defenders, who had no heavy weapons, and were unable to retaliate. In late June, a team of British paratroopers was deployed near Kajaki, and managed to ambush a Taliban mortar team, killing ten and wounding two. Thereafter, a permanent British military presence was established at the dam, where coalition troops occupied a series of fortified posts built by the Soviets during their presence in Afghanistan
Soviet war in Afghanistan
The Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
. The Taliban grew more cautious, but continued their harassment attacks throughout July and the first half of August.
In February 2007, British marines from 42 commando conducted Operation Volcano
Operation Volcano
Operation Volcano was a British operation to clear a village that the Taliban were using as a command and control node, consisting of 25 compounds, near the Kajaki hydroelectric dam in February 2007. The British troops came from Troops from 42 Commando, Royal Marines and 59 Commando, Royal Engineers...
, clearing a safe zone around the dam and driving the Taliban out of mortar range. The main Taliban fortified position in the village of Barikju was cleared without casualties.
Since then, the situation around the dam has stabilised. Kajaki is one of the rare occasions during the Afghanistan war where both sides use fixed positions, and an actual front line
Front line
A front line is the farthest-most forward position of an armed force's personnel and equipment - generally in respect of maritime or land forces. Forward Line of Own Troops , or Forward Edge of Battle Area are technical terms used by all branches of the armed services...
has developed.
NATO counter-offensive
In April 2007, the number of British troops in southern Afghanistan was increased from 3,300 to 5,800 men. Heavier equipment was also deployed, namely WarriorWarrior Tracked Armoured Vehicle
The Warrior tracked vehicle family is a series of British armoured vehicles, originally developed to replace the older FV430 series of armoured vehicles. The Warrior started life as the MCV-80 project that was first broached in the 1970s, GKN Sankey/Defence winning the production contract in 1980....
IFV
Infantry fighting vehicle
An infantry fighting vehicle , also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle , is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide fire support for them...
s, Mastiff protected vehicles
Cougar (vehicle)
The Cougar is an armored fighting vehicle designed to be resistant to anti-vehicle mines and improvised munitions.It is a family of armored vehicles produced by Force Protection Inc, which manufactures ballistic and mine-protected vehicles. The automotives are integrated by Spartan Motors...
and GMLRS
M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System
The M270 Multiple Launch Rocket System is an armored, self-propelled, multiple rocket launcher; a type of rocket artillery.Since the first M270s were delivered to the U.S. Army in 1983, the MLRS has been adopted by several NATO countries. Some 1,300 M270 systems have been manufactured in the...
multiple rocket launchers. The new task force commander, Brigadier John Lorimer, also requested that Challenger 2 tanks and AS-90
AS-90
The AS-90 is a lightly armoured self-propelled artillery piece used by the British Army. It was first delivered in 1993...
self-propelled guns be deployed, but these were refused.
On March 6, Coalition forces began a series of large-scale operations, to systematically clear the entire province of enemy forces.
Operation Achilles
Operation Achilles was the first task force-level operation to be conducted by NATO forces in the battle for Helmand. More than 4,500 British led ISAF troops were involved, along with 1,000 Afghan personnel. NATO officials reported that, contrary to what happened in previous operations, Taliban fighters were avoiding direct confrontation in favor of guerilla tactics. The main objectives were the strategic points of Northern Helmand, including all major towns, and the Kajaki dam.A number of sub-operations targeted specific sectors:
- Operation KryptoniteOperation KryptoniteOperation Kryptonite was the name given to a joint operation including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Afghan National Army, representing the ISAF and NATO. The operation itself was part of Operation Achilles...
(February 12): Some 300 British and Dutch ISAF and ANA troops cleared the area from where the Taliban had mortared the dam in the past months. On February 14, a senior Taliban leader, Mullah Manan, was killed in an airstrike between Kajaki and Musa Qala. - Operation Silver (April 5): A 1,000-strong group composed of a heliborne force of U.S. paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division, along with an armoured column of 250 Royal Marines cleared the town of Sangin, that had been mostly abandoned by the Taliban.
