Operation Omari

Last updated
Operation Omari
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021), Taliban insurgency
Un-afghanistan.png
Date12 April – 8 September 2016
Location
Status

Afghan Government Victory Taliban Propaganda Victory

Taliban still control 40% of Afghanistan

Contents

Belligerents
Flag of Afghanistan (2004-2021).svg  Afghanistan Flag of the Taliban.svg  Taliban

Operation Omari, also called the Spring Offensive, was an offensive launched by the Taliban against the Afghan government in Afghanistan. Its start was announced on 12 April 2016. [1] [2] The Taliban made their yearly spring offensive announcement on April 12, 2016. They named the offensive in honor of the movement's late leader. The announcement of Operation Omari includes details on how the members of the group should present themselves in public. The aim of the Operation is considered ambitious and its focus is on clearing the remaining areas from enemy control and presence. [3] Unlike offensive announcements from previous years this announcement contained details about specific targets that would be attacked during the operation. The targets were stated in general terms with reference only to "large scale attacks on enemy positions across the country, martyrdom-seeking and tactical attacks against enemy strongholds, and assassination of enemy commanders in urban centers." [3]

Etymology

The name of the operation was named after Taliban founder and leader Mohammed Omar.

Timeline

2016

April

April 2016 Kabul attack

May

June

In late June 2016, IS militants attacked police checkpoints in the Kot area of Nangarhar province, heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and government security forces has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Afghanistan, as many as 36 IS militants are reported to have been killed in the assaults, at least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians have been killed, with another 18 wounded. The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government already battling an insurgency dominated by the rival Taliban. [4] [5]

July

July 2016 Kabul bombing,

August

1 August 2016 Kabul attack, the Jani Khel offensive begins on 10 August.

September

On 5 September, 80 Taliban militants were killed and 100 others injured after hundreds of fighters launched a coordinated offensive to capture Giro District, Ghazni Province. Five security personnel also had been killed and eight others injured during the operation.[ citation needed ] The Jani Khel offensive ends in an Afghan government victory; the September 2016 Kabul bombing takes place.

Between 7–11 September, Battle of Tarinkot (2016) takes place, resulting in an Afghan government victory.

On 8 September, 79 insurgents had been killed in Tarin Kot, Urozgan Province. Taliban said they broke into Tarin Kot's prison, but Samim rejected the claim and said many of the inmates had been transferred to the airport. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Taliban insurgency</span> Insurgency during the War in Afghanistan

The Taliban insurgency began after the group's fall from power during the 2001 War in Afghanistan. The Taliban forces fought against the Afghan government, led by President Hamid Karzai, and later by President Ashraf Ghani, and against a US-led coalition of forces that has included all members of NATO; the 2021 Taliban offensive resulted in the collapse of the government of Ashraf Ghani. The private sector in Pakistan extends financial aid to the Taliban, contributing to their financial sustenance.

Tarīnkōṭ, also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's bazaar.

Events from the year 2007 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2007</span>

US and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)</span> Conflict between NATO Western forces and the Taliban

The War in Afghanistan was an armed conflict from 2001 to 2021. It was the direct response to the September 11 attacks. It began when an international military coalition led by the United States launched an invasion of Afghanistan, declaring Operation Enduring Freedom as part of the earlier-declared war on terror; toppling the Taliban-ruled Islamic Emirate and establishing the Islamic Republic three years later. The Taliban and its allies were expelled from major population centers by the US-led forces, supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance; however Bin Laden relocated to neighboring Pakistan. The conflict officially ended with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic, and re-established the Islamic Emirate. It was the longest war in the military history of the United States, surpassing the length of the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately 6 months.

Operation Kamin was an offensive launched by Taliban insurgents in May 2007 which aimed to kill American-backed government forces and foreign troops in Kandahar.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haqqani network</span> Afghan Islamist guerrilla insurgent group

The Haqqani Network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan government in the 21st century. It is recognized as a terrorist organization by the United Nations. It is considered to be a "semi-autonomous" offshoot of the Taliban. It has been most active in eastern Afghanistan and across the border in north-west Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Counterinsurgency in Northern Afghanistan</span> Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

The following addresses the events in Northern Afghanistan between April 2009 and 2014. While this part of the country had long been relatively peaceful compared to the all-out war zones of the south and east, tensions would flare up again in 2008 when the German soldiers deployed to the area came under attack more often, leading to the deaths of the several soldiers. Previously hindered by national caveats, the deteroriating security situation prompted the German-led Regional Command North to launch a series of operations to take on the rising insurgency. Concerted operations began after an insurgent attack on PRT Kunduz within minutes of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's departure from a visit. Within two years, the German presence would be doubled and additional reinforcements from the American ISAF contingent were called in, including heavy German armoured vehicles and US aviation assets, allowing for a more aggressive approach towards the insurgency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">April 2012 Afghanistan attacks</span> Suicide bombing and Taliban attacks

