| Angur Ada raid | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theInsurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States |  Taliban,Hezb-e-Islami | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| US Naval Special Warfare Development Group: 45 Operators | Approximately 120–130 fighters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | |||||||
| Estimated 20 people killed, civilian number unclear[1] | |||||||
TheAngur Ada raid (Pashto:د انګور اډې بريد) was a covert raid conducted by American Commandos fromJSOC againstTaliban fighters on September 3, 2008, within the border town ofAngur Ada inSouth Waziristan. It was the first time American Troops fought a ground-based battle against the Taliban withinPakistani borders.[2] The raid took place at the same time asPakistani military forces ended a four-week offensive inBajaur, the northernmost Agency of theFederally Administered Tribal Areas of which South Waziristan is the southernmost, an offensive that has displaced approximately half a million people.[3]
By September 2008, the trail of intelligence to findOsama bin Laden, had gone cold, and then-Vice AdmiralWilliam McRaven wanted to jump-start the effort. The target of the raid was a minoral-Qaeda facilitator. The raid was carried out byJSOC Operators, believed to be fromDEVGRU's Blue Squadron.[4]
The raid occurred in the village of Mūsā Nīkə (موسی نيکه) of theAngur Ada region ofSouth Waziristan,Pakistan, less than one mile (1.6 km) from the border ofAfghanistan. The operation was executed at 3:00 AMlocal time (23h00 inUTC).[5] Though the U.S. has performedmissile strikes in Pakistan before, this is reportedly the first time U.S. troops have taken ground action within the country against Taliban fighters.[2] According to some early reports, roughly twenty people, possibly including three women and four children,[6] were killed in the raid.[7] However, it is not clear whether these were civilians or combatants; an American official stated that the women killed were helping the hostile militants.[5]
CH-47 Chinookhelicopters carrying 45U.S. Navy SEALs conducted the raid.[4] Only one of the helicopters landed and unloaded, while the two others flew overhead providing surveillance and aerial support to the other team.[8] TwoF-16 fighter jets also provided air cover.[9] The forces attacked three houses,[6] owned by "Faujan Wazir, Faiz Mohammad and Nazar Jan Wazir." The entire operation lasted 30 minutes.[9] All of the inhabitants were apparently asleep when the raid occurred,[9] other sources say that as the SEALs scaled the walls of a compound, a resident opened fire on them with a shotgun and women inside began throwing themselves on the SEALs whilst the male occupants fled the houses.[4] After examination, none of the dead proved to be "important terrorists or high-value targets."[10] A U.S. military official stated that "a small number of militants [were] captured and several others killed," but refused to comment on exact numbers.[11] After the SEALs completed their raid, an aircraft nearby reported that Pakistani forces were moving toward the SEALs. After the SEAL squadron commander received the report, he called in two MH-60 Black Hawks and the SEALs extracted at about 3 or 4 A.M., taking a few detainees with them.[12]
A statement made by theGovernment of Pakistan said that "a strong protest by [the] Foreign Office has been lodged with [the]Government of United States,"[6] and "such acts of aggression do not serve the common cause of fighting terrorism and militancy in the area."[13] On September 4, thePakistani parliament passed a resolution condemning the raid and demanding increased American oversight and cooperation with Pakistani officials when conducting covert operations.[14]Anne W. Patterson, theUnited States Ambassador to Pakistan, was called to the PakistanForeign Office, where a protest was lodged.[15] In response to the raid, Pakistani Foreign MinisterShah Mehmood Qureshi told the National Assembly on Thursday, "There is no high-value target or known terrorist among the dead ... Only innocent civilians, including women and children, have been targeted."[16]
In response to the raid,United States Secretary of StateCondoleezza Rice said, "I don't have anything for you on Pakistan, except to say that obviously we are working very closely with the civilian government there." Rice refused to comment on the possibility of civilian casualties.[2]Reuters cited U.S. Pentagon officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, who confirmed that the raid was conducted by U.S. special operations forces.[17]
The Chairman of the Pakistani Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (JCSC), Gen Tariq Majid, stated that "Pakistan reserves right to retaliate".[18]
On Saturday, September 6, 2008, Pakistan blocked a fuel route supplying U.S. and other western forces operating in Afghanistan in response to the raid. "We have told them that we will take action and we have already taken action today. We have stopped the supply of oil and this will tell how serious we are," said PakistaniDefence MinisterAhmad Mukhtar.[19]
