NationMaster - Encyclopedia: 2001 war in Afghanistan

The 2001 war in Afghanistan started in October 2001, in the wake of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States, marking the beginning of its War on Terrorism campaign, seeking to oust the Taliban and find al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden. The Afghan Northern Alliance provided the majority of forces, while the U.S. and fellow NATO members the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Germany, along with Australia, Pakistan, and New Zealand, provided support. The U.S. military name of the conflict was Operation Enduring Freedom¹. Image File history File links Current_event_marker. ... Combatants Participants in Operations: United States United Kingdom Pakistan Canada Israel South Korea Australia Italy Denmark France Germany Norway Philippines Poland Jordan Saudi Arabia New Iraqi Army NATO and others Targets of Operations: Taliban Baathist Iraq Baath Loyalists Hezbollah al-Qaeda Waziristan tribesmen Iraqi insurgency Jemaah Islamiyah Abu... The Afghan Civil War is a civil war that began in 1978 and has continued since, though it has included several distinct phases. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (987x758, 118 KB) Summary U.S. special forces troops ride horseback as they work with members of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom on Nov. ... A US Special Forces operator in Afghanistan The United States Army Special Forces â€”also known by the nickname Green Berets or simply Special Forces (capitalized)â€” is a Special Operations Force of the U.S. Army trained for unconventional warfare and special operations. ... The Northern Alliance is a term used by the western media, Taliban and Al Qaida to identify the military coalition of various Afghan groups fighting the Taliban. ... November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The Taliban insurgency started shortly after their fall from power after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. ... Casus belli is a modern Latin-based expression meaning occasion of war, used officially to refer to the grievances section of a formal Declaration of war. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11â€”pronounced nine eleven) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly targeting civilians, carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Taliban_(bordered). ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Pakistan. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Belgium_(civil). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Spain. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Estonia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Latvia. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Ukraine. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Georgia_(bordered). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_NATO.svg The flag of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Afghanistan_1992_free. ... The Northern Alliance is a term used by the western media, Taliban and Al Qaida to identify the military coalition of various Afghan groups fighting the Taliban. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: â€Ž; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... General Tommy R. Franks (USCENTCOM photo) Tommy Ray Franks (born June 17, 1945) is a retired General in the United States Army, previously serving as the Commander-in-Chief of United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East. ... A Canadian Brigadier General, David Fraser assumed control of Southern Afghanistans six provinces from U.S. Gen. ... Mohammad Qasim Fahim (محمد قسيم فهيم) was the defense minister of the Afghan Transitional Administration, beginning in 2002. ... WIA is a three letter abbreviation meaning Wounded in action. ... Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. ... Combatants United States, Afghan Northern Alliance Taliban, al-Qaeda The Battle of Tora Bora took place in December 2001, during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ... Operation Herrick is the codename under which all British operations in Afghanistan have been conducted since 2002. ... Combatants United States, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, France, Norway, Germany Taliban insurgents, al-Qaeda Commanders Buster Hagenbeck unknown Strength 2000 500-1500 Casualties 90 casualties (8 U.S. servicemen dead, 82 wounded) 500-800 [1] In early March 2002 the United States military, along with allied Afghan military... Combatants United States, Canada, UK, Afghan National Army Taliban, al-Qaeda Strength 11,000+ unknown Casualties 19 KIA , 34 WIA (U.S.) 97 KIA , 40 captured (Afghan Forces) 6 KIA , 10 WIA (U.K.) 2 KIA , 20 WIA (Canada) 2 KIA , 1 WIA (France) 1 KIA , 4 WIA (Romania) 2... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Combatants International Security Assistance Force, Afghan National Army Taliban insurgents, al-Qaeda Strength 7,000 [1] Unknown Casualties 6 Canadian KIA 3 American KIA 4 American WIA 2 Italian KIA 3 Italian WIA 38 Afghan KIA 380 Killed, 146 Captured Operation Mountain Fury is a NATO lead operation begun on... The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11â€”pronounced nine eleven) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly targeting civilians, carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ... Combatants Participants in Operations: United States United Kingdom Pakistan Canada Israel South Korea Australia Italy Denmark France Germany Norway Philippines Poland Jordan Saudi Arabia New Iraqi Army NATO and others Targets of Operations: Taliban Baathist Iraq Baath Loyalists Hezbollah al-Qaeda Waziristan tribesmen Iraqi insurgency Jemaah Islamiyah Abu... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: â€Ž; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ... The Northern Alliance is a term used by the western media, Taliban and Al Qaida to identify the military coalition of various Afghan groups fighting the Taliban. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom France Canada Australia New Zealand Germany Philippines Northern Alliance Taliban al-Qaeda Abu Sayyaf Jemaah Islamiyah Commanders General Tommy Franks Brig. ...

The officially-stated purpose of the invasion was to target al-Qaeda members, and to punish the Taliban government in Afghanistan which had provided support and haven to al-Qaeda. Flag flown by the Taliban. ...

Background

From May 1996, Osama bin Laden had been living in Afghanistan along with other members of al-Qaeda, operating terrorist training camps in a loose alliance with the Taliban. Following the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa, the US military launched submarine-based cruise missiles at these camps with limited effect on their overall operations. After the September 11, 2001 attacks, investigators rapidly accumulated evidence implicating bin Laden, who initially publicly denied any involvement in the attacks. In 2006, it has been reported that the FBI has "no hard evidence" implicating bin Laden in the attacks of September 11th [3] [4]. However, shortly before the U.S. presidential election in 2004, in a taped statement, bin Laden publicly acknowledged al-Qaeda's involvement in the attacks on the U.S., and admitted his direct link to the attacks. He said the attacks were carried out because "we are a free people who do not accept injustice, and we want to regain the freedom of our nation." Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: â€Ž; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ... In the 1998 U.S. Embassy bombings (August 7, 1998), 257 people were killed and over 4,000 wounded in simultaneous [1] car bomb explosions at the United States embassies in the East African capital cities of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is a Federal police force which is the principal investigative arm of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). ... A still of 2004 Osama bin Laden video. ...

In an audiotape posted on a website that the US claims is "frequently used by al-Qaeda", on May 21, 2006, bin Laden said he had personally directed the 19 hijackers^[1]. May 21 is the 141st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (142nd in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States was formed by the United States government and is commonly referred to as the 9/11 Commission. It released its report on July 22, 2004, concluding the attacks were conceived and implemented by members of al-Qaeda^[2]. Image File history File links Bin_laden_12_27a. ... Image File history File links Bin_laden_12_27a. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... December 27 is the 361st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (362nd in leap years). ... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In the weeks prior to the military action in Afghanistan, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered an ultimatum [5] to the Taliban, to: The presidential seal was used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American businessman and politician, was elected in 2000 as the 43rd President of the United States of America, re-elected in 2004, and is currently serving his second term in that office. ...

President Bush further stated the demands were not open to negotiation or discussion. The Taliban refused to directly speak to Bush, stating that talking with a non-Muslim political leader would be an insult to Islam. But they made statements through their embassy in Pakistan: the Taliban rejected the ultimatum on September 21, 2001, saying there was no evidence in their possession linking Bin Laden to the September 11 attacks [7]. Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ...

On September 22, 2001 the United Arab Emirates and later Saudi Arabia withdrew their recognition of the Taliban as the legal government of Afghanistan, leaving neighboring Pakistan as the only remaining country with diplomatic ties. On October 4, 2001 it is believed that the Taliban covertly offered to turn Bin Laden over to Pakistan for trial in an international tribunal that operated according to Islamic shar'ia law [8]. Pakistan is believed to have rejected the offer. Moderates within the Taliban allegedly met with American embassy officials in Pakistan in mid-October to work out a way to convince Mullah Muhammed Omar to turn bin Laden over to the U.S. and avoid its impending retaliation. President Bush rejected these offers made by the Taliban as insincere. On October 7, 2001, before the onset of military operations, the Taliban made an open offer to try Bin Laden in Afghanistan in an Islamic court[9]. This counteroffer was immediately rejected by the U.S. as insufficient. September 22 is the 265th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (266th in leap years). ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

On October 7, 2001 the United States, aided by the United Kingdom and supported by a coalition of other countries including the NATO alliance, initiated military action against the Taliban and bombed Taliban and Al Qaeda related camps[10][11]. It was not until October 14 the Taliban openly offered to hand Bin Laden over to a third country for trial, but only if the Taliban were given evidence of Bin Ladens involvement in 9/11[12]. The U.S. rejected this offer as well and continued with military operations, code named Operation Enduring Freedom. NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... Combatants United States United Kingdom France Canada Australia New Zealand Germany Philippines Northern Alliance Taliban al-Qaeda Abu Sayyaf Jemaah Islamiyah Commanders General Tommy Franks Brig. ...

The UN Security Council had issued Resolution 1333 on December 19, 2000 directed towards the Taliban demanding that the Taliban turn over bin Laden to the United States or a third country for trial in the deadly bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa in August 1998, and close terrorist training camps, with the threat of trade sanctions, freezing Taliban assets abroad, etc. However, UNSC did not authorize use of force on Afghanistan by any new resolution subsequent to the September 11 attacks. A session of the Security Council in progress The United Nations Security Council is the most powerful organ of the United Nations. ... December 19 is the 353rd day of the year (354th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 2000. ...

Military operations

Initial attack

It is said that prior to October 7, 2001 U.S. and British Special Forces clandestinely infiltrated Afghanistan to make contact with the Northern Alliance to organize those forces to overthrow the Taliban. But CNN released exclusive footage of Kabul being bombed to all the American broadcasters at approximately 5:08pm September 11 2001[13]. Who was doing the air raids that targetted the city's airport among other things , has never been answered. October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Special forces or (sometimes colloquially and incorrectly) special operations forces (general term) are military units formed and trained to conduct missions of unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action, and foreign internal defense. ...

