Siege of Kunduz
Part of the2001–2021 War in Afghanistan
US Army Special Forces soldiers withNorthern Alliance fighters outside Kunduz in November 2001
Date 11 November 2001 – 25 November 2001 (2 weeks) Location Kunduz,Afghanistan Result Northern Alliance and US victory
Belligerents
Northern Alliance United States	Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Taliban al-Qaeda IMU
Commanders and leaders
Mohammed Daud Daud Abdul Rashid Dostum Tommy Franks	Mullah Fazl[1]  Mullah Noori[1]
Strength
10,000[2] 12 advisers	5,000 Taliban[1] 3,000 foreign fighters[3]
Casualties and losses
Unknown None	2,000 killed or wounded, 3,000 to 3,500 surrendered[4][5] 2,000–5,000airlifted by ISI[6][5] (denied by the US and Pakistan)

Thesiege of Kunduz occurred during the 2001United States invasion of Afghanistan. After thefall of Mazar-i-Sharif on 9 November, the focus of theNorthern Alliance advance shifted towards the city ofKunduz, which was the last remainingTaliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan.^[7]

Forces under the command of GeneralMohammed Daud Daud rendezvoused withAmerican Special Forces advisers and advanced onTaloqan, arriving outside the city on 11 November. There, General Daud persuaded the localTaliban leader to switch sides, thus capturing the city without firing a single shot.^[8]

After seizing control of Taloqan, Daud's forces advanced on the city of Kunduz. In an attempt to achieve a victory without relying on US assistance, Daud launched a frontal assault on the city without informing the Americans. The attack ended in a disastrous failure, resulting in the deaths of several hundred Northern Alliance fighters.^[9] Following this setback, Daud regrouped his forces and laid siege to the city, this time relying on American air support to weaken the Taliban defenses. For the next eleven days, US warplanes bombarded Taliban positions, destroying 44 bunker complexes, 12 tanks, 51 trucks as well as numerous supply dumps, while inflicting losses of 2,000 killed or wounded.^[5] The defenders of Kunduz included a disproportionately large number of foreign fighters, including Arab, Chechen and Uzbek jihadists^[10] as well as Pakistani trainers andISI operatives.^[1]

On 22 November, Daud's forces captured the nearby town ofKhan Abad, tightening the siege. With their defensive position deteriorating, the Taliban forces inside Kunduz entered into negotiations to surrender on 23 November.^[5] Many of the city's defenders were able to escape with Pakistani assistance. At least 2,000 of the defenders inside Kunduz, including senioral-Qaeda members, were airlifted out of the city by Pakistani forces with tacit US approval,^[10][1] although both countries denied that this airlift occurred.^[11] Some Northern Alliance leaders blamed the US for allowing the airlift to occur and expressed a desire for revenge against the foreign fighters who had been inside the city.^[12] After the final Taliban surrender on 25 November,^[1] reports began to emerge of Northern Alliance fighters looting the city and conducting executions of captured Taliban fighters.^[13] The foreign fighters were treated much more harshly than the Afghan Taliban members.^[10] The two Taliban commanders that had led the defense of Kunduz, Fazl and Noori, would later be shipped off to theGuantanamo Bay prison on the island ofCuba.^[1]

Human rights groups estimate that between 200 to over 1,500 captured prisoners died in or after transit to Sherberghan prison.^[14] The deaths became known as theDasht-i-Leili massacre. Allegations have been made, notably by columnistTed Rall andJamie Doran's 2002 documentaryAfghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death, that US troops were involved.^[15] A July 2009New York Times report causedUS presidentBarack Obama to order a probe into how theBush administration handled calls for investigation of the massacre.^[16]

• Maley, William (3 November 2020).The Afghanistan Wars (3rd ed.). Bloomsbury Academic.
• Malkasian, Carter (2021).The American War in Afghanistan: A History. Oxford University Press.ISBN 978-0-19-755077-9.

36°44′00″N68°52′00″E / 36.7333°N 68.8667°E /36.7333; 68.8667

• United States invasion of Afghanistan
• Sieges of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
• Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States
• History of Kunduz Province
• November 2001 in Afghanistan
• Attacks in Afghanistan in 2001
• Battles in 2001
• 2000s sieges

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