1.
Operation Redwing
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Operation Redwing was a United States series of 17 nuclear test detonations from May to July 1956. They were conducted at Bikini and Enewetak atolls by Joint Task Force 7, the entire operation followed Project 56 and preceded Project 57. The primary intention was to test new, second-generation thermonuclear weapons, also tested were fission devices intended to be used as primaries for thermonuclear weapons, and small tactical weapons for air defense. Redwing demonstrated the first United States airdrop of a hydrogen bomb during test Cherokee. All shots were named after various Native American tribes
2.
Korangal Valley
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The valley is about 10 kilometers long and less than 1 kilometer wide. The valley has rocky mountains with limited agricultural land, the Korangal valley is lushly forested with pine trees. Much of the income is due to legal and illegal forestry. In 2006, U. S. military and the government of Afghanistan reclaimed the Lumber Yard, the Afghan government is working to find ways to boost the economy of the region so that illegal timbering can come to an end. In the meantime, the people of Kunar province are being trained to plant new trees to prevent deforestation. The valley includes more than a dozen villages, U. S, the strongly independent tribes of the Korangal Valley, who have opposed all forms of government other than a council of elders, viewed the U. S. troops as invaders. This created constant tension between the locals and the U. S. military which prevented significant progress against the Taliban. And so, after years of sustained fighting and casualties, the U. S. military closed Korangal Outpost on April 14,2010, forty-two American service men died fighting in the Korangal and hundreds were wounded, primarily between 2006 and 2009. Many Afghan soldiers died there as well, the valley has been dubbed The Valley of Death by American forces. British photographer Tim Hetherington won the World Press Photo award for 2007 with a shot he took while reporting on the war in Korangal Valley for Vanity Fair magazine in January 2008, the film was followed by a sequel, Korengal. Korengal,2014 documentary Restrepo,2010 documentary Valleys of Afghanistan Operation Rock Avalanche Death of Linda Norgrove Darack, victory Point, Operations Red Wings and Whalers – The Marine Corps Battle for Freedom in Afghanistan. New York Times, February 24,2008 Afghanistans Korengal Valley, msnbc. com video, Under fire from Afghanistan’s frontlines. October 20,2008 introduction and discussion, Confronting Afghanistans Valley of Death, gRITtv Interview With Laura Flanders and Tim Hetherington on Restrepo Wikimapia-Location of the Korangal Valley Panoramio-Location of Korangal Outpost
3.
Pech District
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Dara-I-Pech District is located western-central part of Kunar Province, Afghanistan,30 km West from Asadabad. The district is governed from Mano Gai, There are several large capillary valleys, such as the Korengal and Shuryak. There are 13 big villages and most of them are in the valleys of the mountainous district, There has been a timber market. Farming and animal husbandry are the sources of income. Health care and education need improvement, Nangalam, at the junction of the Pech and Waygal Rivers, is the largest town in the district. Formerly inhabited by speakers of a Pech Valley Dardic language called Nangalami, when it was rebuilt, the inhabitants were predominantly Safi Pashtuns. The major coalition base of Camp Blessing is located near Nangalam to the west, on 13 November 2003, an explosive device was detonated in a bus in the area, killing four people, two of them children. The Korengal Valley has been the scene of sustained fighting between U. S. forces and insurgents, the New York Times magazine ran a story by contributing writer Elizabeth Rubin entitled Battle Company Is Out There on Feb.24,2008. The book Sirens Song, The Allure of War by Antonio Salinas was published in 2012, the book depicts the experiences of an American Platoon at COP Honaker Miracle in the Dara-I-Pech District. Districts of Afghanistan Battle of Wanat Manogi airstrike AIMS District Map UNHCR District Profile
4.
Kunar Province
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Kunar is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It has a population of about 428,800 and it is one of the four N2KL provinces. Kunar is the center of the N2KL region, Kunar is birthplace of Sayyed Jamaluddin Afghani a very influential Muslim scholar and philosopher. Kunar province is located in the northeast of Afghanistan and it borders with Nangarhar Province to the south, Nuristan Province to the north, Laghman Province to the west and has a border with Pakistan in the east. The province covers an area of 4339 km2, nearly nine tenths of the province is mountainous or semi mountainous terrain while one eighth of the area is made up of relatively flat land. The primary geographic features of the province are the lower Hindu Kush mountains which are cut by the Kunar River to form the Kunar Valley. The river flows south and southwest from its source in the Pamir area and is part of the Indus River watershed via the Kabul River which it meets at Jalalabad. The Kunar is a primary draining conduit for the Hindu Kush basin and several tributaries, including the Pech, form distinct, the mountains, narrow valleys with steep walls, and rivers present formidable natural obstacles and have impacted all movement through the province throughout history. Even in the early 21st century, movement on foot, with pack animals, while the Diadochi were warring amongst themselves, the Maurya Empire was developing in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent. During the 120 years of the Mauryans in southern Afghanistan, Buddhism was introduced and eventually become a major religion alongside Zoroastrianism, the ancient Grand Trunk Road was built linking what is now Kabul to various cities in the Punjab and the Gangetic Plain. Commerce, art, and architecture developed during this period and it reached its high point under Emperor Ashoka whose edicts, roads, and rest stops were found throughout the subcontinent. Inscriptions made by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka, a fragment of Edict 13 in Greek, as well as a full Edict and it is said to be written in excellent Classical Greek, using sophisticated philosophical terms. And the king abstains from living beings, and other men, the last ruler in the region was probably Subhagasena, who, in all probability, belonged to the Ashvaka background. The region has been part of empires in the past. Many famous historical figures are believed to have visited the area, including Alexander the Great, Mahmud Ghaznavi, Xuanzang, Ibn Battuta, archaeologists have dated to AD 800-1000 a fortification system overlooking a Muslim cemetery at Chaga Serai. Babur wrote about Kunar in Baburnama and he also describes agriproducts citron, oranges, coriander, orchards, strong yellow wines, and a burial custom wherein a woman whose corpse moved was considered to have done good things in life. He mentions Chaghan-Sarai as a town, and describes the towns folk as Muslims who mixed with the Kafirs of nearby Kafiristan. He also claims to have captured the town, even as the Pech river Kafirs tried to help the Chaghan Sarai residents repel his attack
5.
Afghanistan
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Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located within South Asia and Central Asia. It has a population of approximately 32 million, making it the 42nd most populous country in the world. It is bordered by Pakistan in the south and east, Iran in the west, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikistan in the north and its territory covers 652,000 km2, making it the 41st largest country in the world. The land also served as the source from which the Kushans, Hephthalites, Samanids, Saffarids, Ghaznavids, Ghorids, Khiljis, Mughals, Hotaks, Durranis, the political history of the modern state of Afghanistan began with the Hotak and Durrani dynasties in the 18th century. In the late 19th century, Afghanistan became a state in the Great Game between British India and the Russian Empire. Following the Third Anglo-Afghan War in 1919, King Amanullah unsuccessfully attempted to modernize the country and it remained peaceful during Zahir Shahs forty years of monarchy. A series of coups in the 1970s was followed by a series of wars that devastated much of Afghanistan. The name Afghānistān is believed to be as old as the ethnonym Afghan, the root name Afghan was used historically in reference to a member of the ethnic Pashtuns, and the suffix -stan means place of in Persian. Therefore, Afghanistan translates to land of the Afghans or, more specifically in a historical sense, however, the modern Constitution of Afghanistan states that he word Afghan shall apply to every citizen of Afghanistan. An important site of historical activities, many believe that Afghanistan compares to Egypt in terms of the historical value of its archaeological sites. The country sits at a unique nexus point where numerous civilizations have interacted and it has been home to various peoples through the ages, among them the ancient Iranian peoples who established the dominant role of Indo-Iranian languages in the region. At multiple points, the land has been incorporated within large regional empires, among them the Achaemenid Empire, the Macedonian Empire, the Indian Maurya Empire, and the Islamic Empire. Archaeological exploration done in the 20th century suggests that the area of Afghanistan has been closely connected by culture and trade with its neighbors to the east, west. Artifacts typical of the Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Bronze, urban civilization is believed to have begun as early as 3000 BCE, and the early city of Mundigak may have been a colony of the nearby Indus Valley Civilization. More recent findings established that the Indus Valley Civilisation stretched up towards modern-day Afghanistan, making the ancient civilisation today part of Pakistan, Afghanistan, in more detail, it extended from what today is northwest Pakistan to northwest India and northeast Afghanistan. An Indus Valley site has found on the Oxus River at Shortugai in northern Afghanistan. There are several smaller IVC colonies to be found in Afghanistan as well, after 2000 BCE, successive waves of semi-nomadic people from Central Asia began moving south into Afghanistan, among them were many Indo-European-speaking Indo-Iranians. These tribes later migrated further into South Asia, Western Asia, the region at the time was referred to as Ariana
6.
