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90-592: With virtually no rainfall during the year, Musa Qala features a cold desert climate ( BWk ) under the Köppen climate classification . The average temperature in Musa Qala is 17.6 °C, while the annual precipitation averages 159 mm. July is the warmest month of the year with an average temperature of 30.3 °C. The coldest month January has an average temperature of 4.7 °C. In February 2006 intensive fighting erupted there, leading to 28 deaths, including

180-627: A Barakzai tax collector was killed at Sarwan Qala that year, the British sent in troops to enforce collection, a political blunder leading to open rebellion by the Alizai. It is not known if the British were aware of the political ramifications of Shah Shujah's decision to retain the Barakzai tax collectors, but they were completely bewildered by the ensuing rebellion, reflecting a clear lack of understanding of local dynamics on their part. The leader of

270-515: A counter-narcotics initiative called the Alternative Livelihoods Program (ALP) in the province. It paid communities to work to improve their environment and economic infrastructure as an alternative to opium poppy farming. The project undertook drainage and canal rehabilitation projects. In 2005 and 2006, there were problems in getting promised finance to communities and this was a source of considerable tension between

360-773: A few instances), dry summers, though summers are not typically as hot as hot desert climates. Unlike hot desert climates, cold desert climates tend to feature cold, dry winters. Snow tends to be rare in regions with this climate. The Gobi Desert in northern China and Mongolia is one example of a cold desert. Though hot in the summer, it shares the freezing winters of the rest of Inner Asia . Summers in South America's Atacama Desert are mild, with only slight temperature variations between seasons. Cold desert climates are typically found at higher altitudes than hot desert climates and are usually drier than hot desert climates. Cold desert climates are typically located in temperate zones in

450-724: A grandson of Timur . By the early 16th century, it fell to Babur . However, the area was often contested by the Shia Safavids and Sunni Mughals until the rise of Mir Wais Hotak in 1709. He defeated the Safavids and established the Hotaki dynasty . The Hotakis ruled it until 1738 when the Afsharids defeated Shah Hussain Hotaki at what is now Old Kandahar . When Ahmad Shah Durrani came to power in 1747, after Nader Shah

540-481: A rare Barakzai-Alizai alliance, joining against a common enemy. The British withdrew and Ayub Khan's army pursued, leading to a major Afghan victory at the Battle of Maiwand on 27 July. Having achieved their main goal of defeating the British, the Alizai then left and returned to Zamindawar. The British later defeated Ayub Khan, but they ended up withdrawing from Afghanistan altogether, installing Abdur Rahman Khan as

630-538: A separate province by the Afghan government in the 20th century. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region of the province, providing water used for irrigation. The Kajaki Dam , which is one of Afghanistan's major reservoirs , is located in the Kajaki district . Helmand is believed to be one of the world's largest opium producing regions, responsible for around 42% of the world's total production. This

720-511: A six-hour battle there. As with the July engagement, the Taliban concentrated their forces and fought to defend the region rather than using typical " shoot and scoot " tactics. As of 7 December 2007, an alleged 2,000 Taliban rebels occupied Musa Qala. British led ISAF and Afghan forces prepared for a siege of the town. Operation Mar Karadad commenced with an overnight attack by the air assets of

810-514: A study from University of New Hampshire . The result has been the steady growth of anti-American sentiment in the region, focused on the US-backed regime of President Hamid Karzai . Karzai himself deplored the attacks, apparently breaking down in tears, saying that "the cruelty is too much. [The coalition forces] are killing our children." In February 2007, a Taliban force of about 100 or possibly 200 strong under Mullah Abdul Ghafoor captured

900-410: A total of just 16 mm (0.63 in) of rainfall was measured. To determine whether a location has an arid climate, the precipitation threshold is determined. The precipitation threshold (in millimetres) involves first multiplying the average annual temperature in °C by 20, then adding 280 if 70% or more of the total precipitation is in the high-sun summer half of the year (April through September in

990-412: Is believed to be more than the whole of Myanmar , which is the second-largest producing nation after Afghanistan. The region also produces tobacco , sugar beets , cotton , sesame , wheat , mung beans , maize , nuts, sunflowers , onions , potato , tomato , cauliflower , peanut , apricot , grape , and melon . The province has a domestic airport ( Bost Airport ), in the city of Lashkargah that

