Counterinsurgency: A NATO-led operation as a follow up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban rebels from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan.

On September 16, 2006, Operation Mountain Fury was initiated as a NATO-led mission, acting as a subsequent operation to Operation Medusa, with the objective of eradicating Taliban insurgents from Afghanistan’s eastern provinces. An additional aim of the operation was to facilitate the establishment of reconstruction projects including schools, healthcare centers, and courthouses within the specified provinces.

Throughout the operation, NATO coalition forces engaged in direct combat with the Taliban, inflicting substantial losses on the insurgent group. In response to their losses, the Taliban were anticipated to shift their focus towards alternative tactics, notably the deployment of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), as indicated by authoritative figures such as NATO’s supreme commander, James L. Jones, and Canadian Defence Minister, Gordon O’Connor. Furthermore, Jones highlighted the correlation between the widespread cultivation of opium and the escalation of insurgent hostilities.

Following the cessation of major combat operations in Operation Medusa, Canadian forces embarked on reconstruction endeavors but continued to face intense combat. The Canadians initiated the building of a road, dubbed “Summit”, extending from the Panjwaii region to peripheral areas, including Kandahar city. Throughout this period, they experienced ongoing Taliban assaults both in Panjwaii and Kandahar city, with ambushes, IED attacks, and suicide bombings resulting in casualties among Canadian and American troops.

The Canadian forces intensified their involvement in Operation Mountain Fury by launching a distinct operation named Operation Falcon’s Summit on December 15, 2006. Throughout Falcon Summit, Canadians secured several pivotal villages and towns formerly under Taliban control, including Howz-E Madad. In the initial week of the operation, extensive Canadian artillery and tank assaults were effectively employed to eliminate pockets of Taliban resistance.

American forces initiated combat operations against Taliban forces entrenched in the mountainous regions bordering Pakistan in the eastern provinces of Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Paktia, Logar, and Nuristan. Spearheading these operations was the 10th Mountain Division, which established numerous remote outposts in areas previously dominated by the Taliban. These outposts, along with American combat patrols, faced sustained attacks, leading to nearly 150 American casualties over the span of two and a half months, culminating at the beginning of December.

On December 5, 2006, near Garmsir in southern Afghanistan, British Royal Marines launched an attack on a valley under Taliban control, but were compelled to retreat following a robust counterattack from the Taliban that endured both air strikes and artillery bombardments. Under the illumination of a full moon, shortly before dawn, numerous soldiers traversed a bridge over the Helmand River and proceeded southward through wheat fields in a province renowned as a major opium-producing center. Initially, the Marines encountered only intermittent resistance, but as they progressed, the Taliban responded with an intense, well-coordinated counteroffensive, utilizing heavy weaponry and attempting to encircle the British forces. The Taliban resisted sustained air assaults from AH-64 Apache helicopters, bombardments from B-1 bombers, and relentless fire from A-10 Thunderbolt II attack jets, leading to a 10-hour-long confrontation before the British withdrawal. The Taliban, claiming to possess the capability to overcome even the most formidable army, had constructed intricate trench networks extending from one compound to another. This engagement was one among several confrontations involving British forces in the region, characterized by a landscape interspersed with ancient canal networks that render Helmand fertile for producing a significant proportion of the world’s opium. Despite the challenges, the British deemed the operation successful, having cleared areas near the “D.C.,” a small stretch of road and dilapidated structures on the eastern bank of the Helmand River. However, in the absence of additional Afghan forces to secure the reclaimed territories, the prospects of achieving further advancements were deemed limited.

On December 19, 2006, a NATO air strike in a remote area of Helmand province resulted in the deaths of Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani and two other individuals. Osmani was the top Taliban commander overseeing all operations in southern Afghanistan.

The subsequent month saw the initiation of Operation Clay on New Year’s Day, with Plymouth-based 42 Commando engaged in four days of intense conflict. The British forces encountered sustained and organized attacks, including small arms fire, rockets, and indirect fire, leading to running battles spanning several days. Approximately 110 Royal Marines conducted the operation in the northern part of Helmand, during which they successfully dismantled a Taliban training camp and eliminated dozens of insurgents, as reported by military sources.

Between January 13 and 15, 2007, Royal Marines clashed with Taliban forces in southern Helmand, launching assaults on their positions and a significant base. The confrontation resulted in casualties on both sides, with one Royal Marine losing his life and several others sustaining injuries, while the Taliban incurred a minimum of 30 fatalities.