- Operation Silicon (April 30): This operation was undertaken mostly by ANA troops supported by British units, moving against the Taliban in Gereshk and the lower Sangin valley.
On May 12, Mullah Dadullah, second in command of the Taliban, was killed in Gereshk district, in a raid carried out by British SBS
Special Boat Service
The Special Boat Service is the special forces unit of the British Royal Navy. Together with the Special Air Service, Special Reconnaissance Regiment and the Special Forces Support Group they form the United Kingdom Special Forces and come under joint control of the same Director Special...
commandos and Afghan troops. A significant feature of the operation was the end of the siege of Sangin where British troops had been cut off for more than nine months. This time, coalition forces built a number of patrol bases, manned by British troops and Afghan security forces, establishing a permanent presence in areas from where the Taliban had been expelled. Achilles ended on May 30, with the result that NATO forces managed to establish a foothold in enemy territory in Helmand.
Operation Lastay Kulang
On the same day that Achilles ended operation Lastay Kulang, meaning "Pickaxe-Handle" in Pashto, started. This operation was not as successful as the previous one. At around 4:00 local time on Wednesday, May 30, 2007, ISAF and ANSF personnel advanced towards the village of Kajaki Sofle, ten kilometres south-west of the town of KajakiKajaki
Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station for electricity and irrigation projects, the Kajaki Dam...
, to remove a Taliban force whose presence threatened the security and stability of the Lower Sangin Valley
Sangin
Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m altitude, 95 km to the north-east of Lashkar Gah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the...
.
During the night, elements of the American 82nd Airborne Division mounted an aerial assault on a Taliban compound. One of the Chinook
CH-47 Chinook
The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its top speed of 170 knots is faster than contemporary utility and attack helicopters of the 1960s...
helicopters taking part in the raid was apparently hit by an RPG
RPG-7
The RPG-7 is a widely-produced, portable, unguided, shoulder-launched, anti-tank rocket-propelled grenade launcher. Originally the RPG-7 and its predecessor, the RPG-2, were designed by the Soviet Union, and now manufactured by the Bazalt company...
round and crashed, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian onboard. Lastay Kulang ended on June 14, with the strategic outcome unclear. NATO stated that their forces cleared Sangin and Gereshk of Taliban and thus secured the Kajaki District
Kajaki District
Kajaki is a district in the east of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Its population is by a vast majority Pashtun, and stood at 60,700 in 2005. The district centre is the village of Kajaki.-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 ....
. In contrast, the Taliban claimed that they still control much of Kajaki, and some of the Sangin districts. These claims were confirmed by the local residents, who complain that the Taliban returned as soon as NATO and ANA troops had left.
Operation Hammer
In late July another operation was started called Operation Hammer. It began in the early hours of July 24, 2007 in the area between Heyderabad and Mirmandab, north-east of Gereshk. The operation continued the momentum towards expelling Taliban forces from areas of the Upper Gereshk Valley in Helmand province. During the initial stages of the operation, ISAF and Afghan National Security Forces advanced to secure a strategic bridge crossing over the Nahr-e-Seraj canal, clearing and searching compoundsCompound (fortification)
In military science, a compound is a type of fortification made up of walls or fences surrounding several buildings in the center of a large piece of land...
, before military engineers from 26 Engineer Regiment established a joint forward operating base. Sporadic fighting followed after that. And by early November operations ended with coalition troops establishing a firm frontline south of the Helmand river and were preparing for an attack towards Musa Qalah, which had been under Taliban control for eight months.
Operation Sledgehammer Hit
Operation Palk Wahel (Sledgehammer Hit in Pashto) involved 2,500 troops, of which 2,000 are British, drawn mostly from the 1st battalion, the Royal Gurkha RiflesRoyal Gurkha Rifles
The Royal Gurkha Rifles is a regiment of the British Army, forming part of the Brigade of Gurkhas. The Royal Gurkha Rifles are now the sole infantry regiment of the British Army Gurkhas...
and from 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment
Mercian Regiment
The Mercian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, formed by the amalgamation of three existing regiments on 1 September 2007.The regiment has three regular army battalion's and one Territorial Army or reserve battalion...