At approximately 16:30 UTC (12:30 EDT, 21:00 local time) on Sunday October 7, 2001, American and British forces began an aerial bombing campaign targeting Taliban forces and al-Qaeda. Strikes were reported in the capital, Kabul (where electricity supplies were severed), at the airport and military nerve-centre of Kandahar (home of the Taliban's Supreme Leader Mullah Omar), and also in the city of Jalalabad (military/terrorist training camps). The U.S. government justified these attacks as a response to the September 11, 2001 attacks and the failure of the Taliban to meet any U.S. demands. The Taliban condemned these attacks and called them an "attack on Islam." ... Eastern Daylight Time or EDT is equal to: In North America, Eastern Standard Time + 1, or UTC âˆ’ 4 hours. ... A time zone is a region of the Earth that has adopted the same standard time, usually referred to as the local time. ... October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... A view of the old city Kabul Kabul (, KÃ¢bl, in Persian Ú©Ø§Ø¨Ù„) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. ... For the 2001 movie by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, see Kandahar (film). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Jalalabad (Persian: Jalālābād) is the capital of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, 150 km east of Kabul near the Khyber Pass. ... The September 11, 2001 attacks (often referred to as 9/11â€”pronounced nine eleven) consisted of a series of coordinated terrorist[1] suicide attacks upon the United States, predominantly targeting civilians, carried out on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. ...

At 17:00 UTC, Bush confirmed the strikes on national television and UK Prime Minister Tony Blair also addressed the UK. Bush stated that at the same time as Taliban military and terrorists' training grounds would be targeted, food, medicine, and supplies would be dropped to "the starving and suffering men, women and children of Afghanistan." [14]. Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953)[1], known as Tony Blair, is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service, Leader of the UK Labour Party, and Member of the UK Parliament for the constituency of Sedgefield in North...

A number of different technologies were employed in the strike. Air Force general Richard Myers, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that approximately 50 Tomahawk cruise missiles, launched by British and U.S. submarines and ships, 15 strike aircraft from carriers and 25 bombers, such as B-1 Lancer, B-2 Spirit, B-52 Stratofortress and F-16 Fighting Falcon were involved in the first wave. Two C-17 Globemaster transport jets were to deliver 37,500 daily rations by airdrop to refugees inside Afghanistan on the first day of the attack. General Richard B. Myers General Richard Bowman Myers (born March 1, 1942) of the United States Air Force is a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Americas highest ranking military officer. ... Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States of America symbol The Joint Chiefs of Staff, photographed in the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gold Room in the Pentagon on Jan. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile A cruise missile is a guided missile which uses a lifting wing and most often a jet propulsion system to allow sustained flight. ... The Boeing (formerly Rockwell) B-1B Lancer is a long-range strategic bomber in service with the United States Air Force (USAF). ... The B-2 Spirit, made by Northrop Grumman, is an American multi-role stealth bomber able to drop conventional and nuclear weapons. ... The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress is a long-range strategic bomber flown by the United States Air Force (USAF) since 1954. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multi-role jet fighter aircraft developed by General Dynamics in the United States. ... The C_17 Globemaster III is a strategic airlifter manufactured by Boeing IDS, used by the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force. ...

A pre-recorded video tape of Osama bin Laden had been released before the attack in which he condemned any attacks against Afghanistan. Al Jazeera, the Arabic satellite news channel, claimed that these tapes were received shortly before the attack. In this recording bin Laden claimed that the United States would fail in Afghanistan and then collapse, just as the Soviet Union did, and called for a war of Muslims, a jihad, against the entire non-Muslim world. Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: â€Ž; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ... Al Jazeera logo Al Jazeera (الجزيرة), meaning The Island or The (Arabian) Peninsula (whence also Algiers) is an Arabic television channel based in Qatar. ... The Arabic language ( ), or simply Arabic ( ), is the largest member of the Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... Jihad, sometimes spelled Jahad, Jehad, Jihaad, Djehad, Jawwad, or Cihad, (Arabic: â€Ž ) is an Islamic term, from the Arabic root (to exert utmost effort, to strive, struggle), which connotes a wide range of meanings: anything from an inward spiritual struggle to attain perfect faith to a political or military struggle. ...

Taliban retreat

Initial air campaigns

Bombers operating at high altitudes well out of range of anti-aircraft fire began bombarding al-Qaeda training camps and Taliban air defenses. During the initial build-up before the actual attack, there had been speculation in the media that the Taliban might try to use U.S.-built Stinger anti-aircraft missiles that were the bane of Soviet helicopters during the Soviet occupation in the 1980s. If any of these missiles existed at the time of the air campaign, they were never used and the U.S. never lost a single aircraft to enemy fire. Beyond that, the Taliban had little to offer in the way of anti-aircraft weaponry, relying mostly on left-over arms and weapons from the Soviet invasion. U.S. aircraft, including Apache helicopter gunships, operated with impunity throughout the campaign, while cruise missiles pounded the country. A bomber is a military aircraft designed to attack ground targets, primarily by dropping bombs. ... American troops man an anti-aircraft gun near the Algerian coastline in 1943 Anti-aircraft, or air defense, is any method of combating military aircraft from the ground. ... Two soldiers preparing to fire a shoulder-mounted Stinger missile launcher A Stinger System: Launcher, Missile and Battery The FIM-92 Stinger is a man portable infra-red homing surface-to-air missile developed in the United States and used by all the US armed services, with whom it entered... Combatants Soviet Union Peoples Democratic Party of Afghanistan Mujahideen Rebels supported by nations such as: United States, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, China Commanders Boris Gromov Pavel Grachev Valentin Varennikov Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Sibghatullah Mojadeddi Ahmed Shah Massoud Abdul Ali Mazari Indirect roles Ronald Reagan Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq Rahimuddin Khan...

The strikes initially focused on the area in and around the cities of Kabul, Jalalabad, and Kandahar. Within a few days, most al-Qaeda training sites had been severely damaged and the Taliban's air defenses had been destroyed. The campaign then focused on communications and "command and control". The Taliban began losing the ability to coordinate, and their morale began to sink. But the line facing the Northern Alliance held, and no tangible battlefield successes had yet occurred. Two weeks into the campaign, the Northern Alliance, not seeing a breakthrough, demanded the bombing focus more on the front lines. Critics began to see the war losing its way. Civilian casualties also began to mount. Several Red Cross warehouses were bombed. Meanwhile, thousands of Pashtun militiamen from Pakistan poured into the country, joining the fight against the U.S. led forces. A view of the old city Kabul Kabul (, KÃ¢bl, in Persian Ú©Ø§Ø¨Ù„) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. ... Jalalabad (Persian: JalÄlÄbÄd, 34Â°31â€²N 70Â°31â€²E) is the capital of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, 150 km east of Kabul near the Khyber Pass and west of the Kunar River. ... For the 2001 movie by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, see Kandahar (film). ... The Northern Alliance is a term used by the western media, Taliban and Al Qaida to identify the military coalition of various Afghan groups fighting the Taliban. ... The Anarchist Black Cross was originally called the Anarchist Red Cross. The band Redd Kross was originally called Red Cross. This article needs to be cleaned up to conform to a higher standard of quality. ... The Pashtuns (also Pushtun, Pakhtun, ethnic Afghan, or Pathan) are an ethno-linguistic group consisting mainly of eastern Iranian stock living primarily in eastern and southern Afghanistan, and the North West Frontier Province, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Baluchistan provinces of Pakistan. ...

The next stage of the campaign began with carrier based F/A-18 Hornet fighter-bombers hitting Taliban vehicles in pinpoint strikes, while other U.S. planes began cluster bombing Taliban defenses. For the first time in years, Northern Alliance commanders finally began to see the serious results that they had long hoped for. The Taliban support structure was beginning to erode under the pressure of the strikes. U.S. Special Forces then launched an audacious raid deep into the Taliban's heartland of Kandahar, even striking one of Mullah Omar's compounds. However, the campaign's progress seemed to remain very slow. The last week of October had ended, and it was now the beginning of November. This article is becoming very long. ... The Boeing (formerly McDonnell Douglas) F/A-18 Hornet is a modern all-weather carrier strike fighter jet, designed to attack both ground and aerial targets. ... Honest John missile warhead cutaway, showing M139 Sarin bomblets (photo circa 1960) Cluster munitions are air-dropped or ground launched shells that eject multiple small submunitions (bomblets). ...

At this time, the next stage of the air campaign began to fulfill long-awaited Northern Alliance expectations. The Taliban front lines were bombed with 15,000-pound daisy cutter bombs, and by AC-130 gunships. Poor Taliban tactics increased the effects of the strikes. The fighters had no previous experience with American firepower, and often even stood on top of bare ridgelines where Special Forces could easily spot them and call in close air support. By November 2, Taliban frontal positions were decimated, and a Northern Alliance march on Kabul seemed possible for the first time. Foreign fighters from al-Qaeda took over security in the Afghan cities, demonstrating the instability of the Taliban regime. Meanwhile, the Northern Alliance and their CIA/Special Forces advisors planned the next stage of their offensive. Northern Alliance troops would seize Mazari Sharif, thereby cutting off Taliban supply lines and enabling the flow of equipment from the countries to the north, followed by an attack on Kabul itself. The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... The AC-130 Gunship is an armed variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. ... Close air support (often abbreviated CAS) is the use of military aircraft in a ground attack role against targets in close proximity to friendly troops, in support of ground combat operations. ... November 2 is the 306th day of the year (307th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 59 days remaining. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Mazari Sharif , also known as Mazar-e-Sharif, Mazar-i Sharif, MazÄr-e SharÄ«f and Mazar-i-Sharif (locally: Ù…Ø²Ø§Ø± Ø´Ø±ÛŒÙ), is the fourth biggest city in Afghanistan and the capital of Balkh province. ...

