Cruelbreed
08-05-2009, 01:51 PM
The Battle of Qala-i-Jangi took place between November 25 and December 1, 2001, in Northern Afghanistan. It began with the uprising of Taliban (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taliban) prisoners held at Qala-i-Jangi (http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Qala-i-Jangi&action=edit&redlink=1) fortress, and escalated into one of the bloodiest engagements of the war in Afghanistan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_in_Afghanistan_%282001%E2%80%93present%29). Northern Alliance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Islamic_Front_for_the_Salvation_of_Afghanis tan) fighters, assisted by British and American special forces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_forces), took seven days to finally quell the revolt, leaving only 86 prisoners alive out of an original 300.
Among the survivors were two American citizens fighting with the Taliban, Yaser Esam Hamdi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaser_Esam_Hamdi) and John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh).
Contents
The Taliban surrender
On November 24, with their military situation in Northern Afghanistan becoming critical, many Taliban agreed to surrender to Northern Alliance General Abdul Rashid Dostum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Rashid_Dostum). Between 300 and 500[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-0) foreign fighters (mostly Arabs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab), Chechens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechen_people) and Pakistanis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan)), under the impression that they would later be set free, drove to Mazar-i-Sharif and laid down their weapons. However, they were not freed, as the Americans wanted to question them about possible links with the Al Qaeda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Qaeda) network. Instead they were transferred to Qala-i-Jangi (the war fortress in Persian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language)), a 19th century fortress that Dostum used as his headquarters and ammunition depot.
Dostum claimed the surrender was a "great victory" for the Alliance,[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1) a bloodless success that would allow the future reconciliation of Afghanistan. But these claims were short-lived.
The battle
Inside the fortress, the new prisoners had not been searched, and it soon became evident that they had concealed weapons among them. The day of their surrender, on November 24, two of Dostum's commanders were killed by prisoners with grenades in two separate incidents. Despite this, security at the prison was not reinforced that day.
On the 25th, two CIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency) officers, one from the highly secretive Special Activities Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Activities_Division), Johnny "Mike" Spann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Micheal_Spann), a former Marine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps), and another Dave Tyson, an Uzbek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbek_language) speaker and area expert[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Shrine_Pilgrimage-2), arrived at Qala-i-Jangi to carry out the interrogations[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-HuntingBL-3). These officers questioned the only American captured fighting with the Taliban, John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh). As shown on British Television (Channel 4 news), Spann asked "are you a member of the IRA?" (This question was asked because Lindh was told to claim he was Irish to "avoid problems.") At his memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetery) they stated that after being attacked, Spann "fought with his AK-47 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47) until it ran out of ammunition, then drew his pistol and emptied it, before turning to hand to hand combat which saw him shot". [5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-ANC-4) According to members of a German television crew who were later trapped in the fort with the other CIA officer named "Dave", Spann asked the prisoners who they were and why they joined the Taliban. They massed around him. "Why are you here?" Spann asked one. "To kill you," came the reply as the man lunged at Spann's neck. Mike Spann’s family visited the fortress after his death. Afghan doctors on site at the time of the riot gave the Spann family the following account. They said they "thought Mike might run and retreat, but he held his position and fought using his AK rifle until out of ammo, and then drew and began firing his pistol,” Spann’s father said. While watching Mike fight they were able to jump up and run to safety. They said the only reason that "they and several others were able to live was because Mike stood his position and fought off the prisoners while enabling them the time to run to safety". [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1)
The prisoners quickly overran a large part of Qala-i-Jangi, including an armory, from which they helped themselves to a large store of AK-47s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47), RPG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propelled_grenade) rocket launchers and mortars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_%28weapon%29).
Tyson managed to escape to a secure part of the fortress where he found himself trapped with a television crew from the German ARD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARD_%28broadcaster%29) network. He borrowed their satellite phone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone), and called the US embassy in Uzbekistan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan), requesting reinforcements[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5). Tyson specifically requested no air support, due to the proximity of allied Afghani forces. The Afghans also brought reinforcements: a T-55 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-55) tank entered the compound and started firing into the prisoner-controlled area. Despite Tyson's requests, several 500-pound guided bombs were dropped in an attempt to destroy the armory, which was now serving as a firebase for the prisoners.
Several other television crews arrived on the scene of the battle, ensuring it got one of the widest media coverages of the whole war. The successive stages of the fighting were filmed extensively, providing rare footage of special forces units in combat.
At 2:00 pm a mixed Special forces team, formed with nine U.S. Special Forces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Special_Forces) and six British Special Boat Service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Boat_Service) operatives, arrived and joined the Afghans firing at the prisoners from the northern part of the fort. Starting at 4:00 pm until nightfall, they directed nine airstrikes against the entrenched prisoners, who continued to put up a fierce resistance.
The next day, the Alliance soldiers set up a command post (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_post) near the Northern gate, to direct their tank and mortar fire. They were joined by four more Special Forces soldiers, and by eight men of the 10th Mountain Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Mountain_Division_%28United_States%29).
