Battle of Musa Qala 2007
Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Date | 7 December 2007 – 12 December 2007 | Wikidata |
|---|---|---|
| Year | 2007 | Wikidata P580 (start time) |
| Era | Post-1945 (1946 onwards) | derived from year |
| Location | Afghanistan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| War / conflict | War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | Wikidata P361 |
| Participants | Afghan National Army, International Security Assistance Force, United Kingdom, United States | Wikidata P710 |
| Coordinates | 32.4433, 64.7444 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Battle of Musa Qala (also Qaleh or Qal'eh) 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.
The operation was codenamed snakepit (Pashto: Mar Kardad). Senior ISAF officers, including U.S. general Dan K. McNeill, the overall ISAF commander, agreed to the assault on 17 November 2007. It followed more than nine months of Taliban occupation of the town, the largest the insurgents controlled at the time of the battle. ISAF forces had previously occupied the town, until a controversial withdrawal in late 2006.
It was the first battle in the War in Afghanistan in which Afghan army units were the principal fighting force. Statements from the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) emphasised that the operation was Afghan-led, although the ability of Afghan units to function without NATO control was questioned during the battle.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Musa Qala (revision 1370270265), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.
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Other battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- Siege of Kunduz 2001
- Battle of Takur Ghar 2002
- Operation Anaconda 2002
- Friendly fire incident at Sangin 2006
- Siege of Musa Qala 2006
- Battle of Chora 2007
- Battle of Firebase Anaconda 2007
- Operation Achilles 2007
- Battle of Arghandab (2008) 2008
- Battle of Ebrahimkhel 2008
All 33 battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) →
Browse more: battles in Afghanistan · Asia · Post-1945 battles