The International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) was a multinational military mission in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. It was established by United Nations Security Council Resolution 1386 pursuant to the Bonn Agreement, which outlined the establishment of a permanent Afghan government following the U.S. invasion in October 2001. ISAF's primary goal was to train the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) and assist Afghanistan in rebuilding key government institutions; it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.
Operation Mountain Thrust was a joint NATO and Afghan-led military operation in the War in Afghanistan. It involved more than 3,300 British troops, 2,300 U.S. troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, along with approximately 3,500 Afghan soldiers, supported by extensive air power. Its primary objective was to quell the ongoing Taliban insurgency in the south of the country.
Sangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with a population of approximately 20,000 people. It is located on 32°4′24″N64°50′2″E in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m (2,913 ft) altitude, 95 km (59 mi) to the north-east of Lashkargah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the south of the country, and is also a town that has traditionally supported the Taliban. It was described by British newspaper The Guardian as "the deadliest area in Afghanistan" in 2010. Sangin also houses the main bazaar for Sangin District. Route 611 passes through Sangin.
Operation Mountain Fury was a NATO-led operation begun on September 16, 2006 as a follow-up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban insurgents from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Another focus of the operation was to enable reconstruction projects such as schools, health-care facilities, and courthouses to take place in the targeted provinces.
Operation Herrick was the codename under which all British operations in the War in Afghanistan were conducted from 2002 to the end of combat operations in 2014. It consisted of the British contribution to the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and support to the American-led Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), within the South Asian country.
Musa Qala is a town and the district centre of Musa Qala District in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at 32.4433°N 64.7444°E and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of Musa Qala River in the central western part of the district. Its population has been reported in the British press to be both 2,000 and 20,000. It is in a desolate area, populated by native Pashtun tribes.
In January 2006, NATO's focus in southern Afghanistan was to form Provincial Reconstruction Teams with the British leading in Helmand Province and the Netherlands, Australia and Canada leading similar deployments in Orūzgān Province and Kandahar Province respectively. The United States, with 2,200 troops, stayed in control of Zabul Province. Local Taliban figures voiced opposition to the incoming force and pledged to resist it.
Operation Volcano was a British operation to clear a village that the Taliban were using as a command and control node, consisting of 25 compounds, near the Kajaki hydroelectric dam in February 2007. The British troops came from 42 Commando, Royal Marines and 59 Commando Squadron Royal Engineers, a squadron drawn from the Royal Engineers but commando trained. During the operation, the marines received fire from Taliban forces further in the compounds and from the village of Chinah. They were killed by British aircraft and the Royal Marine's mortars. Operation Volcano was part of the March–May 2007 Operation Achilles.
Operation Kryptonite was the name given to a joint operation including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the Afghan National Army, representing the ISAF and NATO. The operation itself was part of Operation Achilles. The intention of the operation was to clear the area around the Kajakai Dam, belonging to Taliban fighters so this important power generation station could be reopened. Sporadic fighting had been occurring around the dam and the Taliban controlled the town of Musa Qala for around ten days as the Allied forces attempted to gain a foothold in the area so they could begin the offensive.
Operation Lastay Kulang or Pickaxe Handle was a British-led NATO offensive in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. Lastay Kulang began on May 30 and ended on June 14, 2007, with 2000 ISAF and Afghan National Army troops taking part. The mission was a direct follow-up of Operation Achilles that ended on the same day.
The Helmand province campaign was a series of military operations conducted by the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces against Taliban insurgents and other local groups in the Helmand Province of Afghanistan. Their objective was to control a province that was known to be a Taliban stronghold, and a center of opium production. None of the ISAF's intended strategic and political objectives were achieved in the long term.
The Battle of Musa Qala was a British-led military action in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, launched by the Afghan National Army and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) against the Taliban on 7 December 2007. After three days of intense fighting, the Taliban retreated into the mountains on 10 December. Musa Qala was officially reported captured on 12 December, with Afghan Army troops pushing into the town centre.
US and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2007.
Operation Eagle's Summit was a military operation conducted by ISAF and Afghan National Army troops, with the objective of transporting a 220-tonne turbine to the Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province through territory controlled by Taliban insurgents. Ending in success for the coalition, it involved many British troops, and was said to have been one of the largest logistical operations carried out by the British Army since World War II. The operation took its name from the eagle pictured on the insignia of the 16th Air Assault Brigade.
United States and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008.
Operation Shahi Tandar, also called Operation Atal, was a series of operations by Coalition troops from the British 42 Commando Royal Marines, Royal Canadian Regiment, 2nd Battalion 2nd Infantry Regiment, and the Afghan national military in central Helmand province and the Western Panjwayi and Western Zhari districts of Kandahar, Afghanistan from January 7–31, 2009.
Operation Strike of the Sword or Operation Khanjar was a US-led offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. About 4,000 Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as well as 650 Afghan troops were involved, supported by NATO planes. The operation began when units moved into the Helmand River valley in the early hours of July 2, 2009. This operation was the largest Marine offensive since the Battle of Fallujah in 2004. The operation was also the biggest offensive airlift by the Marines since the Vietnam War.
The Battle of Nawzad (2006–2014) was a battle between ISAF (coalition) forces and Taliban insurgents in Nawzad at the center of Nawzad district in the northern half of Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan.
Operation Moshtarak, also known as the Battle of Marjah, was an International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) pacification offensive in the town of Marjah, Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It involved a combined total of 15,000 Afghan, American, British, Canadian, Danish, and Estonian troops, constituting the largest joint operation of the War in Afghanistan up to that point. The purpose of the operation was to remove the Taliban from Marja, thus eliminating the last Taliban stronghold in central Helmand Province. The main target of the offensive was the town of Marjah, which had been controlled for years by the Taliban as well as drug traffickers.
The 2006 Taliban offensive was a major military offensive launched by the Taliban in southern Afghanistan in the spring of 2006. The offensive was planned to unfold on three main fronts concentrated in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar: the first front was to target northern Helmand, focusing on the districts of Sangin, Nowzad, and Kajaki. The second front aimed at southern Helmand, with a focus on the districts of Garmser and Nawa. The third, and most important, would be western Kandahar, targeting the districts of Maiwand, Zharey, and Panjwayi.
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