| Bombing of Kandahar | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar in Afghanistan | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 United States United Kingdom |  Taliban al-Qaeda | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
| Tommy Franks | Mullah Omar | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | 1,000+ (est.) | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
The2001 Bombing of Kandahar was a series of military operations conducted in and aroundKandahar, Afghanistan, during October 2001, as part of the start of theUnited States' military operations in Afghanistan.
Following the 2001September 11 attacks, theUnited States and its allies launched the globalwar on terror, starting with assaults on keyTaliban positions within Afghanistan.
On October 7, 2001, at 6:30 pmlocal time, the first wave of attack against the Taliban was launched. A group ofUnited States Air Force (USAF)bombers consisting of fiveB-1s and tenB-52s took off fromDiego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. They were complemented by twenty-fiveUnited States Navy (USN)F-14s andF/A-18sstrike aircraft from theaircraft carriersUSS Carl Vinson andUSS Enterprise in the North Arabian Sea.[1] TheRoyal Air Force (RAF) and USAF providedL-1011s,KC-135 andKC-10s to supply en routeaerial refuelings to the USN aircraft.[2] Flown in fromWhiteman Air Force Base,Missouri, twoB-2 Spirits also participated in the attack, as did theEA-6B Prowlerelectronic warfare aircraft.[3]
At 9:00 pm, USN, USAF, andRoyal Navy (RN) forces launched several salvos totaling fiftyTomahawkcruise missiles against Taliban military and communications facilities and suspected terrorist training camps.[2] The timing was chosen to coincide with the arrival of the strike aircraft, which dropped a variety of bombs includingMk 82s,JDAMs,AGM-84s,AGM-154s andlaser-guided bombs.[2] According to in-country sources reporting toCNN, targets within Kandahar included Taliban strongholds, as well as the houses ofArab foreigners who worked with the Taliban regime. One of the primary targets for the airstrike in Kandahar wasMullah Omar.[4] The attacking aircraft were met with sporadic fire from Talibananti-aircraft artillery batteries andsurface-to-air missiles.[5] The U.S. considered the attacks, conducted against the cities ofKabul,Jalalabad andHerat, to be successful as the goal of neutralizing the Taliban's air defense was met.[6]
To court and provide relief for the Afghan people, food and supplies were dropped into the region. TwoC-17transports delivered 37,500 daily rations by airdrop torefugees inside Afghanistan on the first day of the attack. Relief efforts faced setback, however, from Taliban interference.World Food Programme storehouses in Kandahar were raided and surrendered to Taliban soldiers, who "seized about 7,000 tons of food."[7] Hoping to avoid a backlash by civilians, the USAF deployed anEC-130E propeller aircraft to broadcast a message that the Taliban and its allies were the only targets of the attacks, not civilians.[8]
Following the successful airstrikes against the city, and after rapid setbacks experienced by Taliban forces across the country, much of the military might held directly and indirectly byMullah Omar was consolidated in the city of Kandahar. On November 18, the United States enlisted the help ofGul Agha Sherzai, an anti-Taliban commander and previous Governor ofKandahar Province. On November 25, the U.S. airlifted a contingent of 750 Marines from the15th Marine Expeditionary Unit to create aforward base atCamp Rhino,[9] located 100 miles (160 km) south of Kandahar. At this time, the allied commanders were also finalizing the decision to send Britishparatroopers from the2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment.[10] These events set the stage for thetaking of Kandahar and Taliban surrender on December 7.[11]