View source for Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif

{{Short description|First major offensive in the Afghanistan war following American intervention in 2001}}
{{About-distinguish|the battle in 2001|Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–98)}}
{{Redirect|Battle of Mazar-i-Sharif|prisoner-of-war revolt at Qala-i-Jangi, also known as the "Battle of Mazar-i-Sharif"|Battle of Qala-i-Jangi}}

{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif
| partof            = the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan (2001-2021)]]
| image             = Special Forces at the Fall of Mazar i Sharif.PNG{{!}}border
| caption           = U.S. Army Special Forces soldiers with Northern Alliance fighters at Mazar-i-Sharif on 10 November 2001
| date              = 9–10 November 2001<br>({{Age in years, months, weeks and days|month1=11|day1=09|year1=2001|month2=11|day2=10|year2=2001}})
| place             = [[Mazar-i-Sharif]], [[Balkh Province]], [[Islamic State of Afghanistan|Afghanistan]]
| result            = Northern Alliance and American victory
| combatant1        = {{Tree list}}
*{{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|1992}} [[United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan|Northern Alliance]]
**{{flagicon image|Flag of Hezbe Wahdat.svg}} [[Hezb-e Wahdat]]
**{{flagicon image|Flag of Jamiat-e Islami.svg}} [[Jamiat-e Islami]]
**{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1978a}} [[Junbish-i Milli]]
*{{flag|United States}}
{{Tree list/end}}
| combatant2        = {{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|Taliban}} '''[[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan]]'''<br />{{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|Taliban}} [[Taliban]]<br /> {{flagicon image|Flag of al-Qaeda.svg}} [[al-Qaeda]]<br />{{flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan|IMU]]<br /> {{flagicon image|Tnsm-flag.svg}} [[Tehreek-e-Nafaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi|TNSM]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1758534.stm|title=Pakistan's militant Islamic groups|publisher=BBC|date=13 January 2002|access-date=8 May 2017|archive-date=6 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170806070708/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/1758534.stm|url-status=live}}</ref> <br />{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Jihad.svg}} [[East Turkistan Islamic Party|ETIM]]<br />{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Foreign fighters
| commander1        = {{nowrap|{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Atiqullah Baryalai]]<br />{{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]]<br />{{flagicon|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Atta Muhammad Nur]]<br />{{Flagdeco|Afghanistan|1992}} [[Mohammad Mohaqiq]]<br />{{flagicon|United States}} [[Tommy Franks]]<ref name="fajr"/>}}
| commander2        = {{nowrap|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} [[Juma Namangani]]{{KIA|alt=yes}}<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Fazil Mazloom{{POW}}<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Nurullah Nuri{{POW}}<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Abdul-Razzaq Nafiz{{WIA}}<br>{{Flagicon image|Flag of Jihad.svg}} Abdul-Qahir Usmani{{POW}}<br>{{flagicon image|Tnsm-flag.svg}} [[Sufi Muhammad]]}}
| strength1         = 2,012+<ref name="chip" />
| strength2         = 5,000<ref name="chip" />
| casualties1       = 8 [[Junbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan|Junbish-i-Milli Islami]]<ref>[[Paul Wolfowitz|Wolfowitz, Paul]], [http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=497 Speech on November 14, 2001] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091130123658/http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=497 |date=November 30, 2009 }}</ref> and 30 [[Jamiat-e Islami]]<ref name="siege">Gall, Carlotta ''[[The New York Times]]'', [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0DE0D7103BF93AA25752C1A9679C8B63 A deadly siege at last lost] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200511104327/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/19/world/a-nation-challenged-mazar-i-sharif-a-deadly-siege-at-last-won-mazar-i-sharif.html |date=2020-05-11 }}, November 19, 2001</ref> fighters killed
| casualties2       = 300 killed, 250 captured<ref name="blur">Gall, Carlotta. ''[[The New York Times]]'', [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9904E0DD1E3BF933A15752C1A9679C8B63 Conflicting tales paint blurry picture of siege] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407050502/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/20/world/nation-challenged-mazar-sharif-conflicting-tales-paint-blurry-picture-siege.html |date=2020-04-07 }}, November 20, 2001</ref>
|coordinates = {{coord|36.7|67.1|type:event_region:AF|display=title,inline}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Afghan Civil War}}
{{Campaignbox War in Afghanistan (2001–present)}}