United States
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Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico. The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America, bordered by Canada to the east, the state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The U. S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean, the geography, climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse. At 3.8 million square miles and with over 324 million people, the United States is the worlds third- or fourth-largest country by area, third-largest by land area. It is one of the worlds most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago. European colonization began in the 16th century, the United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast. Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the following the Seven Years War led to the American Revolution. On July 4,1776, during the course of the American Revolutionary War, the war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain, representing the first successful war of independence against a European power. The current constitution was adopted in 1788, after the Articles of Confederation, the first ten amendments, collectively named the Bill of Rights, were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties. During the second half of the 19th century, the American Civil War led to the end of slavery in the country. By the end of century, the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean. The Spanish–American War and World War I confirmed the status as a global military power. The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the sole superpower. The U. S. is a member of the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Organization of American States. The United States is a developed country, with the worlds largest economy by nominal GDP. It ranks highly in several measures of performance, including average wage, human development, per capita GDP. While the U. S. economy is considered post-industrial, characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy, the United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally, and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations. In 1507, the German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller produced a map on which he named the lands of the Western Hemisphere America after the Italian explorer and cartographer Amerigo Vespucci
7.
Erik S. Kristensen
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Erik S. Kristensen was a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy SEALs who was killed in action during Operation Red Wings. He and several other SEALs set off as part of a search and rescue mission, Kristensen was born into a military family of partial Danish and Norwegian ancestry. His father, Edward Kristensen, is an officer in the United States Navy who rose to the rank of Rear Admiral. As his father was in the military, Erik traveled widely with his family as a child, living in places as Japan, Guam, California, Maryland, Virginia and Washington. After graduation in 1995, he was commissioned an Ensign and served in the engineering and he attended the Graduate Institute at St. Johns College in Annapolis, Maryland, while he taught English at the U. S. Naval Academy. He left both his studies and teaching at the Academy to pursue Navy SEAL training. At age 27, one of the oldest in his class, the SEAL team was made up of Matthew Axelson, Danny Dietz, Marcus Luttrell, and Michael P. Murphy. Luttrell and Axelson were the teams snipers, Dietz was the communications officer, the four SEALs engaged local Taliban forces, they were engaged in an intense gun battle against a force of approximately 30-40 enemy fighters. Murphy risked his life to get off a message to his command. Of the four-man team, only Luttrell would survive, the battle was later called the worst single day loss of life for Naval Special Warfare personnel since World War II. It is the law of the battlefield, Kristensens funeral mass was performed on July 19,2005. His mother told the press her son would be buried in his Birkenstock sandals and he is interred at the U. S. Naval Academy Cemetery. A charity, the LCDR Erik S. Kristensen 90, USN, the fund seeks to assist a Gonzaga College High School student whose family serves in the U. S. armed forces. The Erik Kristensen Eye Street Klassic is held annually to raise money for the scholarship fund, in the 2013 film Lone Survivor, Kristensen is portrayed by actor Eric Bana. Erik S. Kristensen at Find a Grave Erik Kristensen Eye Street Klassic
8.
Michael P. Murphy
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Michael Patrick Murph Murphy was a United States Navy SEAL officer who was awarded the U. S. militarys highest decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions during the War in Afghanistan. He was the first member of the U. S. Navy to receive the award since the Vietnam War and his other posthumous awards include the Silver Star Medal and the Purple Heart. Michael Murphy was born and raised in Suffolk County, New York and he graduated from Pennsylvania State University with honors and dual degrees in political science and psychology. After college he accepted a commission in the United States Navy, after participating in several War on Terrorism missions, he was killed on June 28,2005, after his team was compromised and surrounded by Taliban forces near Asadabad, Afghanistan. A United States Navy destroyer and several civilian and military buildings have been named in his honor, Murphy was born on May 7,1976 in Smithtown, New York to Irish American parents Maureen and Daniel Murphy, a former assistant Suffolk County district attorney. He attended Saxton Middle School, where he played soccer and pee-wee football. In high school, he continued playing sports, and took a job as a lifeguard at the Brookhaven town beach in Lake Ronkonkoma. He returned to the job every summer throughout his college years, Murphy was known to his friends as Murph, and he was known as The Protector in his high school years. He also protected a man who was homeless, who was being attacked while collecting cans and he chased away the attackers and helped the man pick up his cans. In 1994, Murphy graduated from Patchogue-Medford High School and left home to attend The Pennsylvania State University and he graduated from Penn State in 1998, with degrees in both political science and psychology. Murphy was engaged to be married with the ceremony scheduled for November 2005, after graduating from Penn State, Murphy was accepted to several law schools, but decided to attend SEAL mentoring sessions at the United States Merchant Marine Academy. In September 2000, he accepted an appointment to the U. S. Navys Officer Candidate School in Pensacola, upon graduation from BUD/S, he attended the United States Army Airborne School, SEAL Qualification Training and SEAL Delivery Vehicle school. Murphy earned his SEAL Trident and checked on board SDV Team ONE in Pearl Harbor, in October 2002, he deployed with Foxtrot Platoon to Jordan as the liaison officer for Exercise Early Victor. Following his tour with SDVT-1, Murphy was assigned to Special Operations Command Central in Florida, after returning from Qatar, he was deployed to Djibouti to assist in the operational planning of future SDV missions. The war began on October 7,2001 with the response of the United States and United Kingdom to the September 11 attacks in New York City and Arlington, Virginia. In early 2005, Murphy was assigned to SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team ONE as officer in charge of Alpha Platoon, Operation Red Wings was a counter-insurgent mission in Kunar province, Afghanistan, involving four members of the United States Navy SEALs. Prior to a helicopter being shot down in 2011, it was both the largest loss of life for American forces since the invasion began and the largest loss for the SEALs since the Vietnam War. Marcus Luttrell was the only surviving American sailor from the squad, he was protected by local villagers, the team was dropped off by helicopter in a remote, mountainous area east of Asadabad in Kunar Province, near the Pakistan border
9.
United States Navy SEALs
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The United States Navys Sea, Air, and Land Teams, commonly abbreviated as the Navy SEALs, are the U. S. Navys primary special operations force and a component of the Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs main functions are conducting small-unit maritime military operations that originate from, and return to, the SEALs are trained to operate in all environments for which they are named. As of 2016, all active SEALs are currently male and members of the U. S. Navy, the CIAs highly secretive and elite Special Operations Group recruits operators from SEAL Teams, with joint operations going back to the MACV-SOG during the Vietnam War. This cooperation still exists today, as evidenced by military operations in Iraq, the modern day U. S. Navy SEALs can trace their roots to World War II. The United States Navy recognized the need for the reconnaissance of landing beaches. As a result, the Amphibious Scout and Raider School was established in 1942 at Fort Pierce, Florida. The Scouts and Raiders were formed in September of that year, just nine months after the attack on Pearl Harbor, from the Observer Group, a joint U. S. Army-Marine-Navy unit. The Scouts and Raiders mission was to identify and reconnoiter the objective beach, maintain a position on the designated beach prior to a landing, and guide the assault waves to the landing beach. The first group included Phil H. Bucklew, the Father of Naval Special Warfare, commissioned in October 1942, this group saw combat in November 1942 during Operation Torch on the North African coast. Scouts and Raiders also supported landings in Sicily, Salerno, Anzio, Normandy, a second group of Scouts and Raiders, code-named Special Service Unit No. 1, was established on 7 July 1943, as a joint, the first mission, in September 1943, was at Finschhafen in Papua New Guinea. Later operations were at Gasmata, Arawe, Cape Gloucester, conflicts arose over operational matters, and all non-Navy personnel were reassigned. The 7th Amphibious Scouts conducted operations in the Pacific for the duration of the conflict, the third and final Scouts and Raiders organization operated in China. Scouts and Raiders were deployed to fight with the Sino-American Cooperative Organization, to help bolster the work of SACO, Admiral Ernest J. King ordered that 120 officers and 900 men be trained for Amphibious Raider at the Scout and Raider school at Fort Pierce, Florida. They formed the core of what was envisioned as a guerrilla organization of Americans and Chinese operating from coastal waters, lakes and rivers employing small steamboats. While most Amphibious Raider forces remained at Camp Knox in Calcutta, in September 1942,17 Navy salvage personnel arrived at ATB Little Creek, VA for a week long course in demolitions, explosive cable cutting and commando raiding techniques. On November 10,1942, the first combat demolition unit successfully cut cable and this enabled the USS Dallas to traverse the water and insert U. S. Rangers who captured the Port Lyautey airdrome, on 6 June 1943, LCDR Kauffman established Naval Combat Demolition Unit training at Fort Pierce
10.
