Operation Moshtarak
Encyclopedia
Operation Moshtarak was an ISAF
pacification
offensive in the area that is described as the "poppy-growing belt" of Helmand Province
in southern Afghanistan
. The combat operations started on February 13, 2010, and focuses on the Nad Ali District
and Lashkar Gah district. It involves Afghan
and troops of several ISAF
-members in addition to the USMC
and U.S. Army
units.
The main target of the offensive was widely considered to be Marja (also Marjah or Marjeh), which had been controlled for years by Taliban militants as well as drug traffickers
. Afghan troops were given a lead role in the ground forces, comprising about 60% of those troops. Around 8,000 ground forces and 7,000 support troops are involved when American, British, and other coalition troops are included.
As such, the offensive was described as the largest in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, whose government was ousted from Kabul
and Kandahar
in October–December 2001, but proceeded to resist in the following years in an ongoing guerrilla war known as the Taliban insurgency
. This became especially clear during the violent campaign in the midst of the Afghan presidential elections in 2009
.
The operation ended a two-year rule by the Taliban in Marja, during which schools, TV and beard-shaving were banned and farmers were allowed to grow opium
according to NATO. According to the UNODC
, Taliban insurgents make hefty profits from the drugs trade. However this has been denied by the Taliban who make a counter claim that it's the CIA who make profit from the drugs trade. The Afghan government announced its intention to reopen schools, restore civil liberties
and enforce a ban on poppy
cultivation, something which the Afghan government has consistently failed to do in other areas of the country which are under its rule.
The announcement of the operation was also a part of this strategy: "shaping the information battlefield strategic communications", and to ensure it would not repeat the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq
in 2004. Hours before the offensive began, Afghan and coalition forces dropped leaflets
with the message, "Do not allow the Taliban to enter your home".
After this operation in Helmand province, the neighbouring province and the city of Kandahar
became a target of American operations. In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.
. The capture of Marjah was intended to serve as a prototype for a new type of military operation. The Afghan government had pledged to hold any territory seized in the Taliban heartland during the assault. Utilities engineers were on hand to ensure power and water supplies were maintained.
began training about 400 Afghan National Army
recruits for the operation. Since January 2010, coalition forces had launched smaller "shaping operations" to prepare for the main assault on February 13. One of these operations was a series of "find, fix, strike" raids by four-man SAS
teams and U.S. Navy SEALs
at night. These resulted in the deaths of 50 Taliban leaders in the area according to NATO, but didn't seem to have any real adverse affect on the Taliban's operations. In another operation, the Scots Guards and Grenadier Guards captured a bomb factory and defused 20 IEDs. The Afghan public was warned of the upcoming operation, in line with new rules of engagement
for British forces, called "courageous restraint." The tactic, conceived by U.S. General Stanley McChrystal and British Major General Nick Carter
, required soldiers to "use brain-power rather than fire-power" and hoped to reduce damage to the Afghan population (in terms of collateral and life cost) by using fewer munitions and support measures. 11 Light Brigade, the main British formation in Helmand for use in the counter-insurgency role tested the doctrine in some of the more heavily populated areas in Helmand.
The publicity and the new tactics intended to prevent the loss of civilians, and to persuade insurgents to lay down their arms. The operation was the first in Helmand since the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops and additional British reinforcements in late 2009/early 2010.
Soldiers from 1 Coldstream Guards
Battle Group, 1 Grenadier Guards Battle Group, 1 Royal Welsh Battle Group and elements of the United States Marine Corps
and United States Army
were involved in the action, alongside Afghan National Army
and Afghan National Police
forces.
British Forces focused on the Lashkar Gah district and Nad Ali district
, and U.S. forces on the town of Marja. U.S. forces included the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines. The operation also intended to cut the opium trade. Its main aim was to ensure that captured ground can be held by British and American troops, enabling the Afghan government and civilian aid agencies and military contractors to work more effectively in the province.
The Canadian Forces
focused on the air assault
with seven helicopters, including three CH-147 Chinook
escorted by four CH-146 Griffon
. The Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg) ferried about 1,100 coalition troops to Nad Ali District
in the largest air assault ever conducted with Canadian helicopters. 33 other coalition helicopters, supported by fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles , also participated in the operation with a total of 11 waves of troop drops.
Ahead of the military operation, hundreds of civilian families fled Marja and its surroundings and were displaced from their homes due to the offensive by NATO and their Afghan partners. The town was suspected to be "one of the biggest, most dangerous minefields NATO forces have ever faced," and hundreds of the beleaguered insurgents could insist to fight until death.
had given his personal approval for the operation, that had been delayed for 24 hours as Afghan officials entered last minute negotiations with insurgents. The landing of waves of helicopters across central Helmand marked the start of the major offensive. On February 13, two hours before dawn at 4 am local time the first of 90 Chinook and Cobra helicopters disgorged a force of British, Afghan and French troops. The advance into Marjah was slowed during the morning through poppy fields lined with home-made explosives and other land mines.
