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This Day in History: March 2, 2002 by Simonov

This Day in History: March 2, 2002

Simonov

On March 2, 2002, Operation Anaconda begins in the Shahi Kot Valley of Afghanistan. The operation marked the first to utilize a large number of conventional forces during the War in Afghanistan as previous operations were conducted primarily by special operations forces. The goal of the operation was to encircle and eliminate Taliban and al-Qaeda forces based in and operating out of the Shahi Kot Valley and Arma Mountains in the Afghan province of Paktia. Coalition forces in the battle consisted primarily of elements of the 101st Airborne Division and 10th Mountain Division as well as approximately 1,000 Afghan militia with support from US special operations forces including Delta Force, DEVGRU, and other SEAL teams. Also participating in the operation were elements of Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry and Joint Task Force 2 (JTF2, a Canadian special operations force), Australian Special Air Service (SAS), US Army Green Berets and the 75th Ranger Regiment, New Zealand Special Air Service, British Royal Marines, German Kommando Spezialkräfte (KSK), Norwegian Forsvarets Spesialkommando (FSK) and Marinejegerkommandoen (MJK), Dutch Korps Commandotroepen, and Danish Jægerkorpset. Insurgent/terrorist forces consisted primarily of Taliban, al-Qaeda, and the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan.

The operation concluded in a Coalition victory on March 18, 2002. US casualties number 8 killed and 72 wounded with total casualties for the Afghan militia unknown. Though the number of Taliban and al-Qaeda casualties is a matter of debate, estimates range from approximately 200 to 800 casualties.

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