The Battle For Kandahar: Unraveling The Key Moments And Aftermath

Kandahar, Afghanistan, has been the site of several notable events. In 2002, it was the location of a US military operation during the invasion of Afghanistan, and in 2012, it was the site of a massacre of 16 Afghan civilians by a US soldier. Kandahar has also been the scene of fierce fighting between Afghan rebels and Soviet forces, and it served as the headquarters of the Taliban until their overthrow in 2001. The city has a long history of conquests and refoundings due to its strategic location on trade routes to Central Asia, India, and Kabul.

The Kandahar massacre

On 11 March 2012, United States Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales murdered 16 Afghan civilians and wounded six others in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. Nine of his victims were children, and 11 of the dead were from the same family.

Bales, who was 38 at the time, was wearing night-vision goggles and traditional Afghan clothing over his Army Combat Uniform (ACU). He left Camp Belamby at 3:00 am local time and carried out the killings in two phases, returning to the base in between. An Afghan guard reported a soldier returning to base at 1:30 am, and another guard reported a soldier leaving at 2:30 am.

Bales first went to Alkozai, about half a mile north of Camp Belambay, then to Najiban (called Balandi in earlier reports), located 1.5 miles south of the base. Four people were killed and six wounded in Alkozai, and 12 people were killed in Najiban. Some of the corpses were partially burned.

Bales returned to the base to resupply his ammunition and told Sergeant Jason McLaughlin that he had "just killed some military-aged males in Alikozai, that he was going to go to Naja Bien to finish it", and that he wanted the Sergeant to "take care of his wife and kids". Bales then left the base for a second time, adding grenades and a grenade launcher to his resources.

After the massacre, Bales handed himself over into International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) custody. He was taken into custody later that morning when he told authorities, "I did it". Bales was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

The Kandahar Giant

According to Mr. K, the giant emerged from a cave and stabbed a soldier named Dan with a spear. The soldiers then opened fire and killed the giant with 30 seconds of continuous fire. They loaded the giant onto a Chinook helicopter and it was never seen again.

The story first emerged in 2002 when a group of soldiers went missing while on patrol in a remote mountain region of Kandahar. A special ops unit was sent to investigate and found a cave with scattered Army equipment but no sign of the soldiers. The Kandahar Giant then emerged from the cave and attacked the unit.

The US Department of Defense has denied that the incident took place, stating that they have "no record or information about a special forces member killed by a giant in Kandahar." Despite this, the story has persisted, with some claiming that the government is hiding the truth.

Taliban rule in Afghanistan

The Taliban's rule in Afghanistan has been marked by widespread human rights abuses and a rollback of freedoms for women and girls in the country. After taking control of Afghanistan in August 2015, the Taliban imposed a series of extreme restrictions on the rights of women and girls, barring them from parks, gyms, universities, jobs, and public spaces, in the name of adhering to their interpretation of Islamic law or Sharia. The group has also targeted former government officials and security personnel for revenge attacks and carried out collective punishments in areas with anti-Taliban sentiment.

The Taliban's return to power in 2021, after the withdrawal of U.S. and NATO forces, sparked a mass exodus from the country and widespread resistance from those who remained. The resistance has been led primarily by women and young people, who have lived through a period of increased freedoms and democratization before the Taliban takeover. Protests and demonstrations have been met with violence and intervention from the Taliban, with women protesters being wounded and beaten.

The Taliban's ideological underpinnings combine Pashtun nationalism with a Deobandi Islamic identity. This fusion has helped define the group's dogma and ideology, which calls for the implementation of Sharia law and the eradication of what it considers to be un-Islamic influences. The group has also been accused of being a proxy for the Pakistani government, with historical ties between the two stretching back to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Pakistani government has offered refuge to the Taliban and supported the group, contributing to its legitimacy crisis.

