Battle of Wanat

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Battle of Wanat
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Date July 13, 2008 Location Kunar province, Afghanistan Result Taliban victory
Belligerents
United States, Afghan National Army	Taliban, al-Qaeda, Hezb-i-Islami and others[1]
Commanders
1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom  †	Sheikh Dost Mohammad[2]
Strength
48 US troops, 24 Afghan troops, Close-Air Support[3]	200 Taliban fighters[3]
Casualties and losses
9 killed, 27 wounded (U.S.); 4 killed, 4 wounded (ANA)[1][3]	US Estimate: 21–52 killed, 45 wounded (unconfirmed)[4][5]

v • d • e War in Afghanistan (2001–present) Crescent Wind – Rhino – Mazar-i-Sharif – Kunduz – Herat – Kabul – Tarin Kowt – Kandahar – Qala-i-Jangi – Tora Bora – Anaconda – Takur Ghar – Jacana – Mountain Viper – Mountain Resolve – Asbury Park – Mountain Storm – Red Wing – Lashkagar – Mountain Thrust – Helmand (Sangin · Now Zad · Achilles · Pickaxe-Handle · Musa Qala · Garmsir · Eagle's Summit · Red Dagger · Diesel) – Kaika – Panjwaii – Medusa – Mountain Fury – Falcon Summit – Hoover – Kamin – Chora – Hammer – FSB Anaconda – Nasrat – Harekate Yolo – Karez – Gora Prai – Sarposa Prison – Arghandab – Wanat – Shewan – Uzbin – Balamorghab – Shahi Tandar – Alasay – Chahar Dara – Panther's Claw  – Strike of the Sword

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, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army.

The attack was the highest death toll for American troops in the country since Operation Red Wing three years earlier.^[6]

Contents 1 Background 2 The Battle 3 Operational failures 4 Aftermath 4.1 Investigation 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Background

During 2008 NATO operations in South Eastern Afghanistan deployed patrols of sub-company strength elements in an effort to disrupt Taliban activities in the border areas with Pakistan.^[7] Patrols established a number of small patrol bases in the region, which was recognised as a supply route for Taliban activity leading from the Federally Administered Tribal Regions of Pakistan. These patrol sites were subject to regular attack by Taliban forces.^[8] During June a force of 70 American and Afghan troops were operating in the vicinity of Wanat, a village that was the center of the local Waygal District government and about five miles away in the mountains from the coalition military base Camp Blessing.^[9][10][11]

On July 8, a platoon from the Second Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team began building a patrol base (FOB) and separate observation post near Wanat with the mission of disrupting Taliban activity in the area. The base covered an area about 300 meters long by 100 meters wide.^[10][3]

On the evening of July 12, Taliban soldiers moved into Wanat and ordered the villagers to leave. The Taliban, undetected by the Americans, set-up firing positions inside houses and a mosque.^[3]

[edit] The Battle

The attack on the American and Afghan troops began around 4:30 a.m. Taliban forces fired on the base from the village using machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars, exploiting homes, a bazaar, and a mosque in the village as cover. Another 100 militants attacked the observation post from farmland to the east.^[9]

The first RPG and machine gun fire hit the forward operating base's mortar pit, knocking out the 120mm mortars. 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, with four of them killed in the first 20-minutes of the battle. Three times teams of soldiers from the main base ran through Taliban fire to resupply the observation post and carry back the dead and wounded.^{[12][3][13][14]}

Coalition troops responded with machine guns, grenades, and claymore mines. Artillery support was provided from Camp Blessing. The Taliban briefly breached the walls of the observation post before being driven out. After almost half an hour of intense fighting at the observation post only one soldier remained.He fought alone and seriously wounded until reinforcments arrived to secure the OP. 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 under fire to their comrades in the observation post who were running low.^[15] American soldiers were at times flushed out of their fortifications by what they thought were grenades, but which were actually rocks thrown by the attackers.^[3][16]

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.^[10] Later, a B-1B Lancer bomber, A-10, and F-15E aircraft were called in to strike militant positions. The militants withdrew about four hours later.^[3] After the militants retreated, mop up operations followed, and the Taliban withdrew from the town.^[9][17]

Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack^[18], mainly in the observation post, including platoon leader First Lieutenant Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.^[18][19] Between 21 and 52 militants were reported killed with another 20 to 40 wounded, but coalition forces found only two Taliban bodies after the battle.^[9][20]

[edit] Operational failures

The population of Wygal was sympathetic to Taliban objectives, particularly since allied operations had 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.^[21]

The coalition forces had 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 militants within the village the night before.^[3]

[edit] Aftermath

After the battle additional US troops were sent to assist the base evacuation.^[22] 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."^[23] The coalition forces continued to maintain a larger patrol base about four miles away from Wanat.^[3]

The district police force for the area was disarmed by the Americans and the district chief and police chief were briefly detained and questioned.^[24] Both were released within 24 hours according to a spokesperson for the district chief.^[3]

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." ^[25]The Associated Press says that the attack underscores a general gain in strength of Afghan militants.^[26]

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." ^[27]

[edit] Investigation

An investigation by the US Army, completed on August 13 and released to the public the first week of November 2008, found that the Taliban attackers had been assisted by the local Afghan police forces and a district leader. The evidence included large stocks of weapons and ammunition discovered in the police barracks in Wanat after the battle. The stocks were much more than could be used by the villages' 20-man police force and included dirty weapons which appeared to have been used recently. In response to the report, Major General Jeffrey J. Schloesser, commander of American forces in eastern Afghanistan, concluded that the governor and local police chief "had probably been acting under duress and had been cooperative with American troops." The governor was absolved of blame in the attack but it was unclear about what was done with the local police chief.^[3]

The investigation also examined whether the Army had intelligence about a possible assault and whether the troops had access to it.^[28] The report found that despite reports earlier in July that 200 to 300 militants had been massing to attack another remote outpost in the vicinity, including numerous reports from local villagers that an attack was imminent, the commanders at Wanat had no reason to expect such a large frontal assault. The report, however, criticized the “incredible amount of time” — 10 months — it took NATO military leaders to negotiate arrangements over the site of the outpost, giving the Taliban plenty of time to coordinate and plan an attack on the base.^[3]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikinews has related news: Nine US troops killed in Afghanistan as Taliban attack base

• Zhang, Yunlong (2008-07-14). "Nine NATO-led soldiers die in intensified Afghan battles" (in English). Xinhua. http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-07/14/content_8540654.htm. Retrieved on 2008-07-17. 

• Rondeaux, Candace (2008-07-14). "Nine U.S. Soldiers Killed in Firefight" (in English). Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/13/AR2008071300292.html?hpid=topnews. Retrieved on 2008-07-17. 
• "AR 15-6 Investigation Findings and Recommendations — Vehicle Patrol Base (VPB) Wanat Complex Attack and Casualties, 13 July 2008" (in English) (pdf). United States Army. August 13, 2008. http://www.stripes.com/08/nov08/wanat01.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.  (Part 1)
• "AR 15-6 Investigation Findings and Recommendations — Vehicle Patrol Base (VPB) Wanat Complex Attack and Casualties, 13 July 2008" (in English) (pdf). United States Army. August 13, 2008. http://www.stripes.com/08/nov08/wanat02.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-11-11.  (Part 2)

Coordinates: 35°03′09″N 70°54′27″E / 35.0525°N 70.9075°E / 35.0525; 70.9075 (Battle of Wanat)