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Operation Luger was a joint military operation between the Canadian Forces and Afghan National Army. In July 2007, the Afghan-led operation was intended to enhance security within the Panjwayii district.
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Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for the Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush announced that airstrikes targeting Al-Qaeda and the Taliban had begun in Afghanistan. Operation Enduring Freedom primarily refers to the War in Afghanistan, but it was also affiliated with counterterrorism operations in other countries, such as OEF-Philippines and OEF-Trans Sahara.
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; however, it gradually took part in the broader war in Afghanistan against the Taliban insurgency.
Operation Athena was the Canadian Forces' contribution to the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. The operation was divided in two phases: the first one took place from July 2003 to July 2005 in the Kabul region and the second one from August 2005 to December 2011 in the Kandahar area. The operation's main objective was to improve Afghanistan's security and governance. Operation Athena in Kandahar constituted the longest combat mission in the history of Canadian Forces. With over 40,000 Canadian military units that, at some point, entered the country—often several times—this operation constitutes the largest military deployment of the Canadian Forces since World War II.
As of 18 May 2020, there have been 3,502 coalition deaths in Afghanistan as part of ongoing coalition operations since the invasion in 2001. In this total, the American figure is for deaths "In and Around Afghanistan" which, as defined by the United States Department of Defense, includes some deaths in Pakistan and Uzbekistan and the deaths of 18 CIA operatives.
Panjwayi is a district in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. It is widely considered the spiritual home of the Taliban and is located about 35 kilometres (22 mi) west of Kandahar. The district borders Helmand Province to the southwest, Maywand District to the west, Zharay District to the north, Arghandab, Kandahar and Daman districts to the east and Reg District to the south. The population was around 77,200 in 2006, most of which are peasants and poorly educated due to non-availability of schools. The district center is Bazar-e Panjwayi, located in the northern part of the district. The area is irrigated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority.
Canada's role in the Afghanistan War began in late 2001. Canada sent its first element of soldiers secretly in October 2001 from Joint Task Force 2, and the first contingents of regular Canadian troops arrived in Afghanistan in January–February 2002. Canada took on a larger role during the Afghan conflict starting in 2006 after the Canadian troops were redeployed to Kandahar province. 2,500 Canadian Forces (CF) personnel were in Afghanistan and 1,200 made up the combat battle group. At the 2012 NATO Summit in Chicago, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that an undisclosed number of Canadian soldiers would remain in the country to help train and mentor the Afghan National Army until 12 March 2014.
Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, is located about 9 nautical miles south-east of the city Kandahar in Afghanistan. It serves as the nation's second main international airport and as one of the largest main operating bases, capable of housing up to 250 aircraft of different sizes.
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 A Company, 2nd Battalion, 4th 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.
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 Battle of Panjwaii was fought in mid-2006 between primarily Canadian and Afghan soldiers, supported by small elements of Dutch, American, and British forces, and the Taliban. There were two separate times in which the forces were involved in heavy fighting in the region. The first phase was fought in July 2006, and the second encounter lasted from September to October 2006.
Operation Herrick is 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 central Asian country.
Following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, several nations took on Al-Qaeda and the Taliban during Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan. OEF was the initial combat operations starting on 7 October 2001, in the wake of the 11 September attacks on the United States, and during 2002 and 2003.
Operation Hoover was a 2007 Canadian-led offensive in the War in Afghanistan against the Taliban in the Kandahar Province district of Zhari. The aims of the operation were to root out as many as 300 suspected Afghan insurgents who had moved into the villages of the Zhari District. Operation Hoover was initially an H Company/A Squadron Combat Team operation, but grew to a 2nd Battalion Royal Canadian Regiment Battle Group operation for the final phase in Nalgham, Zhari. Operation Hoover was part of the overarching Operation Baaz Tsuka.
Afghanistan and Canada established diplomatic relations in 1968. In 2003, Canada opened its embassy in Kabul and appointed its first resident ambassador. Afghanistan appointed its first resident ambassador to Canada in 2002. In August 2021, Canada closed its embassy in Kabul with the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
The following lists events that happened during 2006 in 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.
Operation Baawar, was a major Afghan-led offensive in Afghanistan west of Kandahar City. The operation took place primarily in a sector known as the Horn of Panjwaii. The combat operation started on December 5, 2010. Canadian troops from Task Force Kandahar, including those from the 1st Battalion Royal 22e Régiment Battle Group, worked with the Afghan National Army's 1st Brigade of the 205th (Hero) Corps as part of the larger Operation Hamkari. Part of Operation Baawar included Canadian and Afghan engineering units building 17 kilometres (11 mi) of road between Mushan and Sperwan Ghar.
Harjit Singh Sajjan is a Canadian politician who has served as the minister of national defence since 2015. Before his entry into politics, Sajjan worked as a detective in the Vancouver Police Department and was a lieutenant-colonel in the Canadian Army. A member of the Liberal Party, Sajjan represents the British Columbia (BC) riding of Vancouver South in the House of Commons, taking office as member of Parliament (MP) following the 2015 election. He is Canada's first Sikh minister of national defence, and was also the first Sikh Canadian to command a Canadian Army reserve regiment.
Large-scale evacuations of foreign citizens and some vulnerable Afghan citizens took place amid the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the War in Afghanistan and the Taliban offensive in Afghanistan in 2021. After the fall of Kabul on 15 August 2021 and the collapse of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai International Airport remained the only non-Taliban controlled route out of the country, being protected by several thousand NATO troops.