The '''fall of Mazar-i-Sharif''' (or Mazar-e-Sharif) in November 2001 resulted from the first major offensive of the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–present)|Afghanistan War]] after American intervention. A push into the city of [[Mazar-i-Sharif]] in [[Balkh Province]] by the United Islamic Front for the Salvation of Afghanistan ([[Northern Alliance]]), combined with [[U.S. Army Special Forces]] [[airstrike|aerial bombardment]], resulted in the withdrawal of [[Taliban]] forces who had held the city since 1998. After the fall of outlying villages, and an intensive bombardment, the Taliban and [[al-Qaeda]] forces withdrew from the city. Approximately 300 Taliban fighters were killed and 250 were captured, and around 1,000 reportedly defected. The capture of Mazar-i-Sharif was the first major defeat for the Taliban.

==Preparation==

The Taliban [[Battles of Mazar-i-Sharif (1997–1998)|captured Mazar-i-Sharif]] on 8 August 1998 and controlled it thereafter.<ref name=cbcca>{{Cite web |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/opposition-troops-closing-in-on-mazar-e-sharif-1.293743 |title=Opposition troops closing in on Mazari Sharif |access-date=2020-01-26 |archive-date=2020-04-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407050522/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/opposition-troops-closing-in-on-mazar-e-sharif-1.293743 |url-status=live }}</ref> After taking the city, Taliban fighters committed a massacre against its Shia population. This led to widespread international condemnation, and further isolation of the Taliban regime.<ref>Encarta Encyclopaedia Winkler Prins (1993–2002) s.v. "Afghanistan. §5.7 de Taliban". Microsoft Corporation/Het Spectrum.</ref>

The campaign to capture Mazar-i-Sharif began on October 17, 2001, when the CIA's eight-member Team Alpha landed in the Dari-a-Suf Valley, about 80 miles south of the city, to link up with General [[Abdul Rashid Dostum]].<ref>Harnden, Toby, ''First Casualty: The Untold Story of the CIA Mission to Avenge 9/11''. Little, Brown, 2021. p. 78</ref> They were joined three days later by Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) 595 of the [[5th Special Forces Group|5th Special Forces Group (United States)]] of the [[United States Army]]. One of the CIA officers involved was [[Johnny Micheal Spann]].

In the days leading up to the battle, Northern Alliance troops advanced on population centers near the city, such as Shol Ghar, which is 25 kilometers from Mazar-i-Sharif. Phonelines into the city were severed,<ref name="guard" /> and American officials began reporting accounts of anti-Taliban forces charging Afghan tanks on horseback.<ref name="both">[[Independent Online]], [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=ct20011108094547310W610109 US, Taliban both claim success in offensives] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414124958/http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=ct20011108094547310W610109 |date=2020-04-14 }}, November 8, 2001</ref> On November 2, 2001, Green Berets from ODA 543 and three members of the CIA's Team Bravo<ref>Harnden, "First Casualty," p. 116</ref> inserted into the Dari-a-Balkh Valley, after being delayed by weather for several nights. Their role was to support General [[Atta Muhammad Nur|Mohammed Atta Nur]] and his militia. Together they fought through the Dari-e-Souf Valley and had linked up with Dostum and his force and ODA 595 and the CIA Team Alpha, who had also battled through the valley.<ref>Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1472807908}}, p.38, p.41</ref>

Dostum led the ethnic-[[Uzbeks|Uzbek]]-dominated faction of the Northern Alliance, the [[Junbish-i-Milli Islami Afghanistan]], in an attack on the village of [[Keshendeh]] southwest of the city on November 4, seizing it with his horse-mounted troops.<ref name="chip">Chipman, Don. "Air power and the Battle for Mazar e Sharif", Spring 2003</ref> [[Ustad Atta Mohammed Noor|General Noor]], meanwhile, led 2,000 men of the ethnic-Tajik-dominated [[Jamiat-e Islami]] forces against the village of Ag Kupruk directly south of the city, along with six Special Forces soldiers and seven others{{Clarify|date = January 2015}} who directed bombing from behind Taliban lines north of the city. It was seized two days later.<ref name="chip" /> Ethnic [[Hazara people|Hazara]] forces of [[Mohammad Mohaqiq]]'s [[Hezbe Wahdat]] took part in the offensive.<ref name="siege" />