. During this operation, Warrior IFVs, manned by the Scots Guards
Scots Guards
The Scots Guards is a regiment of the Guards Division of the British Army, whose origins lie in the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland...
, made their first significant operational deployment in Afghanistan. Most of the remaining 500 men came from the Afghan National Army, while small contingents from Danish, Czech
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and American forces also participated.
The objective of the operation was to dislodge the Taliban insurgents from their strongholds in the upper Gereshk valley.
The operation began on September 19, when the Scots Guards engineers threw a bridge over the Helmand river. During the early stages, coalition troops encountered heavy resistance and had to clear several compounds in close-quarter combat. An estimated 100 Taliban and at least six civilians were killed. Three British soldiers were also killed: two in an accident and one by an IED
Improvised explosive device
An improvised explosive device , also known as a roadside bomb, is a homemade bomb constructed and deployed in ways other than in conventional military action...
.
Battle of Musa Qala
On November 1, 2007, 40 Commando Royal Marines pushed north in Viking armoured vehicles, driving across the Helmand river north of Sangin, creating a bridgehead for the Scots Guards convoy. There has been on and off contact with the Taliban who have attacked British forces with rockets, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs). Having established positions around Musa Qalah, British troops have been carrying out reconnaissance patrols. The main focus of current operations is to disrupt and confuse the Taliban and destabilize their supply routes.The town had become a major Taliban drug trafficking station and had been considered to be of symbolic importance to both sides, to the Taliban in the sense that they can take and hold ground in Afghanistan in defiance of the Afghan government and NATO.
On December 6, 2007, British, Afghan and U.S. forces started their assault on the town. Initially the British and Afghan forces attacked in the afternoon, from three directions. Several hundred US troops were later dropped from helicopters and fought on foot through the night. The Taliban defences included hundreds of mines and it was reported that the moral among the Taliban forces was high. Up to 2,000 Taliban fighters were confirmed to be in the town. One British soldier, 12 Taliban fighters and two civilian children were killed on the first day of the operation.
By December 8, 2007, NATO troops captured two villages south of the town and advanced to within two kilometers from the outskirts. The Taliban were withdrawing to their defences in the town and more Taliban reinforcements were pouring into the district. The biggest problem for the coalition were mines. Both of the two fatalities sustained by the coalition at that point were the result of land mines.
On December 10, the Taliban withdrew their forces northwards into the mountains and Afghan troops entered the town, meeting little resistance. Two Taliban leaders were reportedly captured during the battle.
On December 12, the town finally fell to advancing coalition forces.
Stalemate in the south
By the end of December 2007, the situation on the ground reached a stalemate. A de facto border was established east of Garmsir along the banks of the Helmand River that divided British-held from Taliban-held territory. The British were outnumbered by the larger Taliban force which was receiving reinforcements from Pakistan. However the British had jets and heavy artillery on their side. Both forces were fighting in the coming months for mere yards of territory.U.S. Marine reinforcements to Garmsir and North Helmand
1st Battalion, 6th Marines, the battalion landing team for the 24th MEU started their combat operations with an attack on the Taliban-held town of Garmsir
Garmsir
The village of Garmsir is the center of Garmsir District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is situated on the East bank of Helmand River on at 714 m altitude and 63 km South-West of Lashkar Gah. The major road at Garmsir is Route 605...
on April 28. The operation was carried out in conjunction with British troops of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. Taliban forces however had withdrawn from the town and taken up position further south.
After seizing Garmsir, the Marines pushed further south into an area where the insurgents had built bunkers and tunnels capable of withstanding coalition airstrikes. They ran into stiff resistance and the operation, expected to take a few days, lasted more than a month to complete. This alerted the ISAF
International Security Assistance Force
The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...
commander that the town was important to the insurgents, so he ordered the Marines to remain in the area, rather than clear the town and leave. He was also concerned that the Taliban would emerge after the Marines left, falsely claiming that they had run ISAF forces off.With the original mission changed, the Marines transitioned from combat operations to civil operations. The 24th MEU commander Colonel Peter Petronzio focused on protecting the local Afghans as they began to return to their homes after having been displaced by the Taliban. The Marines also continued their combat operations in the area, killing more than 400 insurgents between April and July 2008, according to governor Gulab Mangal.
