Battle of Wanat

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Wanat
partof=the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)


caption=
date=July 13, 2008
place=Kunar province, Afghanistan
result=Strategically indecisive; US withdrawal from outpost.
combatant1=flag|United States,
flagicon|Afghanistan Afghan National Army
combatant2=flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban Taliban,

and others
commander1=1st Lt. Jonathan P. BrostromKIA
commander2=Sheikh Dost Mohammad [ [http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?203161 Taliban claim killing 20 US troops in Kunar] , Pak Tribune, "Dozens die as US jets bomb civilians", July 14, 2008.]
strength1=45 US troops,
25 Afghan troops,
Close-Air Support
strength2=200 Taliban fighters
casualties1=9 killed, 15 wounded (U.S.);
4 killed, 4 wounded (ANA)cite web|url = http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2008/07/200871463317512597.html |title = Al Jazeera English - CENTRAL/S. ASIA - Taliban fighters storm US base |accessdate = 2008-07-16]
casualties2=US Estimate: 40 killed,
20-40 wounded (unconfirmed) [ [http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=5373104&page=2 Taliban Flexing Muscle in Afghanistan] , ABC News, "Remote Afghan Outpost Reinforced After Attack That Killed 9 U.S. Troops", July 15, 2008]

The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008 when approximately 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked a NATO position in Waygal district, in the far eastern province of Nuristan, Afghanistan. The position was reportedly being defended by 2nd platoon, Chosen Company, [http://www.173abnbde.setaf.army.mil/2-503rd/home.htm 2nd Battalion] , 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army, (based in Vicenza, Italy), as well as 6 soldiers from Charlie Company 62 Engineer Battalion, 36 Engineer Brigade. Nine American soldiers were killed and fifteen wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were wounded. 40 militants were killed and between 20 and 40 wounded.

The attack was the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 19 American Special Operators and Airmen were killed when their helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade during Operation Red Wing. [cite web|url = http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/14/afghan.violence/index.html |title = 'Heroic' fighting repels Afghan militants - CNN.com |accessdate = 2008-07-16]

Background

During 2008 NATO operations in South Eastern Afghanistan has been to deploy patrols of sub-company strength elements in an effort to disrupt Taliban activities in the border areas with Pakistan. [cite web|url = http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/07/joint_al_qaeda_and_t.php |title = Joint al Qaeda and Taliban force behind Nuristan base attack, Long War Journal, 14 Jul 08 |accessdate = 2008-07-18] Patrols have established a number of small patrol bases in the region, which is recognised as a supply route for Taliban activity leading from the Federally Administered Tribal Regions of Pakistan. These patrol sites are subject to regular attack by Taliban forces.cite web|url = http://abcnews.go.com/International/Story?id=5373104&page=1 |title = ABC News: Even 500 Lbs Bombs Couldn't Stop Taliban |accessdate = 2008-07-16] During June a force of 70 American and Afghan troops were operating in the vicinity of Wanat, establishing a patrol base and overt Observation PostGall, Carlotta, and Eric Schmitt, [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/world/asia/15afghan.html?hp "Taliban Breached NATO Base In Deadly Clash"] , "New York Times", July 15, 2008, pg. 6.] with the mission of disrupting Taliban activity in the area. The base covered an area about 300 meters long by 100 meters wide.Wiltrout, Kate, "Soldier From Eastern Shore Recounts Deadly Battle In Afghanistan", "Virginian-Pilot", July 19, 2008.]

The Battle

The attack on the American and Afghan troops began around 4:30 a.m. and lasted throughout the day. Taliban forces fired on the base from the village using machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars, exploiting homes and a mosque in the village as cover. Another 100 militants attacked the observation post from farmland to the east.

The first RPG and machine gun fire hit the forward operating base's mortar pit. The insurgents next destroyed the TOW truck inside the combat outpost with RPGs. After this they attacked the base's observation post, where nine soldiers were positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the main base. Of those nine, five died, and at least three others were wounded. [ [http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56237 Soldiers recount deadly attack on Afghanistan outpost | Stars and Stripes ] ]

Coalition troops responded with machine guns, grenades, and artillery. The Taliban briefly breached the walls of the observation post before being driven out. After almost half an hour of intense fighting the observation post had to be abandoned and the surviving soldiers withdrew to the FOB. Some militants also managed to get into the main base's earthen barriers. Two American soldiers, Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom and Corporal Jason Hovater, were killed trying to deliver ammunition to their comrades who were running low. [Blitzer, Wolf, and Barbara Starr, "Soldier Discusses Deadly July 13 Attack By Taliban Forces", "The Situation Room", CNN, August 19, 2008.]