The first kills were reported to be made by unmanned Predator aircraft and AH-64 Apache
attack helicopters, targeting insurgents seen laying roadside bombs and setting up anti-aircraft guns. At 2 am local time the troops from the U.S. Marine Corps seized a series of canal crossings south of Nad-e-Ali.
Within half an hour, the U.S., British and Afghan special forces
seized and secured dozens of helicopter landing sites. At 2:25 am Chinooks approached, flown by pilots with night vision
equipment and guided by infra-red flares, dropped from U.S. Marine KC-130's. At about 4 am, RAF Chinooks full of soldiers from the 1st battalion the Royal Welsh left Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, for the Pegasus landing zone in the Taliban stronghold of Showal in the Chah-e-Anjir area. While the British force began to secure their area, a 1,000-strong combined force of members of the U.S. Marine Corps and the Afghan National Army landed in Marjah. During the following 90 minutes, more Marines arrived in waves of CH-53 Super Stallion transport helicopters. By daybreak, hundreds more soldiers began to enter the area by land, using mobile bridges and Assault Breacher Vehicles.
Major General Nick Parker, commander of NATO Regional Command South
in southern Afghanistan, said Afghan and coalition troops made a "successful insertion" without incurring any casualties. While the U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers stormed the town of Marjah, British, American and Canadian forces struck in the Nad Ali district. General Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of the Afghan troops in the south, said Afghan and NATO forces had established positions in 11 of 13 targeted areas in and around Marjah and were slowly pushing forward.
When invading Marja, the invading troops confiscated caches of weapons and ammunition. The greatest obstacle was the extensive network of mines and booby traps. The assault troops were reported to run into "a huge number" of improvised explosive devices when crossing a canal into the town's northern entrance. Marines and Army used portable aluminium bridges to span the irrigation channels. Mobile bridges enabled the safe crossing of the main canal into Marjah, since the existing bridge was expected to be rigged with explosives. Marine engineers moved forward in special mine-clearing Assault Breacher Vehicles. These 72-ton, 40-foot (12-meter)-long vehicles, fitted with a 15-foot (4.5-meter)-wide plow supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt, and nearly 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms) of explosives, ploughed a path through fields and dug a safety lane through the numerous minefields laid by the Taliban. To clear minefields and ignite roadside bombs, the Marines also launched rockets which deploy cables of plastic explosives, called M58 MICLIC
.
On the first day of the operation, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman of the Taliban, said that insurgents were still resisting in Marjah in hit-and-run tactics against ISAF forces. Mullah Mohammed had told ABC News
that the Taliban were retreating to reduce civilian casualties. By nightfall, it was claimed by ISAF sources that Marines "appeared to be in control" of the centre of Marjah.
British forces moving into the Nadi Ali and western Babaji regions encountered small 'stay-behind' pockets of resistance, although most Taliban fighters had already retreated to other areas in Helmand. Number One Company of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards advanced several kilometers into the region on foot from Patrol Base 4 in Babaji. The guardsmen manpacked FGM-148 Javelin
missiles which were used decisively to defeat the Taliban resistance left in the area.
Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand, said it was "the most successful operation we have ever carried out", but warned that the complete military operation could take a month. However, General McChrystal later called the offensive in Marjah a "bleeding ulcer" after 90 days into the offensive.
under the headline "Opium city captured" claimed the seizure of Marjah, "source of most of the world's opium", by the Afghan and ISAF forces. However, Reuters
reported that a small flag-raising ceremony at one of the Afghan and ISAF compounds on the morning of February 14 drew gunfire, suggesting that the insurgents remained defiant. After American, Afghan and British troops seized crucial positions, having first overwhelmed most immediate resistance, they encountered "intense but sporadic" fighting as they began house-to-house searches. The pattern suggested that the hardest fighting was still to come. According to American commanders the troops had achieved every first-day objective, including advancing into the city itself and seizing strategic points like intersections, government buildings and one of the city's bazaars in the center. The following searching door to door for weapons and insurgents is expected to last at least five days, with possibly hundreds of bombs and booby-traps in houses and on roads and foothpaths as the biggest concern.
On this second day of the operation British troops pushed through Showal, the town that for the last two years was under the control of insurgents who used it as a staging post to build bombs and to train their fighters to plant them. In factory raids explosives for numerous improvised explosive devices were seized. Not only bomb-making equipment, but also drugs and heroin-processing chemicals were found in surrounding field belonging to Opium
farmers. Among the drugs seized were 17 tons of black tar opium
, 74 tons of opium poppy seeds
, 400 pounds of hashish
and 443 pounds of heroin.
Twelve civilians, 10 of whom were from the same family, were killed when civilian houses in Marjah were struck by two rockets fired by a NATO High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
(HIMARS). All use of the rocket system was stopped by NATO commanders, the American general McChrystal telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to apologize for what he called the "unfortunate incident" and the latter called for an investigation. Major General Nick Carter stated however that the rockets were on target and the house was used by the Taliban for staging attacks.
