Battle of Qala-i-Jangi

The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi was a prison riot that took place between November 25 and December 1, 2001 in northern Afghanistan near Mazar-i-Sharif . Up to 600 Taliban, 40 Afghan security forces and one US soldier died in the fighting.

prehistory

After the Taliban government was overthrown by the Northern Alliance , several hundred people surrendered near Kunduz and Mazar-e Sharif , who were taken to the old fortress of Qala-i-Jangi , which had been converted into a prison, to be interrogated by the CIA . Most of the prisoners were fighters from Pakistan , Chechnya , Uzbekistan and the Arabic-speaking Middle East . Up until November 24th, between 300 and 500 people were housed in the former fortress. Suicides and armed assaults occurred among prisoners, but despite the assault, security has not been increased.

Events

On November 25, two CIA agents, Johnny Spann and Dave Tyson , interrogated several prisoners. Among them Sulayman al-Faris, an American who was born under the name John Walker Lindh . About two hours after he was interrogated, some of the prisoners started attacking the outnumbered guards. In a suicidal way they used smuggled grenades and killed several of their guards, whereby they were able to capture some of the firearms, grenade launchers, mortars and associated ammunition stored in the southern part of the fortress.

Johnny Spann disappeared into the chaos, while Dave Tyson was able to escape to the northern part of the system, where he called for reinforcements via the satellite telephone of a television team of the WDR ( Arnim Stauth received several awards for reporting ). In the meantime, reinforcements of the Afghan security forces arrived and began to bombard the area controlled by the insurgents with tank support. The following combat operations were well documented by the camera teams present and offer some rare recordings of operations by the special forces . From 2:00 p.m. American Army Special Forces and British units from the Special Boat Service joined the battle. These caused nine air strikes against the stubbornly entrenched inmates before dark, which enabled Dave Tyson and the WDR television team to escape.

The next day, the various special forces divided themselves up and the Afghan armed forces and planned an attack on the part of the facility occupied by the prisoners. A JDAM bombardment weighing 2000 pounds (957 kg) was ordered in preparation for the attack . However, the wrong coordinates were accidentally shot at, resulting in the Northern Alliance position being hit. According to various sources, four to 30 soldiers died.

On the second night, the insurgents were fired at from the air by two AC-130s , which hit and destroyed the main ammunition depot. One of the prisoners managed to escape, but was killed by the local population.

From the morning of November 27, resistance eased noticeably. An attack by the insurgents was successfully repulsed and towards the end of the day a large part of the area was retaken. Occasionally there were firefights and a few suicide attacks with grenades. The body of CIA employee Johnny Spann was found with a booby trap. Over 100 prisoners holed up in the center of the facility in a vaulted cellar. Explosives and oil that was set on fire were used; nevertheless, the prisoners offered bitter resistance.

General Dostum arrived on November 28th and tried unsuccessfully to persuade the last prisoners to surrender. The next day he ordered the cellar to be flooded with water, and the last prisoners surrendered on December 1st. Of the 300 to 500 prisoners, only 86 were still alive, some of whom later died from their injuries. More than 60 prisoners died in the flooded basement.

consequences

Among the survivors was the injured and severely hypothermic John Walker Lindh. He was identified by CNN reporter Robert Young Pelton . Lindh was returned to the United States , charged with treason and sentenced to 20 years in prison. At least 50 of the other prisoners were taken to the Guantanamo Bay detention center. After three years without trial, another prisoner, US citizen Esam Hamdi, was released and deported to his home country of Saudi Arabia.

Major Mark E. Mitchell, an officer in the US Army Special Forces, received the Distinguished Service Cross for his conduct in combat . This was the first time this award has been presented since the Vietnam War . In addition, Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass was awarded the Navy Cross and CIA employee Johnny Spann was awarded an Intelligence Star posthumously .

Controversy

Due to the high number of deaths and the massive use of firepower, the Northern Alliance was accused of violating the Geneva Conventions . Some soldiers found dead with their hands tied behind their backs. Afghan militants were also reported to have removed gold teeth from fallen prisoners and killed at least two instead of capturing them. Amnesty International and the UN called for an independent investigation, but the US and UK governments refused on the grounds that the use of air strikes and heavy weapons against the insurgents was fully justified.

The Afghan security forces were criticized for failing to search the prisoners and thus allowing grenades to be smuggled into the prison. The prisoners were also housed at a former Taliban base, which they knew very well about. And they were interrogated in groups, which put the interrogators in unnecessary danger. General Dostum later admitted that these were all mistakes. The then CIA director, George Tenet , denied any allegations and praised his staff as heroes in the war on terror .

media

The documentary The House of War , by Robert Young Pelton and Paul Yule , describes the events in Qala-i-Jangi in greater detail. The film contains footage from CNN and ARD and shows, among others, Mike Spann and Dave Tyson moments before the uprising.

The writer Frederick Forsyth used parts of the fighting in his thriller The Afghane .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Terrain of Death . In: Der Spiegel . No. 49 , 2001, p. 182-184 ( online ).
2. ↑ ^{a b} Death in the afternoon . In: Der Spiegel . No. 10 , 2003, p. 112 f . ( online ).
3. ↑ jouralistenakademie.de. Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  
4. ^ Mediating Conflict. Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  
5. ^ Historycommens.org. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
6. ↑ faz.net - 20 years imprisonment for US Taliban Lindh. Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  
7. ↑ amnesty.de. (No longer available online.) Archived from the original on April 17, 2015 ; accessed on April 16, 2015 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
8. ↑ valor.military.com. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
9. ↑ welt.de - UN demands investigation. Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  
10. ↑ cnn.com - house of war. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved April 17, 2015 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.