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1080-502: Is classified as "hot arid subtype" ( BW h ), and a location with the appropriate temperature below the isotherm is classified as "cold arid subtype" ( BW k ). Most desert/arid climates receive between 25 and 200 mm (1 and 8 in) of rainfall annually, although some of the most consistently hot areas of Central Australia , the Sahel and Guajira Peninsula can be, due to extreme potential evapotranspiration , classed as arid with

1170-660: Is likely that foreign drug traffickers were also involved. Fighting continued throughout the winter, with British and allied troops taking a more pro-active stance against the Taliban insurgents. Several operations were launched including Operation Silicone at the start of spring. In May 2007, Mullah Dadullah , one of the Taliban's top commanders, along with 11 of his men were killed by NATO-led Afghan forces in Helmand. In April 2008, about 1,500 2nd Battalion 7th Marines occupied over 300 square miles (800 km ) of Helmand River valley and neighboring Farah Province . The operation

1260-465: Is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan , in the south of the country. It is the largest province by area, covering 58,584 square kilometres (20,000 sq mi) area. The province contains 18 districts , encompassing over 1,000 villages, and roughly 1,446,230 settled people. Lashkargah serves as the provincial capital. Helmand was part of the Greater Kandahar region until made into

1350-424: Is rampant with routine accusations against the police of shaking down and sexually abusing civilians causing loyalty to the government to be weaker. On 13 August 2021, the capital of the province Lashkar Gah fell to the Taliban after weeks of fighting in the Battle of Lashkargah . Around 1,500 Afghan soldiers were said to have surrendered, leaving the province in Taliban hands. According to The Washington Post ,

1440-550: Is seen in sections of Africa and Arabia . During colder periods of the year, night-time temperatures can drop to freezing or below due to the exceptional radiation loss under the clear skies. However, temperatures rarely drop far below freezing under the hot subtype. Hot desert climates can be found in the deserts of North Africa such as the wide Sahara Desert , the Libyan Desert or the Nubian Desert ; deserts of

1530-433: The 82nd Airborne Task Force Corsair , a Combat Aviation Brigade (CAB). Afghan troops and paratroopers from 1st Battalion 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment fought for control of the village, which was a major Taliban drug trafficking station and the Taliban's only occupied village in the strategically crucial Helmand province. There has been some civilian evacuation, partly aided by the aerial dropping of leaflets warning of

1620-649: The Achaemenids . Later, the area was part of the ancient Arachosia polity, and a frequent target for conquest because of its strategic location in Asia , which connects Southern , Central and Southwest Asia . The Helmand river valley is mentioned by name in the Avesta (Fargard 1:13) as Haetumant , one of the early centers or origins of the Zoroastrian faith, in pre-Islamic Afghan history . However, owing to

1710-953: The Horn of Africa such as the Danakil Desert or the Grand Bara Desert ; deserts of Southern Africa such as the Namib Desert or the Kalahari Desert ; deserts of West Asia such as the Arabian Desert , or the Syrian Desert ; deserts of South Asia such as Dasht-e Lut and Dasht-e Kavir of Iran or the Thar Desert of India and Pakistan; deserts of the United States and Mexico such as

1800-420: The Köppen climate classification BWh and BWk ) is a dry climate sub-type in which there is a severe excess of evaporation over precipitation . The typically bald, rocky, or sandy surfaces in desert climates are dry and hold little moisture, quickly evaporating the already little rainfall they receive. Covering 14.2% of Earth's land area, hot deserts are the second-most common type of climate on Earth after

1890-520: The Mehrgarh III pottery, in technique — the quality of the paste and manufacture — as well as in the shapes and decoration, probably within a phase dated to the end of the 5th millennium [BC]." There were also links between Shahr-i Sokhta I, II, and III periods, and Mundigak III and IV periods, and between the sites of Balochistan and the Indus valley at the end of the 4th millennium, as well as in

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1980-580: The MoD warning them not to remove Akhundzada and against the deployment of a large British force which would likely cause conflict where none existed. It was announced in January 2006 in the British Parliament that International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) would replace the U.S. troops in the province as part of Operation Herrick . The British 16 Air Assault Brigade would be the core of

2070-804: The Mojave Desert , the Sonoran Desert or the Chihuahuan Desert ; deserts of Australia such as the Simpson Desert or the Great Victoria Desert and many other regions. In Europe , the hot desert climate can only be found on southeastern coast of Spain as well as small inland parts of southeastern, especially parts of the Tabernas Desert . Hot deserts are lands of extremes: most of them are among

