Battle of Qala-i-Jangi

Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)

CIA agent Dave Tyson during the battle.

Date	November 25 - December 1, 2001
Location	Near Mazar-i-Sharif, Northern Afghanistan
Result	Coalition victory.

Combatants

United Kingdom,

Commanders

Unknown

Strength

300-500 men

Casualties

Afghans: 40-50 killed, at least 50 injured
U.K./U.S.: 1 killed, 9 injured

200-400 killed,
86 captured

War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
Qala-i-Jangi – Tora Bora – Anaconda – Red Wing – Lashkagar – Mountain Thrust – Panjwaii – Medusa – Mountain Fury – Falcon Summit – Achilles – Hoover – Pickaxe-Handle – Chora – Hammer – Firebase Anaconda

Afghan Civil War
Soviet involvement – Government collapse – Anarchy – Taliban period – US/NATO involvement

The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi took place between November 25 and December 1, 2001, in Northern Afghanistan. It began with the uprising of Taliban prisoners held at Qala-i-Jangi fortress, and escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the war in Afghanistan. Northern Alliance fighters, assisted by British and American special forces took seven days to finally quell the revolt, leaving only 86 prisoners alive out of an original 300. Among the survivors were two American citizens fighting with the Taliban: Yaser Esam Hamdi and John Walker Lindh.

The Taliban surrender

With their military situation in Northern Afghanistan becoming critical, many Taliban agreed to surrender to Northern Alliance General Abdul Rashid Dostum. Approximately 300^[1] foreign fighters (mostly Arabs, Chechens and Pakistanis), under the impression that they would later be set free, drove to Mazar-i-Sharif and laid down their weapons. However, they were not freed, as the Americans wanted to question them about possible links with the Al Qaeda network. Instead they were transferred to Qala-i-Jangi (the house of war in Persian) a 19th century fortress that Dostum used as his headquarters and ammunition depot.

Dostum claimed the surrender was a "great victory" for the Alliance,^[2] a bloodless success that would allow the future reconciliation of Afghanistan. But these claims were short-lived.

The battle

Inside the fortress, the prisoners had not been searched, and it soon became evident that they had concealed weapons in their clothes. On November 24th in two separate incidents, two of Dostum's commanders were killed by prisoners with grenades. Despite this, security at the prison was not reinforced.

On the 25th, two CIA officers, Johnny "Mike" Spann and Dave Tyson arrived at Qala-i-Jangi to carry out the interrogations. Instead of speaking to the prisoners separately, they confronted them in a group. Due to the menacing attitude of the two Americans, the Taliban may have thought they were about to be executed, but it is not clear whether this is the cause of the uprising. Whatever the reason, the rebellion began at 11.15 am, when the prisoners overpowered their 20-odd guards, and Mike Spann, whom they killed with two gunshots to the head. Spann became the first American killed in action in the Afghanistan war.^[2]

The Taliban quickly overran a large part of Qala-i-Jangi, including an armory, from which they helped themselves to a large store of AK-47s, RPG rocket launchers and mortars.

Tyson managed to escape to a secure part of the fortress where he found himself trapped with a television crew from the German ARD network. He borrowed their satellite phone, and called the US embassy in Uzbekistan, requesting reinforcements and air support.^[3] The Afghans also brought reinforcements: two T-55 tanks entered the compound and started firing into the Taliban area.

Several other television crews arrived on the scene of the battle, ensuring it got one of the widest media coverages of the whole war. The successive stages of the fighting were filmed extensively, providing rare footage of special forces units in combat.

At 2.00 pm a mixed Special forces team, formed with 9 U.S. Special Forces and 6 British SAS/SBS operatives, arrived and joined the Afghans firing at the Taliban from the northern part of the fort. Starting at 4:00 pm until nightfall, they directed 9 airstrikes against the entrenched Taliban, who continued to put up a fierce resistance.

The next day, the Alliance soldiers set up a command post near the Northern gate, to direct their tank and mortar fire. They were joined by 4 more Special Forces, and by 8 men of the 10th Mountain Division.