Propaganda leaflets were dropped from airplanes, showing a woman being struck by a man and asking if this was how the Afghans wanted to live, and listing the radio frequencies over which Americans would be broadcasting their own version of events.<ref name="lose" /> Meanwhile, [[U.S. Special Forces]] set up [[laser designator]]s to serve as beacons for [[guided munition]]s, highlighting targets around the city.<ref name="chip" />

On November 7, the [[New York University]]'s Director of Studies on International Cooperation, [[Barnett Rubin]], appeared before a hearing of the American [[United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs|House Committee on International Relations]] on "The Future of Afghanistan". He claimed that with Mazar-i-Sharif on the brink of invasion, the US was responsible to ensure that there were no [[reprisal]] killings of Taliban members by the Northern Alliance. He noted that when the city had been overrun (in 1997 and 1998), thousands had been murdered by both sides.<ref>[[United States House of Representatives]], [http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa76058.000/hfa76058_0.htm The Future of Afghanistan] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090103142735/http://commdocs.house.gov/committees/intlrel/hfa76058.000/hfa76058_0.htm |date=2009-01-03 }}, November 7, 2001</ref>

==Bombing campaign==
[[File:Laser designator- SOF in Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|A Special Forces officer uses a [[AN/PEQ-1 SOFLAM|SOFLAM]] to direct aerial bombardments from the ground in 2001]]

On November 7 and 8, as the Taliban were moving 4,000 fighters across the countryside towards Mazar-i-Sharif in preparation for battle, American<ref name="fajr"/><ref name="lose">[[The Guardian]], [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/07/afghanistan.terrorism1 Taliban lose grip on Mazar i Sharif] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180917214935/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/07/afghanistan.terrorism1 |date=2018-09-17 }}, November 7, 2001</ref> [[B-52|B-52 bombers]] bombed Taliban defenders concentrated in the [[Cheshmeh-ye Shafa]] gorge that marked the southern entrance to the city,<ref name="time"/> as well as the Haji Gak pass, which was the only Taliban-controlled entrance to the city.<ref name="indy"/> This was one of the heaviest campaigns up to that point.<ref name="indy">[[Independent Online]], [http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=ct20011109093051810W610801 Taliban braces for battle over Mazar-e-Sharif] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200414125002/https://www.iol.co.za/index.php?sf=522&set_id=1&click_id=3&art_id=ct20011109093051810W610801 |date=2020-04-14 }}, November 9, 2001</ref>  In 2009, former Taliban commander Maulvi Abdul Akhundzada shared a chilling account of the horrors they witnessed during the bombing:

"When the bombing started, I was commanding some 400 fighters on the front lines near Mazar-e Sharif. The bombs cut down our men like a reaper harvesting wheat. Bodies were dismembered. Dazed fighters were bleeding from the ears and nose from the bombs' concussions. We couldn't bury the dead. Our reinforcements died in their trenches."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Yousafzai |first1=Sami |title=The Taliban's Oral History of the Afghanistan War |date=25 September 2009 |url=https://www.newsweek.com/talibans-oral-history-afghanistan-war-79553 |language=en}}</ref>

Nevertheless, the Taliban claimed they had infiltrated 500 fighters into the city to prepare for the coming battle.<ref name="lose" />

==Battle==
[[File:US soldiers on horseback 2001 Afghanistan.jpg|thumb|left|Photo showing [[United States Army Special Forces|U.S. Army Special Forces]] and [[Combat Controller|U.S. Air Force Combat Controllers]] in "the first American cavalry charge of the 21st century"<ref>Rumsfeld, Donald. "Annual Report to the President and the Congress", 2002. Chapter 3.</ref> with General Dostum and his forces (Taken October 2001)]]

