View source for Operation Mountain Thrust

{{Short description|2006, NATO v. Taliban, Afghanistan}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Operation Mountain Thrust
| partof            = the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
| image             = <!-- Deleted image removed: [[Image:Cdn firefight taliban2.JPG|300px]] -->
| caption           = Canadian forces involved in a firefight with Taliban fighters during Operation Mountain Thrust.{{puic|1=|log=14 May 2009}}
| date              = {{circa|June 19, 2006}} – {{circa|July 31, 2006}}
| place             = [[Kandahar]], [[Helmand]], [[Paktika]], [[Zabul]] and [[Uruzgan]] provinces in [[Afghanistan]]
| casus             = 
| result            = Taliban victory
* Coalition operational failure<ref>{{Cite book |last=Killblane |first=Richard E. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ztC-DwAAQBAJ |title=Delivering Victory: The History of U.S. Military Transportation |date=2019-11-29 |publisher=Emerald Group Publishing |isbn=978-1-78754-603-5 |language=en|page=227}}</ref> 
| combatant1        = '''Coalition:'''<br />{{Flagcountry|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|2004}}<br />{{Flag|United Kingdom}}<br />{{Flag|United States}}<br />{{Flag|Canada}}<br />{{Flag|Australia}}<br />{{Flag|Romania}}<br />{{Flag|Netherlands}}<br />{{Flag|Czech Republic}}<ref>http://www.blisty.cz/2006/11/27/art31424.html (Czech)</ref><ref>http://www.601skss.cz/ef2006.html%20(Czech) http://www.601skss.cz/ef2006.html (Czech)</ref>
| combatant2        = {{Flag|Taliban}} <br />{{flag|al-Qaeda}}
| commander1        = {{Flagicon|United States}} [[Benjamin Freakley]]<br />{{Flagicon|Canada}} [[David Fraser (Canadian)|David Fraser]]<br />{{Flagicon|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|2004}} [[Rahmatullah Raufi]]
| commander2        = {{Flagicon|Taliban}} [[Akhtar Usmani]]<br />[[Mullah Baqi Kakar]]<br />[[Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Giwat]] <small>(allegedly)</small>
| strength1         = {{Flagicon|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|2004}} 3,500 [[Afghan security forces|security forces]]<br />{{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} 3,300<br />{{Flagicon|United States}} 2,300<br />{{Flagicon|Canada}} 2,200<br />{{Flagicon|Australia}} 1,100<br />{{Flagicon|Czech Republic}} 120<br />Total: 11,000+
| strength2         = At least 2,500 [[Taliban insurgency|insurgents]]
| casualties1       = {{Flagicon|Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|2004}} 107 killed, 43 captured<br />{{Flagicon|United Kingdom}} 6 killed, 30 wounded<br />{{Flagicon|United States}} 24 killed, 50 wounded<br />{{Flagicon|Canada}} 4 killed, 30 wounded<br />{{Flagicon|Australia}} 11 wounded<br />{{Flagicon|France}} 2 killed, 1 wounded<br />{{Flagicon|Romania}} 1 killed, 4 wounded<br /> 11 PMC killed
'''Total:''' <br />155 killed<br />127+ wounded<br />43 captured
| casualties2       = Heavy{{sfn|Killblane|2019|p=227}}
}}
{{Campaignbox Helmand province campaign}}
{{Campaignbox US war in Afghanistan}}
'''Operation Mountain Thrust''' was a joint [[NATO]] and [[Afghanistan|Afghan]]-led military operation in the [[War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)|War in Afghanistan]]. It involved more than 3,300 [[United Kingdom|British]] troops, 2,300 U.S. troops, 2,200 [[Canadian]] troops, along with approximately 3,500 Afghan soldiers, supported by extensive [[Close air support|air power]].  Its primary objective was to quell the ongoing [[Taliban insurgency]] in the south of the country.

The operation was launched in response to a significant [[2006 Taliban offensive|Taliban spring offensive]] led by [[Dadullah|Mullah Dadullah]] in the provinces of [[Helmand Province|Helmand]] and [[Kandahar Province|Kandahar]], which had marked the most significant escalation of the war in Afghanistan since 2002. The operation was planned by Major General [[Benjamin Freakley]]. The strategy involved conducting [[Search and destroy|search-and-destroy]] missions in the mountainous regions of Kandahar, [[Zabul Province|Zabul]], [[Uruzgan Province|Uruzgan]] and Helmand.

The objective was to disrupt the Taliban's command structure and target their core leaders and fighters. The hope was that by doing so, it would dissuade less committed individuals from supporting the insurgents, thereby weakening their overall influence.{{sfn|Malkasian|2021|p=143}}

==Background==
During June and July 2006, Afghanistan experienced some of the bloodiest clashes since the [[United States invasion of Afghanistan|fall of the Taliban regime]] and [[Operation Anaconda]]. The Taliban demonstrated remarkable coordination in their attacks, managing to seize control of two districts in [[Helmand Province]] by the end of July, although these were swiftly reclaimed a few days later.