According to American and Afghan commanders, the number of insurgents in the area had dropped by about half. About a quarter of the 400 Taliban fighters estimated to be in Marja at the beginning of the operation had been killed. Another quarter appeared to have reatreated to other areas or have fled the area, including some of the commanders. In Marja itself fighting continued in two areas, at the northern end of the district and at the center.
that had taken place at the end of January.
.
(ARCS) claimed that the conflict in Marjah had left 35 civilians dead, 37 injured, and 55 houses destroyed - without specification which side killed how many civilians. Except for some "small pockets of resistance", Taliban fighters had been driven out of the town, but many inhabitants were struggling to return to some kind of normality. Before and during the military operation they were promised rapid aid, but some three weeks after the end of the offensive local people said that they had yet to receive any meaningful assistance.
Four months after the offensive the former Taliban stronghold, that was intended to become a showpiece of what Western military might and ramped-up Afghan government services could accomplish, became something of a cautionary tale. Insurgents undermined a return to normal life, intimidating bakers who supplied American troops.
By early December, 61 US, UK and Afghan soldiers were reported killed in the district as part of the operation. However, the Afghan national army almost never gave out their fatality figures so the number of Coalition dead could be higher.
The numbers of Coalition and Taliban wounded in action
have not been released or publicly estimated thus far.
of on the one hand the need for "winning the hearts and minds" of the local population as well as on the other hand the necessity of the eradication of poppies and the destruction of the opium economy, that allegedly financed the Taliban insurgency. Since opium is the main source of existence of 60 to 70 percent of the farmers in Marja, American Marines were ordered to preliminarily ignore the crops to avoid trampling their livelihood.
A combined force of 15,000 is involved in Operation Moshtarak. This combined force includes:
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...
pacification
Peace
Peace is a state of harmony characterized by the lack of violent conflict. Commonly understood as the absence of hostility, peace also suggests the existence of healthy or newly healed interpersonal or international relationships, prosperity in matters of social or economic welfare, the...
offensive in the area that is described as the "poppy-growing belt" of 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....
in southern 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...
. The combat operations started on February 13, 2010, and focuses on the Nad Ali District
Nad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
and Lashkar Gah district. It involves Afghan
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
and troops of several 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...
-members in addition to the USMC
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
units.
The main target of the offensive was widely considered to be Marja (also Marjah or Marjeh), which had been controlled for years by Taliban militants as well as drug traffickers
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...
. Afghan troops were given a lead role in the ground forces, comprising about 60% of those troops. Around 8,000 ground forces and 7,000 support troops are involved when American, British, and other coalition troops are included.
As such, the offensive was described as the largest in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban, whose government was ousted from Kabul
Kabul
Kabul , spelt Caubul in some classic literatures, is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. It is also the capital of the Kabul Province, located in the eastern section of Afghanistan...
and Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
in October–December 2001, but proceeded to resist in the following years in an ongoing guerrilla war known as the Taliban insurgency
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...
. This became especially clear during the violent campaign in the midst of the Afghan presidential elections in 2009
Afghan presidential election, 2009
The 2009 presidential election in Afghanistan was characterized by lack of security, low voter turnout and widespread ballot stuffing, intimidation, and other electoral fraud....
.
The operation ended a two-year rule by the Taliban in Marja, during which schools, TV and beard-shaving were banned and farmers were allowed to grow 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...
according to NATO. According to the UNODC
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime is a United Nations agency that was established in 1997 as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division in the United Nations...
, Taliban insurgents make hefty profits from the drugs trade. However this has been denied by the Taliban who make a counter claim that it's the CIA who make profit from the drugs trade. The Afghan government announced its intention to reopen schools, restore civil liberties
Civil liberties
Civil liberties are rights and freedoms that provide an individual specific rights such as the freedom from slavery and forced labour, freedom from torture and death, the right to liberty and security, right to a fair trial, the right to defend one's self, the right to own and bear arms, the right...
and enforce a ban on poppy
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
cultivation, something which the Afghan government has consistently failed to do in other areas of the country which are under its rule.
Strategic meaning
The operation was called "a key test" of the coalition strategy against the Taliban insurgency. Brigadier James Cowan, the commander of British forces in Helmand, believed it would mark "the beginning of the end of the insurgency". At the very least it would become a test of whether the Afghan forces would be able to make their country peaceful and safe.The announcement of the operation was also a part of this strategy: "shaping the information battlefield strategic communications", and to ensure it would not repeat the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
in 2004. Hours before the offensive began, Afghan and coalition forces dropped leaflets
Flyer (pamphlet)
__notoc__A flyer or flier, also called a circular, handbill or leaflet, is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in public place....
with the message, "Do not allow the Taliban to enter your home".
After this operation in Helmand province, the neighbouring province and the city of Kandahar
Kandahar
Kandahar is the second largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 512,200 as of 2011. It is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at about 1,005 m above sea level...
became a target of American operations. In March 2010, U.S. and NATO commanders released details of plans for the biggest offensive of the war against the Taliban insurgency.