At 11:00 pm, a GBU-32 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition) guided bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds (957 kg), mistakenly hit the command post, killing four (some sources say 30[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1)) Northern Alliance soldiers, destroying a tank and injuring five U.S. and two British Operators.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5) That night an AC-130 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130) Spectre gunship circled over the fortress, firing thousands of rounds at the uprising prisoners. The main ammunition depot was hit, creating a huge explosion which continued to burn throughout the night.
By the morning of the 27th the prisoner resistance had slackened, and the Alliance soldiers were able to mount an attack, with tanks, and by the end of the day, they had recaptured most of the fort. The Americans recovered Spann's body, which the prisoners had booby trapped (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booby_trap) with a grenade.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5)
Oil was poured in the basement in which the surviving prisoners had taken shelter, and ignited. This failed to kill all survivors, and the basement was subsequently flooded with frigid water on November 29.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-6) 86 survivors still trapped surrendered on the 1st of December[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-worth-7).
On the 28th General Dostum arrived on the scene of the battle, and tried to persuade the last prisoners still holding out in the basement to surrender. His entreaties had no effect, however, and the last prisoners only gave themselves up two days later, after the Alliance troops had forced them out of the basement by pumping it full of water.
Aftermath
Afghan soldiers looted the bodies, even extracting gold teeth. At least two wounded prisoners were executed[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-worth-7). A number of the dead were found to have been killed with their arms tied in their back.[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Huggler-8).
Of the 86 prisoners who survived the battle, one was found to be American citizen John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh), who had moved to Afghanistan to help the Taliban battle the Northern Alliance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Alliance). Shortly after the battle, a journalist working for CNN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN), Robert Young Pelton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Young_Pelton), managed to interview Lindh. Lindh was later repatriated to the United States to face charges of treason (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason).
The other surviving prisoners were transferred to Camp X-Ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_X-Ray) at Guantanamo Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp), Cuba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba).
For his actions during the battle, Major Mark Mitchell, a U.S. special forces officer, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Service_Cross_%28United_States_Army% 29), the first such decoration to be awarded since the Vietnam War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War).[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-9) Additionally awarded was the Navy Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_Cross) to Chief Petty Officer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Petty_Officer) Stephen Bass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bass), for his efforts in locating the CIA operatives.
For his "extraordinary heroism" in fighting off the prisoners long enough to allow his colleagues to escape, Spann was awarded the CIA's rare Intelligence Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_Star). [11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-10) Because the Intelligence Star is considered analogous to the Silver Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Star), he was allowed burial at Arlington National Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetery). [12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-11)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-11)
Among the survivors were two American citizens fighting with the Taliban, Yaser Esam Hamdi (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yaser_Esam_Hamdi) and John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh).
Contents
The Taliban surrender
On November 24, with their military situation in Northern Afghanistan becoming critical, many Taliban agreed to surrender to Northern Alliance General Abdul Rashid Dostum (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abdul_Rashid_Dostum). Between 300 and 500[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-0) foreign fighters (mostly Arabs (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab), Chechens (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chechen_people) and Pakistanis (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pakistan)), under the impression that they would later be set free, drove to Mazar-i-Sharif and laid down their weapons. However, they were not freed, as the Americans wanted to question them about possible links with the Al Qaeda (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Qaeda) network. Instead they were transferred to Qala-i-Jangi (the war fortress in Persian (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persian_language)), a 19th century fortress that Dostum used as his headquarters and ammunition depot.
Dostum claimed the surrender was a "great victory" for the Alliance,[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1) a bloodless success that would allow the future reconciliation of Afghanistan. But these claims were short-lived.
The battle
Inside the fortress, the new prisoners had not been searched, and it soon became evident that they had concealed weapons among them. The day of their surrender, on November 24, two of Dostum's commanders were killed by prisoners with grenades in two separate incidents. Despite this, security at the prison was not reinforced that day.
On the 25th, two CIA (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_Intelligence_Agency) officers, one from the highly secretive Special Activities Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Activities_Division), Johnny "Mike" Spann (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_Micheal_Spann), a former Marine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Marine_Corps), and another Dave Tyson, an Uzbek (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbek_language) speaker and area expert[3] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Shrine_Pilgrimage-2), arrived at Qala-i-Jangi to carry out the interrogations[4] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-HuntingBL-3). These officers questioned the only American captured fighting with the Taliban, John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh). As shown on British Television (Channel 4 news), Spann asked "are you a member of the IRA?" (This question was asked because Lindh was told to claim he was Irish to "avoid problems.") At his memorial at the Arlington National Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetery) they stated that after being attacked, Spann "fought with his AK-47 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47) until it ran out of ammunition, then drew his pistol and emptied it, before turning to hand to hand combat which saw him shot". [5] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-ANC-4) According to members of a German television crew who were later trapped in the fort with the other CIA officer named "Dave", Spann asked the prisoners who they were and why they joined the Taliban. They massed around him. "Why are you here?" Spann asked one. "To kill you," came the reply as the man lunged at Spann's neck. Mike Spann’s family visited the fortress after his death. Afghan doctors on site at the time of the riot gave the Spann family the following account. They said they "thought Mike might run and retreat, but he held his position and fought using his AK rifle until out of ammo, and then drew and began firing his pistol,” Spann’s father said. While watching Mike fight they were able to jump up and run to safety. They said the only reason that "they and several others were able to live was because Mike stood his position and fought off the prisoners while enabling them the time to run to safety". [2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1)
The prisoners quickly overran a large part of Qala-i-Jangi, including an armory, from which they helped themselves to a large store of AK-47s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AK-47), RPG (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket_propelled_grenade) rocket launchers and mortars (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mortar_%28weapon%29).