The April 2012 Afghanistan attacks took place on Sunday, 15 April 2012, at around 13:00 local time when heavily armed Taliban insurgents and suicide bombers launched multiple coordinated attacks throughout Afghanistan. Insurgents launched the 2012 spring offensive on multiple locations, including government buildings, military bases, and embassies. Attacks occurred in four Afghan provinces, including Kabul and Paktia. Different reports attribute responsibility for the attacks to either Taliban or the Haqqani network although the Taliban have claimed responsibility.

The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Halmazag</span> Offensive operation in Afghanistan

Operation Halmazag was an offensive operation by ISAF German-led troops in close cooperation with the Afghan security forces in the province of Kunduz, from 31 October to 4 November 2010, with the aim of building a permanent outpost near the village of Quatliam in the Char Dara district, south-west of Kunduz. The operation was the first German military ground offensive since World War II.

The following lists events that happened during 2016 in Afghanistan.

The Nangarhar offensive was a 21-day military offensive in February and March 2016, carried out by the Afghan government against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province (ISIS–K), with the assistance of ISAF and U.S airstrikes. When the offensive ended, ISIS had reportedly lost all of its territory in Afghanistan and had been expelled from the country.

On the morning of 19 April 2016, Taliban militants attacked a security team responsible for protecting government VIPs in Kabul, Afghanistan. The initial attack killed 64 people and wounded 347. It was their biggest attack on an urban area since 2001.

Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.

On 31 May 2017, a truck bomb exploded in a crowded intersection in Kabul, Afghanistan, near the German embassy at about 08:25 local time during rush hour, killing over 150 and injuring 413, mostly civilians, and damaging several buildings in the embassy. The attack was the deadliest terror attack to take place in Kabul. The diplomatic quarter—in which the attack took place—is one of the most heavily fortified areas in the city, with three-meter-high (10 ft) blast walls, and access requires passing through several checkpoints. The explosion created a crater about 4.5 meters (15 ft) wide and 30 feet deep. Afghanistan's intelligence agency NDS claimed that the blast was planned by the Haqqani Network. Although no group has claimed responsibility, the Afghan Taliban are also a suspect but they have denied involvement and condemned the attack. It was the single largest attack on the city up till that point.

Events in the year 2018 in Afghanistan.

This article summarizes the history of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Islamic State–Taliban conflict</span> 2015–present armed conflict in Afghanistan

The Islamic State–Taliban conflict is an ongoing armed conflict between the Islamic State and the Taliban in Afghanistan. The conflict escalated when militants who were affiliated with Islamic State – Khorasan Province killed Abdul Ghani, a senior Taliban commander in Logar province on 2 February 2015. Since then, the Taliban and IS-KP have engaged in clashes over the control of territory, mostly in eastern Afghanistan, but clashes have also occurred between the Taliban and IS-KP cells which are located in the north-west and south-west.

In May 2020, a series of insurgent attacks took place in Afghanistan, starting when the Taliban killed 20 Afghan soldiers and wounded 29 others in Zari, Balkh and Grishk, Helmand on 1 and 3 May, respectively. On 12 May, a hospital's maternity ward in Kabul and a funeral in Kuz Kunar (Khewa), Nangarhar were attacked, resulting in the deaths of 56 people and injuries of 148 others, including newborn babies, mothers, nurses, and mourners. ISIL–KP claimed responsibility for the funeral bombing, but no insurgent group claimed responsibility for the hospital shooting.

References

  1. James Mackenzie (12 April 2016). "Taliban announce start of spring offensive in Afghanistan". Reuters.
  2. "Taliban Launches Anti-Government Spring Offensive". VOA.
  3. 1 2 Osman, Borhan (April 14, 2016). "Operation Omari: Taleban Announced 2016 Spring Offensive". Afghanistan Analysts Network. Archived from the original on 2013-08-12.
  4. "Dozens killed as Islamic State pushes for territory in Afghanistan". the telegraph. 26 June 2016.
  5. "Islamic State militants launch new attacks in eastern Afghanistan". Reuters. 2016-06-26. Retrieved 2016-06-26.
  6. "Taliban storm into southern Afghan city". AFP. 7 September 2016.