Timeline of Operation Mountain Fury

• September 18, 2006 – 19 people, including 4 Canadian soldiers, were killed by a suicide bomber in the Panjwaye District, Kandahar Province; in Kabul, 4 Afghan police and 11 civilians were killed in two suicide bomb explosions.
• September 19, 2006 – 11 Taliban and 8 other insurgents were killed in offensive operations in Helmand Province; 4 al-Qaeda operatives were arrested in Kabul.
• September 20, 2006 – 34 Taliban and up to 10 other insurgents were killed in various conflicts, as well as one Afghan policeman and an Italian soldier serving in ISAF.
• September 21, 2006 – 4 Taliban fighters were killed as they attempted to destroy an oil tanker, and 5 more were detained by U.S. forces, including a regional commander. One Italian soldier died in a vehicle accident in Kabul.
• September 23, 2006 – 19 laborers are killed on a bus in Kandahar Province; 25 Taliban die in battle with police in Orūzgān Province; 10 Taliban fighters killed near Helmand Province.
• September 24, 2006 – Afghan and coalition forces killed 63 Taliban fighters in three separate engagements and captured 21 others in a separate operation.
• September 25, 2006 – 10 militants were killed by coalition forces in Paktika, while 2 suicide bombers wounded one American soldier and separately 2 Afghan police were killed in a Taliban attack.
• September 26, 2006 – A Taliban suicide bomber killed 9 Afghan soldiers, while elsewhere 8 militants died in explosions and one Italian soldier died. 2 militants were arrested in connection with the suicide bombing.
• September 27, 2006 – A suicide bomber hit just outside a Canadian base, wounding a civilian. In other operations 31 Taliban fighters were killed and 20 were captured.
• September 29, 2006 – Two militants and an Afghan police officer were killed in a clash and elsewhere a Canadian soldier was killed in an explosion.
• September 30, 2006 – A suicide bomber killed a dozen Afghan civilians.
• October 2, 2006 – The Taliban attacked a police station and started a gunbattle in Paktika that killed three police and ten militants
• October 4 to 6, 2006 – 2 suicide bombers killed numerous civilians and a police officer.
• October 6, 2006 – Coalition troops arrested a suicide bomber. A Canadian soldier was killed in an explosion on “ambush alley” in the Battle of Panjwaii.
• October 7, 2006 – A suicide bomber attacked a NATO base, causing no damage. Elsewhere on the same day, the Taliban attacked a patrol, killing one Canadian soldier. In Pakistan 48 suspected Taliban fighters were captured. Meanwhile, an offensive by American and Afghan troops killed 30 more Taliban fighters.
• October 8, 2006 – 24 Taliban fighters and 1 Afghan soldier were killed. Two Taliban fighters were also arrested. On Monday the 9th, 16 more Taliban and another Afghan soldier were killed.
• October 12, 2006 – 2 Taliban suicide bombers hit two patrols, wounding bystanders. Also on Thursday, 20 Taliban fighters were killed in fighting with Afghan and coalition forces.
• October 13, 2006 – A Taliban suicide bomber hit a NATO patrol, killing one soldier and 8 civilians. Later in the day Afghan police repelled a Taliban attack, killing 3 insurgents.
• October 14, 2006 – 8 Afghan policemen and 4 Taliban fighters were killed and nine more were captured. Overnight, a battle between Taliban and Afghan police left 3 Afghan police and at least one Taliban fighter dead. Two Canadian soldiers were killed in combat in Kandahar and two were wounded in the Battle of Panjwaii.
• October 15, 2006 – Coalition forces captured 3 Taliban fighters and killed 4, disrupting a bombing cell.
• October 16, 2006 – 2 Taliban suicide bombers killed 4 Afghan civilians. That same day, 3 more insurgents were killed.
• October 17, 2006 – In an airstrike, NATO forces killed 24 Taliban militants including a man they designated as a mid-level commander. Another 24 militants were also killed and another 8 more arrested in another incident.
• October 18, 2006 – ISAF and Afghan forces killed 32 Taliban fighters after an ambush.
• October 19, 2006 – 2 Taliban suicide bombers hit, one in Lashkar Gah, and the other in Khost. The first killed 2 children and the second killed an Afghan police officer. 5 Taliban fighters were killed by a NATO airstrike in an encampment in the Gayan district of Paktika province Defence News : NATO strike kills five Taliban insurgents; ANA forces fire D30 howitzers near the Pakistan border, the first indirect field artillery fires in the history of the ANA.