2160-627: The NATO commander in Afghanistan at the time, said that this move turned these four centers into "magnets" for the Taliban insurgents. Initially, the local leaders were happy with the settlement, which gave them the upper hand over the Taliban. In the long run, however, attempts to win over the population appear to have failed, especially under the NATO strategy of air bombing which killed more than 4,600 Afghan noncombatants from 2001 to 2006, according to

2250-593: The Northern Hemisphere , or October through March in the Southern), or 140 if 30–70% of the total precipitation is received during the applicable period, or 0 if less than 30% of the total precipitation is so received there. If the area's annual precipitation is less than half the threshold (50%), it is classified as a BW (desert climate), while 50–100% of the threshold results in a semi-arid climate. Hot desert climates ( BWh ) are typically found under

2340-475: The Polar climate . There are two variations of a desert climate according to the Köppen climate classification : a hot desert climate ( BWh ), and a cold desert climate ( BWk ). To delineate "hot desert climates" from "cold desert climates", a mean annual temperature of 18 °C (64.4 °F) is used as an isotherm so that a location with a BW type climate with the appropriate temperature above this isotherm

2430-625: The Saffarids of Zaranj and saw the first Muslim rule. Mahmud of Ghazni made it part of the Ghaznavids in the 10th century, who were replaced by the Ghurids . After the destructions caused by Genghis Khan and his Mongol army in the 13th century, the Timurids established rule and began rebuilding Afghan cities. From about 1383 until his death in 1407, it was governed by Pir Muhammad ,

2520-583: The Southwestern United States , northern Mexico , sections of southeastern Spain , the coast of Peru , and Chile . This makes hot deserts present in every continent except Antarctica. At the time of high sun (summer), scorching, desiccating heat prevails. Hot-month average temperatures are normally between 29 and 35 °C (84 and 95 °F), and midday readings of 43–46 °C (109–115 °F) are common. The world's absolute heat records, over 50 °C (122 °F), are generally in

2610-501: The subtropical ridge in the lower middle latitudes or the subtropics , often between 20° and 33° north and south latitudes. In these locations, stable descending air and high pressure aloft clear clouds and create hot, arid conditions with intense sunshine. Hot desert climates are found across vast areas of North Africa , West Asia , northwestern parts of the Indian Subcontinent , southwestern Africa, interior Australia,

2700-514: The 1960s to develop the Helmand and Arghandab Valley Authority (HAVA) – it became known locally as "little America". The program laid out tree-lined streets in Lashkargah, built a network of irrigation canals and constructed a large hydroelectric dam. The development program was abandoned when pro-Soviet Union forces seized power in 1978, although much of the province is still irrigated by

2790-503: The 21st century. The Noorzai would occupy marginal lands until the late 20th century, and the Ishaqzai population remains dispersed and scattered throughout Helmand today. The weakening of Helmand's non-Barakzai tribes, combined with a policy of non-interference with the tribes, led to stability in the region throughout Abdur Rahman's reign. This continued during the rule of his son Habibullah, who died in 1919. An important development

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2880-652: The 30s and 40s latitudes, usually in the leeward rain shadow of high mountains, restricting precipitation from the westerly winds. An example of this is the Patagonian Desert in Argentina, bounded by the Andes ranges to its west. In the case of Central Asia, mountains restrict precipitation from the eastern monsoon . The Kyzyl Kum , Taklamakan and Katpana Desert deserts of Central Asia are other significant examples of BWk climates. The Ladakh region and

2970-547: The Alizai of Zamindawar. When the Alizai didn't pay taxes, a Barakzai punitive expedition was sent to Zamindawar, and in Alizai clan chiefs were executed. During this period, the Alizai began to view the Barakzai as enemies, creating the Alizai-Barakzai dynamic that still heavily influences Helmand politics. At this time, the area around Garmsir was effectively independent, and ignored by the monarchy in Kabul. In 1839,

3060-897: The Arctic and Antarctic regions receive very little precipitation during the year owing to the cold, dry air freezing most precipitation. Polar desert climates have desert-like features that occur in cold desert climates, including intermittent streams, hypersaline lakes, and extremely barren terrain in unglaciated areas such as the McMurdo Dry Valleys of Antarctica. These areas are generally classified as having polar climates because they have average summer temperatures below 10 °C (50 °F) even if they have some characteristics of extreme non-polar deserts. Helmand Province Helmand ( Pashto / Dari : هلمند ; / ˈ h ɛ l m ə n d / HEL -mənd ), also known as Hillmand , in ancient times, as Hermand and Hethumand ,

