Operation Lastay Kulang or Pickaxe Handle was a British-led

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

offensive in the southern

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 ...

. (The name of the operation is

Pashto Pashto (,; , ) is an Eastern Iranian language in the Indo-European language family. It is known in historical Persian literature as Afghani (). Spoken as a native language mostly by ethnic Pashtuns, it is one of the two official languages ...

for "pickaxe-handle".) Lastay Kulang began on May 30 and ended on June 14, 2007, with 2000

ISAF ' ps, کمک او همکاري ' , allies = Afghanistan , opponents = Taliban Al-Qaeda , commander1 = , commander1_label = Commander , commander2 = , commander2_label = , commander3 = , command ...

and

Afghan National Army Afghan may refer to: *Something of or related to Afghanistan, a country in Southern-Central Asia * Afghans, people or citizens of Afghanistan, typically of any ethnicity **Afghan (ethnonym), the historic term applied strictly to people of the Pas ...

troops taking part. The mission was a direct follow-up of

Operation Achilles Operation Achilles was a NATO operation, part of the War in Afghanistan. Its objective was to clear Helmand province of the Taliban. The operation began on March 6, 2007. The offensive is the largest NATO-based operation in Afghanistan to date ...

that ended on the same day. At around 4:00 local time on May 30, 2007, ISAF and ANSF personnel advanced towards the village of Kajaki Sofle, ten kilometres south-west of the town of

Kajaki Kajaki is a village in southern Afghanistan, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of Kajaki District in Helmand Province. North east of the village is an important hydro power station fo ...

, to remove a Taliban force whose presence threatened the security and stability of the Lower Sangin Valley. During the night, elements of the American

82nd Airborne Division The 82nd Airborne Division is an Airborne forces, airborne infantry division (military), division of the United States Army specializing in Paratrooper, parachute assault operations into denied areasSof, Eric"82nd Airborne Division" ''Spec Ops ...

mounted an aerial assault on a Taliban compound. One of the Chinook helicopters taking part in the raid was apparently hit by an

RPG RPG may refer to: Military * Rocket-propelled grenade, a shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon **''Ruchnoi Protivotankoviy Granatomyot'' (Russian: ''Ручной Противотанковый Гранатомёт''), hand-held anti-tank grenade laun ...

round and crashed, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian on board. By June 2, NATO claimed to have surrounded several pockets of Taliban fighters. The

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is heade ...

have also started several reconstruction projects in the area, such as digging irrigation ditches, to try to win over local support. On June 5, a gun battle and air strikes killed an estimated two dozen Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan government reported. Upwards of 80 Taliban fighters may have drowned in two separate incidents in early June, when the makeshift boats they were travelling on sank as they attempted to cross the Helmand River. The sinkings were witnessed by NATO helicopters. A British soldier was killed in a firefight at a Taliban compound to the north east of

Gereshk Grishk ( ps, ګرِشک, translit=Grishk; fa, گِرِشک, translit=Gereshk), also spelled Gereshk, is a town in Grishk District of Helmand province, geographically located along the Helmand River in Afghanistan, some northwest of Kandahar, a ...

on June 6. Another NATO soldier was killed in the south of the country that same day. On June 8, a battle and air strikes in southern Afghanistan left 30 suspected Taliban dead or wounded, the Ministry of Defense reported.

Outcome

The outcome of "Lastay Kulang" is disputed. NATO spokespersons claimed the operation was a success, having cleared Sangin and Gereshk of Taliban and securing the Kajaki District. A new governor has been installed in Sangin and

Shura Shura ( ar, شُورَىٰ, translit=shūrā, lit=consultation) can for example take the form of a council or a referendum. The Quran encourages Muslims to decide their affairs in consultation with each other. Shura is mentioned as a praisewort ...

s (councils) of tribal elders have been organised to hear their concerns. Conversely, the Taliban claim that they still control much of Kajaki, and some of the Sangin districts. These claims are confirmed by the local residents, who complain that the Taliban returned as soon as NATO and ANA troops had left, and that the security situation has not improved at all.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pickaxe-Handle Conflicts in 2007 2007 in Afghanistan NATO operations in Afghanistan Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United Kingdom Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Canada Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Denmark Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Norway Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Outcome

See also

References