Coalition soldiers managed to repulse the attacking militants. AH-64 attack helicopters and a Predator unmanned aircraft drone equipped with Hellfire missiles responded to support the base with close air support about 30-minutes after the battle began. Later, a B-1B Lancer bomber, A-10, and F-15E aircraft were called in to strike militant positions. After the militants retreated, mop up operations followed, and the Taliban withdrew from the town. [Wood, David, " [http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bal-te.airstrikes28jul28,0,6638715.story Afghan air war grows in intensity] ", "Baltimore Sun", July 28, 2008, pg. 1.]

Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in the attackcite web|url = http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=12071 |title = DoD Identifies Army Casualties... |accessdate = 2008-07-18] , mainly in the observation post, including platoon leader First Lieutenant Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii. [cite web|url = http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/17/news/story02.html |title = Hawaii soldier killed in Afghanistan... |accessdate = 2008-07-17] . 40 militants were reported killed with another 20 to 40 wounded.

Operational failures

The population of Wygal is sympathetic to Taliban objectives, particularly since allied operations have resulted in civilian deaths, this allowed the Taliban force to establish a presence in the village. It has been suggested that the threat was exacerbated by the failure the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to address the concerns of a delegation of tribal elders in Kabul two days previously. [cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/world/asia/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11751374| title = Dawn Raid|accessdate = 2008-07-31]

It is claimed who that the allied force noted a range of "pattern of life" changes which could have indicated a potential threat; the day prior to the attack the elders of Wanat conducted a shura without the participation of the Officer-in-Charge of the post; and the villagers poured waste water from their village down into an area of dead space near the post at more frequent intervals than before. The noise of the splashing water may have been done to conceal the increased movement of Anti-Coalition Militants (ACM) within the village the night before.

Aftermath

After the battle additional US troops were sent to assist the base evacuation. [Associated Press, "Remote Afghan Outpost Reinforced After Attack That Killed 9 U.S. Troops", July 15, 2008.] Three days after the engagement the United States and Afghan armies withdrew from Wanat. An ISAF statement says ISAF and Afghan security forces "will continue to perform regular patrols near the village of Wanat." [cite web|url = http://www.nato.int/isaf/docu/pressreleases/2008/07-july/pr080716-320.html |title = ISAF presence will be maintained in Wanat, PR# 2008-320, 2008-07-16 |accessdate = 2008-07-19] A follow-up operation by US forces in the Wanat area killed seven insurgents on July 15. Fact|date=July 2008

The district police force for the area was disarmed by the Americans and the district chief and police chief were briefly detained and questioned. [cite web|url = http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/07/15/govt_7_militants_killed_in_eastern_afghanistan/ |title = 19 insurgents killed in Afghanistan, Associated Press, via Boston Globe, July 15, 2008 |accessdate = 2008-07-18] Both were released within 24 hours according to a spokesperson for the district chief.

Speaking at a Pentagon news conference after the attack, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen said the incident indicated that "all involved with operations on the (Pakistan-Afghanistan) border must do a better job of policing the region and eliminating the extremists’ safe havens in Pakistan's federally administered tribal areas that are launching pads for attacks on coalition forces." [cite web|url = http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=50526 |title = Pakistan Must Do More to Police Tribal Zone, Defense Leaders Say, American Forces Press Service, 2008-07-16 |accessdate = 2008-07-19] The Associated Press says that the attack underscores a general gain in strength of Afghan militants. [cite web|url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25698636/ |title = U.S. troops quit remote Afghan base after attack |accessdate = 2008-07-16]

However, the Brigade Commander of the 173rd, Col. Charles Preysler, specifically rebutted that conclusion in an interview on July 20, 2008. He stated that previous media accounts of the engagement mischaracterized the level of development of the platoon's defences. He also said that the withdrawal of the platoon did not constitute "abandoning" the position because of the fact that no permanent defensive infrastructure was developed or left behind. He further stated that the position was "not overrun in any shape, manner, or form", adding that, "It was close combat to be sure — hand grenade range." [ [http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=56252 "Commander: Media reports on Afghanistan battle were exaggerated", "Stars and Stripes", 20 July 2008] ]

Investigation

A formal investigation into an attack on a U.S. Army unit by about 200 Taliban insurgents will examine whether the Army had intelligence about a possible assault and whether the troops had access to it. [ [http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/07/17/afghan.probe/index.html Military looking at intelligence before deadly Afghan clash] ]

References

External links

*cite news
first = Yunlong
last = Zhang
title = Nine NATO-led soldiers die in intensified Afghan battles
url = http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/14/content_8540654.htm
publisher = Xinhua
date = 2008-07-14
accessdate = 2008-07-17
language = English

*cite news
first = Candace
last = Rondeaux
title = Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Firefight
url = http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/13/AR2008071300292.html?hpid=topnews
publisher = Washington Post
date = 2008-07-14
accessdate = 2008-07-17
language = English