[2][1][3][4][5] More than 400 Royal Marines went into "action" alongside a small number of US and Afghan troops after the US requested help; they did not encounter either Taliban or al-Qaeda forces—supporting suspicions that many had fled across the nearby border to Pakistan—but there was evidence and indications that the facilities had been used and coalition troops seized a "great deal" of papers, maps, and radios in Shah-i-Kot area which was studied for intelligence information.

[5][7][8][9][10][11][12][13] On 17 May 2002, coalition forces began Operation Condor following an incident in Patika province the previous day: On May 16, an Australian SAS patrol came under fire for five hours from heavy mortars and machine guns and was chased by 20 to 60 suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, Apache helicopter gunships and AC-130 gunship carried out airstrikes killing about 10 people, the rest of fighters are thought to have dispersed into small groups and blended in with local residents or fled across the border to neighbouring Pakistan.

On 17 May Brigadier Roger Lane, the top British commander in the coalition forces was supposedly battling a "substantial force" of suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters in the mountains, but British Royal Marines spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Curry said on 18 May: "There has been no combat, we have established a forward operating base and are now clearing the area," Coalition jets and helicopters supported ground troops throughout the day.

Mr Rumsfeld publicly disagreed; he reportedly lost the confidence of his men and his junior commanders, and his tactical decisions came across as increasingly "desperate for some success".

45 to 300 British Marines from Taskforce Jacana and local Afghan soldiers were deployed into Khost close to the Afghan-Pakistan border, accompanied by several US civil affairs officials on a "hearts and minds" operation; amid fears that al-Qaeda and Taliban forces were plotting terrorist attacks from across the frontier.

However, just like in the previous Condor operation, these turned out to be local militias who had mistaken the Royal Marines for a rival tribal force and opened fire.

[23] Madeleine Bunting criticized the operation, writing in an article for The Guardian newspaper that "Afghanistan is in danger of becoming the most embarrassing chapter in the recent history of British military engagements.

Norwegian special forces were also specifically asked by NATO to operate in these highland areas because of their experience in high altitudes and cold weather.