On November 9, 2001, members of the two ODAs and the CIA teams positioned themselves in mountainside hides and began calling in airstrikes against the Taliban at Tangi Pass - the gateway from the Balkh Valley to the city where the US and Northern Alliance agreed to attack. The Taliban responded with indirect fire from [[BM-21 Grad]] rockets, which were quickly suppressed by orbiting air support. The airstrikes took their toll on the Taliban and at a signal Atta and Dostum Northern Alliance forces began their assault by foot, horseback, pickup trucks and some captured BMP armored personnel carriers.<ref>Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1472807908}}, p.41</ref>

Initial rumors claimed that the fighters holding the city were unimpressed by the American bombardment and believed that their opponents refused to advance on the city.<ref name="guard"/> At 2 p.m. Northern Alliance forces, under the command of Dostum and [[Ustad Atta Mohammed Noor]], swept across the Pul-i-Imam Bukhri bridge<ref name="guard">[[The Guardian]], [https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/09/afghanistan.terrorism7 Taliban fall in Mazar-e-Sharif] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307211637/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/09/afghanistan.terrorism7 |date=2016-03-07 }}, November 9, 2001</ref> and seized the city's main military base and the [[Mazar-e Sharif International Airport]].<ref name="time">[https://web.archive.org/web/20011110004447/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,183885,00.html Rebels: Mazari Sharif is Ours - TIME]</ref><ref name="indy"/> The "ragtag" non-uniformed Northern Alliance forces entered the city from the Balk Valley on "begged, borrowed and confiscated transportation",<ref>Hess, Pamela [[UPI]], "US forces on horseback fighting Taliban", November 16, 2001</ref> and met only light resistance.<ref name="gov">Cahlink, George. [http://www.govexec.com/features/1202/1202s4.htm Building a Presence] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080905054617/http://www.govexec.com/features/1202/1202s4.htm |date=2008-09-05 }}, December 15, 2002</ref><ref name="spec">"Special Warfare journal", "The Liberation of Mazar e Sharif: 5th SF group conducts UW in Afghanistan", June 1, 2002</ref>

After outlying villages fell to precision air strikes on key command and control centers, approximately 5,000-12,000 Taliban combatants as well as members of [[al-Qaeda]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/etc/cron.html |title=Chronology {{!}} Campaign Against Terror {{!}} FRONTLINE |website=[[PBS]] |access-date=2017-08-27 |archive-date=2018-07-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180725033209/https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/campaign/etc/cron.html |url-status=live }}</ref> and other foreign fighters began to withdraw towards [[Kunduz]] to regroup, travelling in pickup trucks, SUVs and flatbed trucks fitted with [[ZU-23-2]] anti-aircraft guns modified for ground combat.<ref name="hard">Harding, Luke. ''[[The Guardian]]'', [http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1123-02.htm Fear of Bloodbath as Alliance advances on Kunduz] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061205033153/http://www.commondreams.org/headlines01/1123-02.htm |date=2006-12-05 }}, November 23, 2001</ref><ref name="trust" /> By sunset, the Taliban forces had retreated to the north and east.<ref name="time"/> Some feared that they were massing for a counter-offensive.<ref name="nyt"/> It was later estimated that 400-600 people died in the battle, although it was not possible to separate civilian and combatant deaths.<ref name="lat">[[Los Angeles Times]], [https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-nov-23-mn-7448-story.html Mazar i Sharif yields 400 to 600 bodies], November 23, 2001</ref> Approximately 1,500 Taliban were captured or defected.<ref name="chip"/>

=== Pakistani volunteers ===
[[File:March 2002 photo of destruction to Sultan Razia school.PNG|thumb|Damage to the Sultan Razia Girls' School]]

As many as 900 Pakistani volunteers reached Mazar-i-Sharif in the following days while the majority of the Taliban were evacuating. Many of these fighters were recruited by a Pakistani Mullah, [[Sufi Mohammed]], who used a loudspeaker riveted onto a pickup truck which blared: "Those who die fighting for God don't die! Those who go on jihad live forever, in paradise!"<ref name="siege"/><ref name="seattle">[[Seattle Times]], [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20020729/survivor29/abducted-innocence-boy-lured-by-taliban-now-held-as-slave Boy lured by Taliban, now held as slave], July 29, 2002</ref><ref name="ReferenceA">[[The Washington Post]], "Taliban's Allies Lost in Strange City", November 11, 2001</ref>

