Battle of Kandahar

The Battle of Kandahar, 1 September 1880, was the last major conflict of the Second Anglo-Afghan War. The battle in southern Afghanistan was fought between the British forces under command of General Roberts and the Afghan forces led by Ayub Khan. It ended with a decisive British victory, having inflicted nearly 3,000 casualties in total.

Background

In May 1879, after the death of the Amir Sher Ali Khan, Sir Louis Cavagnari negotiated and signed the Treaty of Gandamak with his successor, Mohammad Yaqub Khan. The treaty obliged the Afghans to admit a British resident governor at Kabul; a position Cavagnari himself took up in July. However on the 3 September, Cavagnari and the other European members of the mission were massacred in a sudden rising of Afghan rebel troops.

After Yakub Khan had been dethroned and exiled for suspected collusion in the murder of Cavagnari, feelers were put out for two replacement candidates: his younger brother, Ayub Khan the Governor of Herat, and his nephew, Abdur Rahman Khan. However, in May 1880, a new British Liberal government recalled the Viceroy of India, Lord Lytton from India and replaced him with Lord Ripon who had instructions to bring all troops out of Afghanistan. These plans for the evacuation were disrupted by Ayub Khan, who after stirring up anti-British feeling, had sallied out of Herat in early June with 10,000 followers. A force of 1,500 British and Indian troops, together with Afghan levies, was sent to intercept this force.

Battle of Kandahar (2001)

The 2001 Battle of Kandahar was a series of military operations conducted in and around Kandahar, Afghanistan, during October 2001, as part of the start of the United States' military operations in Afghanistan.

Chronology

Following the 2001 September 11 attacks, the United States and its allies launched the global War on Terror, starting with assaults on key Taliban positions within Afghanistan.

On October 7, 2001, at 6:30 pm local time, the first wave of attack against the Taliban was launched. A group of United States Air Force (USAF) bombers consisting of five B-1s and ten B-52s took off from Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. They were complemented by twenty-five United States Navy (USN) F-14s and F/A-18s strike aircraft from the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson and USS Enterprise in the North Arabian Sea. The Royal Air Force (RAF) and USAF provided L-1011s, KC-135 and KC-10s to supply en route aerial refuelings to the USN aircraft. Flown in from Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri, two B-2 Spirits also participated in the attack, as did the EA-6B Prowler electronic warfare aircraft.

Battle of Kandahar (2011)

The Battle of Kandahar was an attack by Taliban forces on May 7, 2011, in the city of Kandahar. The battle was part of the 2011 Taliban Spring Offensive. The battle was the biggest Taliban offensive of 2011, marking over 40 total deaths and over 50 total wounded. The fighting demonstrated that, despite heavy losses since 2001, the Taliban forces remain a threat to coalition and Afghan forces, and show that morale in insurgent groups has not died since the death of Bin Laden.

Background

Kandahar was known to have high insurgent levels. To push them out of Kandahar, in 2010 NATO and the US began a year-long campaign to push the Taliban and al-Qaeda out of Kandahar. Though a success, Kandahar still has insurgents in the city, though less than before.

Battle

Early in the morning, 40–60 (Taliban claim 200) militants used rocket-propelled grenades, guns and other weapons to attack the governor's office from nearby buildings. The Taliban then proceeded and attacked many more places, including outposts, police buildings and local offices. In most of the attacks, suicide bombers were used, though militants armed with guns also took part in the attack. In the suicide bombings, 4 civilians were killed and 50 wounded.

Kandahar

Kandahar (/ˈkændəˌhɑːr/) or Qandahar (Pashto: کندهار‎ Kandahār, Persian: قندهار, Qandahār, known in older literature as Candahar) is the second-largest city in Afghanistan, with a population of about 491,500 as of 2012. Formerly called Alexandria Arachosia, the city is named after Alexander the Great, who founded it in 329 BC around a small ancient Arachosian town. Kandahar is the capital of Kandahar Province, located in the south of the country at an altitude of 1,010 m above sea level. The Arghandab River runs along the west of the city. The city of Kandahar has a population of 557,118. It has 15 districts and a total land area of 27,337 Hectar. The total number of dwellings in Kandahar is 61,902.

Kandahar is one of the most culturally significant cities of the Pashtuns and has been their traditional seat of power for more than 200 years. It is a major trading center for sheep, wool, cotton, silk, felt, food grains, fresh and dried fruit, and tobacco. The region produces fine fruits, especially pomegranates and grapes, and the city has plants for canning, drying, and packing fruit, and is a major source of marijuana and hashish. The area is believed to be the birthplace of cannabis indica.

Kandahar (2001 film)

Kandahar (Dari-Persian: قندهار Qandahar) is a 2001 Iranian film directed by Mohsen Makhmalbaf, set in Afghanistan during the rule of the Taliban. Its original Persian title is Safar-e Ghandehar, which means "Journey to Kandahar", and it is alternatively known as The Sun Behind the Moon. The film is based on a partly true, partly fictionalized story of a successful Afghan-Canadian, played by Nelofer Pazira, who returns to Afghanistan after receiving a letter from her sister, who was left behind when the family escaped, that she plans on committing suicide on the last solar eclipse of the millennium.

Kandahar was filmed mostly in Iran, including at the Niatak refugee camp, but also secretly in Afghanistan itself. Most people, including Nelofer Pazira, played themselves. The film premiered at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival, but did not get much attention at first. After 9/11, however, it was widely shown. Kandahar won Makhmalbaf the Federico Fellini Prize from UNESCO in 2001.

Kandahar (2010 film)

Kandahar is a 2010 Malayalam language Indian war film directed by Major Ravi. It stars Mohanlal, reprising his role from the prequels, Keerthi Chakra (2006) and Kurukshetra (2008) as Major Mahadevan. Amitabh Bachchan and Ganesh Venkatraman also play major roles. The plot is based on the hijacking incident of Indian Airlines Flight 814 in 1999. The political situation is portrayed from an Indian perspective in the film. The film was released on 16 December 2010, along with its dubbed versions in Tamil and Hindi.

The sound design of the film is done by Baylon Fonseca. Kandahar is co-produced by Sunil Nair and Mohanlal. It was marketed online by Shaz Shabeer Strikers and Crew Kochi. The film, unlike the prequels it received negative reviews.

Plot

Suryanatha Sharma (Ganesh Venkatraman) is an educated, unemployed man. His father, Lokanatha Sharma (played by Amitabh Bachchan), wants to see his son victorious in life. Things change when he meets Major Mahadevan (Mohanlal). It's another mission with Mahadevan and crew, as they deal with international terrorism with a flight being hijacked by hardcore terrorists.