Land advances: Mazari Sharif

On November 9, 2001, the battle for Mazari Sharif began. U.S. bombers carpet-bombed Taliban defenders concentrated in the Chesmay-e-Safa gorge that marks the entrance to the city. At 2 P.M, Northern Alliance forces then swept in from the south and west, seizing the city's main military base and airport. The forces then mopped up the remnants of the Taliban in the gorge in front of the city, meeting only light resistance. Within 4 hours, the battle was over. By sunset, what remained of the Taliban was retreating to the south and east. Mazari Sharif was taken. The next day, Northern Alliance forces seeking retribution combed the city, shooting suspected Taliban supporters in on-the-spot executions. Approximately 520 Taliban, demoralized and defeated, many of whom were fighters from Pakistan, were massacred when they were discovered hiding in a school. Looting was also widespread throughout Mazari Sharif. November 9 is the 313th day of the year (314th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 52 days remaining. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... The phrases area bombing and carpet bombing refer to the use of very large numbers of unguided gravity bombs to attempt the destruction of a target, either to destroy personnel and materiel or as a means to demoralize the enemy. ... A military base is a facility, settlement, reservation, or installation that shelters military equipment and personnel. ... Looting (which derives via the Hindi lut from Sanskrit lunt, to rob), sacking, or plundering is the indiscriminate taking of goods by force as part of a military or political victory, or during a catastrophe or riot, such as during war [1], natural disaster [2], rioting [3], or terrorist attack...

The same day the massacres of former Taliban supporters was taking place in Mazari Sharif, November 10, Northern Alliance forces swept through five northern provinces in a rapid advance. The fall of Mazari Sharif had triggered a complete collapse of Taliban positions. Many local commanders switched sides rather than fight. The regime was beginning to unravel at the seams throughout the north. Many of the their front line troops were outflanked and then surrounded in the northern city of Konduz (or Kunduz) as the Nothern Alliance drove past them southwards. Even in the south, their hold on power seemed tenuous at best. The religious police stopped their regular patrols. A complete implosion of the Taliban regime seemed imminent. November 10 is the 314th day of the year (315th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 51 days remaining. ... President Celal Bayar, King Zahir and Lord Serwar Nasher inspecting the once world-renown cotton of Kunduz Spinzar factory Kunduz (Ù‚Ù†Ø¯ÙˆØ²) is a city in Afghanistan; the name has also sometimes been rendered as KÃ»nduz, Qonduz, QondÃ»z, Konduz, KondÃ»z, Kondoz, or Qhunduz. ...

The fall of Kabul

Finally, on the night of November 12, Taliban forces fled from the city of Kabul, leaving under cover of darkness. By the time Northern Alliance forces arrived in the afternoon of November 13, only bomb craters, burned foliage, and the burnt out shells of Taliban gun emplacements and positions were there to greet them. A group of about twenty hardline Arab fighters hiding in the city's park were the only remaining defenders. This Taliban group was killed in a brief 15-minute gun battle, being heavily outnumbered and having had little more than some shrub to shield them. After these forces were neutralized Kabul was in the hands of the US/NATO forces and the Northern Alliance. November 12 is the 316th day of the year (317th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 49 days remaining. ... November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... The Arabs (Arabic: Ø¹Ø±Ø¨) are an ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ...

The fall of Kabul marked the beginning of a collapse of Taliban positions across the map. Within 24 hours, all of the Afghan provinces along the Iranian border, including the key city of Herat, had fallen. Local Pashtun commanders and warlords had taken over throughout northeastern Afghanistan, including the key city of Jalalabad. Taliban holdouts in the north, comprised of mainly Pakistani volunteers, fell back to the northern city of Konduz to make a stand. By November 16, the Taliban's last stronghold in northern Afghanistan was besieged by the Northern Alliance. Nearly 10,000 Taliban fighters, led by foreign fighters, refused to surrender and continued to put up stubborn resistance. By then, the Taliban had been forced back to their heartland in southeastern Afghanistan around Kandahar. Air Force Combat Controllers in Afghanistan File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Air Force Combat Controllers in Afghanistan File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerospace branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ... Combat Control patch Combat Controllers (CCT) are ground combat forces assigned to Special Tactics Squadrons within the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). ... Court of the Friday Mosque in HerÄt. ... Jalalabad (Persian: JalÄlÄbÄd, 34Â°31â€²N 70Â°31â€²E) is the capital of Nangarhar province in Afghanistan, 150 km east of Kabul near the Khyber Pass and west of the Kunar River. ... Kunduz is a city in Afghanistan; the name has also sometimes been rendered as Kûnduz, Qonduz, Qondûz, Konduz, Kondûz, Kondoz, or Qhunduz. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ...

By November 13, al-Qaeda and Taliban forces, with the possible inclusion of Osama bin Laden, had regrouped and were concentrating their forces in the Tora Bora cave complex, on the Pakistan border 30 miles (50 km) southwest of Jalalabad, to prepare for a stand against the Northern Alliance and US/NATO forces. Nearly 2000 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters fortified themselves in positions within bunkers and caves, and by November 16, U.S. bombers began bombing the mountain fortress. Around the same time, CIA and Special Forces operatives were already at work in the area, enlisting and paying local warlords to join the fight and planning an attack on the Tora Bora complex. November 13 is the 317th day of the year (318th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 48 days remaining. ... Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden (Arabic: â€Ž; born March 10, 1957 [1]), most commonly known as Osama bin Laden is a militant Islamist and one of the founders of al-Qaeda. ... Tora Bora Tora Bora (black dust) (Persian: ØªÙˆØ±Ø§ Ø¨ÙˆØ±Ø§ ) is an area located in the White Mountains in eastern Afghanistan, southeast of Kabul and southwest of Jalalabad, near the Pakistan border. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ...

Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 879 KB) Members of SAF in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2004. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (2272x1704, 879 KB) Members of SAF in Kabul, Afghanistan, 2004. ...

The fall of Konduz

Just as the bombardment at Tora Bora was stepped up, the siege of Konduz (or Kunduz) that began on November 16 was continuing. Finally, after nine days of heavy fighting and American aerial bombardment, Taliban fighters surrendered to Northern Alliance forces on November 25-November 26. Shortly before the surrender, Pakistani aircraft arrived to evacuate a few hundred intelligence and military personnel who had been in Afghanistan previous to the U.S. invasion for the purpose of aiding the Taliban's ongoing fight against the Northern Alliance. It is believed that up to five thousand people in total were evacuated from the region, including Taliban and Al-Qaeda troops allied to the Pakistanis in Afghanistan.[15][16][17] President Celal Bayar, King Zahir and Lord Serwar Nasher inspecting the once world-renown cotton of Kunduz Spinzar factory Kunduz (Ù‚Ù†Ø¯ÙˆØ²) is a city in Afghanistan; the name has also sometimes been rendered as KÃ»nduz, Qonduz, QondÃ»z, Konduz, KondÃ»z, Kondoz, or Qhunduz. ... November 16 is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 45 days remaining. ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... November 26 is the 330th day (331st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ...

Consolidation: the taking of Konduz and Kandahar

On November 25, the day that Taliban fighters holding out in Konduz finally surrendered and were being herded into the Qala-e-Jangi prison complex near Mazar-I-Sharif, a few Taliban attacked some Northern Alliance guards, taking their weapons and opening fire. This incident soon triggered a widespread revolt by 600 prisoners, who began grabbing AK-47s, machine guns, and grenades and attacking Northern Alliance troops. One American CIA operative who had been interrogating prisoners, Mike Spann, was killed, marking the first American combat death in the war. The fighters soon seized the southern half of the complex, once a medieval fortress. The revolt was finally put down after three days of heavy strafing fire by AC-130 gunships and Black Hawk helicopters. Less than 100 of the several hundred Taliban prisoners survived, and around 50 Northern Alliance soldiers were killed. The quashing of the revolt marked the end of the combat in northern Afghanistan, where local Northern Alliance warlords were now firmly in control. November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... Grenade may refer to: The well-known hand grenade commonly used by soldiers. ... Johnny Micheal Spann Johnny Micheal Spann (March 1, 1969 - November 25, 2001) was the first American killed in combat after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ... The AC-130 Gunship is an armed variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules. ... UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters eqipped with M60 machine guns near Najaf, Iraq in May 2005 The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a twin-turbine engine, single rotor, semi-monocoque fuselage, rotary wing helicopter. ...

By the end of November, Kandahar, the movement's birthplace, was the last remaining Taliban stronghold and was coming under increasing pressure. Nearly 3,000 tribal fighters, led by Hamid Karzai, a Westernized and polished loyalist of the former Afghan king, and Gul Agha Sherzai, the governor of Kandahar before the Taliban seized power, put pressure on Taliban forces from the east and cut off the northern Taliban supply lines to Kandahar. The threat of the Northern Alliance loomed in the north and northeast. Meanwhile, the first significant U.S. combat troops had arrived. Nearly 1,000 Marines, ferried in by CH-53E Super Stallion helicopters, set up a Forward Operating Base in the desert south of Kandahar on November 25. The first significant combat involving U.S. ground forces occurred a day later when 15 armored vehicles approached the base and were attacked by helicopter gunships, destroying many of them. Meanwhile, the airstrikes continued to pound Taliban positions inside the city, where Mullah Omar was holed up. Omar, the Taliban leader, remained defiant despite the fact that his movement only controlled 4 out of the 30 Afghan provinces by the end of November and called on his forces to fight to the death. Hamid Karzai (Pushtu: ØØ§Ù…Ø¯ Ú©Ø±Ø²ÙŠ, Persian: ØØ§Ù…Ø¯ Ú©Ø±Ø²ÛŒ) (born December 24, 1957) is the current and first democratically elected President of Afghanistan (since December 7, 2004). ... Gul Agha Sherzai was the governor of Kandahar province, Afghanistan from December 2001 to August 16, 2003. ... This article is becoming very long. ... A CH-53E Super Stallion taking off from the deck of the USS Saipan Designated S-80E internally by the Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, the Marine Corps CH-53E Super Stallion, and the Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon are the largest and heaviest helicopters in the United States military. ... Forward Operating Base (DOD) An airfield used to support tactical operations without establishing full support facilities. ... For the 2001 movie by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, see Kandahar (film). ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... A helicopter gunship is a military helicopter armed for attacking targets on the ground, using automatic cannon and machinegun fire, rockets, and precision guided missiles such as the Hellfire. ... An airstrike is a military strike by air forces on an enemy ground position, which depending on the selected tactics may or may not be followed up by artillery, armor, and/or infantry units. ...