3150-543: The British deposed Dost Mohammad Khan in favor of the Popolzai Shah Shujah Durrani . In doing so, they hoped to limit Russian influence in Afghanistan. Hoping to secure the loyalty of Helmandi tribal leaders, Shah Shujah reinstated the titles they had previously enjoyed under Popolzai rule, and he also held off on taxing them until his position was stronger. However, he kept the Barakzai tax collectors in office, and they resumed collection in 1840. When

3240-555: The British sent a proxy Barakzai force to occupy Gereshk. Ayub Khan found ample support from Helmandis in his subsequent campaign against the British: three or four thousand Alizai tribesmen, led by a man named Abu Bakr , had joined his army by October, as did a smaller contingent of Noorzai. Doubting the Barakzai's loyalty, the British sent some of their own troops to reinforce Gereshk in July 1880, led by George Burrows . The Barakzai promptly mutinied and went over to Ayub Khan's side —

3330-486: The British troops, but found themselves having to assist the British troops repel a major Taliban attack before they could carry out the replacement. On 28 August 2006, the Danish forces were replaced as planned, if slightly belated, and were once again replaced by the British. In late September 2006, a secret truce was allegedly made with the Taliban under which British troops would quietly move out of Musa Qala in return for

3420-746: The Great and became part of the Seleucid Empire . Later, it came under the rule of the Mauryan emperor Ashoka , who erected a pillar there with a bilingual inscription in Greek and Aramaic . The territory was referred to as part of Zabulistan and ruled by the sun-worshipping Zunbils before the Muslim Arabs arrived in the 7th century, who were led by Abdur Rahman bin Samara . It later fell to

3510-522: The HAVA. Thanks in part to the irrigation projects, the Pusht-e Rud area had become more important, and the government recognized this by splitting it off from Farah Province to create a new Gereshk Province in 1960. Gereshk was made the capital to reflect the historical importance of the Barakzai, which had been diluted by the influx of outside settlers in the province. The US, however, cared more that

3600-743: The HVA headquarters was in Lashkar Gah, and they successfully lobbied the Afghan government to relocate the provincial capital there. This happened in 1964, and the province was renamed "Helmand Province". For the first time since 1826, the Helmandi Barakzai were no longer dominant in the region. To compensate for this, the government completelty redrew the district boundaries in Helmand. The four traditional districts were abolished and replaced new districts. These new districts, greater in number than

3690-758: The Helmand area during the 1920s, but ended up shelving that project due to unrest over Amanullah's social reforms. In 1936, after the Musahiban dynasty had come to power, the government began construction of another canal in Helmand, the Nahr-e Bughra. The Afghan government originally sought out US financial and technical assistance, but the US refused, so instead it was the Germans and Japanese who contributed. The Nahr-e Bughra project employed up to 7,000 workers, and there were also other small-scale development projects in

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3780-489: The Helmand river being on the border between them, increasing the area's strategic importance. The subsidy ended in 1862 when Dost Mohammad died and a succession crisis broke out between his sons. Helmandis fought as mercenaries on the side of one of them, Sher Ali Khan , playing a role in his eventual victory. The deciding battle was fought at Gereshk in 1868. Indebted to the Helmandi tribes for their contributions during

3870-408: The Helmand they had been granted by Nader Shah. Their relocation was a disaster and many ended up returning to the Helmand area. When they came back, however, they were only given scattered, less-productive lands. This dramatically changed the power dynamic of the Helmand area, marking the beginning of Ishaqzai and (to a lesser degree) Noorzai disenfranchisement from government that has continued into

3960-611: The Marines successfully drove the three to four hundred Taliban out with heavy airstrikes and ground forces in just over 14 hours. The Marines did not have the resources to hold the Taliban headquarters and had to return to base, which resulted in the Taliban returning several days later. In memory of a prior conflict, in 2006, involving the British Royal Irish Regiment , a new Regimental March, composed by Chris Attrill and commissioned by Larne Borough Council ,

4050-537: The Musa Qala district chief, Abdul Quddus. On March 3, 2006, the Sangin district governor, Amir Jan, was killed in Musa Qala while on vacation. British forces were deployed to defend the district offices at Musa Qala (and also at Sangin, Nawzad and Kajaki). Over several months, eight British soldiers died there during attacks by the Taliban. 23–25 July 2006, Danish troops of the "1. Lette Opklaringseskadron" (1st Light Reconnaissance Squadron, 120 men) moved in to replace