New war model
When launched, the operation was called a "new war model". Afghan and NATO officials had assembled a large team of Afghan administrators and an Afghan governor that would move into Marjah after the fighting, with more than 1,900 police standing by. "We've got a government in a box, ready to roll in", said American commander Stanley McChrystalStanley A. McChrystal
Stanley Allen McChrystal is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan...
. The capture of Marjah was intended to serve as a prototype for a new type of military operation. The Afghan government had pledged to hold any territory seized in the Taliban heartland during the assault. Utilities engineers were on hand to ensure power and water supplies were maintained.
Background
As early as September 2009, Canadian soldiers from 3 Princess Patricia's Canadian Light InfantryPrincess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry is one of the three regular force infantry regiments of the Canadian Army. The regiment is composed of four battalions including a primary reserve battalion, for a total of 2,000 soldiers...
began training about 400 Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
recruits for the operation. Since January 2010, coalition forces had launched smaller "shaping operations" to prepare for the main assault on February 13. One of these operations was a series of "find, fix, strike" raids by four-man 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...
teams and U.S. Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...
at night. These resulted in the deaths of 50 Taliban leaders in the area according to NATO, but didn't seem to have any real adverse affect on the Taliban's operations. In another operation, the Scots Guards and Grenadier Guards captured a bomb factory and defused 20 IEDs. The Afghan public was warned of the upcoming operation, in line with new rules of engagement
Rules of engagement
Rules of Engagement refers to those responses that are permitted in the employment of military personnel during operations or in the course of their duties. These rules of engagement are determined by the legal framework within which these duties are being carried out...
for British forces, called "courageous restraint." The tactic, conceived by U.S. General Stanley McChrystal and British Major General Nick Carter
Nick Carter (British Army officer)
Major General Nicholas Patrick "Nick" Carter CBE DSO is a senior British Army officer and formerly Commander of combined forces, including British Forces, in Southern Afghanistan.-Military career:...
, required soldiers to "use brain-power rather than fire-power" and hoped to reduce damage to the Afghan population (in terms of collateral and life cost) by using fewer munitions and support measures. 11 Light Brigade, the main British formation in Helmand for use in the counter-insurgency role tested the doctrine in some of the more heavily populated areas in Helmand.
The publicity and the new tactics intended to prevent the loss of civilians, and to persuade insurgents to lay down their arms. The operation was the first in Helmand since the surge of 30,000 U.S. troops and additional British reinforcements in late 2009/early 2010.
Soldiers from 1 Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
Battle Group, 1 Grenadier Guards Battle Group, 1 Royal Welsh Battle Group and elements of the United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...
and United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
were involved in the action, alongside Afghan National Army
Afghan National Army
The Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
and 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...
forces.
British Forces focused on the Lashkar Gah district and Nad Ali district
Nad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
, and U.S. forces on the town of Marja. U.S. forces included the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines and 1st Battalion, 6th Marines, 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines and 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines. The operation also intended to cut the opium trade. Its main aim was to ensure that captured ground can be held by British and American troops, enabling the Afghan government and civilian aid agencies and military contractors to work more effectively in the province.
The Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces
The Canadian Forces , officially the Canadian Armed Forces , are the unified armed forces of Canada, as constituted by the National Defence Act, which states: "The Canadian Forces are the armed forces of Her Majesty raised by Canada and consist of one Service called the Canadian Armed Forces."...
focused on the air assault
Air assault
Air assault is the movement of ground-based military forces by vertical take-off and landing aircraft—such as the helicopter—to seize and hold key terrain which has not been fully secured, and to directly engage enemy forces...
with seven helicopters, including three CH-147 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...
escorted by four CH-146 Griffon
CH-146 Griffon
The Bell CH-146 Griffon is the Canadian military variant of the Bell 412EP, a multi-use utility helicopter. The CH-146 is used in a wide variety of roles, including aerial firepower, reconnaissance, search and rescue and aero-mobility tasks....
. The Joint Task Force Afghanistan (JTF-Afg) ferried about 1,100 coalition troops to Nad Ali District
Nad Ali District
-References:* , dated 2002-12-31, accessed 2006-08-03 .-External links:*...
in the largest air assault ever conducted with Canadian helicopters. 33 other coalition helicopters, supported by fighter jets and unmanned aerial vehicles , also participated in the operation with a total of 11 waves of troop drops.
Ahead of the military operation, hundreds of civilian families fled Marja and its surroundings and were displaced from their homes due to the offensive by NATO and their Afghan partners. The town was suspected to be "one of the biggest, most dangerous minefields NATO forces have ever faced," and hundreds of the beleaguered insurgents could insist to fight until death.
February 13, 2010
On February 12, hours before midnight the Afghan President Hamid KarzaiHamid 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...
had given his personal approval for the operation, that had been delayed for 24 hours as Afghan officials entered last minute negotiations with insurgents. The landing of waves of helicopters across central Helmand marked the start of the major offensive. On February 13, two hours before dawn at 4 am local time the first of 90 Chinook and Cobra helicopters disgorged a force of British, Afghan and French troops. The advance into Marjah was slowed during the morning through poppy fields lined with home-made explosives and other land mines.