Tyson managed to escape to a secure part of the fortress where he found himself trapped with a television crew from the German ARD (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ARD_%28broadcaster%29) network. He borrowed their satellite phone (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_phone), and called the US embassy in Uzbekistan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzbekistan), requesting reinforcements[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5). Tyson specifically requested no air support, due to the proximity of allied Afghani forces. The Afghans also brought reinforcements: a T-55 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T-55) tank entered the compound and started firing into the prisoner-controlled area. Despite Tyson's requests, several 500-pound guided bombs were dropped in an attempt to destroy the armory, which was now serving as a firebase for the prisoners.
Several other television crews arrived on the scene of the battle, ensuring it got one of the widest media coverages of the whole war. The successive stages of the fighting were filmed extensively, providing rare footage of special forces units in combat.
At 2:00 pm a mixed Special forces team, formed with nine U.S. Special Forces (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Army_Special_Forces) and six British Special Boat Service (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_Boat_Service) operatives, arrived and joined the Afghans firing at the prisoners from the northern part of the fort. Starting at 4:00 pm until nightfall, they directed nine airstrikes against the entrenched prisoners, who continued to put up a fierce resistance.
The next day, the Alliance soldiers set up a command post (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Command_post) near the Northern gate, to direct their tank and mortar fire. They were joined by four more Special Forces soldiers, and by eight men of the 10th Mountain Division (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/10th_Mountain_Division_%28United_States%29).
At 11:00 pm, a GBU-32 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Direct_Attack_Munition) guided bomb, weighing 2,000 pounds (957 kg), mistakenly hit the command post, killing four (some sources say 30[2] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Time-1)) Northern Alliance soldiers, destroying a tank and injuring five U.S. and two British Operators.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5) That night an AC-130 (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_AC-130) Spectre gunship circled over the fortress, firing thousands of rounds at the uprising prisoners. The main ammunition depot was hit, creating a huge explosion which continued to burn throughout the night.
By the morning of the 27th the prisoner resistance had slackened, and the Alliance soldiers were able to mount an attack, with tanks, and by the end of the day, they had recaptured most of the fort. The Americans recovered Spann's body, which the prisoners had booby trapped (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Booby_trap) with a grenade.[6] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-CNN-5)
Oil was poured in the basement in which the surviving prisoners had taken shelter, and ignited. This failed to kill all survivors, and the basement was subsequently flooded with frigid water on November 29.[7] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-6) 86 survivors still trapped surrendered on the 1st of December[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-worth-7).
On the 28th General Dostum arrived on the scene of the battle, and tried to persuade the last prisoners still holding out in the basement to surrender. His entreaties had no effect, however, and the last prisoners only gave themselves up two days later, after the Alliance troops had forced them out of the basement by pumping it full of water.
Aftermath
Afghan soldiers looted the bodies, even extracting gold teeth. At least two wounded prisoners were executed[8] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-worth-7). A number of the dead were found to have been killed with their arms tied in their back.[9] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-Huggler-8).
Of the 86 prisoners who survived the battle, one was found to be American citizen John Walker Lindh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walker_Lindh), who had moved to Afghanistan to help the Taliban battle the Northern Alliance (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Alliance). Shortly after the battle, a journalist working for CNN (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CNN), Robert Young Pelton (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Young_Pelton), managed to interview Lindh. Lindh was later repatriated to the United States to face charges of treason (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason).
The other surviving prisoners were transferred to Camp X-Ray (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_X-Ray) at Guantanamo Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp), Cuba (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuba).
For his actions during the battle, Major Mark Mitchell, a U.S. special forces officer, was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Distinguished_Service_Cross_%28United_States_Army% 29), the first such decoration to be awarded since the Vietnam War (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam_War).[10] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-9) Additionally awarded was the Navy Cross (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Navy_Cross) to Chief Petty Officer (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Petty_Officer) Stephen Bass (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Bass), for his efforts in locating the CIA operatives.
For his "extraordinary heroism" in fighting off the prisoners long enough to allow his colleagues to escape, Spann was awarded the CIA's rare Intelligence Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intelligence_Star). [11] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-10) Because the Intelligence Star is considered analogous to the Silver Star (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silver_Star), he was allowed burial at Arlington National Cemetery (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arlington_National_Cemetery). [12] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-11)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Qala-i-Jangi#cite_note-11)