4140-513: The Pusht-e Rud area without going through a relative in Kandahar. In November 1878, the British invaded Afghanistan again. They occupied Gereshk until February 1879; an Alizai force of 1500 attacked them as they withdrew. Sher Ali died soon after, however, and the British wanted to again occupy Gereshk as a forward outpost against Sher Ali's son Ayub Khan . Perhaps realizing that the presence of their troops garrisoning Helmandi forts upset locals,

4230-460: The Taliban not attacking the region. The truce had the sanction of Mohammad Daud, the governor of Helmand province, and most tribal elders, who felt they could now exercise control over the Taliban themselves. It was also seen as a move to help integrate the local Pashtun tribes on the side of the US-allied government. Others however, saw the move as a cop-out ; Lieutenant-General David Richards ,

4320-536: The Taliban saw Helmand province as a key testing area for their ability to take and hold Afghan territory from NATO-led Afghan National Security Forces . Commanders on the ground described the situation as the most brutal conflict the British Army had been involved in since the Korean War . In Autumn 2006, British troops started to reach "cessation of hostilities" agreements with local Taliban forces around

4410-460: The US withdrawal and Taliban victory was mostly met with relief in Helmand; the province had suffered through some of the deadliest battles of the war from 2001 to 2021 and heavy US-led bombardments. Bost Airport serves the population of Helmand for domestic flights to other parts of the country. It is designed for civilian use. NATO-led forces heavily used the airport at Camp Shorabak , formerly Camp Bastion . Camp Leatherneck , which used to be

4500-714: The annual rainfall as high as 430 millimetres or 17 inches. Although no part of Earth is known for certain to be rainless, in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile, the average annual rainfall over 17 years was only 5 millimetres (0.20 in). Some locations in the Sahara Desert such as Kufra , Libya , record an even drier 0.86 mm (0.034 in) of rainfall annually. The official weather station in Death Valley , United States reports 60 mm (2.4 in) annually, but in 40 months between 1931 and 1934

4590-514: The area at the same time. Roads, bridges, and telephone wires were built to connect the major settlements. This was the first externally supervised development project in Helmand. However, when World War II broke out, the British requested that the German and Japanese engineers be expelled from Afghanistan, and the government had to continue on its own. Helmand was the center of the USAID program in

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4680-429: The beginning of June and then led punitive expeditions into Zamindawar, and eventually the rebellion was defeated and Aktur Khan fled to Herat . British-backed Barakzai horsemen were sent to reinforce Gereshk in November 1841. The Alizai repeatedly tried to capture it, but the Barakzai were able to maintain control until August 1842 because the other Barakzai who lived there kept them well-supplied. Dost Mohammad Khan

4770-534: The city of Leh in the Great Himalayas in India also have a cold desert climate. In North America, the cold desert climate occurs in the drier parts of the Great Basin Desert and the Bighorn Basin in Big Horn and Washakie County in Wyoming . The Hautes Plaines , located in the northeastern section of Morocco and in Algeria , is another prominent example of a cold desert climate. In Europe , this climate only occurs in some inland parts of southeastern Spain, such as in Lorca . Polar climate desert areas in

4860-474: The coming months, but were aggressive and quick in their tactics resulting them pushing the offensive further and further out of the town. In mid-2008 the Afghan police had completed their training, were strategically placed throughout the town and its entrances, and mentored with constant supervision and even conducted security patrols and combat operations alongside ISAF forces. After months of training and fighting with many firefights sometimes exceeding 6 hours,

4950-451: The country. In July 2006, this offensive mission essentially stalled in Helmand as NATO, primarily British, and Afghan troops were forced to take increasingly defensive positions under heavy insurgent pressure. In response, British troop levels in the province were increased, and new encampments were established in Sangin and Grishk. Fighting was particularly heavy in the districts of Sangin, Naway, Nawzad and Garmsir . There were reports that

5040-434: The cultivation of limited range of crops also contributed greatly to the Taliban 's finances through illicit opium sales. Additionally, Helmand is considered to be one of Afghanistan's most socially conservative areas. Helmand culture of western Afghanistan was a Bronze Age culture of the 3rd millennium BC. It is exemplified by such major sites as Shahr-i Sokhta , Mundigak , and Bampur . The term "Helmand civilization"