The first kills were reported to be made by unmanned Predator aircraft and AH-64 Apache
AH-64 Apache
The Boeing AH-64 Apache is a four-blade, twin-engine attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement, and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. The Apache was developed as Model 77 by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Army's Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the...
attack helicopters, targeting insurgents seen laying roadside bombs and setting up anti-aircraft guns. At 2 am local time the troops from the U.S. Marine Corps seized a series of canal crossings south of Nad-e-Ali.
Within half an hour, the U.S., British and Afghan special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
seized and secured dozens of helicopter landing sites. At 2:25 am Chinooks approached, flown by pilots with night vision
Night vision
Night vision is the ability to see in low light conditions. Whether by biological or technological means, night vision is made possible by a combination of two approaches: sufficient spectral range, and sufficient intensity range...
equipment and guided by infra-red flares, dropped from U.S. Marine KC-130's. At about 4 am, RAF Chinooks full of soldiers from the 1st battalion the Royal Welsh left Camp Bastion, the main British base in Helmand, for the Pegasus landing zone in the Taliban stronghold of Showal in the Chah-e-Anjir area. While the British force began to secure their area, a 1,000-strong combined force of members of the U.S. Marine Corps and the Afghan National Army landed in Marjah. During the following 90 minutes, more Marines arrived in waves of CH-53 Super Stallion transport helicopters. By daybreak, hundreds more soldiers began to enter the area by land, using mobile bridges and Assault Breacher Vehicles.
Major General Nick Parker, commander of NATO Regional Command South
Regional Command South
Regional Command is a multinational military formation, part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. It is responsible for provincial reconstruction and security in Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Qalat and Tarin Kowt. The Command also has responsibility for the provinces of Nimruz...
in southern Afghanistan, said Afghan and coalition troops made a "successful insertion" without incurring any casualties. While the U.S. Marines and Afghan soldiers stormed the town of Marjah, British, American and Canadian forces struck in the Nad Ali district. General Sher Mohammad Zazai, commander of the Afghan troops in the south, said Afghan and NATO forces had established positions in 11 of 13 targeted areas in and around Marjah and were slowly pushing forward.
When invading Marja, the invading troops confiscated caches of weapons and ammunition. The greatest obstacle was the extensive network of mines and booby traps. The assault troops were reported to run into "a huge number" of improvised explosive devices when crossing a canal into the town's northern entrance. Marines and Army used portable aluminium bridges to span the irrigation channels. Mobile bridges enabled the safe crossing of the main canal into Marjah, since the existing bridge was expected to be rigged with explosives. Marine engineers moved forward in special mine-clearing Assault Breacher Vehicles. These 72-ton, 40-foot (12-meter)-long vehicles, fitted with a 15-foot (4.5-meter)-wide plow supported by metallic skis that glide on the dirt, and nearly 7,000 pounds (3,175 kilograms) of explosives, ploughed a path through fields and dug a safety lane through the numerous minefields laid by the Taliban. To clear minefields and ignite roadside bombs, the Marines also launched rockets which deploy cables of plastic explosives, called M58 MICLIC
M58 MICLIC
The M58 Mine Clearing Line Charge is a rocket projected explosive line charge which provides a "close-in" breaching capability for maneuver forces of the United States Army and Marine Corps. It is effective against conventionally fuzed land mines and, when detonated, it provides a lane 8 meters by...
.
On the first day of the operation, Qari Yousef Ahmadi, a spokesman of the Taliban, said that insurgents were still resisting in Marjah in hit-and-run tactics against ISAF forces. Mullah Mohammed had told ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
that the Taliban were retreating to reduce civilian casualties. By nightfall, it was claimed by ISAF sources that Marines "appeared to be in control" of the centre of Marjah.
British forces moving into the Nadi Ali and western Babaji regions encountered small 'stay-behind' pockets of resistance, although most Taliban fighters had already retreated to other areas in Helmand. Number One Company of the 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards advanced several kilometers into the region on foot from Patrol Base 4 in Babaji. The guardsmen manpacked FGM-148 Javelin
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...
missiles which were used decisively to defeat the Taliban resistance left in the area.
Gulab Mangal, the governor of Helmand, said it was "the most successful operation we have ever carried out", but warned that the complete military operation could take a month. However, General McChrystal later called the offensive in Marjah a "bleeding ulcer" after 90 days into the offensive.
