Operation Omari, also called the Spring Offensive, was an offensive launched by the Taliban against the

Afghan government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is a theocracy and an emirate with political powe ...

in Afghanistan. Its start was announced on 12 April 2016. The Taliban made their yearly spring offensive announcement on April 12, 2016. They named the offensive in honor of the movement's late leader. The announcement of Operation Omari includes details on how the members of the group should present themselves in public. The aim of the Operation is considered ambitious and its focus is on clearing the remaining areas from enemy control and presence. Unlike offensive announcements from previous years this announcement contained details about specific targets that would be attacked during the operation. The targets were stated in general terms with reference only to "large scale attacks on enemy positions across the country, martyrdom-seeking and tactical attacks against enemy strongholds, and assassination of enemy commanders in urban centers."

Etymology

The name of the operation was named after Taliban founder and leader

Mohammed Omar Muhammad Omar ( ar, محمد عمر, link=no), and other spellings such as Mohamed Omer, may refer to the following people: Sportspeople * Muhammad Umar (wrestler) (born 1975), Pakistani wrestler * Mohammad Omar (footballer, born 1976), Emirati ...

Timeline

2016

April

April 2016 Kabul attack

May

June

In late June 2016, IS militants attacked police checkpoints in the Kot area of Nangarhar province, heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and government security forces has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Afghanistan, as many as 36 IS militants are reported to have been killed in the assaults, at least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians have been killed, with another 18 wounded. The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government already battling an insurgency dominated by the rival Taliban.

July

July 2016 Kabul bombing On 23 July 2016, a twin bombing occurred in the vicinity of Deh Mazang square in Kabul, capital of Afghanistan, when Enlightenment Movement protesters, mostly from the Hazara ethnic group , were marching against a decision to bypass their reg ...

August

1 August 2016 Kabul attack, the

Jani Khel offensive The Janikhel offensive was launched by the Taliban and the Haqqani network in early August 2016 to conquer the Janikhel District within the contested Paktia Province from government forces. Due to the district's geographic location, it is of gr ...

begins on 10 August.

September

On 5 September, 80 Taliban militants were killed and 100 others injured after hundreds of fighters launched a coordinated offensive to capture Giro District, Ghazni Province. Five security personnel also had been killed and eight others injured during the operation. The Jani Khel offensive ends in an Afghan government victory; the

September 2016 Kabul bombing Explosions in Kabul on September 5, 2016 killed over 41 people and injured 103 others in twin suicide bombings near the Afghan defense ministry. The Taliban claimed the first attack and said that their suicide bomber killed 58 people. Reported ...

takes place. Between 7–11 September,

Battle of Tarinkot (2016) The Battle of Tarinkot (2016) occurred when the Taliban launched an offensive on the Afghan city of Tarinkot. Battle On 7 September 2016, the Taliban attacked Tarinkot. The government forces defending the city, who were low on food and ammuni ...

takes place, resulting in an Afghan government victory. On 8 September, 79 insurgents had been killed in

Tarin Kot Tarīnkōṭ ( prs, ترين کوت), also spelled as Tarin Kowt, is the capital of Uruzgan Province in southern Afghanistan in the Tarinkot District. Tarinkot city has a population of 71,604 (2015), with some 200 small shops in the city's baza ...

, Urozgan Province. Taliban said they broke into Tarin Kot's prison, but Samim rejected the claim and said many of the inmates had been transferred to the airport.

References

2016 in Afghanistan Conflicts in 2016 Conflicts in 2017 Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) {{Afghanistan-hist-stub