Operation Warrior Sweep was a 2003 operation in the
War in Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to:
*Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC)
* Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709)
*Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
.
It involved a July 20, 2003 deployment of about 1,000 soldiers of the
Afghan National Army, together with U.S.-led coalition troops, in the
Zormat Valley region and the 3,260 meter-high peaks of the
Ayubkhel Valley in the southern
Paktia province
Paktia (Pashto/Dari: – ''Paktyā'') is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the east of the country. Forming part of the larger Loya Paktia region, Paktia Province is divided into 15 districts and has a population of roughly ...
in
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 operation was in response to intelligence reports that some
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
and
al-Qaeda operatives were active in the area. It marked the first major combat operation for the Afghan troops. The Operation was completed in mid-September.
By July 29, soldiers from the
82nd Airborne Division were transported in by CH-47 Chinook helicopters to assist in the Operation.
The coalition forces uncovered dozens of
grenades, C-4 plastic explosives, a crate of
dynamite, more than 20 rocket propelled grenade rounds, a box of anti-aircraft rounds and hundreds of 7.62 mm and handgun rounds.
Neither
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalist, militant Islamist, jihadist, and Pasht ...
nor
al-Qaeda guerrillas were encountered. U.S.-led coalition forces cleared illegal checkpoints from a number of key roads, including the main road leading from
Gardez
, settlement_type =City
, image_skyline =gardez_paktya.jpg
, imagesize =
, image_caption =The Bala Hesar fortress in the center of Gardez City
, image_flag =
, flag_size =
, image_sea ...
to
Khost
Khōst ( ps, خوست) is the capital of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It is the largest city in the southeastern part of the country, and also the largest in the region of Loya Paktia. To the south and east of Khost lie Waziristan and Kurram ...
. The Afghan Army secured the road leading to
Zormat
Zurmat ( ps, زرمت) is the main town of Zurmat District in Paktia Province, Afghanistan. Zurmat is the largest city of Paktia Province, while Zurmat District, with a population of 109,805, is also the most populous district of the province. .
When U.S. forces arrived in the village of
Atel Mohammed, residents hid their
Qur'an
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
s and other religious items. They feared that U.S. soldiers would kill them if they discovered they were
Muslim. U.S. soldiers explained to the villagers that this was not the case.
Toward the conclusion of the Operation in mid-September, forces from the United States, Italy, Romania and Afghanistan discovered several secret
cave
A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...
s and caches containing more than 20,000 pieces of ordnance.
References
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States
Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Italy
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