Musa Qala
Encyclopedia
Musa Qala is a town and the district center of Musa Qala District
in Helmand Province
, Afghanistan
, at 32.4433°N 64.7444°E 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. It is in a desolate and largely lawless area, populated by Pashtun
tribes.
.
control in Afghanistan.
On February 2, 2006, intensive fighting erupted there, leading to 28 deaths, including the Musa Qala district chief, Abdul Quddus. On March 3, 2006, the Sangin
district governor, Amir Jan, was killed there while on vacation.
British
forces were deployed to defend the district offices at Musa Qala (and also at Sangin, Nowzad
and Kajaki). Over several months, eight British soldiers died there during attacks by the Taliban. July 23–25, 2006, Danish
troops of the "1. Lette Opklaringseskadron" (1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron, 120 men) moved in to replace the British troops, but found themselves having to assist the British troops repel a major Taliban attack before they could carry out the replacement. On 28 August 2006, the Danish forces were replaced as planned—if slightly belated—and were once again replaced by the British.
, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said at the time that this move turned these four centers into “magnets” for the Taliban.
Initially, the local leaders were happy over the settlement, which gave them the upper hand over the Taliban. In the long run, however, attempts to win over the population appear to have failed, especially under the NATO strategy of air bombing which killed more than 4,600 Afghan noncombatants from 2001 to 2006, according to a study by University of New Hampshire
economist Marc W. Herold.
The result has been the steady growth of anti-American sentiment in the region, focused on the US-backed regime of President Hamid Karzai
. Karzai himself deplored the attacks, apparently breaking down in tears, saying that "The cruelty is too much. [The coalition forces] are killing our children."
Some sources report the Taliban force numbered "several hundred".
The situation created a crisis for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, on the very day that the British
commanding officer General
David Richards
handed over charge of the NATO team to an American, General Dan McNeill; MacNeil suggested that "surgical and deliberate" force would be used to evict the fighters from Musa Qala.
On February 4, US forces claimed that an air strike near Musa Qala had killed a senior Taliban leader, possibly Mullah
Abdul Ghafour
, while travelling in a truck.
McNeill, the new NATO commander, feels that "come spring, an ISAF offensive not a Taliban offensive will set the conditions to defeat the insurgents again."
Eurasianet reports: "The attack laid waste to an agreement there, brokered last fall by Richards and local tribal elders, under which NATO troops agreed to withdraw from the town in return for a commitment by local Afghan leaders to oppose the Taliban."
Eurasianet reports that Richards, the outgoing NATO commander, is an expert at negotiation.
Eurasianet reports that McNeill, the new NATO commander, opposes the kind of local agreements that Richards favored, and speculated that the aerial bombardment that was reported to have killed Mullah Abdul Ghafour was a sign of McNeill's more aggressive, less conciliatory approach.
The district was the scene of heavy fighting in late July 2007 after US-led forces attacked several rebel hideouts in Helmand Province
. Coalition officials said that up to 160 Taliban fighters were killed between July 22 and July 26 in gun battles and air strikes, adding that, rather than avoiding battle, the Taliban were trying to defend the area. No civilian casualties were reported by NATO, although a self-described resident claimed by phone that 16 civilians were killed in an air strike.
In October 2007, Reuters reported that U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan government forces had killed 80 Taliban fighters in a six-hour battle there. As with the July engagement, the Taliban concentrated their forces and fought to defend the region rather than using typical "shoot and scoot" tactics.
As of December 7, 2007, an alleged 2000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. Coalition forces forces prepared for a siege of the town. Operation Mar Karadad commenced with an overnight attack by the air assets of the 82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair, a Combat Aviation Brigade
(CAB). Afghan troops and paratroopers from 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment fought for control of the village, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. It was considered to be of symbolic importance to both international forces and insurgents operating in the area. There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it is believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment
was killed shortly after 10am on the 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine
exploded. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the Afghan army and NATO forces in control of the town.
In August 2008 a detachment of Marines left Musa Qala to go assist in the overtaking of Taliban headquarters in Helmand province in a sister town called Now Zad. The town was used by the Taliban as a safe haven while not in Musa Qala and had been completely abandoned by all Afghan civilians due to Taliban presence.
While in Now Zad the Marines successfully drove the three to four hundred Taliban out with heavy airstrikes and ground forces in just over 14 hours. Though the Marines did not have the resources to hold the Taliban HQ and had to return to base which resulted in the Taliban coming back in several days later.
, was gifted to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne
, County Antrim
, Northern Ireland
during an event in which the regiment was presented with the 'Freedom of the Borough'. This gave the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The March was named, 'Musa Qala'.
