User:Sherurcij/Kandahar
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The Battle of Kandahar (Operation IBRAT to the insurgents[1])began in June 2008, when Afghan insurgents attacked the Sarposa Prison in a co-ordinated assault which killed 16 police guarding the prison, and freed the 1200 prisoners, approximately a third of whom were believed to have past ties to the insurgency.[2][3] Coalition forces swept the area for escaped convicts, leading to the deaths of 15 militants in an air strike against a farm.[4]
Battle of Kandahar | |||||
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Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) | |||||
A shrine in the Arghandab region | |||||
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Belligerents | |||||
International Security Assistance Force Afghan National Army | Afghan insurgency | ||||
Casualties and losses | |||||
16 | 15 |
In the following days, it was widely reported that 8-18[5] towns surrounding Kandahar had been overrun by Afghan militants,[6] and that approximately 500 insurgents had moved into the neighbouring Arghandab district 15km north of the city, to make use of its grape and pomegranate groves to conceal themselves while they prepared to re-take Kandahar. The insurgents warned locals to flee the area before heavy fighting began, while Coalition planes dropped leaflets suggesting that civilians remain indoors.[6] On June 16, Afghan National Army (ANA) and Coalition forces conducted a five-hour patrol through the area, and reported that they had seen no sign of an insurgent build-up and that any reports suggesting otherwise were "unfounded".[7][5]