Boeing CH-47 Chinook
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The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engine, tandem rotor heavy-lift helicopter. Its primary roles are troop movement, artillery placement and battlefield resupply and it has a wide loading ramp at the rear of the fuselage and three external ventral cargo hooks. With a top speed of 170 knots the helicopter was faster than contemporary 1960s utility helicopters and attack helicopters, the CH-47 is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name is from the Native American Chinook people, the Chinook was designed and initially produced by Boeing Vertol in the early 1960s, it is now produced by Boeing Rotorcraft Systems. It is one of the few aircraft of that era – along with the fixed-wing Lockheed C-130 Hercules cargo aircraft – that remain in production and frontline service, with over 1,200 built to date. The helicopter has been sold to 16 nations with the U. S. Army, in late 1956, the United States Department of the Army announced plans to replace the Sikorsky CH-37 Mojave, which was powered by piston engines, with a new, gas turbine-powered helicopter. Turbine engines were also a key feature of the smaller UH-1 Huey utility helicopter. Following a design competition, in September 1958, a joint Army–Air Force source selection board recommended that the Army procure the Vertol medium transport helicopter, however, funding for full-scale development was not then available, and the Army vacillated on its design requirements. Vertol began work on a new tandem-rotor helicopter designated Vertol Model 107 or V-107 in 1957, in June 1958, the U. S. Army awarded a contract to Vertol for the aircraft under the YHC-1A designation. The YHC-1A had a capacity for 20 troops, three were tested by the Army for deriving engineering and operational data. However, the YHC-1A was considered by most of the Army users to be too heavy for the assault role, the decision was made to procure a heavier transport helicopter and at the same time upgrade the UH-1 Huey as a tactical troop transport. The YHC-1A would be improved and adopted by the Marines as the CH-46 Sea Knight in 1962, the Army then ordered the larger Model 114 under the designation HC-1B. The pre-production Boeing Vertol YCH-1B made its initial hovering flight on 21 September 1961, in 1962 the HC-1B was redesignated the CH-47A under the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system. It was named Chinook for the Chinook people of the Pacific Northwest, the CH-47 is powered by two Lycoming T55 turboshaft engines, mounted on each side of the helicopters rear pylon and connected to the rotors by driveshafts. Initial models were fitted with engines rated at 2,200 horsepower each, the counter-rotating rotors eliminate the need for an anti-torque vertical rotor, allowing all power to be used for lift and thrust. The ability to adjust lift in either rotor makes it sensitive to changes in the center of gravity. If one engine fails, the other can drive both rotors, the sizing of the Chinook was directly related to the growth of the Huey and the Armys tacticians insistence that initial air assaults be built around the squad. The Army pushed for both the Huey and the Chinook, and this focus was responsible for the acceleration of its air mobility effort, improved and more powerful versions of the CH-47 have been developed since the helicopter entered service
11.
Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk
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The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Armys Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System competition in 1972, the Army designated the prototype as the YUH-60A and selected the Black Hawk as the winner of the program in 1976, after a fly-off competition with the Boeing Vertol YUH-61. Named after the Native American war leader Black Hawk, the UH-60A entered service with the U. S. Army in 1979 and this was followed by the fielding of electronic warfare and special operations variants of the Black Hawk. Improved UH-60L and UH-60M utility variants have also been developed, Modified versions have also been developed for the U. S. Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. In addition to U. S. Army use, the UH-60 family has been exported to several nations, Black Hawks have served in combat during conflicts in Grenada, Panama, Iraq, Somalia, the Balkans, Afghanistan, and other areas in the Middle East. In the late 1960s, the United States Army began forming requirements for a helicopter to replace the UH-1 Iroquois, the Army also initiated the development of a new, common turbine engine for its helicopters that would become the General Electric T700. Based on experience in Vietnam, the Army required significant performance, the Army released its UTTAS request for proposals in January 1972. The RFP also included air transport requirements, Transport aboard the C-130 limited the UTTAS cabin height and length. Four prototypes were constructed, with the first YUH-60A flying on 17 October 1974, prior to delivery of the prototypes to the US Army, a preliminary evaluation was conducted in November 1975 to ensure the aircraft could be operated safely during all testing. Three of the prototypes were delivered to the Army in March 1976, for evaluation against the rival Boeing-Vertol design, the YUH-61A, the Army selected the UH-60 for production in December 1976. Deliveries of the UH-60A to the Army began in October 1978, after entering service, the helicopter was modified for new missions and roles, including mine laying and medical evacuation. An EH-60 variant was developed to conduct electronic warfare and special operations aviation developed the MH-60 variant to support its missions, due to weight increases from the addition of mission equipment and other changes, the Army ordered the improved UH-60L in 1987. The new model incorporated all of the made to the UH-60A fleet as standard design features. The UH-60L also featured more power and lifting capability with upgraded T700-GE-701C engines and its external lift capacity increased by 1,000 lb up to 9,000 lb. The UH-60L also incorporated the automatic control system from the SH-60 for better flight control due to handling issues with the more powerful engines. Production of the L-model began in 1989, Development of the next improved variant, the UH-60M, was approved in 2001, to extend the service life of the UH-60 design into the 2020s. The UH-60M incorporates upgraded T700-GE-701D engines, improved rotor blades, and state of the art electronic instrumentation, flight controls and aircraft navigation control. After the U. S. DoD approved low-rate initial production of the new variant, manufacturing began in 2006, after an initial operational evaluation, the Army approved full-rate production and a five-year contract for 1,227 helicopters in December 2007
12.
Boeing AH-64 Apache
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The Boeing AH-64 Apache is an American four-blade, twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a two-man crew. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems and it is armed with a 30 mm M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircrafts forward fuselage. It has four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons, typically carrying a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, the AH-64 has a large amount of systems redundancy to improve combat survivability. The Apache originally started as the Model 77 developed by Hughes Helicopters for the United States Armys Advanced Attack Helicopter program to replace the AH-1 Cobra, the prototype YAH-64 was first flown on 30 September 1975. The U. S. Army selected the YAH-64 over the Bell YAH-63 in 1976, after purchasing Hughes Helicopters in 1984, McDonnell Douglas continued AH-64 production and development. The helicopter was introduced to U. S. Army service in April 1986, the first production AH-64D Apache Longbow, an upgraded Apache variant, was delivered to the Army in March 1997. Production has been continued by Boeing Defense, Space & Security, American AH-64s have served in conflicts in Panama, the Persian Gulf, Kosovo, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Israel used the Apache in its conflicts in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, British and Dutch Apaches have seen deployments in wars in Afghanistan. Following the cancellation of the AH-56 Cheyenne in 1972, in favor of projects like the U. S, the Army wanted an aircraft better than the AH-1 Cobra in firepower, performance and range. It would have the maneuverability for terrain following nap-of-the-earth flying, to this end, the U. S. Army issued a Request For Proposals for an Advanced Attack Helicopter on 15 November 1972. As a sign of the importance of project, in September 1973 the Army designated its five most important projects as the Big Five. Proposals were submitted by Bell, Boeing Vertol/Grumman team, Hughes, Lockheed, in July 1973, the U. S. Department of Defense selected finalists Bell and Hughes Aircrafts Toolco Aircraft Division. This began the phase 1 of the competition, each company built prototype helicopters and went through a flight test program. Hughes Model 77/YAH-64A prototype first flew on 30 September 1975, while Bells Model 409/YAH-63A prototype first flew on 1 October 1975, after evaluating the test results, the Army selected Hughes YAH-64A over Bells YAH-63A in 1976. Reasons for selecting the YAH-64A included its more damage tolerant four-blade main rotor, weapons and sensor systems were integrated and tested during this time, including the laser-guided AGM-114 Hellfire missile. In 1981, three pre-production AH-64As were handed over to the U. S. Army for Operational Test II, the Army testing was successful, but afterward it was decided to upgrade to the more powerful T700-GE-701 version of engine, rated at 1,690 shp. The AH-64 was named the Apache in late 1981, keeping with the Armys traditional use of American Indian tribal names for its helicopters, in 1983, the first production helicopter was rolled out at Hughes Helicopters facility at Mesa, Arizona. Hughes Helicopters was purchased by McDonnell Douglas for $470 million in 1984, the helicopter unit later became part of The Boeing Company with the merger of Boeing and McDonnell Douglas in August 1997
13.