February 14, 2010
On the morning of February 14, 2010, a report of the Australian newspaper Herald SunHerald Sun
The Herald Sun is a morning tabloid newspaper based in Melbourne, Australia. It is published by The Herald and Weekly Times, a subsidiary of News Limited, itself a subsidiary of News Corporation. It is available for purchase throughout Melbourne, Regional Victoria, Tasmania, the Australian Capital...
under the headline "Opium city captured" claimed the seizure of Marjah, "source of most of the world's opium", by the Afghan and ISAF forces. However, Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
reported that a small flag-raising ceremony at one of the Afghan and ISAF compounds on the morning of February 14 drew gunfire, suggesting that the insurgents remained defiant. After American, Afghan and British troops seized crucial positions, having first overwhelmed most immediate resistance, they encountered "intense but sporadic" fighting as they began house-to-house searches. The pattern suggested that the hardest fighting was still to come. According to American commanders the troops had achieved every first-day objective, including advancing into the city itself and seizing strategic points like intersections, government buildings and one of the city's bazaars in the center. The following searching door to door for weapons and insurgents is expected to last at least five days, with possibly hundreds of bombs and booby-traps in houses and on roads and foothpaths as the biggest concern.
On this second day of the operation British troops pushed through Showal, the town that for the last two years was under the control of insurgents who used it as a staging post to build bombs and to train their fighters to plant them. In factory raids explosives for numerous improvised explosive devices were seized. Not only bomb-making equipment, but also drugs and heroin-processing chemicals were found in surrounding field belonging to 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...
farmers. Among the drugs seized were 17 tons of black tar 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...
, 74 tons of opium poppy seeds
Opium poppy
Opium poppy, Papaver somniferum, is the species of plant from which opium and poppy seeds are extracted. Opium is the source of many opiates, including morphine , thebaine, codeine, papaverine, and noscapine...
, 400 pounds of hashish
Hashish
Hashish is a cannabis preparation composed of compressed stalked resin glands, called trichomes, collected from the unfertilized buds of the cannabis plant. It contains the same active ingredients but in higher concentrations than unsifted buds or leaves...
and 443 pounds of heroin.
Twelve civilians, 10 of whom were from the same family, were killed when civilian houses in Marjah were struck by two rockets fired by a NATO High Mobility Artillery Rocket System
High Mobility Artillery rocket system
The M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System is a U.S. light multiple rocket launcher mounted on a truck.The HIMARS carries six rockets or one Army Tactical Missile System missile on the U.S. Army's new Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles five-ton truck, and can launch the entire M270 Multiple...
(HIMARS). All use of the rocket system was stopped by NATO commanders, the American general McChrystal telephoned Afghan President Hamid Karzai to apologize for what he called the "unfortunate incident" and the latter called for an investigation. Major General Nick Carter stated however that the rockets were on target and the house was used by the Taliban for staging attacks.
February 15, 2010
On the morning of the third day of the operation, the American general Stanley McChrystal visited the former "insurgent capital" of Showal, where after two years the white flag of the Taliban was replaced with the red, green and black national flag. While the British 50 square miles (129.5 km²) sector of northern Nad-e-Ali had fallen easily, the American troops were still pushing through Marjah a few miles away where the insurgents are putting up a "final stand".According to American and Afghan commanders, the number of insurgents in the area had dropped by about half. About a quarter of the 400 Taliban fighters estimated to be in Marja at the beginning of the operation had been killed. Another quarter appeared to have reatreated to other areas or have fled the area, including some of the commanders. In Marja itself fighting continued in two areas, at the northern end of the district and at the center.
February 16, 2010
After the town of Showal was captured following the launch of Operation Moshtarak, a threat was perceived by the ISAF forces of suicide or other bombing attacks by insurgents, attempting to reassert their presence in defiance of the media focus on the town's recapture.February 18, 2010
On February 18, 2010, Afghan soldiers raised the Afghan national flag over the badly damaged bazaar in Marjah which had been the target of ISAF and Afghan army attacks, after driving back Taliban snipers on their third attempt, witnessed by the top Afghan general in Helmand and the provincial governor. The same day, there were reports about a meeting of Afghan government officials with Taliban representatives in the MaldivesMaldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
that had taken place at the end of January.
February 25, 2010
After 12 days, on the morning of February 25, 2010, there was another flag rising ceremony. The Australian newspaper The Sydney Morning Herald reported that an AFP photographer mentioned the rising of the Afghan flag on a building at the Marjah bazaar by Mohammad Gulab Mangal, governor of Helmand province, watched by Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, the commander of the US Marines in southern Afghanistan. This ceremony was attended by a crowd of several hundred inhabitants of the 125,000 inhabitants of the town and were guarded by US Marine snipers on the roofs of buildings. Nicholson and Mangal, accompanied by Major General Nick Carter, the British commander of NATO forces in southern Afghanistan, arrived in Marja early that day by helicopter from Camp BastionCamp 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....
.
March 16, 2010
On March 16 March 2010, an assessment by the Afghan Red Crescent SocietyAfghan Red Crescent Society
The Afghan Red Cross Society is the Afghan affiliate of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. The Society has existed for over 70 years although with limited structure due to the prevailing conditions which have affected the country at large for over 20 years.-...
(ARCS) claimed that the conflict in Marjah had left 35 civilians dead, 37 injured, and 55 houses destroyed - without specification which side killed how many civilians. Except for some "small pockets of resistance", Taliban fighters had been driven out of the town, but many inhabitants were struggling to return to some kind of normality. Before and during the military operation they were promised rapid aid, but some three weeks after the end of the offensive local people said that they had yet to receive any meaningful assistance.
