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| Battle of Wanat | |||||||
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| Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 United States, Afghan National Army |
 Taliban, al-Qaeda,Hezb-i-Islami and others[1] |
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| Commanders | |||||||
| 1st Lt. Jonathan P. Brostrom † | Sheikh Dost Mohammad[2] | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 45 US troops, 25 Afghan troops, Close-Air Support |
200 Taliban fighters | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 9 killed, 15 wounded (U.S.); , 4 wounded (ANA)[1] |
US Estimate: 40 killed, 20-40 wounded (unconfirmed)[3] |
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The Battle of Wanat occurred on July 13, 2008 when approximately 200 Taliban guerrillas attacked a NATO position in Waygal district, in the far eastern province of Nuristan, Afghanistan. The position was reportedly being defended by 2nd platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment (Airborne), 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team of the United States Army, (based in Vicenza, Italy). And six soldiers from Charlie Company 62nd Engineer Battalion (based out of Ft. Hood, TX). Nine American soldiers were killed and fifteen wounded. Four Afghan soldiers were wounded. 40 militants were killed and between 20 and 40 wounded.
The attack was the deadliest for U.S. troops in Afghanistan since June 2005, when 19 American Special Operators and Airmen were killed when their helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade during Operation Red Wing.[4]
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During 2008 NATO operations in South Eastern Afghanistan has been to deploy patrols of sub-company strength elements in an effort to disrupt Taliban activities in the border areas with Pakistan.[5] Patrols have established a number of small patrol bases in the region, which is recognised as a supply route for Taliban activity leading from the Federally Administered Tribal Regions of Pakistan. These patrol sites are subject to regular attack by Taliban forces.[6] During June a force of 70 American and Afghan troops were operating in the vicinity of Wanat, establishing a patrol base and overt Observation Post[7] with the mission of disrupting Taliban activity in the area. The base covered an area about 300 meters long by 100 meters wide.[8]
The attack on the American and Afghan troops began around 4:30 a.m. and lasted throughout the day. Taliban forces fired on the base from the village using machine guns, rocket-propelled grenades, and mortars, exploiting homes and a mosque in the village as cover. Another 100 militants attacked the observation post from farmland to the east.[7]
The first RPG and machine gun fire hit the forward operating base’s mortar pit. The insurgents next destroyed the TOW truck inside the combat outpost with RPGs. After this they attacked the base's observation post, where nine soldiers were positioned on a tiny hill about 50 to 75 meters from the main base. Of those nine, five died, and at least three others were wounded.[9]
Coalition troops responded with machine guns, grenades, and artillery. The Taliban briefly breached the walls of the observation post before being driven out. After almost half an hour of intense fighting the observation post had to be abandoned and the surviving soldiers withdrew to the FOB. Some militants also managed to get into the main base’s earthen barriers. After two hours of intense combat, some of the soldiers’ guns seized up because they expelled so many rounds so quickly. Two American soldiers, Lieutenant Jonathan Brostrom and Corporal Jason Hovater, were killed trying to deliver ammunition to their comrades who were running low.[10]
Coalition soldiers managed to repulse the attacking militants. AH-64 attack helicopters and a Predator unmanned aircraft drone equipped with Hellfire missiles responded to support the base with close air support about 30-minutes after the battle began.[8] Later, a B-1B Lancer bomber, A-10, and F-15E aircraft were called in to strike militant positions. John McCreary, a retired senior intelligence analyst for the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated that, "The only reason they weren't completely overrun was air power, and that's the first time that has happened" in the Afghan war. After the militants retreated, mop up operations followed, and the Taliban withdrew from the town.[7][11]
Nine U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack[12], mainly in the observation post, including platoon leader First Lieutenant Jonathan P. Brostrom, 24, of Hawaii.[12][13]. 40 militants were reported killed with another 20 to 40 wounded.[7]
The population of Wygal is sympathetic to Taliban objectives, particularly since allied operations have resulted in civilian deaths, this allowed the Taliban force to establish a presence in the village. It has been suggested that the threat was exacerbated by the failure the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai, to address the concerns of a delegation of tribal elders in Kabul two days previously.[14]
It is claimedwho? that the allied force noted a range of pattern of life changes which could have indicated a potential threat; the day prior to the attack the elders of Wanat conducted a shura without the participation of the Officer-in-Charge of the post; and the villagers poured waste water from their village down into an area of dead space near the post at more frequent intervals than before. The noise of the splashing water may have been done to conceal the increased movement of Anti-Coalition Militants (ACM) within the village the night before.
After the battle additional US troops were sent to assist the base evacuation.[15] Three days after the engagement the United States and Afghan armies withdrew from Wanat. An ISAF statement says ISAF and Afghan security forces "will continue to perform regular patrols near the village of Wanat."[16] A follow-up operation by US forces in the Wanat area killed seven insurgents on July 15.citation needed
The district police force for the area was disarmed by the Americans and the district chief and police chief were briefly detained and questioned.[17] Both were released within 24 hours according to a spokesperson for the district chief.
Speaking at a Pentagon news conference after the attack, U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Admiral Mike Mullen said the incident indicated that "all involved with operations on the (Pakistan-Afghanistan) border must do a better job of policing the region and eliminating the extremists’ safe havens in Pakistan’s federally administered tribal areas that are launching pads for attacks on coalition forces." [18]The Associated Press says that the attack underscores a general gain in strength of Afghan militants.[19]
However, the Brigade Commander of the 173rd, Col. Charles Preysler, specifically rebutted that conclusion in an interview on July 20, 2008. He stated that previous media accounts of the engagement mischaracterized the level of development of the platoon's defences. He said the platoon was not building a Forward Operating Base or other permanent infrastructure, but had established a temporary vehicle patrol base for defensive security while they attempted to connect with the local government and populace, adding the patrol mission was no different than that of any of the 9,000 other patrols reportedly conducted by the 2nd Battalion in the previous 15 months. He also said that the withdrawal of the platoon did not constitute "abandoning" the position because of the fact that no permanent defensive infrastructure was developed or left behind. He further stated that the position was "not overrun in any shape, manner, or form," adding that, "It was close combat to be sure — hand grenade range." [20]
A formal investigation into an attack on a U.S. Army unit by about 200 Taliban insurgents will examine whether the Army had intelligence about a possible assault and whether the troops had access to it.[21]