On September 8, the 24th MEU returned control of Garmsir to British forces, after having operated in the area for approximately 130 days.
As the MEU deployed to Garmsir, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines deployed elements to Sangin
Sangin
Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m altitude, 95 km to the north-east of Lashkar Gah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the...
, Gereshk
Gereshk
Gereshk is a town in Gerishk District in Helmand province on the Helmand River in central Afghanistan, some northwest of Kandahar at 817 m altitude. Gereshk is the centre of a rich agricultural region with the Kajakai dam upriver diverting water to the Boghra Irrigation Canal. Gereshk was...
, Musa Qaleh and Now Zad, as well as districts in Farah Province. The Battalion worked closely with the Afghan National Police
Afghan National Police
The Afghan National Police - ANP - is the primary national police force in Afghanistan. It serves as a single law enforcement agency all across the country. The Afghan police force was first created with the establishment of the Afghan nation in the early 18th century...
and the Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan
Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan
The Combined Security Transition Command - Afghanistan is a multinational military formation. Its primary role is the training and development of Afghan security forces like the Afghan National Army. Its headquarters is at Camp Eggers, Kabul...
in implementing police training and reform programs. Despite being deployed independent of the 24th MEU or any other Marine Air-Ground Task Force, the Battalion was engaged in heavy fighting throughout the tour. As a sign of the United States' increased troop commitment to Afghanistan, 2/7 was relieved by 3rd Battalion, 8th Marines and the Special Purpose MAGTF - Afghanistan in December, 2008.
Operation Eagle's Eye
In May and June 2008, Operation Oqab Sturga (Eagle's Eye) was launched. The successful operation involved British troops from The Parachute Regiment and the Argyll and Sutherland HighlandersArgyll and Sutherland Highlanders
The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders, 5th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland....
(5 Scots) and Afghan National Army and Danish troops, backed up by British artillery and Apache helicopters.
The operations aims were to disrupt Taliban activities in the Upper Gereshk Valley, between the towns of Gereshk and Sangin, and strengthen the Afghan government’s control of the Musa Qaleh Wadi. Resistance from the Taliban was limited to indirect fire
Indirect fire
Indirect fire means aiming and firing a projectile in a high trajectory without relying on a direct line of sight between the gun and its target, as in the case of direct fire...
and improvised explosive devices, the Taliban avoiding direct confrontations with coalition forces.
It was reported that a British helicopter killed a key Taliban leader called 'Sadiqullah' and up to ten members of his cell on 26 June 2008. They were said to be responsible for roadside bomb and suicide attacks against NATO and Afghan forces. The attack took place 10 kilometres north west of Kajaki in Helmand.
Taliban spring offensive
At the beginning of June the Taliban launched a new offensive despite Coalition claims that they are not able to do that. Most of the heavy fighting was concentrated in the province of Kandahar, where the Taliban broke out 1,100 prisoners from the main prison in Kandahar City, on the border with Pakistan, in the province of Farah to the west and in Helmand. Between June 8 and June 24, a total of 14 foreign soldiers were killed in a surge of attacks in Helmand.Kajaki Dam convoy
Late August saw one of the largest operations by NATO forces in Helmand province, with the aim bringing electricity to the region. A convoy of 100 vehicles took five days to move massive sections of an electric turbine for the Kajaki Dam, covering 180 km (112 miles). The operation involved 2,000 British troops, 1,000 other NATO troops from Australia, Canada, Denmark and the US and 1,000 Afghan soldiers. The Canadians covered the first leg and the British took over at a meeting point in the desert, using 50 BVS10 Viking armoured vehicles to escort the convoy. Hundreds of special forces troops went in first, sweeping the area and although difficult to verify, British commanders estimated more than 200 insurgents were killed - without any losses or injuries to NATO soldiers. British, Dutch, French and US aircraft, helicopters and unmanned drones provided aerial reconnaissance and fire support.Taliban attack on Lashkar Gah
In August 2008, the Taliban began operating closer to the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, attacking government positions in Marja (town) and Nad Ali DistrictNad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
s, just 10 kilometers from the city. The local authorities were at first reluctant to call for help from ISAF forces, for fear their intervention might cause civilian casualties. In September, after both districts had fallen to the Taliban, British Army officials said these setbacks were caused by the defection of pro-government militias linked to local drug-trafficking mafias, that the Taliban had promised to protect from poppy-eradication programs.
