Operation Anaconda
British pioneers destroy a tunnel complex between the provinces of Paktika and Paktia on May 10, 2002 . (Operation Snipe)
| date | March 1st to 18th, 2002 |
|---|---|
| place | Southeast of Afghanistan , east of Gardez and north of Khost |
| output | not clear |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Commander | |
|
Saifur Rahman Mansoor |
Lieutenant General Franklin L. (Buster) Hagenbeck (USA) |
| Troop strength | |
| 500–1,500 fighters | 2,000 soldiers |
| losses | |
|
approx. 500-800 fighters |
15 fallen US soldiers |
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Operation Anaconda was the code name for a military, multinational enterprise under the command of US forces in eastern Afghanistan in March 2002. Together with allied Afghan militias and special forces from several nations, al-Qaeda and Taliban units were to operate in the Shahi Kot valley and the Arma Mountains south of Zormat are tracked down and fought. The operation was the first major combat after the main activities in the war in Afghanistan using conventional armed forces with direct combat participation.
Between March 2 and March 16, 2002 1,700 flown in US soldiers and 1,000 Afghan militiamen fought against 1,000 al-Qaida and Taliban fighters for control of the Shahi Kot valley. The al-Qaida and Taliban fighters holed up in caves and crevices of the high mountains and fought the US-led troops with mortars and machine guns . The US armed forces estimated the troop strength of the rebels in the Shahi Kot Valley at 150 to 200 men at the beginning of the operation, but their actual strength was, according to later estimates, closer to 500 to over 1,000.
Units involved
From the US point of view, it was Advanced Force Operations ; Troops from the 10th US Mountain Division , the 101st Airborne Division , the so-called Screaming Eagles , the US Special Forces Task Force 11 , Task Force Bowie and Task Force Dagger, the British Royal Marines , the Canadian 3rd Battalion, the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the Afghan National Army , the Australian Special Air Service Regiment, and the New Zealand Special Air Service . The operation also took place with the participation of the German special forces command .
Course of the operation
- March 1, 2002: Operation Anaconda begins in the area of the Shahi-Kot Valley and the Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat. US special forces invade the area and set up three observation posts: Juliet, India, and Mako 31. Groups Juliet and India consist mainly of units from the US Army Delta Force . They should take positions to be able to observe the north and south of the Shahi-Kot valley and the approaches from Gardez. Mako 31 is a small SEAL reconnaissance mission, consisting of units from DEVGRU . Your task is to set up an observation post on the ridge "Finger", which should enable the reconnaissance of landing zones for the Rakkasan Task Force .
- March 2, 2002: The Army Chief Warrant Officer Stanley L. Harriman, of the Third Special Forces Group , is the mistaken shelling out an AC-130H Specter - attack aircraft on the road from Gardez to Shahi-Kot Valley killed.
- March 4, 2002: Seven US soldiers from various Special Operation Forces are killed during a reconnaissance mission in the Shahi Valley. At around 3 a.m., a low-flying MH-47 Chinook helicopter attempting to land on the summit of Takur-Ghar was hit by a rocket-propelled grenade that damaged its hydraulic system and later forced it to make an emergency landing. The force of the hit caused Navy Seal Petty Officer Neil C. Roberts to fall from the helicopter. His comrades only noticed his absence after the emergency landing 7 km further. A second helicopter picks up the crew of the first helicopter and the US Navy Seals and drops them about two hours after the accident at their comrade's crash site, where they themselves come under heavy fire and another soldier dies. Neil C. Roberts is already dead by this point and has been abducted by al-Qaeda fighters. The Special Forces are forced to withdraw. Two more CH-47 helicopters with the order to drop down rescue teams of the United States Army Rangers are sent and one of them is also shot down while attempting to land. In the subsequent firefight, four US soldiers die before the rest of the enemy are killed. After more than 17 hours of fighting, the surviving and dead Navy Seals and Rangers are flown out.
- March 6, 2002: An American air strike near the village of Shikin kills 14 people.
- March 10, 2002: Major Bryan Hilferty announces that "the main fighting has been over for three or four days ." 400 soldiers return to their base.
- March 12, 2002: US-led troops take control of the valley and the cave complexes.
- March 18, 2002: General Tommy Franks declares Operation Anaconda over and rates it "an undeniable and complete success" .
However, there have also been voices that have doubts about the effectiveness of the operation in fighting al-Qaeda and Taliban units. The British Royal Marines commander told the United States Department of Defense that the operation had been a military failure.
Operations Snipe and Condor
The British Royal Marines then carried out Operation Snipe with 1000 soldiers from the 45th Commando Group between May 2 and 13, 2002 , a search for al-Qaida fighters in southeastern Afghanistan, which only discovered an underground cave system and weapons cache were. British pioneers from Task Force Jacana destroyed the tunnel complex. Operation Condor took place from May 17 to 22, 2002, with little preparation after an Australian special unit was attacked by an al-Qaida group. No Taliban or al-Qaida troops were fought or captured.
At the end of April the British commander admitted that such a difficult enemy could hardly be dealt with with large task forces. "We have a big, well-trained, well-equipped hammer, but we can't find a pin to hit on."
An Afghan villager is quoted as saying, “There have never been any Arabs in this valley. […] The English are wasting their time. But you are welcome because if you find out that there is no one here, the Americans will not bomb our villages. "
In mid-July, the last British units returned to Bagram Air Force Base .
literature
- Lester W. Grau: The Coils of the Anaconda. America's First Conventional Battle in Afghanistan. (Dissertation) University of Kansas, 2009
- Sean Naylor: Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda . Berkley Publishing Group, New York 2005, ISBN 0-425-20787-0 .
- Malcolm MacPherson: Roberts Ridge - A Story Of Courage And Sacrifice On Takur Ghar Mountain, Afghanistan . Bantam Dell, New York 2006, ISBN 0-553-58680-7 .
Web links
- Uli Rauss: Special Forces Command - The professionals . In: Stern . November 13, 2004. Article with reference to the German involvement in Operation Anaconda.
- Christoph Reisinger: Anaconda is becoming a blindworm . In: Stuttgarter Nachrichten . March 6, 2012.