5130-408: The district centers where they had been stationed earlier in the summer. Under the terms of the agreement, both sets of forces were to withdraw from the conflict zone. This agreement from the British forces implied that the strategy of holding key bases in the district, as requested by Afghan President Hamid Karzai , was essentially untenable with the levels of British troop deployment. The agreement

5220-418: The farmers and the Coalition forces. After it was decided to deploy British troops to the Province, PJHQ tasked 22 SAS to conduct a reconnaissance of the province. The review was led by Mark Carleton-Smith , who found the province largely at peace due to the brutal rule of Sher Mohammad Akhundzada , and a booming opium-fuelled economy that benefited the pro-government warlords. In June he reported back to

5310-523: The fighters from Musa Qala. On 4 February US forces claimed that an air strike near Musa Qala had killed a senior Taliban leader, possibly Mullah Abdul Ghafoor, while travelling in a truck. McNeill, the new ISAF commander, felt that "come spring, an ISAF offensive not a Taliban offensive will set the conditions to defeat the insurgents again." Eurasianet reports: "The attack laid waste to an agreement there, brokered last fall by Richards and local tribal elders, under which NATO troops agreed to withdraw from

5400-409: The first half of the 3rd millennium BC. The Jiroft culture is closely related to the Helmand culture. The Jiroft culture flourished in eastern Iran, and the Helmand culture in western Afghanistan at the same time. They may represent the same cultural area. The Mehrgarh culture, on the other hand, is far earlier. Helmand was inhabited by ancient peoples and governed by the Medes before falling to

5490-407: The force in Helmand Province. British bases were located in the districts of Sangin , Lashkargah and Grishk . British forces were replaced in Sangin by elements of the United States Marine Corps I Marine Expeditionary Force Forward. In summer 2006, Helmand was one of the provinces involved in Operation Mountain Thrust , a combined NATO-Afghan mission targeted at Taliban fighters in the south of

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5580-547: The hot deserts, where the heat potential can be the highest on the planet. This includes the record of 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) in Death Valley , which is currently considered the highest temperature recorded on Earth . Some deserts in the tropics consistently experience very high temperatures all year long, even during wintertime. These locations feature some of the highest annual average temperatures recorded on Earth, exceeding 30 °C (86 °F), up to nearly 35 °C (95 °F) in Dallol, Ethiopia . This last feature

5670-444: The hottest, the driest, and the sunniest places on Earth because of nearly constant high pressure; the almost permanent removal of low-pressure systems, dynamic fronts, and atmospheric disturbances; sinking air motion; dry atmosphere near the surface and aloft; the exacerbated exposure to the sun where solar angles are always high makes this desert inhospitable to most species. Cold desert climates ( BWk ) usually feature hot (or warm in

5760-411: The impending battle. In preparation, it is believed that the village was heavily mined by Taliban fighters. Sergeant Lee Johnson of the 2nd Bn The Yorkshire Regiment was killed shortly after 10am on 8 December 2007, whilst taking part in an operation to recapture the town, when a land mine exploded. The following day, Cpl. Tanner J. O'Leary of the 1st Battalion 508th Infantry Regiment (United States)

5850-407: The new ruler and giving him a subsidy. Abdur Rahman Khan was a strong and intelligent state-builder who used the subsidy to finance a professional army. He defeated Abu Bakr of the Alizai and had him exiled, after which the Alizai cooperated with paying taxes. He used a combination of incentives and force to move the Ishaqzai and Noorzai to the northwestern part of Afghanistan, away from the lands along

5940-427: The powerful Barakzai tribe received a hereditary position as ministers to the crown, as well as some of the most valuable land in Helmand: the alluvial plains around present-day Malgir , Babaji , and Spin Masjid, as well as the strategically important Gereshk . That changed in 1826, when Dost Mohammad Khan , himself a Barakzai, seized power. Dost Mohammad increased taxes on non-Barakzai tribes in Helmand, especially

6030-422: The presence of non-Zoroastrians even though Zoroastrians being dominant before the Islamization of Afghanistan – particularly Buddhist. Some Vedic scholars (e.g. Kochhar 1999) also believe the Helmand river corresponds to the Sarasvati river mentioned in the Rig Veda as the homeland of the Aryan tribes before migrating into the Indian Subcontinent , ca. 1500 BCE. It was invaded in 330 BC by Alexander

