| Operation Panther's Claw | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | |||||||
 Operation Panther's Claw in blue;Operation Strike of the Sword in red | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Taliban | |||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| |||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 500insurgents (British estimate)[1] | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 200+ killed (British claim)[7] | |||||||
Operation Panchai Palang, orPanther's Claw, was a coalitionmilitary operation of theWar in Afghanistan inHelmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a permanentInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence in the area.[8] The commander of the operation declared the first stage a success on 27 July 2009.[9]
Soon after theTaliban insurgency took root inAfghanistan large tracts ofHelmand Province came under Taliban control. Of all of Afghanistan's provinces, Helmand "has been the most difficult" for coalition forces, according toBBC Newsforeign correspondent Ian Pannell, and holds the largest Taliban presence.[10]
British forcesdeployed to Helmand in 2006, formally assuming responsibility for security in the province from US forces on 1 May 2006.[11]In Helmand, described as "the centre of the Taliban insurgency",[12]they faced heavy combat and regular attacks by Taliban fighters.[13]
According to Pannell, the "latest figures" show that more than 10 attacks took place each day in Helmand Province as of July 2009, and most of the nearly 170British forces fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001 prior to Panther's Claw were caused by the Taliban in Helmand.[10]
Panther's Claw was preceded by several other operations carried out by British and Afghan government forces with the purpose of "taking and holding ground" in Helmand Province.[8]
Operation Zafar, launched on 27 April, lasted one week and involved more than 200 troops of theAfghan National Army (ANA) andAfghan National Police,[8] supported by elements of theMercian Regiment andThe Royal Gurkha Rifles, respectively.[14]The operation succeeded in clearing the Taliban from several villages around Basharan in central Helmand, killing "many Taliban insurgents" according to theMinistry of Defence (MoD) at a cost of only "handful" of ANA and British casualties.[14]
Zafar 2, launched on 19 May, and lasting four days, saw British troops deployed to secure an area so that a checkpoint—to be manned by Afghan forces—could be built on a key route into the provincialcapitalLashkar Gah.[8] On 29 May, soldiers from theRoyal Regiment of Fusiliers engaged and drove out Taliban fighters near the village of Yatimchay, south ofMusa Qala.[8]
Lt Col Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, credited the arrival of additional American forces in Helmand with increasing the operational capability ofInternational Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces in the province and helping to open the way for Panther's Claw.[8]
Panther's Claw was launched aroundmidnight on 19 June 2009a with the stated aim of securing control of variouscanal andriver crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence[8] in an area described by Lt Col Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the2009 Afghan presidential election.[15]
In what the Ministry of Defence described as "one of the largest air operations in modern times", according toBBC News, more than 350 troops fromThe Black Watch, 3rd Battalion,Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS),(2 Rifles) transported by twelve Chinook helicopters, deployed intoBabaji, north of the provincialcapitalLashkar Gah, inHelmand Province.[8][15] The operation, which involved thirteen other aircraft—including Apache andUH-60 Black Hawk helicopters,Harriers,unmanned aerial vehicles, and anAC-130H Spectre gunship[8]—involved both British and American air power, and was supported by more than 150 ground forces from the Black Watch andRoyal Engineers.[15]
Taliban fighters in the area launched multiple attacks against British forces, all of which were repelled, and 3 SCOTS secured three key crossings—the Lui Mandey Wadi crossing, the Nahr e-Burgha canal and the Shamalan canal—by 23 June.[8] To restrict movement by Taliban forces, British troops also constructed several checkpoints to be manned by 3 SCOTS but eventually ceded to theAfghan National Police.[8][15]
According to Lt Col Stephen Cartwright,Commanding Officer of the Black Watch, 3 SCOTS established a "firm foothold" in the area of the operation despite encountering resistance.[8] Lt Col Richardson reported that British forces killed several insurgents during the course of the operation,[8] which was dubbed the "Battle of Babaji" by a number of news media outlets.[16][17]
On 23 June, the MoD reported that British troops involved in Panther's Claw discovered 1.3 tonnes ofpoppy seed the day before, as well asimprovised explosive devices (IEDs)—which they disabled[15]—andanti-personnelland mines.[8] Analysis of a sample of the crop by theFood and Agriculture Organization of theUnited Nations inKabul, however, revealed the haul to be ofmung beans.[18]
On 25 June, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards with attachments from 4th Bn The Rifles, pushed up Shamalan canal securing 14 more crossing points, cutting off the insurgents' supply route and thus preventing more Taliban fighters coming into the Babaji area.[19][20]
In the third phase of Panther's Claw, more than 700 British soldiers from theLight Dragoons and 2nd Battalion,Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) supported by soldiers of the Danish Battle Group,[21][22]launched a ground offensive, backed byfire support, against Taliban-held areas north of Lashkar Gah.[23][24]The assault was timed to coincide withOperation Khanjar, orStrike of the Sword, launched on 2 July, by American forces against Taliban strongholds in theHelmand River valley.
The BBC reported that British troops had by 3 July, "taken some key towns", but that their progress was impeded by insufficient resources.[23] By 4 July, British forces had encountered "little resistance"[25]—in contrast to American and Afghan forces to the south participating inKhanjar who were engaged in "fierce" fighting against the Taliban.[26]As of 5 July, around 3,000Task Force Helmand troops from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, and Afghan government forces were involved in Panther's Claw, with the British MoD reportingclose quarters combat with Taliban fighters.[24]
On 5 July, Danish DailyPolitiken reported that between 55-65 soldiers or nearly half the corps, of the DanishSpecial Forces unitJægerkorpset had been deployed in the operation, with the primary objective to aid regulars of theDanish Army secure 13 bridges over a majorirrigation canal in the area. It's one of the largest known deployments of Danish special forces on foreign soil, and the largest since 2002.[27]
After declaring the first stage of the operation a success on 27 July 2009, UK forces commenced the second stage, which focused on holding ground won from the Taliban in previous weeks.[1]
