The Battle of Kandahar was a military engagement between the US-led coalition forces and the Taliban, from November 25 to December 7, 2001, in Kandahar, Afghanistan. It was part of Operation Enduring Freedom that had been launched by the United States in October, 2001, against al-Qaeda.
Kandahar was an important Taliban stronghold and had to be captured. The coalition forces that had the task of taking that city were composed of a US special forces A-team, an Australian SAS unit, elements of the US 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit, and the anti-Taliban local militia, composed of approximately 700 men, and commanded by Hamid Karzai. By November 25, these forces began closing in on Kandahar from the north and from the south, from Camp Rhino. After fierce fighting, Karzai troops were able to enter the city as the remainder of the Taliban had already left the city. The Battle of Kandahar came to an end in the afternoon of December 7, when a group of Taliban insurgents were defeated at Kandahar airport.
