; "Fortress of

Moses Moses hbo, מֹשֶׁה, Mōše; also known as Moshe or Moshe Rabbeinu (Mishnaic Hebrew: מֹשֶׁה רַבֵּינוּ, ); syr, ܡܘܫܐ, Mūše; ar, موسى, Mūsā; grc, Mωϋσῆς, Mōÿsēs () is considered the most important pro ...

") is a town and the district centre of

Musa Qala District Musa Qala is a district in the north of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.Helmand Province, Afghanistan. It is located at and at an altitude of 1,043 m in the valley of

Musa Qala River The Musa Qala ( ps, د موسى قلعه رود) is a river in Afghanistan. It is a tributary of the Helmand River and highly participates in the irrigation of arable lands of the district. It is flowing 90 km through the Musa Qala ; "Fortres ...

in the central western part of the district. Its population has been reported in the British press to be both 2,000 and 20,000. It is in a desolate area, populated by native Pashtun tribes.Rahmani, Waliullah (23 March 2006) "Helmand Province and the Afghan Insurgency" ''Terrorism Monitor'' 4(6): pp. 3-5, p.4

Climate

With virtually no rainfall during the year, Musa Qala features a cold desert climate (''BWk'') under the Köppen climate classification. The average temperature in Musa Qala is 17.6 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 159 mm. July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of 30.3 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 4.7 °C.

Taliban resurgence

In February 2006 intensive fighting erupted there, leading to 28 deaths, including the Musa Qala district chief, Abdul Quddus. On March 3, 2006, the

Sangin district Sangin is a Districts of Afghanistan, district in the east of Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Its population was reported at 58,100 in 2012, all of which belong to Pashtun people, Pashtun ethnic group. The district centre is the town of Sangin. The ...

governor, Amir Jan, was killed in Musa Qala while on vacation. British forces were deployed to defend the district offices at Musa Qala (and also at Sangin, Nawzad and Kajaki). Over several months, eight British soldiers died there during attacks by the Taliban. 23–25 July 2006,

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

troops of the "1. Lette Opklaringseskadron" (1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron, 120 men) moved in to replace the British troops, but found themselves having to assist the British troops repel a major Taliban attack before they could carry out the replacement. On 28 August 2006, the Danish forces were replaced as planned, if slightly belated, and were once again replaced by the British.

Truce with the Taliban

In late September 2006, a secret truce was allegedly made with the Taliban under which British troops would quietly move out of Musa Qala in return for the Taliban not attacking the region. The truce had the sanction of Mohammad Daud, the governor of Helmand province, and most tribal elders, who felt they could now exercise control over the Taliban themselves. It was also seen as a move to help integrate the local Pashtun tribes on the side of the US-allied government. Others however, saw the move as a cop-out; Lieutenant-General David Richards, the NATO commander in Afghanistan at the time, said that this move turned these four centers into "magnets" for the Taliban insurgents. Initially, the local leaders were happy with the settlement, which gave them the upper hand over the Taliban. In the long run, however, attempts to win over the population appear to have failed, especially under the NATO strategy of air bombing which killed more than 4,600 Afghan noncombatants from 2001 to 2006, according to a study from University of New Hampshire. The result has been the steady growth of anti-American sentiment in the region, focused on the US-backed regime of President Hamid Karzai. Karzai himself deplored the attacks, apparently breaking down in tears, saying that "the cruelty is too much.

he coalition forces He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...

are killing our children."

Recapture by the Taliban

In February 2007, a Taliban force of about 100 or possibly 200 strong under

Mullah Mullah (; ) is an honorific title for Shia and Sunni Muslim clergy or a Muslim mosque leader. The term is also sometimes used for a person who has higher education in Islamic theology and sharia law. The title has also been used in some Miz ...

Abdul Ghafoor ʻAbd al-Ghaffār ( ALA-LC romanization of ar, عبد الغفار) is a male Muslim given name, and, in modern usage, surname, built from the Arabic words '' ʻabd'' and '' al-Ghaffār'', one of the names of God in the Qur'an, which give rise to ...

captured the town, overran the district centre and raised their trademark white flag. All tribal leaders who had arranged the truce with the British forces were jailed. Some sources report the Taliban force numbered "several hundred". The situation created a crisis for the ISAF forces in Afghanistan, on the same day that the British commanding officer General David Richards handed over charge of the ISAF team to an American, General

Dan K. McNeill Dan Kelly McNeill (born July 23, 1946) is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He served as Commander, Coalition Forces, Afghanistan from 2002 to 2003 and as Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) from 2004 t ...