6120-418: The province), Nawa (4th order), and Lashkar Gah (which, as the capital, had its own resourcing protocol). Lashkar Gah district was gerrymandered to give the Barakzai a majority over the mixed tribes in the urban area: a slice of Barakzai-dominated Babaji was included, and the boundary with Nad-e Ali district was drawn on the border of Barakzai territory in Bolan . This way, the Barakzai central government

6210-466: The rebellion was Aktur Khan, who had risen to prominence during this dispute. His invocations of Alizai honor and appeals to group identity had resulted in him attaining chieftainship of the Alizai. After some skirmishes, the British offered to remove the Barakzai tax collectors in return for the dispersal of Aktur Khan's 1,300 followers. This soon broke down, and by May 1841, Aktur Khan led a force of 3,000 men to capture Gereshk. The British retook Gereshk at

6300-455: The stated aim of securing control of various canal and river crossings and establishing a lasting ISAF presence in an area described by Lt. Col. Richardson as "one of the main Taliban strongholds" ahead of the 2009 Afghan presidential election. In July 2009, around 4,000 U.S. Marines pushed into the Helmand River valley in a major offensive to liberate the area from Taliban insurgents. The operation, dubbed Operation Khanjar ( Operation Dagger ),

6390-467: The town in return for a commitment by local Afghan leaders to oppose the Taliban." Eurasianet reports that Richards, the outgoing ISAF commander, is an expert at negotiation. It reports that McNeill, the new ISAF commander, opposes the kind of local agreements that Richards favored, and speculated that the aerial bombardment that was reported to have killed Mullah Abdul Ghafour was a sign of McNeill's more aggressive, less conciliatory approach. The district

6480-458: The town of Musa Qala was significantly quieter and more peaceful than it had been prior to the U.S Marines arrival. In August 2008 a detachment of Marines left Musa Qala to assist in the taking over of Taliban headquarters in the Helmand province in a nearby town called Nawzad . The town was used by the Taliban as a safe haven while they were not in Musa Qala and had been completely abandoned by all Afghan civilians due to Taliban presence. In Nawzad

6570-582: The town, overran the district centre and raised their trademark white flag. All tribal leaders who had arranged the truce with the British forces were jailed. Some sources report the Taliban force numbered "several hundred". The situation created a crisis for the ISAF forces in Afghanistan, on the same day that the British commanding officer General David Richards handed over charge of the ISAF team to an American, General Dan K. McNeill ; MacNeil suggested that "surgical and deliberate" force would be used to evict

6660-422: The traditional ones, were each assigned an "order", which determined how much resources would be allocated to each district. Additionally, since the 1964 constitution introduced voting, the new districts were drawn in a way allowing the government to maintain influence and control. The former Barakzai-dominated district of Pusht-e Rud proper, or Gereshk, was split into Nahr-e Seraj (the only 1st order district in

6750-414: The war, Sher Ali scaled back tax collection in the area and reduced the allowances to the Barakzai khans. Because of this, the Alizai did not rebel during his reign. Another key development for Helmand (Pusht-e Rud) during Sher Ali's reign was that he moved its four traditional districts into the newly created Farah Province , moving it out of Kandahar's sphere of influence and meaning that he could influence

6840-515: Was Ahmad Shah's capital. Pusht-e Rud traditionally consisted into four districts: Zamindawar , Now Zad , Pusht-e Rud proper, and Garmsir . Ahmad Shah's land redistribution legitimized existing Alizai influence in Zamindawar, while the powerful Barakzai received Pusht-e Rud proper, and the district of Garmsir in the south was granted to the Noorzai to protect against Baluch raids. Now Zad

6930-425: Was able to retain control of even the new capital of Helmand. Meanwhile, the Alizai district of Zamindawar was split into Musa Qala (2nd order), Baghran (4th order), and Kajaki (sub-district status). Now Zad, with its mixed Noorzai and Ishaqzai population, was split into Now Zad (2nd order) and Washir (sub-district status). Garmsir district was the only one of the traditional districts to remain intact; it

7020-402: Was also a setback for Taliban fighters, who were desperate to consolidate their gains in the province, but were under heavy pressure from various NATO offensives. News reports identified the insurgents involved in the fighting as a mix of Taliban fighters and warring tribal groups who are heavily involved in the province's lucrative opium trade. Given the amount of drugs produced in the area, it