As the Taliban teetered on the brink of losing their last bastion, the U.S. focus increased on the Tora Bora. Local tribal militias, numbering over 2,000 strong and paid and organized by Special Forces and CIA paramilitaries, continued to mass for an attack as heavy bombing continued of suspected al-Qaeda positions. 100-200 civilians were reported killed when 25 bombs struck a village at the foot of the Tora Bora and White Mountains region. On December 2, a group of 20 U.S. commandos was inserted by helicopter to support the operation. On December 5, Afghan militia wrested control of the low ground below the mountain caves from al-Qaeda fighters and set up tank positions to blast enemy forces. The al-Qaeda fighters withdrew with mortars, rocket launchers, and assault rifles to higher fortified positions and dug in for the battle. General Tommy Franks meeting with members of Army Special Forces File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... General Tommy Franks meeting with members of Army Special Forces File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... December 2 is the 336th day (337th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Soldier Firing the M224 60-mm Mortar. ... Shoulder-launched weapons avoid the problem of recoil by directing all exhaust out the rear of the launch tube A shoulder-launched missile weapon is a weapon that fires a projectile at a target, yet is small enough to be carried by one person, and fired while held on one... -1...

By December 6, Omar finally began to signal that he was ready to surrender Kandahar to tribal forces. His forces broken by heavy U.S. bombing and living constantly on the run within Kandahar to prevent himself from becoming a target, even Mullah Omar's morale lagged. Recognizing that he could not hold on to Kandahar much longer, he began signaling a willingness in negotiations to turn the city over to the tribal leaders, assuming that he and his top men received some protection. The U.S. government rejected any amnesty for Omar or any Taliban leaders. On December 7, Mullah Mohammad Omar slipped out of the city of Kandahar with a group of his hardcore loyalists and moved northwest into the mountains of Uruzgan province, reneging on the Taliban's promise to surrender their fighters and their weapons. He was last reported seen driving off with a group of his fighters on a convoy of motorcycles. Other members of the Taliban leadership fled into Pakistan through the remote passes of Paktia and Paktika provinces. However, Kandahar, the last Taliban-controlled city, had fallen, and the majority of the Taliban fighters had disbanded. The border town of Spin Boldak was surrendered on the same day, marking the end of Taliban control in Afghanistan. The Afghan tribal forces under Gul Agha seized the city of Kandahar while the Marines took control of the airport outside and established a U.S. base. December 6 is the 340th day (341st on leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... December 7 is the 341st day (342nd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Oruzgan (or Uruzgan) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... A convoy is a group of vehicles or ships traveling together for mutual support. ... Spin Boldak (or, more rarely, Spin Buldak, Spinboldak or Spinbuldak) is a town in Kandahar province in southern Afghanistan, near the Pakistani border; it is on a road leading from Kandahar, Afghanistan to Quetta, Pakistan. ...

Battle of Tora Bora

Al-Qaeda fighters were still holding out in the mountains of Tora Bora, however. Anti-Taliban tribal militia continued a steady advance through the difficult terrain, backed by withering air strikes guided in by U.S. Special Forces. Facing defeat and reluctant to fight fellow Muslims, the al-Qaeda forces agreed to a truce to give them time to surrender their weapons. In retrospect, however, many believe that the truce was a ruse to allow important al-Qaeda figures, including Osama bin Laden, to escape. On December 12, the fighting flared again, probably initiated by a rear guard buying time for the main force's escape through the White Mountains into the tribal areas of Pakistan. Once again, tribal forces backed by U.S. special operations troops and air support pressed ahead against fortified al-Qaeda positions in caves and bunkers scattered throughout the mountainous region. By December 17, the last cave complex had been taken and their defenders overrun. A search of the area by U.S. forces continued into January, but no sign of bin Laden or the al-Qaeda leadership emerged. It is almost unanimously believed that they had already slipped away into the tribal areas of Pakistan to the south and east. It is estimated that around 200 of the al-Qaeda fighters were killed during the battle, along with an unknown number of anti-Taliban tribal fighters. No U.S. deaths were reported. Combatants United States, Afghan Northern Alliance Taliban, al-Qaeda The Battle of Tora Bora took place in December 2001, during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... December 12 is the 346th day (347th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 19 days remaining. ... December 17 is the 351st day of the year (352nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ...

Following Tora Bora, U.S. forces and their Afghan allies consolidated their position in the country. Following a Loya jirga or grand council of major Afghan factions, tribal leaders, and former exiles, an interim Afghan government was established in Kabul under Hamid Karzai. U.S. forces established their main base at Bagram airbase just north of Kabul. Kandahar airport also became an important U.S. base area. Several outposts were established in eastern provinces to hunt for Taliban and al-Qaeda fugitives. The number of U.S-led coalition troops operating in the country would eventually grow to over 10,000. Meanwhile, the Taliban and al-Qaeda had not given up. Al-Qaeda forces began regrouping in the Shahi-Kot mountains of Paktia province throughout January and February 2002. A Taliban fugitive in Paktia province, Mullah Saifur Rehman, also began reconstituting some of his militia forces in support of the anti-U.S. fighters. They totalled over 1,000 by the beginning of March 2002. The intention of the insurgents was to use the region as a base area for launching guerrilla attacks and possibly a major offensive in the style of the mujahedin who battled Soviet forces during the 1980s. Loya Jirga (June 13, 2002) Loya jirga, occasionally loya jirgah, is a large meeting held in Afghanistan, originally attended by Pashtun groups but later including other ethnic groups. ... Bagram Air Base is located near Charikar in Parvan, Afghanistan. ... A coalition is an alliance among entities, during which they cooperate in joint action, each in their own self-interest. ... Paktia province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... Mujahideen (مجاهدين; also transliterated as mujāhidīn, mujahedeen, mujahedin, mujahidin, mujaheddin, etc. ...

Operation Anaconda

U.S. and allied Afghan militia intelligence sources soon picked up on this buildup in Paktia province and prepared a massive push to counter it. On March 2, 2002, U.S. and Afghan forces launched an offensive on al-Qaeda and Taliban forces entrenched in the mountains of Shahi-Kot southeast of Gardez. The rebel forces, who used small arms, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars, were entrenched into caves and bunkers in the hillsides at an altitude that was largely above 10,000 feet (3,000 m). They used "hit and run" tactics, opening fire on the U.S. and Afghan forces and then retreating back into their caves and bunkers to weather the return fire and persistent U.S. bombing raids. To compound the situation for the coalition troops, U.S. commanders initially underestimated the Taliban and al-Qaeda forces as a last isolated pocket of dead-enders numbering less than 200. It turned out that the guerrillas number over 1,000, perhaps as high as 5,000 according to some estimates, and that they were receiving reinforcements.^[3] Combatants United States, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, France, Norway, Germany Taliban insurgents, al-Qaeda Commanders Buster Hagenbeck unknown Strength 2000 500-1500 Casualties 90 casualties (8 U.S. servicemen dead, 82 wounded) 500-800 [1] In early March 2002 the United States military, along with allied Afghan military... Soldiers board a Chinook in Operation Anaconda File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Soldiers board a Chinook in Operation Anaconda File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... March 2 is the 61st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (62nd in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... Gardez is the capital of Paktia province, Afghanistan. ... A Rocket propelled grenade (RPG) is a hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead. ...

By March 6, eight Americans and seven Afghan soldiers had been killed and reportedly 400 opposing forces had also been killed in the fighting. The coalition casualties stemmed from a friendly fire incident that killed one soldier, the downing of two helicopters by rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire that killed seven soldiers, and the pinning down of U.S. forces being inserted into what was coined as "Objective Ginger" that resulted in dozens of wounded. Ground fire from Afghan militia and American forces in a number of skirmishes, along with heavy aerial bombardment, resulted in over 400 al-Qaeda and Taliban rebels killed, according to U.S. estimates. ^[4]Regardless of the correct number of guerrillas killed, it is clear that several hundred somehow escaped the dragnet and melted away, almost certainly by moving in small groups along mountain trails to the tribal areas across the border into Pakistan. The Pakistani forces meant to serve as a blocking force apparently lacked either the will or the capability, or possibly both, to seal off the border. March 6 is the 65th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (66th in Leap years). ... Friendly fire (fratricide or non-hostile fire) is a term originally adopted by the United States military in reference to an attack on friendly forces by other friendly forces, which may be deliberate (e. ...

In another incident of friendly fire on April 18, 2002, 4 Canadian soldiers were killed and eight others were injured due to a bomb that was dropped by an American F-16 fighter jet. The pilot Harry Schmidt stated that he dropped the bomb in self-defense at what he believed to be an enemy ambush; it turned out that the Canadian soldiers were on a routine military exercise. See Tarnak Farm incident. April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... Harry Schmidt is a major in the Illinois Air National Guard and was at one time an instructor at the Navys elite TOPGUN fighter pilot school. ... The Afghanistan friendly fire incident refers to the accidental killing of four Canadian soldiers and the injury of eight others from the Third Battalion of Princess Patricias Canadian Light Infantry (3PPCLI) on April 18, 2002 by an American F-16 fighter jet. ...