2001 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened during 2001 in Afghanistan. President, Burhanuddin Rabbani, Hamid Karzai January 1 - The Afghan Northern Alliance captured the Ghalmin district in Ghor province, the Taliban tried several times to recapture the area but failed. Retreating Taliban left five dead soldiers behind, another 13 Taliban were reportedly wounded. Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan authorities in Afghanistan raised postal rates beyond affordable levels for the majority of ordinary citizens, January 3 - Taliban forces pounded opposition positions with heavy artillery initiating a counter-attack to retake the Ghalmin district in Ghor province, Afghanistan. Fighting between the Taliban and opposition forces was reported in northeastern Afghanistan near the border with Tajikistan, a meeting held in head District of Bamyan province, Afghanistan was attended by a large number of the people including Ustad Akbari. Leaders denounced the conspiracies and plots of anti-Islamic states, including the United States, the United Nations announced that the number of its foreign workers returning to Afghanistan had reached 24, and would increase, but not go beyond 34. Less than two earlier, the U. N. had pulled all of its workers from the nation to coincide with sanction activities. January 4 - A Chinese delegation of the Chinese OFEM company arrived in Kabul, the delegation met with Taliban Minister for Water and Power Maulvi Ahmed Jan, visited the Sarobi dam and pledged to install new turbine in the power house. Delegates also made commitment about the installation of mobile system in Afghanistan. The Taliban admit that resistance forces have captured the important town of Bamiyan after heavy fighting. January 5 - In Patras, Greece, while attempted to board a ship bound for Italy, Eight were injured and taken to a hospital for treatment. The rest were arrested by authorities, Taliban leader Mohammad Omar decrees that religious conversion away from Islam will be punishable by death. Omar suggests that forces are attempting to undermine the Islamic regime by covertly preaching Christianity. Early January - The UNHCR expresses serious concern for some 10,000 Afghan refugees camping on the northern border with Tajikistan. Mid-January - The International Red Cross announces that it will end its mission in Kabul. The 20,000 families that have been receiving aid from the ICRC since 1994 will be given their last shipment of cooking oil, rice, soap, mid-January - Supporters of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance reportedly retake the town of Yakawlang after heavy fighting. The UN reports that Taliban forces killed around 100 civilians when they reentered the town in December 2000 after briefly losing control of it, the UN also says that large numbers of refugees have fled the town despite severe winter weather. January 22 - The Taliban regime reveals Afghanistans revamped air traffic control system, the upgrade is likely to increase the amount of air traffic flying over Afghanistan in future
14.
2002 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened during 2002 in Afghanistan. President, Hamid Karzai 3–14 January, U. S. aircraft bomb a suspected Taliban complex in eastern Afghanistan. 1st Class Nathan Ross Chapman of San Antonio, Texas, was killed in an ambush in eastern Afghanistan, a CIA operative was also wounded. Marines are killed when their plane hits a mountain while landing in Pakistan, in the first three months of the campaign,15 U. S. personnel have died. Thursday, January 10, U. S. forces engage in a firefight with forces as a transport plane takes off in Kandahar. January 24, the Hazar Qadam raid sees Americans accidentally attack an allied compound collecting weapons for their Karzai government Sunday, January 27, Special forces backed a local Afghan militia attack which killed 6 Al-Qaeda personnel held up in a hospital in Kandahar. Saturday, February 2, Afghan interim leader Hamid Karzai established a committee to investigate factional violence threatening the stability of Afghanistan. The nine-member commission, headed by Border Affairs Minister Amanullah Zadran, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimated that 55,000 people at one Spinboldak camp were Kochi. Ten truckloads of weapons and ammunition were sent to re-arm the men of Hamid Karzais recently appointed governor for Paktia, Bacha Khan. Forces loyal to warlord Padshah Khan did not want Bacha Khan as governor and were dismayed that U. S. forces operating in the area would not come to their rescue, the U. S. military finished construction of Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Sunday, February 3, In Gardez, Afghanistan, Afghan and United Nations mediators, joined by U. S. officials, extracted a conditional cease-fire agreement from Bacha Khan and Padshah Khan. A group of 75 Canadian soldiers, the first in a contingent of 750. Monday, February 4, Yacine Akhnouche and two others were arrested near Paris, arknouche told police he had met suspected shoe bomber Richard Reid and Zacarias Moussaoui at a training camp in Afghanistan in 2000. Tuesday, February 5, Calling on his countrymen to take each others hands to rebuild the nation, the flag had been originally approved by the 1964 constitution as Afghanistans national emblem but had not flown over government offices in Kabul since the Taliban took over in the early 1990s. The ceremony, which lasted about 15 minutes, was attended by ministers, diplomats. Interim leader Afghan Hamid Karzai met with visiting British Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon, at their talks, Karzai requested that the British-led peacekeeping force expand beyond Kabul, but Hoon said he believed the current deployment level was adequate. Wednesday, February 6, In attempts to bring peace between feuding warlords, Afghanistans interim leader Hamid Karzai visited Herat, the United States brought another 34 al-Qaeda and Taliban suspects to Camp X-Ray on Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Sunday, February 10, Interim Afghan leader Hamid Karzai released more than 300 captured Taliban soldier, Karzai said they were innocent and urged them to find jobs
15.
2004 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened during 2004 in Afghanistan. Advisors from the United Nations and the United States were present to help mediate between the two sides, the primary controversy concerned whether to have a strong president or a strong parliament. Canadian governor general Adrienne Clarkson left Kabul, ending a four-day visit with aid workers and soldiers at Camp Julien and Camp Warehouse. About 60 miles northeast of Kunduz, several people were detained by U. S. and Afghan troops during a raid of a drug facility, once the people were removed a U. S. A-10 Thunderbolt II was called in to destroy the laboratory. Saturday, January 3 – A rocket exploded in Kabul, near Deh Rawood, Uruzgan Province, men attacked a U. S. military convoy that had arrested three relatives of Haji Ghulam Nabi. Sunday, January 4 – The loya jirga adopted the proposed Afghan Constitution by way of consensus, monday, January 5 – North of Qalat, Zabul Province, men kidnapped an Afghan aid worker who was part of a caravan for Shelter For Life. Two local people were shot and injured when they tried to stop the militants, Taliban spokesman Mullah Abdul Hakim Latifi claimed responsibility. Gunmen threw grenades and opened fire on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees office Kandahar, lakhdar Brahimi, the United Nations envoy to Afghanistan stepped down as promised to do once the Constitution of Afghanistan was approved. Brahimis position was filled on an interim-basis by his deputy for political affairs, Three soldiers of the Afghan National Army died and two were wounded in a clashed with forces under the control of the Zabul Province governor. Among the dead was the commander of the division in Zabul. In Teheran, India, Iran and Afghanistan signed an agreement to give Indian goods heading for central Asia and Afghanistan similar preferential treatment and tariff reductions at Chabahar. Tuesday, January 6 – In Kandahar, at least sixteen people were killed and 58 people were wounded when a bomb hidden in an apple cart exploded 100 yards away from an Afghan military base. The crowd had gathered to investigate another bomb that had gone off 15 minutes earlier, a suspect was caught trying to hide in a nearby home. The blasts occurred moments before a motorcade was about to pass, in Afghanistan, a minibus on its way from Uruzgan to Helmand was ambushed by gunmen, leaving twelve Hazara passengers dead. He called for political and donor conference to address these concerns. A grenade was thrown at the Core office in Kandahar, speaking to the media via satellite telephone, senior Taliban commander Mullah Sabir Momin apologized for the bomb attack in Kandahar the previous day that killed fifteen, including many children. Momin said the target was the U. S. Provincial Reconstruction Team office in Kandahar, U. S. and Afghan National Army forces launched an operation in Spin Boldak with the goal of arresting Taliban leaders, particularly fugitive commander Mullah Akhter Mohammad
16.
2005 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened during 2005 in Afghanistan. President, Hamid Karzai In February 2005, U. S and he made the remarks while visiting Afghan President Hamid Karzai in Kabul as part of a five-member, bi-partisan Senate delegation travelling through the region for talks on security issues. The same delegation also included then-Senator Hillary Clinton, now U. S. Secretary of State, joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Richard Myers told reporters in Kabul that the U. S. Defense Department was studying the feasibility of such permanent military bases. Rumsfeld refused to say whether the U. S. wanted permanent American military bases in Afghanistan, may - Riots and protests that had started over a false report in Newsweek of U. S. interrogators desecrating the Koran and turned into the biggest anti-U. S. Protests in Afghanistan since the 2001 invasion included demands that the Kabul government reject U. S. intentions to create a permanent military presence in Afghanistan, june 27 - The U. S. -led Operation Red Wings began
17.
