Kajaki is a
village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred ...
in southern
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 ...
, and is split between two townsteads, Kajaki 'Olya, and Kajaki Sofla. It is the district centre of
Kajaki District in
Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
. North east of the village is an important hydro power station for electricity and irrigation projects, the
Kajaki Dam
The Kajaki Dam is one of the two major hydroelectric power dams of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. The dam is located on the Helmand River 100 miles (161 km) north-west of Kandahar and is operated by the Helmand and Arghandab Valle ...
. The village itself hugs the east side 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 Sanglak ...
, right after it makes its first turn south, one km out from the dam. Kajaki is bordered by the town Payson to its west, Tangeye, an abandoned bazaar to its north, Shabez Kheyl, and Kanzi to its north west, all across the Helmand. Kajaki serves as the northern terminus of
Route 611.
History
It was announced in December 2006 that British Corporal
Mark Wright would be posthumously awarded the
George Cross for his actions after entering an unmarked minefield near Kajaki, in an attempt to save the lives of other injured soldiers which is the plot for the 2014 film
Kajaki: The True Story.
On August 23, 2007, three
British soldiers of the
Royal Anglian Regiment
The Royal Anglian Regiment (R ANGLIAN) is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating i ...
were killed in a suspected
friendly fire
In military terminology, friendly fire or fratricide is an attack by belligerent or neutral forces on friendly troops while attempting to attack enemy/hostile targets. Examples include misidentifying the target as hostile, cross-fire while en ...
incident northwest of Kajaki. The soldiers were on patrol when they were attacked by
Taliban insurgents. A pair of
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle fighter jets were called in to provide
close air support dropping one 500 lb bomb in support of British forces; it is believed that this bomb exploded close to the British position killing three soldiers and injuring two others. On August 26, 2007, the
Sunday Telegraph reported that American officials were investigating the possibility that the bombing was the result of a failure in the bombs guidance system rather than being the result of pilot error.
Ministry of Defence , Defence News , Three British soldiers killed in Afghanistan
/ref>
Climate
Kajaki 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 Kajaki is 18.3 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 163 mm. July is the hottest month of the year with an average temperature of 30.9 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 5.5 °C.
See also
*List of dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan
Dams and reservoirs in Afghanistan are used for irrigation, water supply, hydro-electric power generation or combination of these. Below are a map and a chart showing some of Afghanistan's dams and reservoirs.
Location map of major reservoirs an ...
*Helmand Province
Helmand (Pashto/Dari: ; ), also known as Hillmand, in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand, is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering area. The province contains 13 ...
*Kajaki Dam incident The Kajaki Dam Incident occurred on the 6 September 2006, when 4 Soviet anti-personnel mines, left over from the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, were detonated by soldiers of the 3rd Battalion, Parachute Regiment, British Army. One soldier was fat ...
, 2006
References
External links
Map of Kajaki district
(PDF)
{{Helmand Province
Populated places in Helmand Province
