Operation Mountain Thrust

Operation Mountain Thrust
	Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
Date	c. June 19, 2006 – c. July 31, 2006
Location	Kandahar, Helmand, Paktika, Zabul and Uruzgan provinces in Afghanistan
Result	Taliban victory Coalition operational failure;
Belligerents
Coalition:; Afghanistan; United Kingdom; United States; Canada; Australia; Romania; Netherlands; Czech Republic	Taliban ; al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Benjamin Freakley; David Fraser; Rahmatullah Raufi	Akhtar Usmani; Mullah Baqi Kakar; Mullah Mohammad Ibrahim Giwat (allegedly)
Strength
3,500 security forces; 3,300; 2,300; 2,200; 1,100; 120; Total: 11,000+	At least 2,500 insurgents
Casualties and losses
107 killed, 43 captured; 6 killed, 30 wounded; 24 killed, 50 wounded; 4 killed, 30 wounded; 11 wounded; 2 killed, 1 wounded; 1 killed, 4 wounded; 11 PMC killed Total: ; 155 killed; 127+ wounded; 43 captured	Heavy

Operation Mountain Thrust was a joint NATO and Afghan-led military operation in the War in Afghanistan. It involved more than 3,300 British troops, 2,300 U.S. troops, 2,200 Canadian troops, along with approximately 3,500 Afghan soldiers, supported by extensive air power. Its primary objective was to quell the ongoing Taliban insurgency in the south of the country.

The operation was launched in response to a significant Taliban spring offensive led by Mullah Dadullah in the provinces of Helmand and Kandahar, which had marked the most significant escalation of the war in Afghanistan since 2002. The operation was planned by Major General Benjamin Freakley. The strategy involved conducting search-and-destroy missions in the mountainous regions of Kandahar, Zabul, Uruzgan and Helmand.

The objective was to disrupt the Taliban's command structure and target their core leaders and fighters. The hope was that by doing so, it would dissuade less committed individuals from supporting the insurgents, thereby weakening their overall influence.