; MacNeil suggested that "surgical and deliberate" force would be used to evict the fighters from Musa Qala. On 4 February US forces claimed that an air strike near Musa Qala had killed a senior Taliban leader, possibly Mullah Abdul Ghafoor, while travelling in a truck. McNeill, the new ISAF commander, felt that "come spring, an ISAF offensive not a Taliban offensive will set the conditions to defeat the insurgents again." ''Eurasianet'' reports: "The attack laid waste to an agreement there, brokered last fall by Richards and local tribal elders, under which NATO troops agreed to withdraw from the town in return for a commitment by local Afghan leaders to oppose the Taliban." Eurasianet reports that Richards, the outgoing ISAF commander, is an expert at negotiation. It reports that McNeill, the new ISAF commander, opposes the kind of local agreements that Richards favored, and speculated that the aerial bombardment that was reported to have killed Mullah Abdul Ghafour was a sign of McNeill's more aggressive, less conciliatory approach. :''"Officials in several European countries have quietly expressed concern about placing an American general in charge of the NATO force. Richards tried to create a less harsh, more economic-development-oriented identity for NATO in Afghanistan, as compared to the ‘‘kicking-down-doors’’ image that US forces have. Many local analysts expect NATO forces to embrace a more aggressive stance under McNeill, who is believed to oppose the type of local peace arrangements that Richards promoted. The danger at this point is that an overly aggressive NATO force in Afghanistan could alienate Afghans, and thus cause the Taliban’s support base to grow."'' The district was the scene of heavy fighting in late July 2007 after ISAF forces attacked several rebel hideouts in Helmand Province. Coalition officials said that up to 160 Taliban fighters were killed between 22 July and 26 July in gun battles and air strikes, adding that, rather than avoiding battle, the Taliban were trying to defend the area. No civilian casualties were reported by ISAF, although a self-described resident claimed by phone that 16 civilians were killed in an air strike. In October 2007, Reuters reported that ISAF troops and

Afghan National Security Forces The Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), also known as the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), were the military and internal security forces of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Structure The Afghan National Security Forc ...

(ANSF) had killed 80 Taliban insurgents in a six-hour battle there. As with the July engagement, the Taliban concentrated their forces and fought to defend the region rather than using typical "

shoot and scoot Shoot-and-scoot (alternatively, fire-and-displace or fire-and-move) is an artillery tactic of firing at a target and then immediately moving away from the location from where the shots were fired to avoid counter-battery fire (e.g. from enemy ar ...

" tactics.

Battle of Musa Qala

As of 7 December 2007, an alleged 2,000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. British led ISAF and Afghan forces prepared for a siege of the town. Operation Mar Karadad commenced with an overnight attack by the air assets of the 82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair, a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB). Afghan troops and paratroopers from 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment fought for control of the village, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of the impending battle. In preparation, it is believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine exploded. The following day, Cpl. Tanner J. O'Leary of the 1st Battalion

508th Infantry Regiment (United States) The 508th Infantry Regiment (508th PIR, 508th AIR, or 508th IR) ("Red Devils" or "Fury from the Sky") is an airborne infantry regiment of the United States Army, first formed in October 1942 during World War II. The 508th is a parent regiment u ...

was also killed by an explosive device. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the ANSF and NATO forces in control of the town.

U.S. Marines in Musa Qala

In April 2008 2nd Battalion 7th Marines deployed throughout the Farah and Helmand Provinces. Their mission was to assist in seizing the town and to help ISAF forces train the Afghan National Police. They met heavy opposition and had several very intense firefights within days of arriving and throughout the coming months, but were aggressive and quick in their tactics resulting them pushing the offensive further and further out of the town. In mid-2008 the Afghan police had completed their training, were strategically placed throughout the town and its entrances, and mentored with constant supervision and even conducted security patrols and combat operations alongside ISAF forces. After months of training and fighting with many firefights sometimes exceeding 6 hours, the town of Musa Qala was significantly quieter and more peaceful than it had been prior to the U.S Marines arrival. In August 2008 a detachment of Marines left Musa Qala to assist in the taking over of Taliban headquarters in the Helmand province in a nearby town called Nawzad. The town was used by the Taliban as a safe haven while they were not in Musa Qala and had been completely abandoned by all Afghan civilians due to Taliban presence. In Nawzad the Marines successfully drove the three to four hundred Taliban out with heavy airstrikes and ground forces in just over 14 hours. The Marines did not have the resources to hold the Taliban headquarters and had to return to base, which resulted in the Taliban returning several days later.

Additional notes

In memory of a prior conflict, in 2006, involving the British Royal Irish Regiment, a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by Larne Borough Council, was given to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne, County Antrim, Northern Ireland during an event in which the regiment was presented with the 'Freedom of the Borough'. This gave the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The March was named, 'Musa Qala'.

References

{{Helmand Province Populated places in Helmand Province