Battle of Do Ab
Battle of Do Ab | |
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Part of the Nuristan province, Afghanistan | |
Result | Coalition victory |
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![Afghanistan](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5c/Flag_of_the_Taliban.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Taliban.svg.png)
![United States](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/a4/Flag_of_the_United_States.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_States.svg.png)
Captain Garrett Gingrich C-133 INF, 1LT Justin Foote 133 INF
14 aircraft
The Battle of Do Ab took place in
Battle
After receiving reports of Taliban fighters massing to attack Forward Operating Base Kalagush, a scout platoon from the 1st Battalion, 133rd Infantry Regiment, plus 20 Afghan soldiers and two US Air Force TACPs, and one Law Enforcement Professional (LEP) were airlifted by a pair of Chinook helicopters to a small landing zone in a canyon near the village of Do Ab. Unknown to the coalition troops, several hundred Taliban had surrounded the small landing zone and prepared an ambush. That morning, as soon as the helicopters landed the troops were attacked from all sides.[1]
The troops returned fire while the two TACPs radioed for air support. Throughout the day, airstrikes by US Air Force
When night fell, the surviving Taliban halted the attack and attempted to retire from the battlefield. Two AC-130s, equipped with infrared equipment, hunted the retreating Taliban and attempted to kill them all. In total, the United States estimated that 270 of the Taliban were killed.[1]
Aftermath
After the battle in May 2011, Afghan and Coalition forces did not attempt to regain control of Nuristan province, which remained under Taliban control. Instead, Coalition forces conducted periodic sweeps or raids in the province to cull the numbers of occupying Taliban militants. A joint Afghan/Coalition operation in the Barg-e-Matal district of Nuristan in September 2011, for example, killed an estimated 70 Taliban fighters.[2]
References
- ^ Military Times, 19 August 2011.
- Long War Journal, 17 September 2011.