7110-652: Was also killed by an explosive device. The Taliban insurgents withdrew from the area by midday on 10 December leaving the ANSF and NATO forces in control of the town. In April 2008 2nd Battalion 7th Marines deployed throughout the Farah and Helmand Provinces. Their mission was to assist in seizing the town and to help ISAF forces train the Afghan National Police . They met heavy opposition and had several very intense firefights within days of arriving and throughout

7200-406: Was assassinated, he began redistributing land grants that had been given by his predecessor. At that time, the area of what is now Helmand province was part of Kandahar Province (which continued until it was split off into the new Farah Province during the reign of Sher Ali Khan ), and it was known as Pusht-e Rud , or "across the river", reflecting how the region was viewed from Kandahar , which

7290-546: Was divided between the Noorzai and the Ishaqzai. This arrangement has survived, with a few exceptions, until the present day. Then, as now, relatively few members of the Popolzai tribe (to which Ahmad Shah Durrani belonged) lived in Helmand. The Durrani monarchs were thus ambivalent towards the area's tribes and didn't favor any one tribe over the others. Rather, they treated the tribes according to their relative power. Thus,

7380-536: Was given 3rd-order status. The 37 different tribes and ethnicities who had immigrated to Nad-e Ali and Marjah were lumped into a single 3rd-order district. Finally, the sub-district of Sangin was created to separate the Alikozai tribe, closely related to the Barakzai, from the Alizai. During Operation Enduring Freedom , the United States Agency for International Development program contributed to

7470-525: Was given to the regiment on Saturday 1 November 2008 in Larne , County Antrim , Northern Ireland during an event in which the regiment was presented with the 'Freedom of the Borough'. This gave the regiment the right to march through the town with 'flags flying, bands playing and bayonets fixed'. The March was named, 'Musa Qala'. Cold desert climate The desert climate or arid climate (in

7560-499: Was heavily used by NATO -led forces. The former British Camp Bastion and the U.S. Camp Leatherneck is a short distance southwest of Lashkargah. Throughout the 2001-2021 war in Afghanistan , Helmand was a hotbed of insurgent activities and was often considered at the time to be Afghanistan's "most dangerous" province. The province also witnessed some of the heaviest fighting during the war, where at its peak hundreds of civilians were being killed monthly. Its suitable climate for

7650-460: Was proposed by M. Tosi. This civilization flourished between 2500 BC and 1900 BC and may have coincided with the great flourishing of the Indus Valley civilisation . This was also the final phase of Periods III and IV of Shahr-i Sokhta, and the last part of Mundigak Period IV. According to Jarrige et al., ... the pottery of Mundigak I, the earliest occupation of the complex , corresponds to

7740-428: Was reinstalled for a second reign when the British withdrew from Afghanistan, but he ran into financial difficulties and sought a subsidy from the British in 1857. He distributed money from this subsidy unevenly among Helmandi tribes, favoring the Barakzai over the others, which upset the balance of power between the tribes. The subsidy also divided Afghanistan into British and Russian spheres of influence, with Gereshk and

7830-554: Was the first major push since U.S. President Obama 's request for 21,000 additional soldiers in Afghanistan, targeting the Taliban insurgents. In February 2013, BBC reported that corruption occurs in Afghan National Police bases, with some bases arming children, using them as servants and sometimes sexually abusing them; in early March 2013, the New York Times reported that government corruption

7920-505: Was the re-construction of the Nahr-e Saraj canal, beginning in 1910. Newly irrigated areas that had previously been desert were now populated with ethnic and tribal groups who were not originally from Helmand, including refugees from Central Asia fleeing Soviet rule. Many of the villages along the canal therefore are named after these groups, such as Uzbek, Turkmen, and Popolzai. The government had originally planned to continue developing

8010-685: Was the scene of heavy fighting in late July 2007 after ISAF forces attacked several rebel hideouts in Helmand Province . Coalition officials said that up to 160 Taliban fighters were killed between 22 July and 26 July in gun battles and air strikes, adding that, rather than avoiding battle, the Taliban were trying to defend the area. No civilian casualties were reported by ISAF, although a self-described resident claimed by phone that 16 civilians were killed in an air strike. In October 2007, Reuters reported that ISAF troops and Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF) had killed 80 Taliban insurgents in

8100-548: Was to set up forward operation bases and train the Afghan National Police in an area with little or no outside support. Also in 2008, an Embedded Training Team from the Oregon Army National Guard led a Kandak of Afghan National Army troops in fighting against the Taliban in Lashkargah , as seen in the documentary Shepherds of Helmand . In June 2009, Operation Panther's Claw was launched with

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