Under Taliban rule, Afghanistan has become one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with two-thirds of the population in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The harsh restrictions on women and girls' rights have resulted in the dismissal of women from their jobs and bans on their working for humanitarian organizations, except in limited areas. The Taliban has also imposed extensive censorship on the media and access to information, carrying out arbitrary detentions, torture, and summary executions of journalists and critics.

The Taliban's leadership has shown little willingness to compromise on its hardline stance, despite internal disagreements and pressure from the international community. The group's supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, has praised the changes imposed since the takeover and remains firmly committed to his edicts, which are framed in the language of Islamic law. The international community has refused to grant the Taliban formal recognition due to their failure to uphold human rights, particularly regarding women and girls.

US military presence in Kandahar

Kandahar International Airport, also known as Ahmad Shah Baba International Airport, is located in the Daman District of Kandahar Province in Afghanistan, about 17 km southeast of the city of Kandahar. It is one of the largest airports in Afghanistan, serving as the nation's second main international airport.

The airport was originally built in the early 1960s by the United States for a cost of about $15 million. It was completed in 1962 by an American company, serving as a safe refuelling stop for long-range piston-engined aircraft travelling between Europe and Southeast Asia.

During the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 1980s, the airfield was used intensively by Soviet Air Forces and as a base for launching airstrikes against local Mujahideen groups. After the Soviet withdrawal, the airport remained under the control of the Afghan government until 1992, when local military commanders took control.

In late 2001, during Operation Enduring Freedom, Kandahar Airport was one of the first coalition bases established in Afghanistan. It was secured by the US Marines and served as a key base for US and international troops during the war in Afghanistan. At its peak, the airfield housed more than 26,000 US and international troops and contractors.

In 2006, control of the airport was transferred from the US to NATO administration. The airport has been used for both military and civilian flights, with the military section maintained by the Afghan Armed Forces and security provided by the Afghan National Police.

In May 2021, as part of the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, the US forces left Kandahar Airfield, turning it over to the Afghan National Defense Security Forces. This move signalled the urgency of the US effort to fully withdraw from the country. The departure of US forces from Kandahar came as a surprise to some Afghan officials, who were uncertain of the exact timing of the base handover.

The US military presence in Kandahar played a significant role in the war in Afghanistan, serving as a hub for US and coalition forces. However, with the withdrawal of US troops, the security situation in the province has been impacted, with fighting and attacks on the city occurring in the following months.

Kandahar's history of conquests

Kandahar, Afghanistan's second-largest city, has a long history of conquests and refoundings due to its strategic and commercial importance. The city has been the site of several deadly conflicts, including the 2012 Kandahar massacre and the fierce fighting between Afghan mujahideen rebels and Soviet invasion forces in the 1980s.

Kandahar was included in the Achaemenian Empire by Darius I and was later taken by Alexander the Great in 329 BCE. The city changed hands several times, falling under the rule of various empires and dynasties, including the Greco-Bactrians, Parthians, Shakas, Kushans, and Sasanian. During its Islamic period, Kandahar was controlled by a succession of Arab, Persian, Turkic, and Mongol rulers. The city was destroyed by Genghis Khan and later by Timur (Tamerlane).

In the 17th century, Kandahar came under Persian rule before becoming the first capital of a unified Afghanistan in 1747. The British sought control of the area in the 19th century but ultimately lost it during the Second Anglo-Afghan War in 1880.

In the 20th century, Kandahar once again became a centre of conflict. From the mid-1990s until 2001, it served as the headquarters of the Taliban, an Islamic fundamentalist faction that controlled much of Afghanistan. During the Afghanistan War (2001-2014), the city was a staging area for US military strikes against the Taliban and other Islamic militants.

The Kandahar massacre, also known as the Panjwai massacre, occurred in 2012 when US Army Staff Sergeant Robert Bales murdered 16 Afghan civilians and wounded several others in the Panjwayi District of Kandahar Province. This incident further strained relations between the US and Afghanistan and led to protests and condemnation from Afghan authorities.

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