| Sarposa Prison attack | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theWar in Afghanistan (2001–2021) | |||||||
  Kandahar Kandahar (Afghanistan) | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 Islamic Republic of Afghanistan |  Taliban | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 15 policemen killed[1] | 8 prisoners killed 2 suicide bombers detonated | ||||||
 | |||||||
TheSarposa Prison attack was a raid on theSarposa Prison inKandahar,Afghanistan byTaliban insurgents on June 13, 2008. One of the largest attacks by Afghan insurgents, the raid freed 400-1,000 prisoners.[2] As of 2008, prison administration was overseen by Abdul Qabir.[2]
In May 2008, 200 prisoners announced ahunger strike and 47 of the captives physically stitched their mouths shut to protest detention conditions. The strike ended when theAfghan parliament agreed to review their detentions; as some of them had been held for two years without charge, or faced summary trials they felt were unfair.[2]
On June 13, asuicide fuel truck drove right into the front gates of Sarposa prison at approximately 21:00 afternightfall.[3] Although the truck failed to explode upon impact, the Taliban quickly improvised, igniting its fuel with anRPG, causing a massive explosion that breached the gate. Taliban fighters then stormed the prison, overpowering the surprised guards.[4] A secondsuicide bomber was alleged to have walked to the back gates of the prison in the confusion, and detonated the explosives he was carrying,[2] although later reports suggested the rear wall had not been breached.[5] Insurgents fired rockets at the prison as the Taliban fighters broke in and a 30-minute battle began.
Over the next thirty minutes, a team of thirty insurgents aboard motorcycles firedAK-47s and RPGs into the prison. Several ran into the prison and began freeing prisoners[3] who fled through the breached walls, and disappeared into nearbypomegranate and grape groves.[2]
Wali Karzai, the brother of PresidentHamid Karzai who was president of Kandahar's provincial council, said the prison held about 350 suspected Taliban fighters.
He said "all" the prisoners escaped and that "There is no one left."[6] The prisoners were aided by minibuses waiting for them outside the prison during the attack. Some 390 of the detainees were suspected Taliban fighters. Reports of people killed in the attack included police officers, 8 prisoners and the 2 suicide bombers.[1][7]
Following reports of the mass escape, Canadian troops stationed atKandahar Airfield were deployed to secure the prison[8] andISAF troops began a door-to-door search through Kandahar seeking escapees.[3] ISAF forces became involved in several skirmishes that resulted in 20 Taliban deaths in Tabin, 16 in Khohak, andArghandab, with 2 Afghan and 4 British soldiers killed in separate incidents,[9] which led up to theBattle of Arghandab.
The Sarposa prison break and its aftermath dealt a significant blow to the Afghan government, prompting PresidentKarzai to issue threats of sending Afghan troops into Pakistan to pursue Taliban leaders hiding there. In response to the debacle, the frustrated Karzai replaced both the provincial police chief and the governor of Kandahar.Tooryalai Wesa, aBarakzai with close ties to the Karzai family, was appointed as the new governor. Concerned about the worsening situation in southern Afghanistan, GeneralDavid McKiernan redirected the2nd Battalion, 2nd Infantry Regiment to bolster defenses in western Kandahar.[10]