Musa Qala District
Musa Qala is a district in the north of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.Its population, which is 97% Pashtun, was 50,300 in 2005. The district centre is the village of Musa Qala; there are 19 other large villages and 200 smaller settlements, mostly along the Musa Qala River.In an effort to shoot at...
in 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....
, 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...
, at 32.4433°N 64.7444°E and at 1043 m altitude in the valley of Musa Qala River
Musa Qala River
The Musa Qala is a river in Afghanistan. It is supporting the Helmand River and highly participates in the irrigation of arable lands of the district it is about 5 kilo meters crossing the district from east to west....
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. It is in a desolate and largely lawless area, populated by Pashtun
Pashtun people
Pashtuns or Pathans , also known as ethnic Afghans , are an Eastern Iranic ethnic group with populations primarily between the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan and the Indus River in Pakistan...
tribes.
.
Taliban resurgence
Musa Qala is one of the centers of Taliban resistance to NATO ISAFInternational 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...
control in Afghanistan.
On February 2, 2006, intensive fighting erupted there, leading to 28 deaths, including the Musa Qala district chief, Abdul Quddus. On March 3, 2006, the 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...
district governor, Amir Jan, was killed there while on vacation.
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 were deployed to defend the district offices at Musa Qala (and also at Sangin, Nowzad
Nawzad, Afghanistan
Nawzad is a small town, the centre of Nawzad District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at at an altitude of 1221 metres ASL.-Conflict:...
and Kajaki). Over several months, eight British soldiers died there during attacks by the Taliban. July 23–25, 2006, 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...
troops of the "1. Lette Opklaringseskadron" (1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron, 120 men) moved in to replace the British troops, but found themselves having to assist the British troops repel a major Taliban attack before they could carry out the replacement. On 28 August 2006, the Danish forces were replaced as planned—if slightly belated—and were once again replaced by the British.
Truce with the Taliban
In late September 2006, a secret truce was allegedly made with the Taliban under which British troops would quietly move out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban not attacking the region. The truce had the sanction of Mohammad Daud, the governor of Helmand province, and most tribal elders, who felt they could now exercise control over the Taliban themselves. It was also seen as a move to help integrate the Pashtuns on the side of the US-allied government. Others however, saw the move as a cop-out; Lieutenant-General David RichardsDavid Richards (general)
General Sir David Julian Richards, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen is a senior British Army officer, currently the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010...
, the NATO commander in Afghanistan, said at the time that this move turned these four centers into “magnets” for the Taliban.
Initially, the local leaders were happy over the settlement, which gave them the upper hand over the Taliban. In the long run, however, attempts to win over the population appear to have failed, especially under the NATO strategy of air bombing which killed more than 4,600 Afghan noncombatants from 2001 to 2006, according to a study by University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
economist Marc W. Herold.
The result has been the steady growth of anti-American sentiment in the region, focused on the US-backed regime of President 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...
. Karzai himself deplored the attacks, apparently breaking down in tears, saying that "The cruelty is too much. [The coalition forces] are killing our children."
Recapture by the Taliban
On February 1, 2007, a Taliban force about a hundred or possibly two hundred strong under Mullah Ghafoor captured the town, overran the district center and raised their trademark white flag. All tribal leaders who had arranged the truce with the British forces were jailed.Some sources report the Taliban force numbered "several hundred".
The situation created a crisis for the NATO forces in Afghanistan, on the very day that the 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...
commanding officer General
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
David Richards
David Richards (general)
General Sir David Julian Richards, GCB, CBE, DSO, ADC Gen is a senior British Army officer, currently the Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of the British Armed Forces. He succeeded Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup in this role on 29 October 2010...
handed over charge of the NATO team to an American, General Dan McNeill; MacNeil suggested that "surgical and deliberate" force would be used to evict the fighters from Musa Qala.
On February 4, US forces claimed that an air strike near Musa Qala had killed a senior Taliban leader, possibly Mullah
Mullah
Mullah is generally used to refer to a Muslim man, educated in Islamic theology and sacred law. The title, given to some Islamic clergy, is derived from the Arabic word مَوْلَى mawlā , meaning "vicar", "master" and "guardian"...
Abdul Ghafour
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:...
, while travelling in a truck.
McNeill, the new NATO commander, feels that "come spring, an ISAF offensive not a Taliban offensive will set the conditions to defeat the insurgents again."