March 20, 2010
According to reports, sniper fire and bomb explosions in Marja three or four times daily were a sign that the insurgents had not given up despite losing control of the town. New bombs were planted every night, even though Marines said they could dismantle most of them. Lt. Col. Calvert Worth, commander of the 1st Battalion, 6th Marine Regiment, said that his troops found or hit more than 120 homemade bombs in their first 30 days in Marja.June, 2010
Four months after the start of the operation, a lack of security for local population cooperating with ISAF troops and the eruption of gun battles "almost daily" have been reported.Four months after the offensive the former Taliban stronghold, that was intended to become a showpiece of what Western military might and ramped-up Afghan government services could accomplish, became something of a cautionary tale. Insurgents undermined a return to normal life, intimidating bakers who supplied American troops.
Coalition and Taliban casualties
As of February 18, Coalition forces have not released, or given any more statements about estimates of Taliban casualties during this operation. In the first five days of fighting an anonymous US intelligence source estimated at least 120 Taliban fighters were killed engaging Coalition and Afghan forces in Marjah during the operation.By early December, 61 US, UK and Afghan soldiers were reported killed in the district as part of the operation. However, the Afghan national army almost never gave out their fatality figures so the number of Coalition dead could be higher.
The numbers of Coalition and Taliban wounded in action
Wounded in action
Wounded in action describes soldiers who have been wounded while fighting in a combat zone during war time, but have not been killed. Typically it implies that they are temporarily or permanently incapable of bearing arms or continuing to fight....
have not been released or publicly estimated thus far.
Poppy dilemma
After the ousting of the Taliban, the American and NATO commanders were confronted with the dilemmaDilemma
A dilemma |proposition]]") is a problem offering two possibilities, neither of which is practically acceptable. One in this position has been traditionally described as "being on the horns of a dilemma", neither horn being comfortable...
of on the one hand the need for "winning the hearts and minds" of the local population as well as on the other hand the necessity of the eradication of poppies and the destruction of the opium economy, that allegedly financed the Taliban insurgency. Since opium is the main source of existence of 60 to 70 percent of the farmers in Marja, American Marines were ordered to preliminarily ignore the crops to avoid trampling their livelihood.
Order of battle
The following order of battle was taken from an ISAF press release:A combined force of 15,000 is involved in Operation Moshtarak. This combined force includes:
- Approximately five brigades of Afghan forces, including members of the Afghan National ArmyAfghan National ArmyThe Afghan National Army is a service branch of the military of Afghanistan, which is currently trained by the coalition forces to ultimately take the role in land-based military operations in Afghanistan. , the Afghan National Army is divided into seven regional Corps. The strength of the Afghan...
, Afghan National PoliceAfghan National PoliceThe 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...
, Afghan Border PoliceAfghan Border PoliceThe Afghan Border Police secure Afghanistan's border and international airports. The ABP is also responsible to administer the country's immigration process and administer customs regulations. The ABP's anti-narcotic efforts are a prominent concern to the international community at present...
and the Afghan National Civil Order PoliceAfghan National Civil Order PoliceAfghan National Civil Order Police is a special police unit developed in July 2006 by Colonel Jack Stankiewicz, US Army, Police Reformation Directorate, CSTC-A of the law enforcement agency in Afghanistan.- Role :...
.
- ISAF Regional Command SouthRegional Command SouthRegional Command is a multinational military formation, part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. It is responsible for provincial reconstruction and security in Kandahar, Lashkar Gah, Qalat and Tarin Kowt. The Command also has responsibility for the provinces of Nimruz...
elements, with forces drawn from the United States, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia and Canada. These elements include:- Land
- Headquarters, Task Force LeatherneckTask Force LeatherneckTask Force Leatherneck or MEB-Afghanistan is a a Marine Air-Ground Task Force currently operating in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The name was originally given to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade during its 2009-10 for Operation Enduring Freedom as part of Regional Command South...
(USMC) - 7th Marine Regiment (USMC)
- 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines1st Battalion 3rd Marines1st Battalion, 3rd Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Hawaii. Nicknamed the "Lava Dogs", the battalion consists of approximately 800 Marines and Sailors and falls under the command of the 3rd Marine Regiment of the 3rd Marine...
(USMC) - 1st Battalion, 6th Marines1st Battalion 6th MarinesThe 1st Battalion, 6th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based in Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. It consists of approximately 1,100 Marines and Sailors...
(USMC) - 3rd Battalion, 6th Marines3rd Battalion 6th Marines3rd Battalion 6th Marines is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. Also known as "Teufelhunden", it consists of approximately 1000 Marines and Sailors...
(USMC) - 3rd Battalion, 10th Marines (USMC) (artillery)
- 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry23rd Infantry Regiment (United States)The 23rd Infantry Regiment is an infantry regiment in the United States Army originally formed on June 26th 1812. The 23rd saw action in 14 battles during the War of 1812...
