Sarposa Prison attack | |||||||
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Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan | Taliban | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
15 policemen killed [1] | 8 prisoners killed 2 suicide bombers detonated |
The Sarposa Prison attack was a raid on the Sarposa Prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan by Taliban insurgents on June 13, 2008. One of the largest attacks by Afghan insurgents, the raid freed 400-1000 prisoners. [2] As of 2008, prison administration was overseen by Abdul Qabir. [2]
In May 2008, 200 prisoners announced a hunger strike and 47 of the captives physically stitched their mouths shut to protest their conditions. The strike ended when the Afghan parliament agreed to review their detentions; as some of them had been held for two years without charge, or faced summary trials they felt were unfair. [2]
On June 13, a tanker truck approached the front gates of the prison at approximately 21:00 after nightfall [3] and detonated explosives contained within itself, killing all Afghan police in the area. [2] A second suicide bomber was alleged to have walked to the back gates of the prison in the confusion, and detonated explosives he was carrying himself [2] although later reports suggested the rear wall had not been breached. [4] Insurgents fired rockets at the prison as the Taliban fighters broke in and a 30-minute battle began.
Over the next thirty minutes, a team of thirty insurgents aboard motorcycles fired AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades into the prison. Several ran into the prison and began freeing prisoners [3] who fled through the breached walls, and disappeared into nearby pomegranate and grape groves. [2]
Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai who is president of Kandahar's provincial council, said the prison held about 350 suspected Taliban fighters.
He said "all" the prisoners escaped and that [5] "There is no one left," he said. They were aided by minibuses waiting for them outside the prison during the attack. Some 390 of them were suspected Taliban fighters. Reports of people killed in the attack include: police officers, 8 prisoners and the 2 suicide bombers. [1] [6]
Following reports of the mass-escape, Canadian troops stationed at Kandahar Airfield were deployed to secure the prison [7] and ISAF troops began a door-to-door search through Kandahar seeking escapees. [3]
Troops were redeployed [8] into the area following the prison break and have been involved in skirmishes that have, as of June 17, resulted in 20 Taliban Deaths in Tabin, 16 in Khohak and Arghandab, with 2 Afghan and 4 British soldiers killed in separate incidents, [9] which lead up to the Battle of Arghandab.
Bagram Airfield-BAF, also known as Bagram Air Base, is located 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) southeast of Charikar in the Parwan Province of Afghanistan. It is under the Afghan Ministry of Defense. Sitting on the site of the ancient Bagram at an elevation of 1,492 metres (4,895 ft) above sea level, the air base has two concrete runways. The main one measures 3,602 by 46 metres, capable of handling large military aircraft, including the Lockheed Martin C-5 Galaxy. The second runway measures 2,953 by 26 metres. The air base also has at least three large hangars, a control tower, numerous support buildings, and various housing areas. There are also more than 13 hectares of ramp space and five aircraft dispersal areas, with over 110 revetments.
Arghandab is a district in the central part of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It borders Panjwai and Khakrez districts to the west, Shah Wali Kot District to the north and east and Kandahar District to the east and south.
Zhari is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Alternative spellings include Zheley, Zharey, Zharay, Zheri, or Zheray. The district was created in 2004 from land that was formerly part of Maywand and Panjwai districts. The population is estimated at 80,700 (2010).
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.
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.
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 2004 in Afghanistan.
Events from the year 2007 in Afghanistan.
Kandahar Central Jail, also known as Sarpuza Prison or Sarposa Prison, is a minimum security prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It has been historically used for the incarceration of common criminals of Kandahar Province. In the last two decades, the facility has also been used to hold up Taliban and other insurgents. The name "Sarpuza" is a historical neighborhood in the city of Kandahar. As of 2017, the prison has approximately 1,900 inmates, and its warden is Col. Abdul Wali Hesarak.
The Battle of Arghandab began on June 18, 2008, when NATO-led forces attacked Taliban militants in response to Taliban attacks in Arghandab District and Kandahar. The battle in Arghandab marked the second time in less than a year that the Taliban has tried to take control of the area.
United States and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008.
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.
See also: 2007 in Afghanistan, other events of 2008, 2009 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan (2001-14).
Events from the year 2011 in Afghanistan.
Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.
Taliban militants, wearing Afghan army uniform, stormed a prison outside the city of Ghazni on 14 September 2015, freeing more than 355 inmates. At least 148 of the escapees are considered to be a serious threat to national security. According to the Ministry of Interior, of those escape, 148 had been jailed for attacks on security forces, while 207 had been convicted for other crimes. Only three prisoners had been recaptured.
Events in the year 2017 in Afghanistan.
The Jalalabad prison attack was a terrorist attack by the Islamic State – Khorasan Province targeting Jalalabad Prison in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, which occurred on 2 August 2020.