When these volunteers reached the city in the days when the Taliban were evacuating, many of them were alone and confused. The group, chiefly consisting of teenage boys,<ref name="seattle" /> gathered in the Sultan Razia Girls' School, where they began negotiating their surrender, but hundreds of them were ultimately killed.<ref name="siege" /><ref name="ReferenceA" /> For almost two days as the group gathered in the abandoned Sultan Razia Girls' School and built up their fighting positions, the town officials and Northern Alliance attempted negotiations for their surrender, but the fighters vehemently refused, ultimately killing two peace envoys, one town mullah and a soldier escort. All the while they constantly fired at anyone who moved within the vicinity of the building, including civilian bystanders.

After the envoys' murder, the Northern Alliance began returning fire on the school with machine guns. This gun battle went on for hours. Inside the battered school, someone scrawled on the walls the words of their mullah, "Die for Pakistan", "Never surrender" and "Our philosophy has been surrender or die."<ref name="blur" /><ref name="spec" /><ref name="600 bodies found in Mazar-e-Sharif">[[The Daily Telegraph]], [https://archive.today/20130505064918/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1363124/600-bodies-found-in-Mazar-e-Sharif.html 600 bodies found in Mazar-e-Sharif], November 22, 2001</ref><ref name="state.gov">[[Department of State]], [https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8222.htm Afghanistan: Country Reports on Human Rights] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200122172956/https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8222.htm |date=2020-01-22 }}, 2001</ref><ref name="Once, it was a girls school">Stern, Marcus. Copley News Service, {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20060816005844/http://www.copleydc.com/marc_mazarschool_0.html Once, it was a girls school]}}</ref>

At mid-afternoon, U.S. military advisers approved the building for a bombing run.  Army Col. Rick Thomas of the [[United States Central Command|U.S. Central Command]] said they had determined the school was an appropriate target.

Officials from the [[United Nations]] and other organisations claimed that a massacre by Northern Alliance troops had followed after the defenders surrendered in the school, moments before an American warplane dropped two, or four, 1000-pound bombs. The fighters scattered quickly to escape, and the Northern Alliance shot at them as they fled, resulting in an alleged 800 fatalities. Later reports suggested instead that the Northern Alliance had shelled the school, rather than an American warplane dropping bombs on it,<ref name="blur" /><ref name="spec" /><ref name="600 bodies found in Mazar-e-Sharif" /><ref name="state.gov" /><ref name="Once, it was a girls school" /> but following the battle, [[United States Air Force]] Sgt. Stephen E. Tomat was awarded the [[Silver Star]] for calling in the air strike on six vehicles and the school.<ref name="close" /><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/08_WOT/ss_GWOT/citations_USAF.html |title=Silver Star Citation: Tomat, Stephen E. |access-date=2009-01-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302204838/http://www.homeofheroes.com/valor/08_WOT/ss_GWOT/citations_USAF.html |archive-date=2018-03-02 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="flee">Struck, Doug. [[The Washington Post]], [https://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/20011112/insidemazar12/fleeing-taliban-left-pakistanis-in-mazar-e-sharif Fleeing Taliban left Pakistanis in Mazar-e-Sharif], November 12, 2001</ref><ref>Neal, A1C Jason A. 43rd Airlift Wing Public Affairs, "Silver cross awarded to three airmen", 2002</ref><ref>[[Military Times]], [http://militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3783 Medal of Honor Citations for Stephen Tomat] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140813211142/http://www.militarytimes.com/citations-medals-awards/recipient.php?recipientid=3783 |date=2014-08-13 }}</ref><ref>Call, Steve. "Danger Close: Tactical Air Controllers in Afghanistan and Iraq", 2007. p. 22-23</ref> {{Clear}}

==Aftermath==
[[File:December 2001 Mazar Airfield.jpg|thumb|The Airfield was rehabilitated and operational by December 2001<ref name="photo">Department of Defence [http://www.defendamerica.mil/photoessays/p122601a1.html Defend America: Photo Essay] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081221012755/http://www.defendamerica.mil/photoessays/p122601a1.html |date=2008-12-21 }}, December 26, 2001</ref>]]
[[File:Students of Sultan Razia Girls School in 2002.jpg|thumb|Students at the 2002 reopening of the Sultan Razia school after its destruction]]

