2001 Battle of Herat | |||||||
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Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghan Civil War | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan al-Qaeda | Northern Alliance United States Iran Hazara Militia | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Mullah Omar Osama bin Laden | Ismail Khan Mohammad Salimi Yahya Rahim Safavi Qasem Soleimani Syed Sulaiman Husaini Mohammad Mohaqiq Tommy Franks |
The 2001 uprising in Herat was a coordinated insurrection and uprising in the Afghan city of Herat as part of the United States war in Afghanistan. The city was captured on November 12 by Northern Alliance forces as well as Special Forces of the United States, the United Kingdom [1] and the Islamic Republic of Iran. [2] [3]
The U.S. Special Operations teams consisted of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force under the command of CENTCOM General Tommy Franks. Iranian forces consisted of agents of the Quds Force under the command of Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, commander of the IRGC, and Major General Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Iran's Quds Force. [3] The Northern Alliance faction consisted of over 5,000 militiamen under the command of Ismail Khan, a commander in the previous Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan and former governor of Herat before the Taliban came into power in 1995.[ citation needed ]
UK Special Forces for reasons of national security remained anonymous and did not reveal their formal command structure. [4]
The plan, organized by General Franks and General Safavi, was for Iranian Special Forces to discreetly enter the city and form an insurrection against the Taliban. This sudden event was to coincide with the entrance of Ismail Khan's band of Northern Alliance militia members into the city. Meanwhile, a team of U.S. Special Forces and CIA agents would oversee the operation in Tehran alongside Iranian military intelligence. [5]
Combat operations began on October 7, 2001. Towards the end of the month, U.S. air strikes hit targets in and around Herat, including tanks, communications facilities, and tunnel complexes. [6] This also includes the Herat airport, where Russian-made fighters were destroyed.[ citation needed ]
On 11 November 2001, U.S. Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 554 ("Tiger 08") was inserted by helicopter near Herat. [7] As planned, Iranian commandos secretly entered Herat to begin the insurrection on November 12, which successfully gave way to what Ismail Khan claimed to be, the local uprising against the Taliban leaders. The Northern Alliance, Shi'ite Hazara factions, and a small group of U.S. Special Forces then entered the city. [5] Herati residents also took part in the uprising with sticks, knives, and guns hidden throughout the populace. The city fell as the Taliban fled towards the mountains along the Iranian border, leaving behind several abandoned tanks. Prisoners, including Chechen and Arab volunteers, were taken to undisclosed locations. [8]
The uprising was met with celebratory gunfire from residents. Iranian media even went as far as to report widespread celebration including 'dancing on the rooftops' and honking car horns. [9] Ismail Khan consolidated his power as Amir of western Afghanistan, reportedly accepting truck loads of money from Iran over the following month to secure loyalty of his forces. [10] Khan granted amnesty for former Taliban fighters, but warned of repercussions if said fighters were to take up arms once again. [8]
Khan remained governor of Herat until 2004, when he was dismissed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Khan's dismissal was met with violent protests. [11]
Herāt is an oasis city and the third-largest city in Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains in the fertile valley of the Hari River in the western part of the country. An ancient civilization on the Silk Road between West Asia, Central Asia, and South Asia, it serves as a regional hub in the country's west.
Mohammad Ismail Khan is an Afghan former politician who served as Minister of Energy and Water from 2005 to 2013 and before that served as the governor of Herat Province. Originally a captain in the Afghan Army, he is widely known as a former warlord who controlled a large mujahideen force, mainly his fellow Tajiks from western Afghanistan, during the Soviet–Afghan War.
The following lists events that happened during 2001 in Afghanistan.
Yahya "Rahim" Safavi is an Iranian military commander who served as the chief commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
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The 5th Special Forces Group (Airborne) (5th SFG (A), 5th Group) is one of the most decorated active duty United States Army Special Forces groups. The 5th SFG (A) saw extensive action in the Vietnam War and played a pivotal role in the early months of Operation Enduring Freedom. 5th Group is designed to deploy and execute nine doctrinal missions: unconventional warfare, foreign internal defense, direct action, counter-insurgency, special reconnaissance, counter-terrorism, information operations, counterproliferation of weapon of mass destruction, and security force assistance.
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The following items form a partial timeline of the War in Afghanistan. For events prior to October 7, 2001, see 2001 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 2002 in Afghanistan.
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Qasem Soleimani was an Iranian military officer who served in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). From 1998 until his assassination by the United States in 2020, he was the commander of the Quds Force, an IRGC division primarily responsible for extraterritorial and clandestine military operations, and played a key role in the Syrian Civil War through securing Russian intervention. He was described as "the single most powerful operative in the Middle East" and a "genius of asymmetric warfare." Former Mossad director Yossi Cohen said Soleimani's strategies had "personally tightened a noose around Israel's neck."
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The Herat uprising, locally known as the Uprising of 24th Hūt was an insurrection that took place in and around the city of Herat in western Afghanistan, across several days in March 1979. It included both a popular uprising and a mutiny of ethnic Tajik Afghan Army troops against the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA). The communist regime at first appealed to its Soviet allies for help, but the Soviet leadership declined to intervene. After the insurgents seized and held the city for about a week, the regime was able to retake it with its own forces, and the subsequent aerial bombardment and recapture of Herat left 3,000 to 25,000 of its inhabitants dead. It was the worst outbreak of armed violence in the country in 50 years, and was the deadliest incident in the 1978-1979 period following the Saur Revolution and before the start of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan.
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The Fall of Herat was a battle and subsequent capture of Herat by Taliban fighters. The attack on the city started around 28 July 2021, and ended in Taliban victory by 13 August of the same year. Several of the surrounding districts fell to the Taliban from June to mid-July, leaving only the city and two other districts in government hands by 10 July. The border crossings in Herat Province were captured by the Taliban on 9 July, raising prices of goods inside the city. Ismail Khan, former governor and warlord, led a public uprising force to assist the Afghan National Security Forces in defending the city.
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