Post-Anaconda operations

Following the battle at Shahi-Kot, it is believed that the al-Qaeda fighters established sanctuaries among tribal protectors in Pakistan, from which they regained their strength and later began launching cross-border raids on U.S. forces by the summer months of 2002. Guerrilla units, numbering between 5 and 25 men, still regularly cross the border from their sanctuaries in Pakistan to fire rockets at U.S. bases and ambush American convoys and patrols, as well as Afghan National Army troops, Afghan militia forces working with the U.S-led coalition, and non-governmental organizations. The area around the U.S. base at Shkin in Paktika province has seen some of the heaviest activity. Shkin is a village in the Paktika Province of Afghanistan. ...

Meanwhile, Taliban forces continued to remain in hiding in the rural regions of the four southern provinces that formed their heartland, Kandahar, Zabul, Helmand, and Uruzgan. In the wake of Operation Anaconda the Pentagon requested that British Royal Marines who are highly trained in mountain warfare, be deployed. They conducted a number of missions over several weeks with very limited results. The Taliban, who during the summer of 2002 numbered in the hundreds, avoided combat with U.S. forces and their Afghan allies as much as possible and melted away into the caves and tunnels of remote Afghan mountain ranges or across the border into Pakistan during operations. ^[5] Categories: Afghanistan geography stubs | Provinces of Afghanistan ... Helmand (Persian: Ù‡Ù„Ù…Ù†Ø¯) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ... Combatants United States, Canada, UK, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, France, Norway, Germany Taliban insurgents, al-Qaeda Commanders Buster Hagenbeck unknown Strength 2000 500-1500 Casualties 90 casualties (8 U.S. servicemen dead, 82 wounded) 500-800 [1] In early March 2002 the United States military, along with allied Afghan military... His/Her Majestys Royal Marines, also known as the Royal Marines (RM), are the Royal Navys Light Infantry, the United Kingdoms amphibious force and specialists in Arctic and Mountain Warfare. ...

Renewed Taliban insurgency

After managing to evade U.S. forces throughout the summer of 2002, the remnants of the Taliban gradually began to regain their confidence and started to begin preparations to launch the insurgency that Mullah Muhammad Omar had promised during the Taliban's last days in power.^[6] During September, Taliban forces began a recruitment drive in Pashtun areas in both Afghanistan and Pakistan to launch a renewed "jihad" or holy war against the Afghan government and the U.S-led coalition. Pamphlets distributed in secret during the night also began to appear in many villages in the former Taliban heartland in southeastern Afghanistan that called for jihad. ^[7] Small mobile training camps were established along the border with Pakistan by al-Qaeda and Taliban fugitives to train new recruits in guerrilla warfare and terrorist tactics, according to Afghan sources and a United Nations report. ^[8] Most of the new recruits were drawn from the madrassas or religious schools of the tribal areas of Pakistan, from which the Taliban had originally arisen. Major bases, a few with as many as 200 men, were created in the mountainous tribal areas of Pakistan by the summer of 2003. The will of the Pakistani paramilitaries stationed at border crossings to prevent such infiltration was called into question, and Pakistani military operations proved of little use.^[9] The Taliban insurgency started shortly after their fall from power after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001. ... A Madrasah complex in Gambia Ulugh Beg Madrasa, Samarkand, ca. ...

The Taliban gradually reorganized and reconstituted their forces over the winter, preparing for a summer offensive. They established a new mode of operation: gather into groups of around 50 to launch attacks on isolated outposts and convoys of Afghan soldiers, police, or militia and then breaking up into groups of 5-10 men to evade subsequent offensives. U.S. forces in the strategy were attacked indirectly, through rocket attacks on bases and improvised mines planted in the roadside. To coordinate the strategy, Mullah Omar named a 10-man leadership council for the resistance, with himself at the head.^[9] Five operational zones were created, assigned to various Taliban commanders such as the key Taliban leader Mullah Dadullah, in charge of Zabul province operations.^[9] Al-Qaeda forces in the east had a bolder strategy of concentrating on the Americans and catching them when they could with elaborate ambushes. An ambush is a long established military tactic in which an ambushing force uses concealment to attack an enemy that passes its position. ...

The first sign that Taliban forces were regrouping came on January 27, 2003 during Operation Mongoose, when a band of fighters allied with the Taliban and Hezb-i-Islami were discovered and assaulted by U.S. forces at the Adi Ghar cave complex 15 miles (24 km) north of Spin Boldak.[18] 18 rebels were reported killed and no U.S. casualties reported. The site was suspected to be a base to funnel supplies and fighters from Pakistan. The first isolated attacks by relatively large Taliban bands on Afghan targets also appeared around that time. January 27 is the 27th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Hezbi Islami (also Hezb-i-Islami, Hezbi-Islami, Hezb-e-Islami) is a military force in Afghanistan led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, and established by him in Pakistan during 1975. ...

As the summer continued, the attacks gradually increased in frequency in the "Taliban heartland." Dozens of Afghan government soldiers, non-governmental organization and humanitarian workers, and several U.S. soldiers died in the raids, ambushes, and rocket attacks. In addition to the guerrilla attacks, Taliban fighters began building up their forces in the district of Dai Chopan, a district in Zabul province that also straddles Kandahar and Uruzgan and is at the very center of the Taliban heartland. Dai Chopan district is a remote and sparsely populated corner of southeastern Afghanistan composed of towering, rocky mountains interspersed with narrow gorges. Taliban fighters decided it would be the perfect area to make a stand against the Afghan government and the coalition forces. Over the course of the summer, perhaps the largest concentration of Taliban militants gathered in the area since the fall of the regime, with up to 1,000 guerrillas regrouping. Over 220 people, including several dozen Afghan police, were killed in August 2003 as Taliban fighters gained strength.

Coalition response

As a result, coalition forces began preparing offensives to root out the rebel forces. In late August 2005, Afghan government forces backed by U.S troops and heavy American aerial bombardment advanced upon Taliban positions within the mountain fortress. After a one-week battle, Taliban forces were routed with up to 124 fighters (according to Afghan government estimates) killed. Taliban spokesmen, however, denied the high casualty figure and U.S estimates were somewhat lower. By the first week of September, however, Taliban forces had been scattered from their base at Dai-Chopan. Operation Mountain Thrust was launched on May 17, 2006 with the purposes of rooting out Taliban forces [19]. Combatants United States, Canada, UK, Afghan National Army Taliban, al-Qaeda Strength 11,000+ unknown Casualties 19 KIA , 34 WIA (U.S.) 97 KIA , 40 captured (Afghan Forces) 6 KIA , 10 WIA (U.K.) 2 KIA , 20 WIA (Canada) 2 KIA , 1 WIA (France) 1 KIA , 4 WIA (Romania) 2... May 17 is the 137th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (138th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

On July 3, 2006 it was reported that British Army leaders were warning Prime Minister Blair that victory was not yet certain in Afghanistan, and were calling for more reinforcements [20]. More than 1,100 Taliban fighters were killed and almost 400 captured in the month and a half long Operation Mountain Thrust. July 3 is the 184th day of the year (185th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 181 days remaining. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants United States, Canada, UK, Afghan National Army Taliban, al-Qaeda Strength 11,000+ unknown Casualties 19 KIA , 34 WIA (U.S.) 97 KIA , 40 captured (Afghan Forces) 6 KIA , 10 WIA (U.K.) 2 KIA , 20 WIA (Canada) 2 KIA , 1 WIA (France) 1 KIA , 4 WIA (Romania) 2...

Southern Afghanistan has faced in 2006 the deadliest spate in violence in the country since the ouster of the Taliban regime by U.S.-led forces in 2001, as newly deployed NATO troops have battled resurgent militants. Intense fighting continued throughout August and in the beginning of September, NATO launched a new operation (Operation Medusa) to destroy Taliban forces numbering more than 1,200 in Panjwaye and Zhari Districts of Kandahar Province, where the Taliban had almost complete control of the region. In Operation Medusa, NATO reported it had killed more than 500 suspected Taliban fighters.^[10] 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2001: A Space Odyssey. ... NATO 2002 Summit in Prague The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation[1] (NATO), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, the Atlantic Alliance or the Western Alliance, is an international organisation for collective security established in 1949, in support of the North Atlantic Treaty signed in Washington, DC, on 4 April 1949. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Panjwai is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. ... Zhari is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. ... Kandahar province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ...

At the same time the Taliban took control, for the second time in two months, of Germsar district in the neighbouring Helmand province. Helmand province is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ...

An analysis of the coalition casualty figures from 1 May to 12 August 2006 by Sheila Bird, vice-president of the UK's Royal Statistical Society, revealed that during the period, an average of five coalition soldiers were killed every week by the Taliban, twice the death rate suffered during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[21] May 1 is the 121st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (122nd in leap years). ... August 12 is the 224th day of the year (225th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Royal Statistical Society is a learned society for statistics and a professional body for statisticians in the UK. Founded in 1834 as the Statistical Society of London, it became the Royal Statistical Society in 1887. ... Thois article covers invasion specifics. ...

On 2 September 14 UK personnel were killed when an RAF Nimrod MR2 crashed. Initial reports were that mechanical failure was responsible.[22] September 2 is the 245th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (246th in leap years). ... The BAE Systems (formerly Hawker-Siddeley) Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft is derived from the De Havilland Comet, the worlds first jet airliner. ...

Psychological warfare

According to an Australian TV report, the United States applied psychological pressure to force enemy Taliban fighters out into the open. The report stated that members of the 173d Airborne Brigade burned Taliban bodies for hygienic reasons. Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Shoulder Sleeve Insignia of the 173d Airborne Brigrade. ...

A psychological operations soldier, Sgt. Jim Baker was recorded reading out a message to the Taliban: Psychological Operations or PSYOP or PSYOPS are planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to specific audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. ...

"Attention, Taliban, you are all cowardly dogs. You allowed your fighters to be laid down facing west and burned. You are too scared to retrieve their bodies. This just proves you are the lady boys we always believed you to be."

"You attack and run away like women. You call yourself Talibs but you are a disgrace to the Muslim religion and you bring shame upon your family. Come and fight like men instead of the cowardly dogs you are."

