Battle of Sabzak

Last updated

Battle of Sabzak
Part of War in Afghanistan
Date3–4 September 2009
Location
Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Flag of the Taliban.svg  Taliban
  Tajik tribals
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Spain.svg José Enrique Serantes
Flag of the Taliban.svg Jamuladdin Mansoor
 Ishan Khan
Casualties and losses
2 wounded
2 vehicles damaged
13 killed
3 wounded

The Battle of Sabzak was an engagement between Spanish and Italian forces of NATO's International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and Taliban insurgents supported by militant Tajik tribals. The action took place from 3 to 4 September 2009 on Sabzak pass, in the province of Badghis, during the War in Afghanistan.

NATO sent Spanish troops to place a patrol on the pass, the only road supplying Qal'eh-ye and Herat after numerous attacks on military convoys throughout the summer and after the collapse of the Taliban's control on the area. Taliban mullah Jamuladdin Mansoor, allied with Tajik tribals on both sides of the road tried to prevent passage with the help of Tajik warlord Ishan Khan. [1]

The Spanish forces took control of the road on Monday 31 July. The insurgents, after reorganizing themselves, ambushed the ISAF detachment on 3 September, resulting in two Spanish soldiers injured. [1]

The next day, a convoy of 30 vehicles and 100 Spaniard soldiers oversaw the meeting between another convoy and the Afghan police for protection, but it was ambushed from four points in a planned operation. The troops returned fire, calling in aerial support. Two Italian Mangusta helicopters were brought in and opened fire on Taliban positions, but aerial bombardment by fixed wing aircraft was ruled out due to the proximity of a civilian settlement. After six hours of fighting, the Taliban and their allies withdrew to the village of Marghozar. [2]

Sergeant José Enrique Serrano, commander of the Spanish company that defended the pass on 3 September, and a soldier who received a minor scratch on his face form a ricocheting bullet, were the only ISAF members wounded in the battle, while two vehicles were rendered unusable. 13 insurgents were eventually killed, and 3 were injured. [3] [4] [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">International Security Assistance Force</span> NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan from 2001–2014

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paktia Province</span> Province of Afghanistan

Paktia is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly 623,000, which is mostly a tribal society living in rural areas. Pashtuns make up the majority of the population and a small percentage include Tajiks. Gardez is the provincial capital. The traditional food in Paktia is known as (dandakai) which is made from rice and mung bean or green gram.

<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.

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

Operation Medusa was a Canadian-led offensive during the second Battle of Panjwaii of the War in Afghanistan. The operation was fought primarily by the 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group and other elements of the International Security Assistance Force, supported by the Afghan National Army and a team from the United States Army's 1st Battalion, 3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) augmented by C Company, 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment of the 10th Mountain Division. Its goal was to establish government control over an area of Kandahar Province centered in the district of Panjwayi some 30 kilometres (19 mi) west of Kandahar city. A tactical victory, it resulted in the deaths of 12 Canadian soldiers; five during the major combat operations, five in bombings, and two in a mortar/RPG attack during the reconstruction phase of the operation. Fourteen British military personnel were also killed when their plane crashed. Despite suffering a brutal battlefield defeat, the Taliban retained their presence in Kandahar province and did not lose their will to fight, leading to the subsequent Operation Falcon Summit. Nonetheless, Operation Medusa was at the time the most significant land battle ever undertaken by NATO.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Mountain Fury</span> Military operation in Afghanistan

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Operation Herrick</span> British operations in Afghanistan 2002–2014

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Musa Qala</span> Town in Helmand Province, Afghanistan

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.

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

Operation Achilles was a NATO operation, part of the War in Afghanistan. Its objective was to clear Helmand province of the Taliban. The operation began on March 6, 2007. The offensive is the largest NATO-based operation in Afghanistan to date. NATO officials reported that, contrary to previous operations, Taliban fighters were avoiding direct confrontation in favor of guerilla tactics.

The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Helmand province campaign</span> 2006–2014 ISAF anti-Taliban military operations in southern Afghanistan

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.

United States and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008.

The border skirmishes between the United States and Pakistan were the military engagements and confrontations between Pakistan and the United States that took place along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border from late 2008 to late 2012 resulting in the deaths of 55 Pakistani personnel with a unknown number of U.S. casualties. These incidents involved the U.S. Forces-Afghanistan Command and ISAF forces, who had been present in Afghanistan fighting Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgency, and the unified Western military command of the Pakistan Armed Forces against one another in a series of skirmishes that ceased shortly after the 2011 NATO attack in Pakistan. The two sides ultimately made peace and continued collaboration operations against insurgent groups in Pakistan following an official, however brief, apology from then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on 3 July 2012 over the loss of life suffered by the Pakistani military.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Balamorghab ambush</span>

The Balamorghab ambush occurred on 27 November 2008, when vehicles carrying Afghan security forces were attacked by Taliban insurgents led by Ghulam Dastagir. The ambush took place near Balamorghab in Badghis Province, in northwestern Afghanistan, and resulted in heavy casualties for the government forces. It was described as "one of the most humiliating attacks the Afghan security forces had ever suffered".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Musa Qala</span>

The siege of Musa Qala took place between July 17 and September 12, 2006 in Afghanistan's Helmand province. A small force of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops and Afghan security forces were besieged by Taliban insurgents inside the district centre of Musa Qala.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khost-Gardez Pass</span> Mountain pass in eastern Afghanistan

The Khost-Gardez Pass, frequently abbreviated as the K-G Pass, and known locally as the Seti-Kandow Pass, or the Satukandav Pass by Soviet forces, is the main land route connecting Khost, the capital of Khost Province, and Gardez, the capital of Paktia province, in eastern Afghanistan. The pass currently consists of a rutted dirt road, though it is slowly being improved by construction crews as part of the international reconstruction effort in Afghanistan.

Events from the year 2009 in Afghanistan

Events from the year 2011 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan.

The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabzak Pass</span> A mountain pass in northeastern Afghanistan.

Sabzak Pass is a mountain pass in Afghanistan. It is located in the mountain range of Paropamisu, north of Herat and south of Badghis of Paropamisu. It has an altitude of 2517 metres from sea level.

References

  1. 1 2 ""¡Coño! ¿Me han dado?": así sobrevivieron el sargento Serantes y los suyos al combate de Sabzak". El Español (in Spanish). 19 August 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Seis horas de combate en Sabzak". El Norte de Castilla (in European Spanish). 4 September 2009. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  3. ".:Spanish army - Sabzak Pass:". www.ejercito.mde.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2019.
  4. ".:Spanish army - Sabzak Pass (II):". www.ejercito.mde.es (in European Spanish). Retrieved 28 March 2019.

34°38′16″N63°06′56″E / 34.63778°N 63.11556°E / 34.63778; 63.11556