Fall of Herat
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Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.
Key facts
| Era | Date not recorded (no reliable year in Wikidata) | derived from year |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Afghanistan | Natural Earth (modern borders) |
| Continent | Asia | Natural Earth |
| Coordinates | 34.3419, 62.2031 | Wikidata P625 |
About the battle
The Fall of Herat was a battle and subsequent capture of Herat by Taliban fighters. The attack on the city started around 28 July 2021, and ended in Taliban victory by 13 August of the same year. Several of the surrounding districts fell to the Taliban from June to mid-July, leaving only the city and two other districts in government hands by 10 July. The border crossings in Herat Province were captured by the Taliban on 9 July, raising prices of goods inside the city. Ismail Khan, former governor and warlord, led a public uprising force to assist the Afghan National Security Forces in defending the city.
After fighting started in the city around the end of July, the Taliban launched a significant attack on 30 July, shutting down the Herat International Airport and temporarily taking the road leading to the airport. A few days later, some Heratis chanted "Allahu Akbar" (God is Great) in support of the government forces. The Taliban insurgents launched another significant attack on the city on 12 August, taking the city by night after a two-week siege. Fall of the city forced Ismail Khan and other top government officials to retreat to the provincial airport and the army corps headquarters outside the city.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Fall of Herat (revision 1370617784), 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.
Nearby battles
- Siege of Herat (1381) 1381 · 0 km
- Siege of Herat (1833) 1833 · 0 km
- Siege of Herat (1221) 1221 · 1 km
- First Herat War 1837 · 4 km
- Siege of Herat (652) 652 · 4 km
- Siege of Herat (1448) 1448 · 4 km
Browse more: battles in Afghanistan · Asia · Date not recorded battles