Soon after the Taliban insurgency took root in Afghanistan large tracts of Helmand Province came under Taliban control. Of all of Afghanistan's provinces, Helmand "has been the most difficult" for coalition forces, according to BBC Newsforeign correspondent Ian Pannell, and holds the largest Taliban presence.[10]
British forces deployed to Helmand in 2006, formally assuming responsibility for security in the province from US forces on 1 May 2006.[11]
In Helmand, described as "the centre of the Taliban insurgency",[12]
they faced heavy combat and regular attacks by Taliban fighters.[13]
According to Pannell, the "latest figures" show that more than 10 attacks took place each day in Helmand Province as of July 2009, and most of the nearly 170 British forces fatalities in Afghanistan since 2001 prior to Panther's Claw were caused by the Taliban in Helmand.[10]
Panther's Claw was preceded by several other operations carried out by British and Afghan government forces with the purpose of "taking and holding ground" in Helmand Province.[8]
Operation Zafar, launched on 27 April, lasted one week and involved more than 200 troops of the Afghan National Army (ANA) and Afghan National Police,[8] supported by elements of the Mercian Regiment and The Royal Gurkha Rifles, respectively.[14]
The operation succeeded in clearing the Taliban from several villages around Basharan in central Helmand, killing "many Taliban insurgents" according to the Ministry of Defence (MoD) at a cost of only "handful" of ANA and British casualties.[14]
Zafar 2, launched on 19 May, and lasting four days, saw British troops deployed to secure an area so that a checkpoint—to be manned by Afghan forces—could be built on a key route into the provincial capitalLashkar Gah.[8] On 29 May, soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers engaged and drove out Taliban fighters near the village of Yatimchay, south of Musa Qala.[8]
Lt Col Nick Richardson, spokesman for Task Force Helmand, credited the arrival of additional American forces in Helmand with increasing the operational capability of International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) forces in the province and helping to open the way for Panther's Claw.[8]
Panther's Claw was launched around midnight on 19 June 2009a with the stated aim of securing control of various canal and river crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence[8] in an area described by Lt Col Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the 2009 Afghan presidential election.[15]
Taliban fighters in the area launched multiple attacks against British forces, all of which were repelled, and 3 SCOTS secured three key crossings—the Lui Mandey Wadi crossing, the Nahr e-Burgha canal and the Shamalan canal—by 23 June.[8] To restrict movement by Taliban forces, British troops also constructed several checkpoints to be manned by 3 SCOTS but eventually ceded to the Afghan National Police.[8][15]
According to Lt Col Stephen Cartwright, Commanding Officer of the Black Watch, 3 SCOTS established a "firm foothold" in the area of the operation despite encountering resistance.[8] Lt Col Richardson reported that British forces killed several insurgents during the course of the operation,[8] which was dubbed the "Battle of Babaji" by a number of news media outlets.[16][17]
Welsh Guards engage Taliban forces on 27 June 2009 as part of Operation Panther's Claw.
On 25 June, the 1st Battalion, Welsh Guards with attachments from 4th Bn The Rifles, pushed up Shamalan canal securing 14 more crossing points, cutting off the insurgents' supply route and thus preventing more Taliban fighters coming into the Babaji area.[19][20]
In the third phase of Panther's Claw, more than 700 British soldiers from the Light Dragoons and 2nd Battalion, Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters) supported by soldiers of the Danish Battle Group,[21][22]
launched a ground offensive, backed by fire support, against Taliban-held areas north of Lashkar Gah.[23][24]
The assault was timed to coincide with Operation Khanjar, or Strike of the Sword, launched on 2 July, by American forces against Taliban strongholds in the Helmand River valley.
The BBC reported that British troops had by 3 July, "taken some key towns", but that their progress was impeded by insufficient resources.[23] By 4 July, British forces had encountered "little resistance"[25]
—in contrast to American and Afghan forces to the south participating in Khanjar who were engaged in "fierce" fighting against the Taliban.[26]
As of 5 July, around 3,000 Task Force Helmand troops from the United Kingdom, Denmark, Estonia, and Afghan government forces were involved in Panther's Claw, with the British MoD reporting close quarters combat with Taliban fighters.[24]
On 5 July, Danish Daily Politiken reported that between 55-65 soldiers or nearly half the corps, of the Danish Special Forces unit Jægerkorpset had been deployed in the operation, with the primary objective to aid regulars of the Danish Army secure 13 bridges over a major irrigation canal in the area. It's one of the largest known deployments of Danish special forces on foreign soil, and the largest since 2002.[27]
After declaring the first stage of the operation a success on 27 July 2009, UK forces commenced the second stage - which focused on holding ground won from the Taliban in previous weeks.[1]
19 June: On the first day of the operation, one British soldier, a major from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, was killed in an explosion near Lashkar Gah.
23 June: Lt Col Richardson of Task Force Helmand reported that British forces killed several Taliban fighters during operations in the vicinity of Babaji.[8]
1 July: A Danish diversion attack was halted by pockets of resistance and sniper fire. When clearing a compound to be used as camp for the night, one Danish soldier was severely wounded, when he knelt down and triggered the pressure plate of an IED.
5 July: A member of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was killed in an explosion near Lashkar Gah.[31]
7 July: A member of the Light Dragoons was killed in an explosion near Gereshk.[32]
9–10 July: The Ministry of Defence announced that eight British soldiers had died within a 24-hour period, bringing the total number of fatalities of British Forces personnel in Afghanistan since 2001 to 184. Another 30 soldiers were wounded during that 24-hour period. Three of these soldiers were killed while supporting operation Panther's Claw.[33][34]
16 July: A member of 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in an explosion near Gereshk.
^a According to the Ministry of Defence, the soldiers from the Black Watch were dropped into Babaji "just before midnight on Friday 19 June 2009".[8] According to BBC News, the soldiers were dropped "just after midnight local time on Friday".[15]
United Kingdom
Denmark
Estonia
United States
Taliban
650
