[3] The siege became emblematic of the difficulty of the mission being carried out by British soldiers in Afghanistan, who nicknamed it "Sangingrad" (in reference to the Battle of Stalingrad).

Control of the city was strategically important to the Taliban because it would allow the transportation of poppy from the north to go south to Maiwand and Pakistan and enable them to cut off Afghan central government garrisons.

[7] When the Taliban seized control of Sangin, they viciously targeted the family of the district governor, Alikozai Dad Mohammed, killing 33 members, including his influential brother, who had previously held the same office.

"[8] Several incidents involving coalition troops had already occurred in that sector: on 13 June 2006 a U.S. convoy was ambushed north of Sangin, on the road to Musa Qala.

In late June, under pressure from President Hamid Karzai, the decision was taken to deploy British troops in Sangin to enforce the authority of the Afghan central government.

With all roads cut, the British at the DC now effectively found themselves under siege, and wholly dependent on helicopter flights from Camp Bastion for resupply.

Despite the Taliban fire, a unit of Royal Engineers surrounded the whole compound and the helicopter landing pad with a double rampart of Hesco barriers.

[3] On 16 July, during Operation Mountain Thrust, 200 British paratroopers, supported by Apache attack helicopters, were inserted into Sangin via Chinooks.

Supported by the fire of two Apache helicopters, the British finally rescued Budd an hour after he had been hit, but it was too late to save him, and he died of his injuries.

[14] For his bravery during this action, Corporal Budd was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest distinction in the British armed forces.

U.S. troops from the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment (1/508) and the 82nd Airborne Division launched a heliborne assault at various locations approximately 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) south of the district centre.

[15] On 5 April, coalition troops occupied Sangin, meeting only light resistance, as by this time the town had been mostly vacated by the Taliban, and abandoned by most of its inhabitants.

[1] Though Taliban groups still operated in surrounding areas, the Afghan civil authorities were able to return, marking the end of the siege.