Operation Anaconda

Operation Anaconda
	Part of the War in Afghanistan
	; U.S. soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) prepare to dig into fighting positions during Operation Anaconda in March 2002.
Date	March 2–18, 2002
Location	Shah-i-Kot Valley, Paktia Province, Afghanistan; 33°22′N 69°11′E / 33.367°N 69.183°E
Result	Coalition victory
Belligerents
Coalition:; United States; Australia; Afghanistan; United Kingdom; Canada; Germany; France; Norway; Netherlands; Denmark; New Zealand	Taliban; al-Qaeda; Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan
Commanders and leaders
Franklin L. Hagenbeck; Frank Wiercinski; Rowan Tink; Zia Lodin	Saif-ur-Rehman Mansoor; Tohir Yo'ldosh
Strength
30,000 troops	1,000 insurgents
Casualties and losses
7 killed 8 killed (7 in the Battle of Takur Ghar); 82 wounded; 2 MH-47 Chinook lost in the Battle of Takur Ghar	500+ killed United States claimed: 800 killed

Operation Anaconda or the Battle of Shah-i-Kot was a military operation that took place in early March 2002 as part of the War in Afghanistan. CIA paramilitary officers, working with their allies, attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces. The operation took place in the Shah-i-Kot Valley and Arma Mountains southeast of Zormat. This operation was the first large-scale battle in the post-2001 War in Afghanistan since the Battle of Tora Bora in December 2001. This was the first operation in the Afghanistan theater to involve a large number of U.S. forces participating in direct combat activities.

Between March 2 and March 18, 2002, 1,700 airlifted U.S. troops and 1,000 pro-government Afghan militia battled between 300 and 1,000 al-Qaeda and Taliban fighters to obtain control of the valley. The Taliban and al-Qaeda forces fired mortars and heavy machine guns from entrenched positions in the caves and ridges of the mountainous terrain at U.S. forces attempting to secure the area. Afghan Taliban commander Maulavi Saif-ur-Rehman Mansoor later led Taliban reinforcements to join the battle. U.S. forces had estimated the strength of the rebels in the Shah-i-Kot Valley at 200 to 250, but later information suggested the actual strength was of 500 to 1,000 fighters.

^ Jones, Seth G. (12 April 2010). In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-393-07142-9.
^ Neville, Leigh (19 May 2015). Special Forces in the War on Terror. Osprey Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4728-0790-8.
^ ^a ^b "Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. 27 January 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
^ "Operation Anaconda costs 8 U.S. lives". CNN. 4 March 2002.
^ Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN 978-1472807908, p.66-67
^ Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN 978-1472807908, p.67
^ "Operation Anaconda winds down - CNN". Archives.cnn.com. 2002-03-17. Retrieved 2013-11-22.^{[dead link]}

[1] Jones, Seth G. (12 April 2010). In the Graveyard of Empires: America's War in Afghanistan. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-393-07142-9.

[2] Neville, Leigh (19 May 2015). Special Forces in the War on Terror. Osprey Publishing. p. 87. ISBN 978-1-4728-0790-8.

[isw-3] "Uzbek Militancy in Pakistan's Tribal Region" (PDF). Institute for the Study of War. 27 January 2011. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-10-09. Retrieved 13 October 2014.

[CNN-Mar-2002-4] "Operation Anaconda costs 8 U.S. lives". CNN. 4 March 2002.

[ReferenceB-5] Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN 978-1472807908, p.66-67

[6] Neville, Leigh, Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military), Osprey Publishing, 2015 ISBN 978-1472807908, p.67

[7] "Operation Anaconda winds down - CNN". Archives.cnn.com. 2002-03-17. Retrieved 2013-11-22.^{[dead link]}

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