Two Northern Alliance soldiers taking cover behind the body of a dead Taliban.

At 11:00 pm, a GBU-32 guided bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds (957 kg), mistakenly hit the command post, killing 4 (some sources say 30^[2]) Northern Alliance soldiers, destroying a tank and injuring 5 U.S. and 2 British soldiers.^[3] That night an AC-130 Spectre gunship circled over the fortress, firing thousands of rounds at the Taliban. The main ammunition depot was hit, creating a huge explosion which continued to burn throughout the night.

By the morning of the 27th the Taliban resistance had slackened, and the Alliance soldiers were able to mount an attack, with tanks, and by the end of the day, they had recaptured most of the fort. The Americans recovered Spann's body, which the Taliban had booby trapped with a grenade.^[3]

On the 28th General Dostum arrived on the scene of the battle, and tried to persuade the last Taliban still holding out in the basement to surrender. His entreaties had no effect, however, and the last prisoners only gave themselves up 2 days later, after the Alliance troops had forced them out of the basement by pumping it full of water.

Aftermath

Of the 86 prisoners who survived the battle, one was found to be an American citizen, John Walker Lindh, who had converted to Islam, and then moved to Afghanistan to help the Taliban. Shortly after the battle, a journalist working for CNN, Robert Young Pelton, managed to interview Lindh, and revealed to the world the existence of the man who came to be known as the "American Taliban". Lindh was later repatriated to the United States to face charges of treason.

The other surviving prisoners were transferred to Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

For his actions during the battle, Major Mark Mitchell, a U.S. special forces officer, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the first such decoration to be awarded since the Vietnam War.^[4] Additionally awarded was the Navy Cross to Chief Petty Officer Stephen Bass, for his efforts in locating the CIA operatives.

Controversy

Due to the high number of Taliban casualties, and the heavy weaponry used to subdue them, the Northern Alliance and the coalition were accused of breaching the Geneva Conventions, by using disproportionate means.^[5] Amnesty International called for an independent inquiry,^[6] but this was rejected by the U.S. and British governments, who argued that the fanatical resistance of the Taliban fully justified the use of airpower and heavy weapons against them.

Another controversy surrounds the mismanagement of the prisoners, that made the rebellion possible. The Taliban were not searched after their capture, enabling them to smuggle weapons into the fortress. Dostum himself later admitted this had been a mistake.^[2] Also, Qala-i-Jangi had been until recently a Taliban base, meaning that the prisoners knew the layout of the place and the location of the armory. It seems that Dostum had planned to hold them at a nearby airfield, but was denied this by the Americans, who were using the airfield to ferry in supplies.

The behaviour of the CIA agents was also criticised, as their menacing attitude might have sparked fear and anger among the Taliban, setting off the revolt.^[7] Also, by interrogating the prisoners in a group, rather than separately, protected by very few guards, they put themselves at the mercy of men who were known to be dangerous. George Tenet, then director of the CIA, dismissed the accusations of mismanagement and incompetence, and instead described his agents as "heroes".^[8]

References

^ Estimates of the number of prisoners vary: some sources place their number at 300[1], others at 400[2],others still at 500[3].
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Alex Perry; Inside the Battle at Qala-i-Jangi; Time Magazine(December 20, 2001) - Retrieved February 20, 2007
^ ^a ^b ^c The house of war - www.cnn.com - Retrieved February 20, 2007
^ Afghanistan SF leader gets first DSC since Vietnam; http://www.army.mil/ ; - Retrieved June 28, 2007
^ The massacre at Qala-i-jangi - Guardian UK; www.qern.org - Retrieved February 20, 2007
^ Richard Norton-Taylor; SAS role in fort deaths questioned; The Guardian(Saturday December 15, 2001)] - Retrieved February 26, 2007
^ The House of War; www.abc.net(Summary of the documentary The House of War by Paul Yule) - Retrieved February 20, 2007
^ Spann described as a hero; CNN(November 28, 2001) - Retrieved February 20, 2007

External links

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