2007 in Afghanistan
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Events from the year 2007 in Afghanistan. President, Hamid Karzai January 11 - In the ongoing Operation Mountain Fury, January 31 - A terror plot has been foiled in the UK, where nine people have been arrested in Birmingham under suspicion of planning the kidnap and filmed execution of a British Muslim soldier. The alleged plot intended to pressure Prime Minister Tony Blair into withdrawing British troops from Afghanistan, february 14 - The United States redeploys the 173rd Airborne Brigade to Afghanistan to prepare for an anticipated spring offensive by the Taliban. February 16 - Abdul Tawala Ibn Ali Alishtari is charged in New York City with financing terrorism, february 18 - Eight U. S. troops are killed and 14 wounded in a helicopter crash in south-eastern Afghanistan, the U. S. -led coalition has said. February 18 - Police in Pakistan detain 36 people, mainly Afghan refugees, february 22 - Vice-President of the United States Dick Cheney arrives in Australia to discuss issues including Iraq, Afghanistan and the detention of David Hicks with the Australian government. Upon arrival he is greeted by violent demonstrations, february 26 - United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence Des Browne announces the deployment of an additional 1,400 troops to Afghanistan. March 1 - Pakistani authorities capture Mullah Obaidullah Akhund, a former Defense Minister of Afghanistan under the Taliban, March 4 - War in Afghanistan Taliban insurgency, Two British soldiers serving with the NATO International Security Assistance Force are killed in Helmand province during clashes with Taliban forces. U. S. troops open fire after a bomb attack on a convoy and kill as many as 19 civilians. Local people protest at the soldiers actions, March 6 - NATO-led forces launch Operation Achilles against the Taliban in Helmand province. March 10 - President George W. Bush approves 8,200 more United States troops for Iraq and Afghanistan. March 13 - Spanish police arrest Brian David Anderson, a Canadian citizen, in Madrid, on behalf of the U. S. government, for engaging in fraud. March 19 - Daniele Mastrogiacomo, an Italian journalist working for La Repubblica, is set free by the Taliban and he had been kidnapped in the Afghan province of Helmand on March 6. March 23 - War in Afghanistan A Taliban attack on a convoy carrying supplies to troops in southern Afghanistan kills 17 Afghan security guards. US Marines accused of shooting and killing civilians after a bombing in Afghanistan are under investigation. April 3 - The 14th annual summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation begins in New Delhi, India, seven NATO soldiers die as a result of car bombings in southern Afghanistan as it conducts an offensive against the Taliban. The Taliban claims it has killed an Afghan reporter abducted with Daniele Mastrogiacomo because the government of Afghanistan refused to ransom demands. April 10 - Australian Prime Minister John Howard announces that 300 soldiers from the Australian Special Air Service Regiment will be sent to Orūzgān Province, april 11 - The United States Secretary of Defense Robert M. Two Canadian soldiers are killed when a bomb explodes
18.
2008 in Afghanistan
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See also,2007 in Afghanistan, other events of 2008,2009 in Afghanistan and Timeline of the War in Afghanistan. Events from the year 2008 in Afghanistan, president, Hamid Karzai Chief Justice, Abdul Salam Azimi January 14, The 2008 Kabul Serena Hotel attack leaves six people dead. January 25, A small element of U. S and his actions cost him his life, but he saved the lives of 7 members of his team and 15 Afghan National Army soldiers, he was awarded the Medal of Honor. February 17,2008 Kandahar bombing kills 100 people, the deadliest suicide bombing of the war, february 26, a Danish Leopard 2 was hit by an explosive device, damaging one track. No one was injured and the returned to camp on its own for repairs. The U. S. government suspended, on March 27,2008, AEY Inc. of Miami, Florida, United States Army-documents showed that since 2004 the company entered agreements with the U. S. government that totaled about $10 million. The papers also revealed the company received much larger orders in 2007 with contracts totaling more than $200 million to supply ammunition, assault rifles, Army criminal investigators were sent to look at the packages in January 2008. The committee reported in June 2008, april 4 - Mikhail Krotov, General Secretary of the Interparliamentary Assembly of the Commonwealth of Independent States, said that Afghanistan indicated its desire to become a CIS member. Afghanistans parliament had a status in the Assembly since 2006. The firefight lasted about a quarter of an hour, with 3 dead, marines assaulted the town of Garmsir in Helmand province, a region of Afghanistan where the Taliban had a stronghold. May 13-23, Norwegian-led ISAF forces conducted an operation in Badghis province. May 26,70 Rangers from D Company, 2nd Battalion,1 Ranger was awarded the Medal of Honor. June 10, Gora Prai airstrike in Pakistan kills 11 Pakistani paramilitary troops, Taliban attack the Sarposa Prison, freeing up to 1,000 prisoners. June 27, a NATO Apache helicopter killed Mullah Sadiqullah, a key Taliban planner, facilitator, july 5, A Danish Leopard 2A5 hit an IED in Helmand Province, resulting in the drivers death. During the same contact with Taliban forces, a tank was caught in an explosion. July 7, The 2008 Indian embassy bombing in Kabul kills 58, india blames the Pakistani ISI for the attack. Taliban fighters attack a NATO base, killing nine American soldiers, a missile strike from a British aircraft killed Abdul Rasaq, a Taliban leader who led fighters around Musa Qala. August 19, The Taliban kill 10 French soldiers in the Uzbin valley ambush, august 22, The Azizabad airstrike kills between 78 and 92 civilians mostly in Herat province during an US-led attack on the village of Azizabad
19.
2009 in Afghanistan
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Events from the year 2009 in Afghanistan President, Hamid Karzai Chief Justice, Abdul Salam Azimi A supply route through Pakistan, by way of Chaman, was briefly shut down in early 2009. On January 10, tribesmen used vehicles to block the road to protest a raid by Pakistani counter-narcotics forces that left one villager dead, the protesters withdrew on January 14 after police promised to take their complaints to provincial authorities. United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs re-establishes its presence in Afghanistan, february 6–7,2009, British and Afghan forces carried out Operation Diesel near Sangin, Helmand Province. March 30,2009, Operation Arctic Torch II. PRT, 1st Infantry division battles with 300 Afghan fighters in Doab, close air support allegedly kills100 AAF fighters. May 4,2009, The Granai airstrike kills 86-145 people, on September 4,2009, the Kunduz airstrike killed up to 179. American F-15E fighter jet struck two fuel tankers captured by Taliban insurgents, however, a number of civilians were also killed in the attack. In October 2009, there were 72 American deaths,8 on October 28 alone, there have been 255 American deaths in 2009, a 43% increase of last year. An increased U. S. and foreign role in security and governance will increase Afghan dependence, Karzai also said that Afghanistans security forces will need U. S. support for another 15 to 20 years. According to this study major planning to create long-term political, social, the Taliban offered to give the U. S. legal guarantees that they will not allow Afghanistan to be used for attacks on other countries. There was no formal American response, in mid-December the British Army and Afghan workers begin construction of the Route Trident road in Helmand Province. On December 16–18,2009, Coalition troops conducted Operation Septentrion, at least one Taliban fighter was killed and three injured. The operation was led by Lieutenant-Colonel Herve Wallerand, sixteen months previously, the Uzbin Valley ambush by the Taliban in the area of Sarobi had killed 10 French soldiers and wounded 21. In overall 2009,520 NATO soldiers killed,317 US soldiers,108 UK soldiers and 95 Other NATO soldiers killed in 2009
20.
2010 in Afghanistan
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Events from the year 2010 in Afghanistan. The Khataba raid refers to the killing of five innocent civilians including two pregnant women and a girl when US special forces raided their house on February 12. The Uruzgan helicopter attack refers to the killing of a number of Afghan civilians including four women. The attack took place on February 21,2010 near the border between Uruzgan and Daykundi province when special operation troops helicopters attacked three minibuses with airborne weapons. In early February Coalition and Afghan forces began highly visible plans for an offensive, codenamed Operation Moshtarak and it began on 13 February and, according to U. S. and Afghan officials, was the first operation where Afghan forces led the coalition. The offensive involved 15,000 US, British and Afghan troops and it was the biggest joint operation since the 2001 invasion that ousted the Taliban. The troops were fighting over an area of less than 100 square miles, on 12 March 2010 Route Trident, a new road built by the British Army and Afghan workers in Helmand province officially opens to traffic. President Hamid Karzai pledged that tribal leaders would be consulted before any coalition push to oust the Taliban from Kandahar, a magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck in mountains north of Afghanistans capital, killing at least seven people and injuring 30, officials said. The Taliban announced an offensive during spring and launched several attacks against International Security Assistance Forces. June 6 - Amrullah Saleh, Director of Afghanistans intelligence service National Directorate of Security, Saleh was seen as strongly committed to fighting terrorism. General Stanley McChrystal is forced to resign after a controversial Rolling Stone magazine article and he was replaced by David Petraeus. On June 10, at least 40 civilians were killed in a bomb attack at a wedding in the Arghandab District of southern Kandahar Province. Afghan authorities accused the Taliban, but they denied involvement in the attack, building on commitments made at the recent international London Conference, the conference aims to support a peaceful, stable and prosperous Afghanistan. It will be opened by H. E, President Hamid Karzai, and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, and co-chaired by Foreign Minister Rassoul and UN Special Representative Staffan de Mistura. The Taliban claimed responsibility and alleged the group were spies and tried to convert Muslims, jobless rural youth are the focus of a new Afghan security plan designed to help defeat Taliban insurgents mostly in the south, east and southeast of the country. The government, which already has about 200,000 national police and army personnel at its disposal, says it also needs local combatants to help fight Taliban insurgency. It is unclear exactly what Mr. Salehi does in exchange for his money, whether providing information to the spy agency, advancing American views inside the presidential palace, the Afghan parliamentary election,2010 to elect members of the Wolesi Jirga took place on 18 September 2010. Final results were not expected until at least October, the number of U. S. and NATO air strikes over Afghanistan has spiked since General David Petraeus replaced General Stanley McChrystal
21.