(StrykerStrykerThe IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, 4-wheel-drive , armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, in use by the United States Army. The vehicle is named for two American servicemen who posthumously received the Medal of Honor:...
) (US Army) - 7th Engineer (US Army)
- 502nd Multi Role Bridge Company (US Army)
- 2nd Combat Engineer Battalion2nd Combat Engineer Battalion2nd Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force....
(USMC) - 1st Combat Engineer Battalion1st Combat Engineer Battalion1st Combat Engineer Battalion is a combat engineer battalion of the United States Marine Corps. The unit, nicknamed "The Super Breed", is based at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California and falls under the command of the 1st Marine Division and the I Marine Expeditionary...
Bravo Co. 1st Plt. (USMC) - 7th Engineer Support Battalion - Combat Logistics Company 77th Engineer Support BattalionThe 7th Engineer Support Battalion is an engineering support unit of the United States Marine Corps and is headquartered at Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California...
(USMC) - 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion is a mechanized infantry battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the LAV-25 and they fall under the command of the 2nd Marine Division and II Marine Expeditionary Force. The unit is based out of the Marine Corps Base...
(Det-) (USMC) - 3d Platoon, Company B, 2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion2nd Assault Amphibian Battalion is a mechanized battalion of the United States Marine Corps. Their primary weapon system is the Amphibious Assault Vehicle and they are part of the 2nd Marine Division and the II Marine Expeditionary Force...
(MRAP Company) (USMC) - Combat Logistics Battalion 1Combat Logistics Battalion 1Combat Logistics Battalion 1 is a logistics battalion of the United States Marine Corps. They are part of Combat Logistics Regiment 1 and the 1st Marine Logistics Group...
(USMC) - 3d Kandak (Battalion), 4th Brigade, 205th Afghan National Army Corps (Afghanistan)
- 1 Coldstream GuardsColdstream GuardsHer Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....
Battle Group (UK) - 1 Grenadier GuardsGrenadier GuardsThe Grenadier Guards is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It is the most senior regiment of the Guards Division and, as such, is the most senior regiment of infantry. It is not, however, the most senior regiment of the Army, this position being attributed to the Life Guards...
Battle Group (UK) - 1 Royal WelshRoyal WelshThe Royal Welsh was formed on St David's Day, 1 March 2006. It is one of the new large infantry regiments of the British Army, and the regiment's formation was announced on 16 December 2004 by Geoff Hoon and General Sir Mike Jackson as part of the restructuring of the infantry.-Formation:The...
Battle Group (UK) - Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team (UK)
- Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (UK)
- Elements of 3rd Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry OMLT (Canada) with Afghan Kandak 1
- Operational Mentor and Liaison Team (France) with the Afghan Kandak 31
- Task Force Pegasus - 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade - February to March 2010 (US Army)
- Task Force Destiny - 101st Combat Aviation Brigade101st Combat Aviation BrigadeThe 101st Combat Aviation Brigade is a Combat Aviation Brigade of the United States Army. It was first organized in July 1968 as an Aviation Group. It was redesignated an Aviation Brigade in 1986. It has served in almost every single military operation since the Vietnam War...
- March to December 2010 (US Army) - Task Force Kandahar (Canada)
- Joint Task Force Afghanistan (Canada)
- Elements of DanconDanconDancon, an abbreviation of Danish Contingent, is the term that comprises all Danish national forces in a current military mission of the UN, NATO, or national character. Dancon is not a military unit per se, like a brigade, but rather an organisation in which all military units currently working in...
/ISAF (Denmark) - ESTCOY-9 (Estonia)
- Headquarters, Task Force Leatherneck
- Land
-
- Air
- 451st Air Expeditionary Wing (US)
- 904 Expeditionary Air Wing (UK)
- Canadian Helicopter Force Afghanistan (Canada)
- Air
See also
- Afghan Peace Jirga 2010Afghan Peace Jirga 2010The Afghan President Hamid Karzai announced the holding of a consultative grand council called the Afghanistan's National Consultative Peace Jirga or shortly Peace Jirga in his inauguration speech on 19 November 2009, after winning elections for a second term, to end the ongoing Taliban insurgency...
- Operation AchillesOperation AchillesOperation 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...
- Operation Panther's ClawOperation Panther's ClawOperation 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...
- Psychological warfarePsychological warfarePsychological warfare , or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations , have been known by many other names or terms, including Psy Ops, Political Warfare, “Hearts and Minds,” and Propaganda...
External links
- Civilian Casualties Mount During US Offensive in Afghanistan - video report by Democracy Now!Democracy Now!Democracy Now! and its staff have received several journalism awards, including the Gracie Award from American Women in Radio & Television; the George Polk Award for its 1998 radio documentary Drilling and Killing: Chevron and Nigeria's Oil Dictatorship, on the Chevron Corporation and the deaths of...
- Fighting Slows in Afghan Offensive, Allies Say by Rod Nordland, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, February 16, 2010