Throughout the fighting, the Taliban suffered heavy losses.{{sfn|Killblane|2019|p=227}} The coalition itself also suffered casualties, with nearly 150 soldiers killed and 40 Afghan policemen captured by the Taliban.

Tom Koenigs, the top U.N. official in Afghanistan, told the German news weekly Der Spiegel that the Taliban numbers of casualties do not reflect success. "The Taliban fighters reservoir is practically limitless," Koenigs told the magazine in an interview. "The movement will not be overcome by high casualty figures."

==The Operation and results==

Due to the intense Taliban offensive and escalation of the war, [[Ian Hope]], commander of the Canadian [[Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry|Princess Patricia's battalion]], became increasingly concerned. On May 17, in one of their initial battles, half of the battalion encountered around 50 Taliban fighters in [[Zhari District|Zharey]]. The Canadians utilized [[Boeing AH-64 Apache|AH-64 attack helicopters]] to repel the insurgents. However, as they pursued the Taliban through villages and narrow farm paths, they fell into a Taliban ambush. Four RPGs destroyed a Canadian light armored vehicle before the Taliban fighting positions were neutralized by a [[Rockwell B-1 Lancer|B-1 bomber]].{{sfn|Malkasian|2021|p=142}}

Hope and his Canadian troops, along with U.S. special force teams in Kandahar, warned of a potential threat to the provincial capital of [[Kandahar City]] by the Taliban. Despite these concerns, Major General [[Benjamin Freakley]] remained focused on executing search-and-destroy missions in the mountains, a plan he had devised prior to arriving in Afghanistan to get NATO allies set up for operations in the country.{{sfn|Malkasian|2021|p=143}}

Canadian and U.S. special force teams on the ground disagreed with diverting resources to chase insurgents in the mountains while facing a significant Taliban attack near the provincial capitals of Kandahar and Helmand. However, the operation nonetheless proceeded as scheduled and lasted for six weeks in June and July. In the end, the operation did not manage to quell the Taliban insurgency. Coalition forces had cleared some remote districts and then pulled back. [[Benjamin Freakley]] later acknowledged that the operation did not achieve anything long-term.{{sfn|Malkasian|2021|p=143}} Control of the region was transferred from the Americans to other [[ISAF]] forces. Attacks continued and even intensified. On the first day that ISAF took control, August 1, a British patrol was hit by enemy fire in Helmand province; three soldiers were killed and one wounded. On the same day, 18 Taliban and one policeman were killed in an anti-Taliban coalition operation in the same province and 15 Afghan policemen were captured when they surrendered in [[Zabul province]] while a Taliban force was preparing to attack their police post. Also two days later there were several incidents in and around [[Kandahar]], including a [[suicide bombing]] which killed 21 civilians. In the other attacks in and around Kandahar, four Canadian soldiers were killed and ten were wounded.

==Known Encounters==
*May 16–17, 2006 [[Musa Qala]], [[Helmand]]
*May 19–20, 2006 [[Kajaki]], [[Helmand]]
*May 21–22, 2006 [[Panjwayi]], [[Kandahar]] (see [[Battle of Panjwaii]])
*May 23–24, 2006 [[Tarin Kowt]], [[Uruzgan]]
*May 26–27, 2006 [[Sak Qala]], [[Helmand]]
*May 29–30, 2006 [[Kajaki]], [[Helmand]] 
*June 10–11, 2006 [[Arghandab, Afghanistan|Arghandab]], [[Zabul]]
*June 10–11, 2006 [[Deh Rawood]], [[Uruzgan]]
*June 14–15, 2006 [[Shah joy]], [[Zabul]]
*June 15–16, 2006 ?, [[Paktika]]
*June 16–17, 2006 [[Musa Qala]], [[Helmand]]
*June 23–25, 2006 [[Operation Kaika]], near Kandahar
*June 25–26, 2006 [[Zharie]], [[Kandahar]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5112532.stm]
*June 25–26, 2006 [[Tarin Kowt]], [[Uruzgan]], [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5112532.stm]
*June 27–28, 2006 [[Musa Qala]], [[Helmand]]
*July 10–11, 2006 [[Tarin Kowt]], [[Uruzgan]]

==See also==
*[[Siege of Sangin]]
*[[Coalition combat operations in Afghanistan in 2006]]
*[[Operation Enduring Freedom]]
*[[Taliban insurgency]]

==References==
*[https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-06-19-taliban-afghanistan-cover_x.htm?csp=34 "Revived Taliban waging 'full-blown insurgency'"]. June 19, 2006. ''USA Today''.
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.afgha.com/?q=en/taxonomy/term/45 Articles about Operation Mountain Thrust]

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last1=Malkasian |first1=Carter |title=The American War in Afghanistan: A History |date=2021 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-755077-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPQuEAAAQBAJ |language=en}}

{{Military operations in the war in Afghanistan}}
{{Afghanistan War|state=collapsed}}

{{coord missing|Afghanistan}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mountain Thrust, Operation}}
[[Category:Conflicts in 2006|Operation Mountain Thrust]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Canada]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the Czech Republic]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving Australia]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United States]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Military operations of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) involving the Netherlands]]
[[Category:Battles involving Canada]]