On October 12, 2008, a force of around 200 Taliban launched a direct attack on Lashkar Gah, their most ambitious operation since 2006. The attack on the town came from three sides, and involved hundreds of militants using rockets and mortars. The Taliban forces were intercepted in the outskirts of the city by Afghan troops supported by Army Air Corps Apache
Westland WAH-64 Apache
The AgustaWestland Apache is a licence-built version of the Boeing AH-64D Apache Longbow attack helicopter for the British Army's Army Air Corps. The first eight helicopters were built by Boeing; the remaining 59 were assembled by Westland Helicopters at Yeovil, Somerset in England from...
gunships. The attack was repulsed, and the Taliban suffered 50 killed according to NATO, or 62 killed according to local authorities, including their leader, Mullah Qudratullah, while coalition forces suffered no casualties. On October 15, 2008, another Taliban force staged an attack. 18 Taliban were killed and the attack was once again repulsed. However, this time six Afghan policemen were killed at a checkpoint just north of the city. On October 16, 2008, militants pressed with their attacks bombarding the city with rockets. One of them hit a market killing one civilian and wounding five others. At the same time, a NATO air strike in the neighboring district left 18 civilians from five families dead.
Operation Red Dagger
Between December 7 and December 25, 2008, British forces conducted Operation Red Dagger around the town of Nad-e-Ali in an attempt to capture four key Taliban strongholds. More than 1,500 troops were involved. The operation saw fierce trench battles reminiscent of the First World War and in knee-deep mud. British soldiers were involved every day in intense fire-fights that lasted from a few minutes to four hours at a range as close as 30 metres. British Marines at one point fought hand-to-hand in a "360-degree battle". Also involved in the fighting were Danish, Estonian and Afghan troops. The operation culminated in a battle on Christmas Day. The operation was declared a success, 100 Taliban fighters were killed, including a senior commander, at a cost of five British Royal Marines being killed.
Operation Blue Sword
On March 19, Coalition troops carried out Operation Aabi Toorah ("Blue Sword") into Marjah District, which was considered a Taliban "safe haven" where the insurgents trained and stored weapons and supplies. Coalition forces consisted of 500 Royal Marines, 120 Danish soldiers accompanied by ANA troops, for a total force of 700. The operation began with the prepositionning of Danish LeopardLeopard 2
The Leopard 2 is a main battle tank developed by Krauss-Maffei in the early 1970s for the West German Army. The tank first entered service in 1979 and succeeded the earlier Leopard 1 as the main battle tank of the German Army. Various versions have served in the armed forces of Germany and twelve...
tanks and British armoured vehicles, which was followed by an air assault by 500 Marines of 42 Commando into the insurgent-controlled area. During three days, the Coalition forces, supported by Apache and Cobra
AH-1 Cobra
The Bell AH-1 Cobra is a two-bladed, single engine attack helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It shares a common engine, transmission and rotor system with the older UH-1 Iroquois...
helicopters, Dutch F-16s and UAVs, cleared Taliban compounds, which involved fighting at close quarters. Two Royal Marines were injured during the operation, while Taliban losses were estimated by local officials at 80-90 killed. Other estimates were 130 killed and 200-300 injured.
Operation Panther's Claw
On June 19, 2009, British, ISAF and ANA forces launched a large offensive named Operation Panther's ClawOperation Panther's Claw
Operation Panchai Palang, or Panther's Claw, was a British-led military operation of the Afghan War in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a permanent International Security Assistance Force presence in the area...