According to a Japan Today report, U. S. authorities are investigating the incident to determine whether the troops' efforts may have contravened the Geneva convention. Japan Today Metropolis is Japans leading English language weekly, published in Tokyo. ... The Geneva Conventions consist of treaties formulated in Geneva, Switzerland that set the standards for international law for humanitarian concerns. ...

Nature of the coalition

The first wave of attacks was carried out solely by American and British forces. On the second day, only American forces participated. In addition to the United Kingdom, a number of other countries provided support to the U.S.-led invasion. Although undoubtedly of practical value, in some cases it is generally seen as primarily a moral statement. In no particular order, these were: Image File history File links Fleet_5_nations. ... Image File history File links Fleet_5_nations. ...

Canada

About 2,500 troops, six ships and six aircraft. Since 9/11, more than 15,000 Canadian personnel have served in Afghanistan and the Gulf. Twenty ships have been deployed to date. An airbase is also maintained in the Persian Gulf. Sources say that only 40 JTF2 Commandos were deployed in the initial stages of the war. However, a far larger number of Canadian soldiers is currently present in Afghanistan. As of February 27, 2006, the Canadian Forces have taken over the overall command of all allied forces in Southern Afghanistan. 42 soldiers, a diplomat, and a civilian have died as part of OEF and ISAF. See Canadian Forces casualties in Afghanistan. In the summer of 2006, the Canadian Forces took the lead role in Operation Medusa and was the main coalition nation fighting in the Battle of Panjwaii. Image File history File links Flag_of_Canada. ... Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 in the United States, Canada was the third largest contributor to the invasion of Afghanistan, after the United States and the United Kingdom. ... Joint Task Force 2 Special Forces duties in Canada are performed by an elite counter-terrorism unit known as JTF2 (Joint Task Force 2. ... Glyn Berry Glyn Berry (1946 â€“ January 15, 2006) was a Canadian diplomat who was killed in a car bombing in Afghanistan. ... Canadas role in the invasion of Afghanistan as an active combatant in operations against the Taliban and other insurgents has produced the largest number of fatal casualties for any single military mission since the 25th Canadian Brigade served in the Korean War. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... // [edit] Summary The Canadian-led battle of Panjwaii was a battle fought during two preiods in the summer of 2006 primarily involving Canadian and Afghan soldiers being supported by Dutch, American, and British forces. ...

Australia

About 300 SAS troops, air-to-air refueling tankers, Navy frigates, two Orion electronic intelligence gathering aircraft, and F/A-18 fighter aircraft for Diego Garcia. One Australian SAS commando has been killed in a landmine explosion. Image File history File links Flag_of_Australia. ... Operation Slipper is the Australian Defence Force (ADF)contribution to the International Coalition against Terrorism. ... The Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) is a Special Forces regiment modelled on the original British SAS and also drawing on the traditions of the Australian World War II Z Special Force commando unit, as well as the Independent Companies which were active in the South Pacific during the same... Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. ... The Lockheed P-3 Orion is a maritime patrol aircraft of the United States military used primarily for maritime patrol, reconnaissance, and anti-submarine warfare. ... The F/A-18 Hornet is an all-weather fighter and attack aircraft. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ...

United Kingdom

The naval element consisted of one aircraft carrier, one amphibious ship, one destroyer, one frigate, three nuclear fleet submarines and seven Royal Fleet Auxiliaries, SBS and 40 Commando RM (not deployed). The British Army provided the 22 Squadron SAS and later 1,800 troops to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). The Royal Air Force contributed Tristar and VC-10 tanker aircraft, E-3D Sentry surveillance and control aircraft, Nimrod R1 surveillance aircraft, Nimrod MR2 maritime reconnaissance aircraft, Canberra PR9 reconnaissance aircraft, C-130 Hercules air transport aircraft and Chinook helicopters from 27 Squadron. 30 members of the British Armed Forces have died during OEF, see British forces casualties in Afghanistan, (as well as six under ISAF), 14 in a non-hostile aircraft crash, 14 in various attacks and ambushes, and 3 in various other accidents. Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article is becoming very long. ... The dock of HMS Albion An amphibious transport dock (also called Landing Platform Dock or LPD) is a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. ... USS Lassen, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast and maneuverable yet long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet or battle group and defend them against smaller, short-range attackers (originally torpedo boats, later submarines and aircraft). ... Frigate is a name which has been used for several distinct types of warships at different times. ... German UC-1 class World War I submarine A model of Gunter Priens Unterseeboot 47 (U-47), German WWII Type VII diesel-electric hunter-killer (SSK) submarine Inside of the Argonaute, showing the typical obstructed, tiny space of a post-WWII diesel attack submarine. ... The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is the service that keeps the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom running around the world. ... The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the British Royal Navys special forces unit. ... Official name Her Majestys Royal Marines Captain-General HRH The Duke of Edinburgh Nicknames Royals Motto Per Mare Per Terram Anniversaries 23 April 1918 - The Raid on Zeebrugge 28 April 1915 - Gallipoli 6 June 1944 - The Landings in Normandy 7 June 1761 - The Battle of Belle Isle 14 June... The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. ... It has been suggested that SAS Troops be merged into this article or section. ... French Army forces, 4Ã¨mes chasseurs (27th mountain infantry brigade), in Afghanistan in 2004, passing a woman in a burka. ... The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the air force branch of the British Armed Forces. ... The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as just L-1011 (pronounced ell-ten-eleven), was the third widebody passenger jet airliner to enter operation, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. ... The VC-10 airliner was designed and built by Vickers (part of the British Aircraft Corporation) in the 1960s. ... The E-3 Sentry is a military airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft that provides all-weather surveillance, command, control and communications, to the United States, NATO and other air defense forces. ... The BAE Systems (formerly Hawker-Siddeley) Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft is derived from the De Havilland Comet, the worlds first jet airliner. ... The BAE Systems (formerly Hawker-Siddeley) Nimrod maritime patrol aircraft is derived from the De Havilland Comet, the worlds first jet airliner. ... The English Electric Canberra was a first-generation jet bomber manufactured in large numbers through the 1950s, and as of 2006 some still remain in service. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is a four-engine turboprop cargo aircraft and the main tactical airlifter for military forces worldwide. ... The Royal Air Force is the second largest operator of the Boeing CH-47 Chinook of the 16 nations which use the type. ... No. ... Since 2001, the following British military personel have been killed in Afghanistan: [1]See Britains role in the 2001-present Afghan war. ...

New Zealand

Two C-130 Hercules, Boeing 757, a provincial reconstruction team, comprising engineers, medical personal and vehicle mounted infantry of varying strength between 100-150, and an unstated number of Special Air Service soldiers, assumed to be less than 100, probably around 50. Image File history File links Flag_of_New_Zealand. ...

France

4,500 troops including 3,500 for the Marine Nationale (one CVBG, comprising the FS Charles de Gaulle, frigates La Motte-Picquet, Jean de Vienne and Jean Bart, the nuclear attack submarine Rubis, the tanker Meuse and the aviso Commandant Ducuing), 600 for the Armée de l'Air (12 Mirage 2000, Mirage F1 and Mirage IV ground-attack and reconnaissance aircraft), 600 to International Security Assistance Force; 200 special forces for 2003. 6 French soldiers have died during OEF (as well as 3 under ISAF): all 6 in various hostile incidents. Image File history File links Flag_of_France. ... Navy officers on the bridges of the Motte-Picquet frigate French Navy summer uniforms Frigate division of the French Navy in Toulon harbour The French Navy (Marine Nationale) is the second-largest Western European navy (the largest being the Royal Navy). ... The carrier battle group (CVBG or CARBATGRU) or carrier strike group (CVSG) is a fleet of ships in support of an aircraft carrier. ... The Charles De Gaulle (R91) is the only serving French aircraft carrier and is the flagship of the French Navy (Marine Nationale). ... The La Motte-Picquet is a F70 type anti-submarine frigates of the French Marine Nationale. ... The Jean de Vienne is a F70 type anti-submarine frigate of the French Marine Nationale. ... The Jean Bart (D615) is an anti-air frigate of the French Marine Nationale of the Cassard type. ... The Rubis is a first-generation nuclear attack submarines of the French Navy, named after the French submarine Rubis which distinguished herself during the Second World War. ... The Durance class is a type of military tanker of the French Navy. ... An aviso is a French kind of dispatch boat. ... The A69 type Avisos are small warships mainly designed for coastal anti-submarine defence, but are also available for high sea escort missions (notably in support missions with the FOST). ... The familiar French military aviation roundel gave rise to similar roundels for air forces all over the world, including that of the United Kingdom (RAF), which reversed the colors on the French roundel. ... A Mirage 2000 of the Indian Air Force The Mirage 2000 is a French-built multi-role fighter manufactured by Dassault Aviation. ... The Dassault Mirage F1 is a single-seat air-superiority fighter and attack aircraft built by Dassault of France. ... The Dassault Mirage IV is a French jet-propelled supersonic strategic bomber and reconnaissance aircraft. ... French Army forces, 4Ã¨mes chasseurs (27th mountain infantry brigade), in Afghanistan in 2004, passing a woman in a burka. ... Special forces or (sometimes colloquially and incorrectly) special operations forces (general term) are military units formed and trained to conduct missions of unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action, and foreign internal defense. ...

Germany

Approximately 2,250 troops including special forces, naval vessels, NBC cleanup teams. 18 German soldiers have been killed, but under ISAF: four in two different ordnance-defusing accidents, 7 in a non-hostile helicopter crash, one in a vehicle accident, five in two separate suicide bombings, and one in landmine explosion. Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany. ... Special forces or (sometimes colloquially and incorrectly) special operations forces (general term) are military units formed and trained to conduct missions of unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action, and foreign internal defense. ...

Italy

Naval warships including the Italian aircraft carrier Giuseppe Garibaldi. 6 Italian soldiers have died, but under ISAF and not OEF. Image File history File links Flag_of_Italy. ... Giuseppe Garibaldi (C 551) is a cruiser-aircraft carrier[1] of Italian Marina Militare. ...