2011 in Afghanistan
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Events from the year 2011 in Afghanistan. At the same time, U. S. Sen. S. is intent on occupying Afghanistan, the Pentagon announced it was temporarily sending 1,400 more Marines to southern Afghanistan in the coming weeks to build on security gains there. Karzais office had announced a one-month inauguration delay, saying that the court on election fraud needed more time to investigate complaints from losing candidates. The decision drew criticism from the United Nations mission in Afghanistan, karzais special court is investigating as many as 56 of the 249 parliament members, senior Western officials said. These officials say theyve been promised that only a fraction of that number will actually be targeted by the court, a French ministry spokesperson responded the French government would not change their stance on Afghanistan, and that their presence was meant to help the Afghan people. The shop is frequented by foreigners, located at the heart of a district, just a few hundred metres from the British, Canadian, Japanese. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they were targeting the head of a foreign security company. But the city police chiefs office said that there were foreigners among the wounded. Meanwhile, the deputy governor of Kandahar province was killed in an attack and his driver was wounded. The attacker strapped a bomb to a motorcycle and drove near the deputy governors car when he was on his way to the office. Just days later, a bomber killed a district governor and six other people in the district of Chardara in Kunduz Province. There were suicide bombers involved, and nine children were wounded, after first responders arrived at the scene, a car bomb detonated, resulting in more casualties. Adding that he condemns the deaths, Karzai pledged to send investigators to the remote district. NATO said that it would investigate the allegations and confirmed an ongoing operation in the restive area. We are conducting an assessment of these allegations and will report our findings. The U. S. military later denied Afghan government accusations that Gen, no one was injured in the attack, but it came hours after a visit by South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, raising suspicions of Taliban involvement. The opening ceremony of the base was postponed indefinitely, Afghanistan could face a serious drought in 2011 that would make millions of poor go hungry and fuel instability. Drought could be averted if rain and snow fall heavily in coming weeks, Pakistan said a diplomatic row with Washington over a jailed U. S. citizen should not scuttle talks between Pakistani and Afghan officials on the war in Afghanistan
22.
2012 in Afghanistan
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Events from the year 2012 in Afghanistan. January 3 - War in Afghanistan A suicide bomber kills four civilians, at least twelve people are killed in three bombing attacks in southern Afghanistan. January 31 - An Afghan woman was killed by her husband, pakistan Air Force jets bomb militant positions in the Orakzai and Kurram Agency areas near the border with Afghanistan with claims that 31 alleged insurgents were killed. February 22 -2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests Hundreds of Afghans hold violent protests against the burning of Qurans at the Bagram Airbase north of Kabul. The United States Embassy in Kabul goes into lockdown as a result of the protests, Afghan protesters attack a Norwegian base in Faryab province on the Turkmenistan border. February 24 - At least 12 people are killed in the deadliest day of protests so far resulting from U. S. soldiers incineration of copies of the Koran. February 25 -2012 Afghanistan Quran burning protests Two U. S. officers are killed inside the Ministry of Interior in Kabul, four people are killed in protests in Kunduz. February 26 - France and Germany follow the United States and United Kingdom in withdrawing civilian staff from Afghan government facilities following the killing of two senior NATO officers, february 27 - A suicide car bomber explodes at Jalalabad Airport, killing nine. March 2 - Afghanistans National Religious Council submitted a resolution to president Karzai stating that Afghan women should follow a code of conduct. Some provisions of the code angered woman rights activists, for instance, the code stated that women should not mingle with strange men in places such as schools, markets and offices. The code also allowed husbands to beat their wives, President Karzai approved the Councils resolution, causing criticism. ISAF commander Gen. John R. Allen said the deeply appalling incident in no way represents the values of ISAF, march - Afghans have run out of patience with foreign troops, the countrys MPs have warned, after a US soldier killed 16 Afghan civilians. The strongly-worded resolution came as US officials issued an alert, fearing reprisals after the Kandahar rampage, nine children were among those killed. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the act was unforgivable and Taliban militants have vowed revenge, Nato has promised to deliver justice. The killings could further fuel calls for a rapid withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. They come amid already high anti-US sentiment in Afghanistan following the burning of Quran at a Nato base in Kabul last month, US officials have repeatedly apologised for that incident. April - A suicide bomber kills at least 12 people and injures many more in Afghanistans Faryab province,11 April - Afghan President Hamid Karzai raised the possibility to hold presidential elections in 2013, instead of 2014 as scheduled. He issued the concern that having the complete security handover and a presidential election take place in one, Karzai said, This is a question that Ive had and Ive raised it in my inner circle
23.
2013 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened in 2013 in Afghanistan. President, Hamid Karzai Chief Justice, Abdul Salam Azimi January 6 - Suicide bombers kill four in an attack in Spin Boldak. January 16 - The Afghan National Directorate of Security headquarters in Kabul are attacked by a team of suicide bombers, January 26 - A suicide bombing at a market in Kunduz kills at least ten people and wounds up to twenty others. January 27 - At least twenty members of the Afghan National Police have been killed in bomb attacks over the past day with eight police officers killed in the latest attack in Kandahar. February 10 - American general Joseph F. Dunford, Jr. takes over command of NATO forces in Afghanistan, february 13 - Afghan officials say that a NATO airstrike in the Kunar Province kills 10 civilians and injures more including 3 children. President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai orders the United States to leave Wardak province amid allegations of torture associated with US special forces, february 27 - Taliban insurgents kill 17 Afghan government-affiliated militia personnel in an overnight attack in Andar District of eastern Ghazni Province. March 2 - The news website Tolo News quotes the head of the All-Pakistan Ulema Council Tahir Ashrafi as endorsing suicide bombers in Afghanistan, Ashrafi denies saying the words, yet still the alleged statement causes concern in Afghanistan. March 9 - At least 19 people are killed by two suicide bombings in Kabul, and in Khost Province, as Chuck Hagel, the United States Secretary of Defense, visits the city. March 11 - Two US and three Afghan soldiers are killed in Wardak Province in the latest insider attack against coalition forces, in a separate incident, two Afghan civilians are shot dead by American soldiers after failing to stop at a checkpoint near Kabul. March 11 - Five U. S. service members are killed after a crash during a rainstorm in Daman district of Kandahar Province. March 13 - A suicide bomber kills 10 spectators, including the police chief. March 25 - The United States agrees to hand over Bagram Jail, its main facility in Afghanistan. March 25 - United States Secretary of State John Kerry meets with the President of Afghanistan Hamid Karzai to talk about the two countries strained relations. March 26 Australia announces that it will be closing its base in Tarinkot in Urozgan Province, a suicide attack on a police station in Jalalabad, kills five police officers while seven attackers die. One British soldier is killed and nine are wounded by Taliban insurgents in an attack on a base with a truck bomb and small arms fire in Helmand Province. March 26 - The Arab League summit begins in Qatar, Doha, with the Syria conflict, april 3 - more than 46 people are killed and more than 100 injured following an attack by Taliban militants armed with suicide vests on a courthouse in Farah. April 4 - An airstrike conducted by NATO kills at least five people in the eastern Afghan province of Ghazni. April 6 - A bombing in Qalat, capital of the southern Kabul Province, an American civilian dies in another attack in the east of the country
24.
2014 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events from 2014 in Afghanistan. January 8 - A book released by former U. S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates criticizes President Barack Obama for his handling of the War in Afghanistan. January 9 - The government of Afghanistan announces the release of 72 Taliban fighters from jails, january 11 - A four-year-old Afghan boy is killed by U. S. troops. January 17 - Twenty-one people are killed in a bombing attack on a Kabul restaurant. January 26 - A suicide bomber attacks an army bus in Kabul, february 10 - A car bomb detonates in Kabul, killing two contractors working with ISAF. Afghanistan releases 65 prisoners from the Parwan Detention Facility despite concerns by the United States that the men were responsible for attacks on NATO, february 24 - Senior Taliban commander Asmatullah Shaheen Bhittani is killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. March 1 - A welcome home parade in Darwin marks the end of Australias active involvement in the Afghanistan War. March 6 - A NATO airstrike mistakenly hits an Afghan military outpost in Logar Province killing 5 Afghan soldiers, march 11 - Gunmen in Kabul kill Swedish Radio foreign correspondent Nils Horner. March 12 - Three Taliban insurgents are killed by a team of Afghan police, the Taliban claims they killed four commandos and five policemen, which police deny. March 18 - A suicide rickshaw bomber detonates in a marketplace in Maymana, killing 15 people, march 20 - Four suspected Taliban members attack the luxurious Kabul Serena Hotel, killing at least 9 people, including 4 foreigners. Suicide bombers attack a police station in the city of Jalalabad resulting in at least 11 deaths and 22 people being injured, april 2 - A suicide bomber wearing a military uniform strikes a voter registration office in Kabul, killing 6 police officers. April 4 - Two members of the Associated Press are shot by an Afghan wearing a uniform in Khost. One of them, Pulitzer Prize winner and photojournalist Anja Niedringhaus, is killed, april 24 - A policeman shoots dead three American medical staff in Kabul. The policeman is reported to have shot himself after the attack, april 26 - Five British ISAF personnel are killed in a military helicopter crash in Kandahar province. April 26 - The death toll from recent flooding in northern Afghanistan rises to 123, april 26 - Afghan Presidential elections are set to go to a second round between former foreign minister Abdullah Abdullah and Ashraf Ghani after no candidate won an absolute majority in first round. May 2 - A landslide strikes the town of Hobo Barik in Badakhshan province with at least 350 people dead, may 4 - The Government of Afghanistan declares a day of national mourning for the victims of the mudslides. May 8 - A roadside bomb near the Afghan border in North Waziristan, Pakistan, may 21 - The Taliban launch attacks in Badakhshan and Laghman provinces, killing 10 policemen and 3 civilians. May 23 - Gunmen attack the Indian consulate in Herat Province, may 27 - Barack Obama, the President of the United States, announces that 9,800 U. S. troops will stay in Afghanistan for a year after the withdrawal of combat troops in December
25.