. Its stated aim was the securing of various canal and river crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence in an area described by Lt Col Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the 2009 Afghan presidential election.
3,000 British, 650 ANA, 700 Danish and 130 Estonians were involved in the operation which has been described as "one of the largest air operations in modern times" when, after midnight on June 19, hundreds of British soldiers were transported by 12 Chinooks into Babaji (North of Lashkar Gah) and supported by 13 other aircraft including a US AC-130H Spectre Gunship. They established a firm foothold and more troops moved in to secure the area.
The offensive claimed the lives of 15 British troops within a week including 8 within 24 hours. This contributed to the bloodiest week for British forces in Afghanistan so far.
The operation was declared "a major success" by British officials. They claimed the offensive secured land for around 100,000 people and started to break the "chain of terror" linking Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan to the UK.
However the security conditions for the Afghan presidential elections in the region were almost non-existent. In the Babaji area alone only 150 people came out to vote.
Operation Khanjar
On July 2, 2009, U.S. Marines, simultaneously with the British, launched a massive offensive, dubbed Operation Khanjar, in hopes of securing the province for the Afghanistan presidential elections coming up, as well as turning the tide of the insurgency. In the months preceding the operation, 11,000 U.S. Marines had poured into the province as part of President Obama's troop surge.Using helicopters, Marines landed behind Taliban lines into areas where coalition forces had never been before. Simultaneously, other Marine elements pushed into remote areas by vehicle convoys. The initial stages of the operation were so sudden that Taliban forces were apparently taken by surprise. Their spokesman was quoted saying that he could not believe that the US had deployed so many troops, "I consider it a part of a psychological war," but vowed the Americans would still lose.
Marine units have now begun moving into the southern reaches of the Helmand River Valley, supported by fighter aircraft.
Battle of Dahaneh
During operation Khanjar, U.S. Marines took back the town of Dahaneh from Taliban forces after it was under insurgent control for four years. During the battle one Marine and around 20 insurgents were killed. It took Coalition forces three days to secure the town during which heavy street fighting occurred.Helmand province incident
During the campaign there were numerous incidents where NATO air strikes resulted in massive casualties for the civilian population. One of the more notable was on June 22, 2007. A NATO air strike killed between 45 and 100 civilians. The Afghan and Pakistan governments condemned the attack blaming both NATO and the Taliban. NATO's reaction to the incident was just that the number of dead was less than 45 and they welcomed an investigation. But they stated that they will not change their tactic of bombing civilian centers because the Taliban use civilians as human shields. By then up to 314 civilians were killed by Coalition troops in contrast to 279 by insurgents.Friendly fire
On August 23, 2007, three British soldiers from the Royal Anglian RegimentRoyal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Queen's Division.The regiment was formed on 1 September 1964 as the first of the new large infantry regiments, through the amalgamation of the four regiments of the East Anglian Brigade.* 1st Battalion from the...
were killed, and two injured, by a U.S. F-15
F-15 Eagle
The McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle is a twin-engine, all-weather tactical fighter designed by McDonnell Douglas to gain and maintain air superiority in aerial combat. It is considered among the most successful modern fighters with over 100 aerial combat victories with no losses in dogfights...
fighter.
On September 26, 2007, two Danish soldiers were killed by a British missile in a "friendly fire
Friendly fire
Friendly fire is inadvertent firing towards one's own or otherwise friendly forces while attempting to engage enemy forces, particularly where this results in injury or death. A death resulting from a negligent discharge is not considered friendly fire...
" incident. The British Ministry of Defence
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
appointed a board of inquiry
Public inquiry
A Tribunal of Inquiry is an official review of events or actions ordered by a government body in Common Law countries such as the United Kingdom, Ireland or Canada. Such a public inquiry differs from a Royal Commission in that a public inquiry accepts evidence and conducts its hearings in a more...
to investigate the affair.