• October 20, 2006 – A Taliban suicide bomber killed one Afghan soldier and ISAF forces killed one Taliban fighter and captured 4.
• October 22, 2006 – 15 militants were killed after they ambushed an ISAF patrol; the ANA conducted the first field artillery counterfires near the Pakistani border resulting in 10 insurgent casualties.
• October 23, 2006 – 15 Taliban militants were captured trying to enter Kabul with explosives.
• October 25, 2006 – 48 Taliban militants were killed by NATO strikes at 3 separate groups gathering near Kandahar.
• October 28, 2006 – Up to 70 Taliban fighters were killed when they attacked a military patrol north of Tarin Kowt, in Oruzgan province. The battle killed one ISAF soldier.
• October 30, 2006 – 55 Taliban fighters were killed and 20 injured, and one NATO soldier was killed, in a six-hour battle between Taliban fighters and elements of Charlie Company 1st Battalion, 4th Infantry Regiment in the Daychopan district of Zabul province. Also three NATO soldiers were wounded as Taliban fighters attacked their convoy in eastern Afghanistan.
• October 31, 2006 – 12 Taliban fighters and one NATO soldiers were killed in an engagement after a roadside bomb killed 3 NATO troops and a suicide bomber killed an Afghan police officer. Also two NATO soldiers were wounded in a suicide bombing in Ghazni Province.
• November 1, 2006 – 3 insurgents were killed and one captured by US and Afghan troops in the Khost province. A suicide bomber wounded two NATO soldiers in Kandahar.
• November 3, 2006 – 6 Afghan police officers were killed in an ambush by Taliban insurgents.
• November 4, 2006 – 7 Taliban fighters are killed in a NATO airstrike.
• November 6, 2006 – At least two insurgents are killed by coalition forces and six others are detained, including an Al-Qaeda operative, while one NATO and two Afghan soldiers are killed.
• November 8, 2006 – 28 militants are killed in two separate engagements, 3 Afghan police are killed in an ambush and three militants are captured by coalition troops.
• November 9, 2006 – Clashes continue, 6 more Taliban fighters killed.
• November 10, 2006 – NATO forces kill 12 Taliban fighters.
• November 11, 2006 – NATO forces bomb a compound in the Bermal district of eastern Afghanistan, killing at least 20 Taliban fighters.
• November 12, 2006 – NATO forces capture 6 Taliban fighters including an Arab and a Pakistani.
• November 16, 2006 – 2 civilians are accidentally killed by British troops, 6 militants die elsewhere.
• November 23, 2006 – A mortar attack on a patrol kills one NATO soldier and wounds one.
• November 25, 2006 – 55 insurgents are killed by Afghan troops, one soldier is killed.
• November 27, 2006 – A suicide bomber kills 2 NATO soldiers in Kandahar province.
• November 28, 2006 – 2 suicide bombers kill one policeman and wound another policeman and one NATO soldier in Herat and Kandahar provinces. Two NATO soldiers are killed and one is wounded when their patrol hits a roadside bomb near Kabul.
• November 29, 2006 – 6 militants are killed in Kandahar province during an Afghan raid.
• December 1, 2006 – 16 Taliban fighters are killed and nine are captured, including two top commanders.
• December 3, 2006 – A suicide bomber wounded three NATO soldiers and killed three civilians in Kandahar. The soldiers responded to the attacks that resulted in the deaths of five civilians.
• December 4, 2006 – At least 7 Taliban fighters are killed in clashes with NATO.
• December 5, 2006 – Four more insurgents are shot dead. Two NATO soldiers are wounded in Kandahar by a suicide bomber. A British attack on a Taliban-held valley results in the death of one soldier and wounding of another. The attack is repelled and British forces fail to complete their objectives.
• December 6, 2006 – Taliban shoot dead five civilians, while clashes in southern Afghanistan kill 5 of their members.
• December 11, 2006 – NATO airstrikes kill nine insurgents while Afghan troops kill three more.
• December 19, 2006 – A NATO airstrike targeting a car in a deserted area of Helmand province killed Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani along with two other men.
• January 11, 2007 – Up to 150 Taliban fighters are killed in battles with NATO forces.
• January 13, 2007 – 30 Taliban fighters and one British soldier are killed in a NATO operation.
• January 15, 2007 – Operation formally declared over.