Eurasianet reports: "The attack laid waste to an agreement there, brokered last fall by Richards and local tribal elders, under which NATO troops agreed to withdraw from the town in return for a commitment by local Afghan leaders to oppose the Taliban."
Eurasianet reports that Richards, the outgoing NATO commander, is an expert at negotiation.
Eurasianet reports that McNeill, the new NATO commander, opposes the kind of local agreements that Richards favored, and speculated that the aerial bombardment that was reported to have killed Mullah Abdul Ghafour was a sign of McNeill's more aggressive, less conciliatory approach.
- "Officials in several European countries have quietly expressed concern about placing an American general in charge of the NATO force. Richards tried to create a less harsh, more economic-development-oriented identity for NATO in Afghanistan, as compared to the ‘‘kicking-down-doors’’ image that US forces have. Many local analysts expect NATO forces to embrace a more aggressive stance under McNeill, who is believed to oppose the type of local peace arrangements that Richards promoted. The danger at this point is that an overly aggressive NATO force in Afghanistan could alienate Afghans, and thus cause the Taliban’s support base to grow."
The district was the scene of heavy fighting in late July 2007 after US-led forces attacked several rebel hideouts in 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....
. Coalition officials said that up to 160 Taliban fighters were killed between July 22 and July 26 in gun battles and air strikes, adding that, rather than avoiding battle, the Taliban were trying to defend the area. No civilian casualties were reported by NATO, although a self-described resident claimed by phone that 16 civilians were killed in an air strike.
In October 2007, Reuters reported that U.S.-led coalition troops and Afghan government forces had killed 80 Taliban fighters in a six-hour battle there. As with the July engagement, the Taliban concentrated their forces and fought to defend the region rather than using typical "shoot and scoot" tactics.
Battle of Musa Qala
Combat Aviation Brigade
A Combat Aviation Brigade is a multi-functional brigade-sized unit in the United States Army that fields military helicopters, offering a combination of attack helicopters , reconnaissance helicopters , medium-lift helicopters , heavy-lift helicopters , and MEDEVAC capability.- History :Combat...
(CAB). Afghan troops and paratroopers from 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment fought for control of the village, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. It was considered to be of symbolic importance to both international forces and insurgents operating in the area. There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it is believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment
Yorkshire Regiment
The Yorkshire Regiment is one of the largest infantry regiments of the British Army. The regiment is currently the only line infantry or rifles unit to represent a single geographical county in the new infantry structure, serving as the county regiment of Yorkshire covering the historical areas...
was killed shortly after 10am on the 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
exploded. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the Afghan army and NATO forces in control of the town.
The U.S. Marines
In April of 2008 2nd Battalion 7th Marines deployed throughout the Farah and Helmand Provinces. There mission was to assist in seizing the town and to help NATO forces train the Afghan Police. They met heavy opposition. They had several very intense firefights within days of being there and throughout the coming months, but were aggressive and quick in their tactics resulting them pushing the offensive further and further out of the town. In mid 2008 the Afghan police had completed their training and were strategically placed throughout the town and its entrances and mentored with constant supervision and even conducted security patrols and combat operations alongside ISAF forces. After months of training and fighting with many firefights sometimes exceeding 6 hours, the town of Musa Qala was significantly quieter and more peaceful than it had been prior to the U.S Marines arrival.In August 2008 a detachment of Marines left Musa Qala to go assist in the overtaking of Taliban headquarters in Helmand province in a sister town called Now Zad. The town was used by the Taliban as a safe haven while not in Musa Qala and had been completely abandoned by all Afghan civilians due to Taliban presence.
While in Now Zad the Marines successfully drove the three to four hundred Taliban out with heavy airstrikes and ground forces in just over 14 hours. Though the Marines did not have the resources to hold the Taliban HQ and had to return to base which resulted in the Taliban coming back in several days later.
Additional notes
In memory of a prior conflict, in 2006, involving the British Royal Irish Regiment, a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by Larne Borough CouncilLarne Borough Council
Larne Borough Council is a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. Its headquarters is in the town of Larne and the population of the area is nearly 31,000...
, was gifted to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne
Larne
Larne is a substantial seaport and industrial market town on the east coast of County Antrim, Northern Ireland with a population of 18,228 people in the 2001 Census. As of 2011, there are about 31,000 residents in the greater Larne area. It has been used as a seaport for over 1,000 years, and is...
, County Antrim
County Antrim
County Antrim is one of six counties that form Northern Ireland, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of 2,844 km², with a population of approximately 616,000...
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
during an event in which the regiment was presented with the 'Freedom of the Borough'. This gave the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The March was named, 'Musa Qala'.