Netherlands

Six F-16 ground-attack fighters, six AH-64 Apache gunships and one KDC-10 tanker were deployed to Manas airport in Kirgyzstan as part of the European Participating Air Force (EPAF) with Denmark and Norway. Dutch naval frigates. Since August 1, 2006 over 1,400 Dutch troops are active in the province of Uruzgan together with an untold number of special forces. As of late of July the Dutch encountered their first two casualties as a result of a (non combat) civilian helicopter crash about 100 miles east of Kabul. A week later the pilot of a Dutch F-16 was killed in a non-hostile crash. The total number of Dutch troops, including Army, Air Force and Special Forces, is believed to be over 2,000. Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Netherlands. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ... The AH-64 Apache is the United States Armys principal attack helicopter, the successor to the AH-1 Cobra. ... The KC-10 Extender is an air-to-air tanker aircraft in service with the United States Air Force derived from the civilian DC-10-30 airliner. ...

Denmark

Special Forces and a C-130 transport aircraft. Six F-16 ground-attack fighters were later deployed in the EPAF force. Three Danish ISAF soldiers were killed (along with two Germans)while defusing ordance. Image File history File links Flag_of_Denmark. ... The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a modern multi-role jet fighter aircraft built in the United States and used by dozens of countries all over the world. ...

Norway

Six F-16 ground-attack fighters, logistic teams, mine clearance teams, a special forces commando group and several C-130 transports. 1 Norwegian soldier was killed in an RPG attack in the capital Kabul. Image File history File links Flag_of_Norway. ... The Lockheed C-130 Hercules, a four-engine turboprop aircraft, is the main tactical air transport aircraft of the United States and UK military forces. ...

Croatia

50 military police in Kabul area. From 2006 will become 159. Image File history File links Flag_of_Croatia. ... It has been suggested that Gendarmerie be merged into this article or section. ...

Czech Republic

Special forces – 601st Special Forces Group – located at Camp Mauer. Assigned to special recon tasks. Deployed on March 28, 2004, home on September 17, 2004, commanding officer Col. Ondřej Páleník. Redeployment expected in 2006. Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic_(bordered). ... Special forces or (sometimes colloquially and incorrectly) special operations forces (general term) are military units formed and trained to conduct missions of unconventional warfare, counter-terrorism, reconnaissance, direct action, and foreign internal defense. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (88th in leap years). ... September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years). ...

Bahrain

Jordan

Japan

In its first military deployment since World War II, contributed naval support for non-combat reinforcement of the operation. Image File history File links Flag_of_Japan_(bordered). ... Combatants Allied Powers: United Kingdom Soviet Union United States Republic of China and others Axis Powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Chiang Kai-Shek Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tojo Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000,000 Total dead...

Portugal

115 Commandos and 37 air traffic controllers in Kabul. One commando has been killed in a roadside bombing. Image File history File links Flag_of_Portugal. ... Promotional artwork for the Commandos series. ... A view of the old city Kabul Kabul (, KÃ¢bl, in Persian Ú©Ø§Ø¨Ù„) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan with a population variously estimated at 2 to 4 million. ...

Lithuania

40 Special Forces AITVARAS troops, from 2002-2004. 120 soldiers in Ghowr province, 2005-present. Image File history File links Flag_of_Lithuania. ... Ghowr (sometimes spelled Ghor) is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan. ...

Poland

93 soldiers including GROM special forces. Their tasks included engineering reconnaissance, the construction of fortifications, mine removal and the transport of water and fuel. Polish Navy has sent the ORP Xawery Czernicki, a support ship which can also serve a a base for commando operations. Image File history File links Flag_of_Poland_(bordered). ... Official force name Other names GROM Grupa Reagowania Operacyjno-Manewrowego Polish Army GROM Force Branch Polish Army Chain of Command Directly subordinate to Polish Ministry of Defence Description Special Operations Force, rapidly deployable light infantry force. ... Flag of the Polish Navy Polish Navy Ensign The Polish Navy (Marynarka Wojenna RP, MW RP) is the branch of Polands armed forces responsible for naval operations. ... ORP Kontradmiral Xawery Czernicki is a multitask logistic support ship of the Polish Navy. ...

Romania

25 military police and a C-130 transport aircraft. One soldier was killed in an ambush that later claimed the life of a badly wounded comrade, one was killed in a landmine explosion, and another was killed in a roadside bombing which severely damaged a tank. Image File history File links Flag_of_Romania. ... It has been suggested that Gendarmerie be merged into this article or section. ...

Sweden

Between 120-160 SSG elite troops and mine clearers. At least two have been killed and one wounded in ambush attacks. Image File history File links Flag_of_Sweden. ...

Note: this list is currently incomplete and almost certainly inaccurate (many countries refuse to specify the whereabouts of their elite combat units and so forth)

Despite reluctance in the Arab states towards retaliation against the al-Qaida network in Afghanistan, the Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf offered support. Pakistan and Iran agreed to open borders to receive the expected increased migration of refugees from Afghanistan. Earlier, Pakistan had supported the Taliban, especially during the 1996-1998 period when they were establishing control - later relations between the two were not as close. After the 9/11 attacks, Pakistan allocated three airbases to the United States for the invasion of Afghanistan. Uzbekistan had allowed the U.S. to place troops on the ground as well as use an airfield for humanitarian relief. 34 nations participate in the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Afghanistan. [23] The Arabs (Arabic: Ø¹Ø±Ø¨) are an ethnic group who are predominantly speakers of the Arabic language, mainly found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... Al-Qaeda (Arabic: القاعدة, the foundation or the base) is the name given to a worldwide network of militant Islamist organizations under the leadership of Osama bin Laden. ... Pervez Musharraf (Urdu: ; born August 11, 1943 in Delhi, India) is currently the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistani military. ... French Army forces, 4Ã¨mes chasseurs (27th mountain infantry brigade), in Afghanistan in 2004, passing a woman in a burka. ...

Civilian casualties of the invasion

According to Marc W. Herold's Dossier on Civilian Victims of United States' Aerial Bombing at least 3700 and probably closer to 5000 civilians were killed as a result of U.S. bombing[24]. Herold's study omitted those killed indirectly, when air strikes cut off their access to hospitals, food or electricity. Also exempt were bomb victims who later died of their injuries. When there were different casualty figures from the same incident, in 90% of cases Professor Herold chose a lower figure. As of October 5, 2006, there have been 429 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF): 279 American, 40 British, 40 Canadian, 19 Spanish, 18 German, 9 French, 9 Italians, 4 Romanians, 3 Danish, 3 Dutch, 2 Swedish, 1 Australian... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Some people, however, dispute Herold's estimates. Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute and Carl Conetta of the Project on Defense Alternatives question Herold's heavy use of the Afghan Islamic Press (the Taliban's official mouthpiece) and claim tallies provided them were suspicious. Conetta also claims statistical errors in Herold's study[25] [26]. Conetta's study puts total civilian casualties between 1,000 and 1,300 [27]. A Los Angeles Times study put the number of collateral dead between 1,067 and 1,201. Joshua Muravchik is a Jewish author and a scholar at the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research. ... The American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research is a conservative think tank founded in 1943 whose stated mission is to support the foundations of freedom - limited government, private enterprise, vital cultural and political institutions, and a strong foreign policy and national defense. ... Afghan Islamic Press (AIP) is a private and independent news agency headquartered in Pakistan. ... The Los Angeles Times (also known as the LA Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ...

Diplomatic efforts

Meetings of various Afghan leaders were organized by the United Nations and took place in Germany. The Taliban was not included. These meetings produced an interim government and an agreement to allow a United Nations peacekeeping force to enter Afghanistan. The UN resolutions of 14 November 2001, included "Condemning the Taliban for allowing Afghanistan to be used as a base for the export of terrorism by the Al-Qaida network and other terrorist groups and for providing safe haven to Usama Bin Laden, Al-Qaida and others associated with them, and in this context supporting the efforts of the Afghan people to replace the Taliban regime" The United Nations (UN) is an international organization whose stated aims are to facilitate co-operation in international law, international security, economic development, and social equity. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ...

The UN resolution 20 December 2001, "Supporting international efforts to root out terrorism, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations, and reaffirming also its resolutions 1368 (2001) of 12 September 2001 and 1373 (2001) of 28 September 2001."

The UN not only condemn the Taliban regime, but ensures that still today there is a peacekeeping mission, under the UN.

Humanitarian efforts

It is estimated that in Afghanistan there are 1.5 million suffering from immediate starvation, as well as 7.5 million suffering as a result of the country's dire situation - the combination of civil war, drought-related famine, and, to a large extent, the Taliban's oppressive regime and the U.S.-led invasion. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x800, 87 KB) USAF C-17 Globemaster III Source: http://www. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1200x800, 87 KB) USAF C-17 Globemaster III Source: http://www. ... The C_17 Globemaster III is a strategic airlifter manufactured by Boeing IDS, used by the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ...

In Pakistan, the United Nations and private humanitarian organizations have begun gearing up for the massive humanitarian effort necessary in addition to the already major refugee and food efforts. The United Nations World Food Programme temporarily suspended activities within Afghanistan at the beginning of the bombing attacks. The efforts have, as of early (December 2001), resumed with a daily distribution rate of 3,000 tons a day. It is however estimated that 30,000 tons of food will be needed (by January 2002) to provide sufficient relief to the impoverished masses. // World Food Programme Hunger and undernutrition claim more lives than AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combinedâ€”25,000 people a day, one every four seconds. ...

