The Battle of Shawali Kowt took place near the

Arghandab River Arghandab is a river in Afghanistan, about in length. It rises in Ghazni Province, west of the city of Ghazni, and flows southwest passing near the city of Kandahar, and then joins the Helmand River below Grishk. In its lower course, it is mu ...

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 ...

during the

Invasion of Afghanistan In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operations ...

. On December 2, 2001, after a pitched street-by-street battle, the

Green Berets The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service headgear, are a special operations force of the United States Army. The Green Berets are geared towards nine doctrinal mis ...

and Afghan Freedom Fighters captured the town of Shawali Kowt,Zullo, Allan:''Battle Heroes: Voices From Afghanistan'' but could not gain control over a bridge over the

, a gateway to the Taliban spiritual center of

Kandahar Kandahar (; Kandahār, , Qandahār) is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on the Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118. It is the c ...

. That night, the Taliban forces launched a major counterattack, triggering a retreat by the Afghans. Over the next eight hours, the American forces defended against the retreat. U.S. Air Force Sergeant Alex Yoshimoto, the combat controller, orchestrated numerous air strikes from a variety of fighters and bombers, thwarting the Taliban charge and forcing the enemy to retreat.

References

Afghanistan conflict (1978–present) Conflicts in 2001 Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States Operations involving American special forces 2001 in Afghanistan History of Urozgan Province Battles in 2001 December 2001 events in Asia {{battle-stub