2015 in Afghanistan
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The following lists events that happened during 2015 in Afghanistan. January 14 – A U. S. drone strike killed at least 2 al-Qaeda militants and accidentally killed 2 hostages, Warren Weinstein, january 15 – Afghan security officials arrest five men in Kabul in relation to their suspected involvement in the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in Pakistan. January 29 – Taliban insurgency Taliban attacks across Afghanistan kill 17 people, three American contractors are killed at Hamid Karzai International Airport. February 9 - A US Air Force drone strike in Helmand Province killed Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim, february 25 – At least 187 people are killed in avalanches in northeastern Afghanistan. February 26 – A Taliban suicide bomb attack on a Turkish government vehicle in Kabul kills at least one person, march 25 – The Afghan National Army kills twenty-nine insurgents and injures twenty-one others in a series of operations in Daikundi, Ghazni, and Parwan provinces. April 18 - A major suicide bomb attack in Jalalabad killed more than 30 people, a spokesman for the ISIL said it carried out the attack. April 24 - The Battle of Kunduz begins, late May - Secret talks were held in the Chinese city of Urumqi between Afghanistans peace envoy and representatives of the Taliban. The meeting was facilitated by Pakistans intelligence agency ISI. Suicide bombers attack Hetal Hotel in May 2015, norwegian Marine Special forces weere central in saving 37 Australian hostages while they were in direct contact with the Australian ambassador in Kabul. 2015 Kabul Parliament attack - the Taliban use a car bomb, assault rifles and RPGs to attack the parliament, killing a woman and injuring 30 civilians. July 7 - The third senior group commander of ISIL in Afghanistan, july 13 - At least 33 people have been killed in a suicide car bomb attack near Camp Chapman housing both Afghan and international troops in Khost province. July 20 - Eight Afghan soldiers were killed and 5 wounded by fire from a U. S. Apache helicopter in Logar province. Early August - A Taliban suicide bomber attacked a checkpoint near the entrance to the airport in Kabul. August 22 - A Suicide attack on a NATO convoy in Kabul kills 12, August 26 - Two NATO soldiers were killed in an insider attackin Helmand province. October 1 to 4 - U. S. aircraft launched 22 airstrikes over four days on Taliban targets in Kunduz, october 2 - A U. S. C-130 aircraft crashed at Jalalabad airport in a non-hostile incident, killing 12. October 3 - A USAF AC-130U gunship attacked the Kunduz Trauma Centre operated by Médecins Sans Frontières during the Battle of Kunduz, killing at least 30 people and injuring over 30. October 10 - An RAF Puma Mk2 helicopter crashed as it was landing at NATO training and support mission HQ in Kabul, also that day, the Taliban attacked a British military convoy in Kabul, there were no British casualties however 7 Afghans were injured. October 13 - A U. S. F-16 was struck by insurgent small arms fire whilst flying over Paktia province, october 14 - U. S. and Afghan forces retake the city of Kunduz after the Taliban withdraws from the city
26.
United States invasion of Afghanistan
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The war in Afghanistan followed the 2001 United States invasion of Afghanistan. Supported initially by the United Kingdom, the US was later joined by the rest of NATO and its public aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda and to deny it a safe base of operations in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power. Key allies, including the United Kingdom, supported the U. S. from the start to the end of the phase and this phase of the war is the longest war in United States history. In 2001, U. S. President George W. Bush demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden and expel al-Qaeda, bin Laden had already been wanted by the United Nations since 1999. The Taliban declined to extradite him unless given evidence of his involvement in the September 11 attacks, the request for evidence was dismissed by the U. S. as a delaying tactic, and on 7 October 2001 it launched Operation Enduring Freedom with the United Kingdom. The two were joined by other forces, including the Northern Alliance which had been fighting the Taliban in the ongoing civil war since 1996. In December 2001, the United Nations Security Council established the International Security Assistance Force, at the Bonn Conference the same month, Hamid Karzai was selected to head the Afghan Interim Administration, which after a 2002 loya jirga in Kabul became the Afghan Transitional Administration. In the popular elections of 2004, Karzai was elected president of the country, NATO became involved in ISAF in August 2003, and later that year assumed leadership of it, with troops from 43 countries by this stage. NATO members provided the core of the force, one portion of U. S. forces in Afghanistan operated under NATO command, the rest remained under direct U. S. command. The Taliban was reorganised by its leader Mullah Omar, and in 2003, launched an insurgency against the government, the Taliban exploited weaknesses in the Afghan government, among the most corrupt in the world, to reassert influence across rural areas of southern and eastern Afghanistan. In the initial years there was fighting, but from 2006 the Taliban made significant gains. ISAF responded in 2006 by increasing troops for operations to clear and hold villages and nation building projects to win hearts. Violence sharply escalated from 2007 to 2009, while ISAF continued to battle the Taliban insurgency, fighting crossed into neighboring North-West Pakistan. On 2 May 2011, United States Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden in Abbotabad, in May 2012, NATO leaders endorsed an exit strategy for withdrawing their forces. UN-backed peace talks have taken place between the Afghan government and the Taliban. In May 2014, the United States announced that its combat operations would end in December 2014. In October 2014, British forces handed over the last bases in Helmand to the Afghan military, on 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government. Tens of thousands of people were killed in the war, over 4,000 ISAF soldiers and civilian contractors as well as over 15,000 Afghan national security forces were killed, as well as nearly 20,000 civilians
27.
Operation Rhino
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Air power, first by bombs dropped from B-2 stealth bombers, then by fire from orbiting AC-130 aircraft. These air strikes resulted in a number of enemy KIAs and several enemy fleeing the area, following the air strikes, the 4 MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft flew over the drop zone at 800 feet. In zero illumination,199 Rangers proceeded to exit the MC-130s, AC-130 gunships remained orbiting over the DZ in case the Rangers ran into trouble, the Rangers met almost no resistance. Once on the ground, A Company, 3/75 Rangers, cleared several objectives, code-named TIN and IRON, C Company moved out towards a walled compound, code-named objective COBALT. With the landing strip secured, a MC-130 landed with medical personnel from JSOCs JMAU proceeded to treat 2 Rangers who had injured during the jump. USAF Combat Controllers surveyed the landing strip, assessing it for future use. They also communicated with the AC-130s which were circling high overhead, when a small number of enemy troops and vehicles were spotted approaching the area, the AC-130s engaged and destroyed them. Once rearmed and refueled, the SOAR helicopters took off and left the area, with all objectives completed, the Rangers and Combat Control Teams boarded the MC-130s which soon departed. PSYOP leaflets were left behind for any Taliban who might have ventured onto the scene over the coming days, the Helicopter crashed due to a brownout. As a result of the raid, a base was set up over the airstrip and it was then handed off to the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, who began leading forward operations throughout Kandahar along with the U. S. Armys 101st Airborne Division
28.
Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif
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The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif in November 2001 resulted from the first major offensive of the Afghanistan War after American intervention. After the fall of outlying villages, and an intensive bombardment, several hundred pro-Taliban fighters, including many Pakistani volunteers, were killed. Approximately 500 were captured, and approximately 1,000 reportedly defected, the capture of Mazar-i-Sharif was the first major defeat for the Taliban. The Taliban recaptured the city in 1997 and controlled it thereafter, in the days leading up to the battle, Northern Alliance troops advanced on population centers near the city, such as Shol Ghar, which is 25 kilometers from Mazar-i-Sharif. Phonelines into the city were severed, and American officials began reporting accounts of anti-Taliban forces charging Afghan tanks on horseback and it was seized two days later. Ethnic Hazara forces of Mohammad Mohaqiqs Hezbe Wahdat took part in the offensive, special Forces set up laser designators to serve as beacons for guided munitions, highlighting targets around the city. He claimed that with Mazar-i-Sharif on the brink of invasion, the US was responsible to ensure there were no reprisal killings of Taliban members by the Northern Alliance. He noted that when the city had been overrun, thousands had been murdered by both sides and this was one of the heaviest campaigns up to that point. Nevertheless, the Taliban claimed they had infiltrated 500 fighters into the city to prepare for the coming battle, initial rumors claimed that the Afghan fighters were unimpressed by the American bombardment and believed that their opponents refused to advance on the city. The ragtag non-uniformed Northern Alliance forces entered the city from the Balk Valley on begged, borrowed and confiscated transportation, by sunset, the Taliban forces had retreated to the north and east. Some feared that they were massing for a counter-offensive and it was later estimated that 400-600 people died in the battle, although it was not possible to separate civilian and combatant deaths. Approximately 1,500 Taliban were captured or defected, as many as 900 Pakistani volunteers reached Mazar-i-Sharif in the following days while the majority of the Taliban were evacuating. Many of these fighters were recruited by a Pakistani Mullah, Sufi Mohammed and those who go on jihad live forever, in paradise. When these volunteers reached the city in the days when the Taliban were evacuating, many of them were alone and confused. The group, chiefly consisting of boys, gathered in the Sultan Razia Girls School, where they began negotiating their surrender. All the while they fired at anyone who moved within the vicinity of the building, including civilian bystanders. After the envoys murder, the Northern Alliance began returning fire on the school with machine guns and this gun battle went on for hours. Inside the battered school, someone scrawled on the walls the words of their mullah, Die for Pakistan, Never surrender, at mid-afternoon, U. S. military advisers approved the building for a bombing run
29.