The fall of the city proved to be a "major shock",<ref name="close">Call, Steve. "Danger Close", {{ISBN|1-58544-624-6}}, 2007. pp. 24-25</ref> since the United States Central Command had originally believed that the city would remain in Taliban hands well into the following year<ref>Maloney, Sean M. [http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume2/october_2004/10_04_1.html Afghanistan: From here to eternity?] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090115064058/http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume2/october_2004/10_04_1.html |date=2009-01-15 }}, Spring 2004</ref> and that any battle would be "a very slow advance". Mazar-i-Sharif was strategically important. Its capture opened supply routes and provided an airstrip inside the country for American aircraft.<ref name="nyt">''[[The New York Times]]'', [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E4D61438F933A25752C1A9679C8B63&n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/F/Food The Battle for Mazar-e-Sharif] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200407050545/https://www.nytimes.com/2001/11/10/opinion/the-battle-for-mazar-i-sharif.html |date=2020-04-07 }}, November 10, 2001</ref> The battle was the Taliban's first major defeat and precipitated a rapid transfer of territory in northern Afghanistan.<ref name="guard"/><ref name=CSMonitor20011204>{{cite news| title=A view from behind the lines in the US air war: Special operatives are key to the success of American airstrikes in Afghanistan| work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]| author=Scott Peterson|author-link=Scott Peterson (journalist)| date=December 4, 2001}}</ref><ref name="Opportunity and Danger">Feinberg, Cara. [[The American Prospect]], [http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=opportunity_and_danger Opportunity and Danger] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110810205725/http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=opportunity_and_danger |date=2011-08-10 }}, November 15, 2001</ref> Following rumors that [[Dadullah|Mullah Dadullah]] might be headed to recapture the city with as many as 8,000 Taliban fighters, a thousand [[U.S. Army Rangers]] were airlifted into the city, which provided the first solid foothold from which [[Kabul]] and [[Kandahar]] could be reached.<ref name="fajr">Khan, M. Ismail. [[Dawn (newspaper)|DAWN]], [http://www.dawn.com/2001/11/10/top2.htm Mazar falls to Alliance: Taliban says they're regrouping] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101110035824/http://www.dawn.com/2001/11/10/top2.htm |date=2010-11-10 }}, November 10, 2001</ref><ref>Crane, Conrad. [http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ssi/crane_hydra.pdf Facing the Hydra: Maintaining Strategic Balance while Pursuing a Global War Against Terrorism] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829044457/http://www.au.af.mil/au/awc/awcgate/ssi/crane_hydra.pdf |date=2017-08-29 }}, May 2002</ref>

US Army Civil Affairs Teams from the 96th Civil Affairs Battalion and Tactical Psychological Operations Teams from the [[4th Military Information Support Group|4th Psychological Operations Group]] assigned to both the Green Berets and Task Force Dagger were immediately deployed to Mazar-e-Sharif to assist in winning the hearts and minds of the inhabitants.<ref>Neville, Leigh, '' Special Forces in the War on Terror (General Military)'', Osprey Publishing, 2015 {{ISBN|978-1472807908}}, p.42</ref>

The fall of the city generated reports of jubilant excitement among locals,<ref name="tony">Karon, Tony. [[TIME]], [https://web.archive.org/web/20011110004447/http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,183885,00.html Mazar-i Sharif is ours], November 9, 2001</ref> followed by reports of [[summary execution]]s and the kidnapping of civilians by the Northern Alliance.<ref name="zia">Zia, Amir. [[Associated Press]], "UN Reports Mazar-e-Sharif executions", November 12, 2001</ref> The Pakistani prisoners who were captured fleeing the school were held as "slaves" and often sexually abused by their Northern Alliance captors, who demanded a ransom from their families for their return.<ref name="seattle"/> The American-backed forces now controlling the city immediately began broadcasting from Radio Mazar-e-Sharif, the former Taliban Voice of Sharia channel, on 1584&nbsp;kHz,<ref>Clandestine Radio Watch, [http://www.schoechi.de/crw/crw088e.html Afghan Balkh radio from Balkh Province, Mazar-e Sharif, inDari 10 Nov 01 (via BBCM via DXLD 1-169)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090114013750/http://www.schoechi.de/crw/crw088e.html |date=2009-01-14 }}</ref> including an address from former President [[Burhanuddin Rabbani]].<ref name="lose"/> Foreign media outlets were denied access to American troops or to battle sites at this time.<ref>Rich, Frank. "The Greatest Story Ever Sold", 2006. p. 30</ref>