Political developments
Before the arrival of ISAF troops, Helmand province was ruled by governor Sher Mohammed AkhundzadaSher Mohammed Akhundzada
Sher Mohammed Akhundzada is a tribal leader who was the governor of Helmand Province in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2005.- Background :...
. Due to his participation in opium-dealing and alleged links with the Taliban, the British demanded that he be replaced. In January 2006, President Karzai agreed to remove him, but the two men maintained cordial relations, and Akhundzada was appointed as a member of the National Assembly of Afghanistan
National Assembly of Afghanistan
The National Assembly is Afghanistan's national legislature. It is a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:*Wolesi Jirga or the House of the People: the 250-member lower house.*Meshrano Jirga ) or the House of Elders: an upper house with 102 seats....
. His replacement, Mohammad Daoud, a British protégé, was obliged to accept Amir Muhammad Akhundzada
Amir Muhammad Akhundzada
Amir Muhammad Akhundzada is the former Deputy Governor of Helmand Province, in Afghanistan.The Sunday Times reported that the British government requested Mohammad Daoud should replace Amir Muhammad Akhundzada's brother Sher Mohammed Akhundzada as Helmand's Governor before they sent 4,000 troops...
, the brother of Sher Mohammed, as his deputy, in order to pacify the Akhundzada family and their important tribal following. Amir Muhammad did not collaborate with Daoud, and constantly undermined his rule, eventually driving him from power in December 2006. Daoud's removal was also attributed to the Americans and to the hawk
War Hawk
War Hawk is a term originally used to describe members of the Twelfth Congress of the United States who advocated waging war against the British in the War of 1812...
s in the Karzai government, due to their rejection of the Musa Qala accord, that was seen as a "strategic disaster". In 2009, Sher Mohammed revealed that after his removal from power, he had encouraged some 3,000 of his fighters to join the Taliban, as he was no longer able to pay them.
Daoud's successor was Assadullah Wafa, an elderly man with poor health, who had had little authority in Helmand. In November 2007, Sher Mohammed was said to be vying to return to power in Helmand, taking advantage of rumours of defections of an important tribe to the government, and it was known that he had raised a 500-strong tribal militia to further his political ambitions. In March 2008 Assadullah Wafa was replaced by Gulab Mangal.
Fresh tensions became apparent, after Afghan officials revealed that a Taliban commander killed in 2007 by British SAS
Special Air Service
Special Air Service or SAS is a corps of the British Army constituted on 31 May 1950. They are part of the United Kingdom Special Forces and have served as a model for the special forces of many other countries all over the world...
and SBS forces near Sangin had in fact proved to be a Pakistani military officer. The British refused to publicize this evidence of Pakistani support to the insurgents, which further angered the Afghan government.
In September 2008, Hamid Karzai proposed to restore Sher Mohammed Akhundzada as the governor of Helmand province, believing that his tribal militia could help contain the Taliban. However, the British did not agree with this choice, in view of Akhundzada's alleged policy of encouraging Taliban attacks, and the risk that his return could spark new fighting between rival drug gangs. Prime minister Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
threatened to withdraw British troops if Akhundzada was reinstated. Karzai responded by blaming the increased Taliban activity and opium production on British "interference".
See also
- Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2008Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2008There are two "coalitions" operating in Afghanistan, one of which has a strict basis in international law. The "US-led coalition", identified by the press, refers to Operation Enduring Freedom, mostly special forces, air and naval forces, within a strictly US chain of command, exercising over a...
- Operation HerrickOperation HerrickOperation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in the war in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. It consists of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force and support to the US-led Operation Enduring Freedom...
- Operation Herrick order of battleOperation Herrick order of battleThis is the Operation Herrick order of battle, which lists the British forces that have taken part in Operation Herrick since it began in 2002.-Kabul:...
- Opium production in AfghanistanOpium production in AfghanistanAfghanistan has been the greatest illicit opium producer in the entire world, ahead of Burma and the "Golden Triangle" since 1992, excluding the year 2001. Afghanistan is the main producer of opium in the "Golden Crescent". Opium production in Afghanistan has been on the rise since U.S....
- Operation Khanjar