Battle of Musa Qala
The Battle of Musa Qala was a British-led military action in Helmand Province. It followed more than nine months of Taliban occupation of the town. ISAF forces had previously occupied the town, until a controversial withdrawal in late 2006. It was the first battle in the War in Afghanistan in which Afghan army units were the principal fighting force.
About Battle of Musa Qala in brief
The Battle of Musa Qala was a British-led military action in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan. It followed more than nine months of Taliban occupation of the town. ISAF forces had previously occupied the town, until a controversial withdrawal in late 2006. It was the first battle in the War in Afghanistan in which Afghan army units were the principal fighting force. The town is situated in a major opium poppy growing area and a BBC correspondent has reported it to be the centre of the heroin trade in Afghanistan. The Taliban had imposed a strict rule on its inhabitants, pronouncing sentences of stoning, amputation, or death by hanging against those who contravened a strict interpretation of the Sharia. In the days before the assault, reconnaissance patrols were carried out to confuse the Taliban and disrupt their supply routes. Hundreds of families were reported to have fled from the town centre, after the coalition defection leaflets were dropped in the air. The operation was codenamed snakepit and followed three days of intense fighting, before the Taliban retreated into the mountains on 10 December. MusaQala was officially reported captured on 12 December, with Afghan Army troops pushing into the city centre. The battle was the last major military engagement between ISAF and the Taliban in the Helmand region of Afghanistan before the withdrawal of ISAF troops from the region in 2007. The withdrawal was intended to reduce conflict and civilian casualties, but the Taliban reneged on the agreement and quickly over-ran the town with 200 to 300 troops in February 2007.
At the time, the government claimed they could retake the town within 24 hours, but that plan had been postponed to avoid causing civilian casualties. A confluence of tribal politics, religion, and money from the opium trade helped ensure the uneasy truce would not hold. The British Ministry of Defence emphasised that the operation was Afghan-led, although the ability of Afghan units to function without NATO control was questioned during the battle. Coalition military build-up of supplies for the assault continued for weeks before the attack in preparation for the upcoming operation. In December 2007, British forces started reconnaissance patrols in the middle of the month to prepare for the attack. On 1 November, it was reported that 40 Royal Marines and the Right Flank Company of the Scots Guards were patrolling the town outside the town center. The next day, British troops from Brigade Reconnaissance Force led a lead assault on the Taliban, leading to the capture of Musaleh, the largest town in the area at the time of the assault. The assault took place on 7 December 2007 and was followed by a heavy defeat for the Taliban the following day. It is believed that the town is now under the control of the Afghan National Army, with the majority of its residents now living in the surrounding area of Sangin district. The ISAF mission to capture Musaqala ended on 8 December 2007. In October 2006, the fighting ended in a controversial move, when control was ceded to local tribal elders. The move met with an unexpectedly fierce resistance from the Taliban.
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This page is based on the article Battle of Musa Qala published in Wikipedia (as of Nov. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