Siege of Kunduz
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The Siege of Kunduz took place in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan. After the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif on November 9, the focus of the Northern Alliance advance shifted towards the city of Kunduz, which was the last remaining Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan. Forces under the command of General Mohammed Daud Daud met up with American Special Forces advisers and advanced to the city of Taloqan, there, Dauds forces attacked without American air support, quickly routing the Taliban and seizing control of the city. After routing the Taliban at Taloqan, Dauds forces moved to besiege Kunduz and they initially met heavy resistance, leading Daud to decide to entrench his forces around the city and use American air support to weaken the Taliban. For the next days, American aircraft bombarded Taliban positions. On November 22, Dauds forces captured the town of Khanabad. With their position deteriorating, the Taliban forces inside Kunduz agreed to surrender on November 23, after the Taliban surrender, there were reports of looting by Northern Alliance soldiers as well as reports of the executions of Taliban prisoners. Human rights groups estimate that several hundred or several thousand captured prisoners died in or after transit to Sherberghan prison, the deaths have become known as the Dasht-i-Leili massacre. Allegations have been made, notably by columnist Ted Rall and Jamie Dorans 2002 documentary Afghan Massacre, The Convoy of Death, that U. S. troops were involved. A July 2009 report in the New York Times caused United States President Barack Obama to order a probe into how the Bush administration handled calls for investigation of the massacre
30.
2001 uprising in Herat
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The 2001 uprising in Herat was a coordinated insurrection and uprising in the Afghan city of Herat as part of the United States war in Afghanistan. The city was captured on November 12 by Northern Alliance forces as well as Special Forces of the United States, the United Kingdom, Special Operations teams consisted of U. S. Army Rangers and Delta force under the command of CENTCOM General Tommy Franks. Iranian forces consisted of agents of the Quds Force under the command of Major General Yahya Rahim Safavi, UK Special Forces for reasons of national security remain anonymous and do not out their formal command structure. The plan, organized by General Franks and General Safavi, was for Iranian Special Forces to discreetly enter the city and this sudden event was to coincide with the entrance of Ismail Khan’s band of Northern Alliance militia members into the city. Special Forces and CIA agents would oversee the operation in Tehran alongside Iranian military intelligence, combat operations began on October 7,2001. Towards the end of the month, U. S. air strikes hit targets in and around Herat, including tanks, communications facilities and this also includes the Herat airport, where Russian-made fighters were destroyed. Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha 554 was inserted by helicopter near Herat, the Northern Alliance, Shi’ite Hazara factions, and a small group of U. S. Special Forces then entered the city, herati residents also took part in the uprising with sticks, knives, and guns hidden throughout the populace. The city fell as the Taliban fled towards the mountains along the Iranian border, prisoners, including Chechen and Arab volunteers, were taken to undisclosed locations. The uprising was met with gunfire from residents. Iranian media even went as far as to report widespread celebration including ‘dancing on the rooftops’, Ismail Khan consolidated his power as Amir of western Afghanistan, reportedly accepting truck loads of money from Iran over the following month to secure loyalty of his forces. Khan granted amnesty for former Taliban fighters, but warned of repercussions if said fighters were to take up once again. Khan remained governor of Herat until 2004, when he was dismissed by Afghan President Hamid Karzai, khans dismissal was met with violent protests
31.
Fall of Kandahar
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The Fall of Kandahar took place in 2001 during the War in Afghanistan. After the fall of Mazar-i-Sharif, Kabul and Herat, Kandahar was the last major city under Taliban control, Kandahar was where the Taliban movement had originated and where its power base was located, so it was assumed that capturing Kandahar would be difficult. The city fell after several weeks of fighting to a force of militia under Pashtun military commanders. The fall of Kandahar signaled the end of organized Taliban control of Afghanistan, anti-Taliban commander Gul Agha Sherzai was contacted by an American special forces A-team on November 18. His forces numbered about 800 men, but were outnumbered and under-equipped. After receiving supplies, they moved out on November 22 in a convoy of over 100 vehicles, attempting to bypass Taliban strongholds, Sharzais convoy halted outside the Taliban-held town of Takht-e-pol. While trying to negotiate a surrender, the convoy was ambushed by Taliban forces, Sharzais forces drove the Taliban back with the help of American air support. The Taliban retreated and abandoned the Takht-e-pol area, on November 27, the 15th MEU was joined by a unit of the Australian Special Air Service Regiment and began joint operations against Taliban forces. After the Battle of Tarin Kowt, the Eastern Alliance under the command of Hamid Karzai spent several weeks in Tarin Kowt attracting recruits and his forces swelled to around 800 men as he prepared to move on Kandahar from the north. On November 30, Karzais force began advancing towards the town of Petaw, after taking Petaw without a fight, Karzais force attempted to take the bridge at Sayd Alim Kalay but was halted by stiff Taliban resistance. After a two-day battle involving heavy airstrikes the Taliban withdrew on December 4, Karzais force seized a bridgehead on the other side. The next day, a stray American bomb landed on an American position, Karzais men maintained their positions and began negotiations with the Taliban for the surrender of Kandahar. On December 7, Sharzais men began their assault on Kandahars airport and they discovered that the Taliban had already surrendered the city to Karzais forces. Sharzais men entered the city and Sharzai was declared governor of Kandahar, Karzai had already been declared president of Afghanistan
32.
Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
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The prisoners violently revolted and the ensuing fighting escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the conflict. It took Northern Alliance fighters, assisted by British and American special forces and air support, all but 86 prisoners were killed as well as a number of Northern Alliance fighters. The only U. S. fatality was the CIA officer Johnny Mike Spann, among the surviving prisoners were two American citizens suspected of fighting with the Taliban, Yaser Esam Hamdi and John Walker Lindh. Dostum described the Taliban surrender as a victory for the Alliance. Thousands of prisoners were transported to the Sheberghan Prison, on November 24, between 300 and 500 foreign suspects were transported on flatbed trucks to the fortress, now turned into a prison. The prisoners had not been searched, and some had concealed weapons during the surrender, on the day of the surrender, two prisoners committed suicide with grenades and killed one of Dostums commanders and some others in two separate incidents at the makeshift prison. Despite the deaths, the National Islamic Movement militia did not reinforce security at the prison, the CIA officers questioned selected prisoners, especially one Sulayman al-Faris who was an American citizen born as John Walker Lindh. Approximately two hours after the interviews began, a number of prisoners, some of them with concealed grenades, suddenly rose up and attacked their captors, who were outnumbered about four to one. With Spann missing in the chaos, Tyson escaped to the northern and more part of the fortress. He borrowed their satellite phone, and called the U. S. embassy in Uzbekistan, Tyson specifically requested no air support, due to the proximity of allied Afghan forces. The Afghans also brought reinforcements, their personnel and a T-55 tank entered the compound, from 4 pm until nightfall, they directed two U. S. fighter-bomber aircraft for nine airstrikes against the entrenched prisoners, who continued to put up a fierce resistance. Despite Tysons requests, 500-pound precision-guided bombs were dropped on the armory and he and the German journalists were rescued when a relief action by four U. S. troops enabled them to escape. The next day, the allied Afghan militia set up a command-and-control post near the gate to direct their tank. By mid-morning they were joined by U. S. S, Navy surgeon, and eight soldiers of the 10th Mountain Division. At 11 pm, a GBU-32 guided bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds, was dropped, directed by the Air Force Special Tactics combat controller on the CAS-1 team who called in the JDAM strike. The pilot mistakenly punched in the coordinates, hitting the combat controllers position. That night two AC-130 Spectre gunships circled over the fortress, firing at the prisoners, the main ammunition depot was hit, creating a massive explosion which continued to burn throughout the night. One prisoner managed to escape from the fort, only to be captured and lynched by the local population, by the morning of November 27, prisoner resistance had slackened
United States
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