By November 1, U.S. C-17s flying at 30,000 feet (10,000 m) had dropped 1,000,000 food and medicine packets marked with an American flag. Doctors Without Borders called it an act of transparent propaganda and said that using medicines without medical consultation is much more likely to cause harm than good. Action Against Hunger head of operations in Afghanistan Thomas Gonnet said it was an "act of marketing". November 1 is the 305th day of the year (306th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 60 days remaining. ... The C-17 Globemaster III is a strategic airlifter manufactured by Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, and operated by the United States Air Force and the Royal Air Force. ... Médecins Sans Frontières (abbreviated MSF; known as Doctors Without Borders in the United States, as Médicos Sin Fronteras in the Spanish language and as Médicos Sem Fronteiras in Portuguese language) is a nonprofit private organisation created in 1971 by a small group of French doctors led... Action Against Hunger (also known under French name Action Internationale Contre la Faim) is international non-profit non-governmental organization that fights against hunger, the physiological need to eat, worldwide. ...

A further dangerous problem lies in the fact that the food packets are bright yellow in color - the same color as unexploded bomblets from U.S. cluster bombs, although the cluster bombs are larger, made from sturdy metal and plastic with only a Latin number written on them, while relief packages are covered in loose plastic wraps with pictures of usage and instructions in local alphabets on them. Unexploded ordnance (or UXOs) are explosive weapons (bombs, shells, grenades, etc. ... Honest John missile warhead cutaway, showing M139 Sarin bomblets (photo circa 1960) Cluster munitions are air-dropped or ground launched shells that eject multiple small submunitions (bomblets). ...

Human rights abuses

The Dasht-i-Leili massacre allegedly occurred in December, 2001, when a number (disputed to be between 250 and 3,000) of Taliban prisoners were shot or suffocated to death in metal truck containers while being transferred by U.S. and Northern Alliance soldiers from Kunduz to Sheberghan prison in northern Afghanistan [28]. These claims are disputed by journalist Robert Young Pelton, who was present at the time of the incident [29]. The Dasht-i-Leili massacre occurred in December 2001 during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan where between 250 and 3,000 (depending on sources) Taliban prisoners were shot and/or suffocated to death in metal truck containers, while being transferred by U.S. and Northern Alliance soldiers from Kunduz... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... United States is the current Good Article Collaboration of the week! Please help to improve this article to the highest of standards. ... The Northern Alliance is a term used by the western media, Taliban and Al Qaida to identify the military coalition of various Afghan groups fighting the Taliban. ... President Celal Bayar, King Zahir and Lord Serwar Nasher inspecting the once world-renown cotton of Kunduz Spinzar factory Kunduz (Ù‚Ù†Ø¯ÙˆØ²) is a city in Afghanistan; the name has also sometimes been rendered as KÃ»nduz, Qonduz, QondÃ»z, Konduz, KondÃ»z, Kondoz, or Qhunduz. ... Robert Young Pelton is a Canadian born, American adventurer, journalist, and former strategic planner. ...

There are allegations that coalition soldiers tortured prisoners in interrogations; many complaints center on the U.S. prison camp at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Torture is any act by which severe pain, whether physical or psychological, is intentionally inflicted on a person as a means of intimidation, deterrence, revenge, punishment, sadism, or information gathering. ... Camp X-Ray, shown here under construction, was a temporary holding facility for detainees held at U.S. Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. ... Map of Cuba with location of GuantÃ¡namo Bay indicated. ...

Abdul Wali died on June 21, 2003, at a base near Asadabad. He was allegedly beaten by former Army Ranger and CIA contractor David Passaro, who was arrested on June 17, 2004, on four counts of assault. His trial is set for the summer of 2006[30]. Abdul Wali was an Afghan man who died in US custody on June 21, 2003, aged 28. ... June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ... 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Asadabad may mean: Asadabad, Afghanistan, the capital of Konar province Asadabad, Iran, in Hamadan This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Official force name 75th Ranger Regiment Rangers Other names Airborne Rangers Army Rangers U.S. Army Rangers Branch U.S. Army Chain of Command USASOC Description Special Operations Force, rapidly deployable light infantry force. ... The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an intelligence agency of the United States Government. ... David Passaro (b. ... June 17 is the 168th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (169th in leap years), with 197 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 2004, the U.S.-based human rights organization Human Rights Watch released a report entitled 'Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan', containing multiple allegations of abuse by American forces. Human Rights Watch Banner Human Rights Watch is a United States-based international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. ... Enduring Freedom - Abuses by US Forces in Afghanistan was a report released in March 2004 by US-based human rights organisation, Human Rights Watch. ...

In February 2005, the American Civil Liberties Union released documents they had obtained from the United States Army which showed that, following the Abu Ghraib scandal, the Army in Afghanistan had destroyed photographs which documented the abuse of prisoners in their custody. Pictures were taken in the area of Fire base Tycze, and around the villages of Gurjay and Sukhagen. The pictures were alleged to have shown soldiers posing with hooded and bound detainees during mock executions. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a major American non-profit organization with headquarters in New York City, whose stated mission is to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.[1] It... The United States Army is the largest branch of the United States armed forces and has primary responsibility for land-based military operations. ... Map of Iraq highlighting Abu Ghraib The city of Abu Ghraib (BGN/PCGN romanization: AbÅ« Ghurayb; Ø£Ø¨Ùˆ ØºØ±ÙŠØ¨ in Arabic) in Iraq is located 20 km (12 miles) west of Baghdad just north of the Baghdad International Airport. ... A fire support base (FSB or firebase) is a military encampment designed to provide artillery support to infantry operating in areas beyond the normal range of fire support from their own base camps. ...

On September 24, 2006, the LA Times published their results of a co-investigation with non-profit organization Crimes of War Project, proposing that 10 members of ODA 2021 of the Alabama National Guard during the last month of their tour in early 2003 at a base in Gardez had tortured a peasant and an 18 year-old recruit of the Afghan National Army, the latter to death. They allegedly coordinated possible testimonies in case of investigation. [31] [32] In 2005, a 2,000-page U.S. Army report was obtained by the New York Times concerning the homicides of two unarmed civilian Afghan prisoners by U.S. armed forces in 2002 at the Bagram Collection Point. ... September 24 is the 267th day of the year (268th in leap years). ... The Los Angeles Times (also L.A. Times) is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the Western United States. ... Seal of the National Guard Bureau Seal of the Army National Guard Seal of the Air National Guard The United States National Guard is a significant component of the United States armed forces military reserve. ... Emblem of the Afghan National Army. ...

Protests, demonstrations and rallies

Several small protests occurred in various cities and college campuses across the United States and in other countries in the first days after the start of the bombing campaign. These were mainly peaceful but larger protests and general strikes occurred in Pakistan, a previous Taliban ally. Some of these were suppressed by police with casualties among the protesters. In both Islamic and non-Islamic nations, protests and rallies of various sizes against the attack on Afghanistan took place. In 2001, a number of small protests against the invasion of Afghanistan occurred in various cities and college campuses across the United States and other countries in the first days after the start of the US-led invasion of Afghanistan. ... Flag flown by the Taliban. ... Islam (Arabic: ; ( â–¶ (helpÂ· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ...

Many protesters felt that the attack on Afghanistan was unjustified aggression. Some believed it would lead to the deaths of many innocent people by preventing humanitarian aid workers from bringing food into the country.

On October 7, there was a peace rally of 10,000 to 12,000 people in New York City. They marched from Union Square to Times Square, cheering the police at the beginning of the march. The list of about twelve speakers was cut to three or four by the police, and they were herded at the end into a one-lane-wide "bullpen". October 7 is the 280th day of the year (281st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Nickname: Big Apple Location in the state of New York Coordinates: Country United States State New York Boroughs Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Area - City 1,214. ...

There was also a demonstration in London that organizers estimate was 100,000 people. London (pronounced ) is the capital city of England and the United Kingdom. ...

Slogans and terms

Timelines of U.S. attacks on Afghanistan

2001

(Redirected from 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan/Timeline October 2001) (EDT = GMT-4; Afghan time = GMT+4. ... (Redirected from 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan/Timeline November 2001) Thursday, November 8, 2001 Pakistan, being the only nation that still had diplomatic ties to the Taliban, asked Afghanistans rulers to close their consulate in the city of Japanese warships with several hundred sailors left the port for... (Redirected from 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan/Timeline December 2001) Continuing events in the attack on Afghanistan in the month of December. ...

2002

(Redirected from 2001 U.S. Attack on Afghanistan/Timeline January 2002) << December January January 4, 2002 Sgt. ... Afghanistan timeline Afghanistan timeline October 2004 Afghanistan timeline September 2004 Afghanistan timeline August 2004 Afghanistan timeline July 2004 Afghanistan timeline June 2004 Afghanistan timeline May 2004 Afghanistan timeline April 2004 Afghanistan timeline March 2004 Afghanistan timeline February 2004 Afghanistan timeline January 2004 Afghanistan timeline December 2003 Afghanistan timeline November 2003... Afghanistan has been invaded many times, and in fact its boundaries and legitimate government have almost always been in dispute. ... // The Islamic State of Afghanistan After the Soviets withdrew completely from Afghanistan in February 1989, fighting between the communist backed government and mujahideen continued. ...

Footnotes

Note 1: The U.S. military campaign, led by U.S. general Tommy Franks, was initially given the name Operation Infinite Justice but quickly renamed Operation Enduring Freedom due to objections from U.S. and Afghan Muslim clerics of religious connotations —that only God could dispense "infinite justice." British military operations against Afghanistan were codenamed "Operation Veritas." General Tommy R. Franks (USCENTCOM photo) Tommy Ray Franks (born June 17, 1945) is a retired General in the United States Army, previously serving as the Commander-in-Chief of United States Central Command, overseeing United States Armed Forces operations in a 25-country region, including the Middle East. ... Operation Veritas was the codename used for British military operations against the Taliban government of Afghanistan in 2001. ...

References

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... May 25 is the 145th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (146th in leap years). ... The Commissions seal The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, also known as the 9/11 Commission, was set up in late 2002 to prepare a full and complete account of the circumstances surrounding the September 11, 2001 attacks, including preparedness for and the immediate response... July 22 is the 203rd day (204th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 162 days remaining. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

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