The airfield, the city's main prize for the Americans, had been badly damaged by their bombardment and had been [[boobytrap]]ped with explosives planted by the Taliban in and around the property as they left.<ref name="gov"/> This created a rift between the United Kingdom and the United States. The former charged that the aerial bombardment had been ill-advised, that the United States had failed to pay sufficient attention to humanitarian concerns and had refused to consult with its allies.<ref>Kellner, Douglas. "From 9/11 to Terror War", 2003. p. 112</ref> The destroyed runways were patched by Afghans. The first cargo plane landed ten days after the battle.<ref name="gov"/> The airbase was not declared operational until December 11.<ref name="photo"/> While prior military flights had had to be launched from Uzbekistan or aircraft carriers in the [[Arabian Sea]], the Americans now could fly more frequent sorties against the Taliban frontlines, carrying heavier [[Payload (air and space craft)|payload]]s that replace the fuel necessary for the longer flights.<ref name="trust">Dolan, Chris J. "In War We Trust", 2005. p. 150</ref>

The [[Turkistan Islamic Party]]'s "Islamic Turkistan" magazine in its 4th edition released an obituary of Bilal all Turkistani who was killed in 1422 Hijri year in Afghanistan during the fall of the Taliban's [[Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (1996–2001)|Islamic Emirate]] in Mazar e Sharif's Ganja fortress.<ref>{{cite magazine |author=عبد الله منصور |date=  |title=الشهيد الشيخ بلال التركستاني - (كما نحسبه) |url=https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/e1b8a5izb-al-islc481mc4ab-al-turkistc481nc4abs-turkistan-islamic-party-22turkistc481n-al-islc481mc4abyyah-422.pdf |magazine=تركستان الإسلامية |issue=السنة الأولى العدد الرابع |page=19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180923053439/https://azelin.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/e1b8a5izb-al-islc481mc4ab-al-turkistc481nc4abs-turkistan-islamic-party-22turkistc481n-al-islc481mc4abyyah-422.pdf |archive-date=2018-09-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

After the battle, the Northern Alliance advanced towards the city of [[Kunduz]], which was the last remaining Taliban stronghold in northern Afghanistan. The [[Siege of Kunduz|siege]] lasted two weeks with the city being captured on November 25.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/22/afghanistan.brianwhitaker |title= Northern stronghold ready to capitulate |access-date=2009-08-15 |last= Harding |first=Luke |author2=Watt, Nicholas |author3=Whitaker, Brian |date=22 November 2001 |work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> Around 8,000 Taliban fighters were captured. They were taken to Mazar-i-Sharif and then to [[Sheberghan]] prison in [[Jowzjan Province]]. Between 400 and 3,000 prisoners were reportedly [[Dasht-i-Leili massacre|massacred]] by the Northern Alliance during the journey and buried in mass graves in the [[Dasht-e Leili]] desert west of Sheberghan.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/sep/14/afghanistan.lukeharding|title=Afghan Massacre Haunts Pentagon |work=The Guardian|date=2002-09-14 |location=London |first=Luke |last=Harding |access-date=2010-05-12}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The fall of Mazar-i-Sharif and the events surrounding it were dramatized in the 2018 film ''[[12 Strong]]'', directed by [[Nicolai Fuglsig]] and based on the book ''Horse Soldiers'' by [[Doug Stanton]].

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Afghanistan War|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mazar-i-Sharif, Fall Of}}
[[Category:United States invasion of Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Sieges of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Battles of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States]]
[[Category:Operations involving American special forces]]
[[Category:21st century in Balkh Province]]
[[Category:November 2001 in Afghanistan]]
[[Category:Battles in 2001]]
[[Category:Battles involving the Taliban]]
[[Category:Al-Qaeda activities]]
[[Category:2000s sieges]]