Battle of Mazar e Sharif
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The battle for Mazari Sharif was an important battle during the 2001 war in Afghanistan, in which the U.S., U.K., and NATO fought together with the Afghan Northern Alliance to unseat the Taliban, which had captured the city in 1998.[1] Mazari Sharif had significant strategic import, as its capture opened supply routes and provided a potential airstrip in Afghanistan for U.S. planes and helicopters.[2]
In the days leading up to the battle, Northern Alliance troops advanced on population centers near the city such as Shol Ghar, 50 kilometres from Mazar e Sharif. The battle began on November 9, 2001 when U.S. bombers carpet-bombed Taliban defenders concentrated in the Chesmay-e-Safa gorge that marks the southern entrance to the city. At 2 p.m., Northern Alliance forces, under the command of generals Rashid Dostum and Ustad Atta Mohammed, swept in from the south and west, seizing the city's main military base and airport.[3] The forces then mopped up the remnants of the Taliban in the gorge in front of the city, meeting only light resistance. Within 4 hours, the battle was over. By sunset, what remained of the Taliban was retreating to the north and east.[4]
The next day, Northern Alliance forces seeking retribution combed the city, shooting suspected Taliban supporters in on-the-spot executions. Approximately 520 Taliban, demoralized and defeated, many of whom were fighters from Pakistan, were massacred when they were discovered hiding in a school. Looting was also widespread throughout Mazari Sharif.
The same day the massacres of former Taliban supporters were taking place in Mazari Sharif, November 10, Northern Alliance forces swept through five northern provinces in a rapid advance. The fall of Mazari Sharif had triggered a complete collapse of Taliban positions. Many local commanders switched sides rather than fight. The regime was beginning to unravel at the seams throughout the north. Many of the their front line troops were outflanked and then surrounded in the northern city of Kunduz as the Northern Alliance drove past them southwards. Even in the south, their hold on power seemed tenuous at best. The religious police stopped their regular patrols. A complete implosion of the Taliban regime seemed imminent.
