Garmsir ( ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is the center of

Garmsir District Garmsir District (or Garmser; ps, ګرمسير; from Persian گرمسیر, meaning "hot place") is located in the southern part of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. The district is large, but all the villages are along the Helmand River. The rest is ...

Helmand Province Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan Afghanistan is divided into 34 provinces (, '' wilåyat''). The provinces of Afghanistan are the primar ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

. It is situated on the eastern bank of the

Helmand River The Helmand River (also spelled Helmend, or Helmund, Hirmand; Pashto/Persian: ; Greek: ' (''Etýmandros''); Latin: ') is the longest river in Afghanistan and the primary watershed for the endorheic Sistan Basin. It emerges in the Sanglakh ...

on at 714 m altitude and 63 km southwest of

Lashkargah Lashkargāh ( ps, لښکرګاه; fa, لشکرگاه), historically called Bost or Boost (), is a city in southwestern Afghanistan and the capital of Helmand Province. It is located in Lashkargah District, where the Arghandab River merges into ...

. The major road at Garmsir is Route 605. The hospital is called Hazar Juft Comprehensive Health Clinic.

Prince Harry Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (Henry Charles Albert David; born 15 September 1984) is a member of the British royal family. He is the younger son of Charles III and his first wife Diana, Princess of Wales. He is fifth in the line of succ ...

spent time in the village during his 2008 period in the country.

Climate

Garmsir has a

hot desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in the Köppen climate classification ''BWh'' and ''BWk''), is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation. The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert ...

(

Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Bernd Köppen (born 1951), German pianist and composer * Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan * Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author and ...

''BWh''), characterised by little precipitation and high variation between summer and winter temperatures. The average temperature in Garmsir is 21.3 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 83 mm. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 33.8 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 8.6 °C.

Conflict

Garmsir was the scene of heavy fighting during April–September 2008 when

U.S. Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the Marines, maritime land force military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary warfare, exped ...

from the 24th MEU arrived to reinforce British and Afghan forces. In July 2009, Marines taking part in

Operation Khanjar Operation Strike of the Sword or Operation Khanjar was a US-led offensive in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. About 4,000 U.S. Marines, Marines from the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade as well as 650 Afghan National Army, Afghan troops ...

met little or no resistance initially. By July 5, elements of the

2nd Battalion, 8th Marines 2nd Battalion, 8th Marines (2/8) is an infantry battalion in the United States Marine Corps based out of Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina consisting of approximately 900 Marines and Sailors. Nicknamed "America's Battalion," they f ...

were engaged in heavy fighting with

Taliban The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...

forces.

Notable people

Muhammad bin Bakhtiyar Khalji Ikhtiyār al-Dīn Muḥammad Bakhtiyār Khaljī, (Pashto :اختيار الدين محمد بختيار غلزۍ, fa, اختیارالدین محمد بختیار خلجی, bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দীন মুহম্মদ � ...

, founder of the Khalji dynasty of Bengal (1204–1227)

References

External links

Widow Six Seven
28 February 2008
Taliban: We Knew About Prince
''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' 1 March 2008
Marines launch assault in Afghanistan

MSNBC MSNBC (originally the Microsoft National Broadcasting Company) is an American news-based pay television cable channel. It is owned by NBCUniversala subsidiary of Comcast. Headquartered in New York City, it provides news coverage and political ...