Capitaine Arnaud Crézé[3] Timeline Major operations Airstrikes Major insurgent attacks 2002 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Massacres Other French International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) troops were ambushed by Afghan Taliban insurgents, with heavy casualties, in the Uzbin Valley outside the village of Spēṟ Kunday in the Surobi District of Kabul province in eastern Afghanistan on 18 August 2008.

Reports in France as well as a NATO one about the incident summarised that the surviving members of the initial coalition forces were "lucky to escape" arguing that they were not adequately supplied and equipped for the ambush and lacked preparation, while facing a planned attack by a well-prepared enemy.

[13] Then and until August 2008, responsibility of the Surobi district switched to 140 Italian troops who had undertaken development projects for the local population, as part of ISAF's "comprehensive approach" strategy.

In contrast to the purely humanitarian operations carried out by the Italians, the French engaged in armed patrols to cut off guerrilla groups from their rear bases in Pakistan.

It was composed of some 100 troops in 20 vehicles, mostly French, accompanied by elements of the Afghan National Army and some U.S. Special Forces in charge of coordinating air support.

[22] The patrol was organized in Rapid Reaction Force Their mission was to explore the field and make contact with local populations, to reinforce control of the region.

Two hours before the patrol reached the mountain pass, Omar Khattab was alerted and phoned local militant commanders Zabihullah Mujahed and Khalid Farooqi for support, as he began making plans for the attack.

[1][5] This advance warning raised suspicions that Afghan translators, who had deserted at camp Tora, had leaked information, either voluntarily or under coercion;[15] this was later denied both by the French Army and by the guerrillas, who claimed that they had lookouts and guarded weapon caches in the sector.

[5] The ambush was mostly improvised by local leaders of the Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, later reinforced by Taliban forces, given the size of the operation, and villagers affiliated with either of these organizations.

[26][27] Under Adjutant Gaëtan Evrard, they advanced with part of Carmin 2; Corporal Rodolphe Penon, a medic of the 2nd Foreign Parachute Regiment; and a translator (24 men overall) to inspect a pass situated East of Uzbin Valley, leading to the heights of Sper Kunday.

[citation needed] When the first elements of Carmin 2 were approximately 50 metres from the peak at around 15:30, the group of fifty waiting militants launched their attack, quickly killing the squadron's deputy leader, the radio operator and the Afghan interpreter with Dragunov, AK-47 and RPG-7 fire.

[22][28][29] Now disorganised, the paratroopers scrambled to find cover in the mountain brush, as fifty more militants rushed towards their position in a pincer movement from the southern ridge and the village.

[citation needed] From their support position one kilometre from the village, Rouge 4 rushed to help, reaching the heights of Sper Kunday in eight minutes.

[citation needed] About thirty minutes after the air support arrived the French VAB-mounted M2 machine guns ran out of ammunition, and attempts at a counter-attack had to be abandoned.

Two additional USAF combat search and rescue (CSAR) HH-60s arrived on-station to provide relief coverage to allow the medevac flight to return to base.

At 18:15, two Caracal helicopters, previously reserved for a possible evacuation of Afghan President Hamid Karzai, arrived from Kabul and landed a physician and Air commandos.

[5] General Georgelin defended these actions as "destroying two huge weapon caches helping the logistics of the insurgents", but did not address the question of "collateral damage".

The French took the brunt of the casualties among ISAF forces, with 10 dead—8 killed by bullets or shrapnel, one by a bladed weapon, and the last one in a road accident as he rode to the battle.

[29][page needed] Some early reports mentioned that three or four bodies had been found lined up, implicating that these soldiers could have been captured alive and executed; this was denied by French military authorities and government.

News of the ambush yielded international displays of sympathy, with Afghan president Hamid Karzai giving his condolences to the French people.

[4] Left-wing opposition MPs requested a vote regarding the continued presence of French forces in Afghanistan, which was reaffirmed by the National Assembly on 22 September.

Prime Minister François Fillon claimed to have "learnt the lessons of the ambush", and announced further military deployment, amounting to about 100 men with drones and helicopters.

The report also claims that "large amounts of weapons and ammunition" were captured, and that a film of the fight was made, showing "the dead, the booty and the destroyed armored vehicles, thanks to God".

It finishes with an accurate assessment of French public opinion and political debate, notably mentioning Hervé Morin and François Hollande by name.

[29][page needed] In November, Belgian journalist Joanie de Rijke met with Sher Mohammed (Ghurghust), who claimed to know the full story of the attacks, and was captured and held prisoner for six days before being released.

Paris Match published the photographs and the messages of the Taliban leader on 4 September, causing an uproar in France, particularly from the families of the dead soldiers and the government.

[29][page needed] On the other hand, Taliban being in possession of military equipment was seen as a patent proof that a number of bodies had been abandoned for some time, and unconfirmed suspicions that soldiers have been captured alive and executed.

French Army officers, both in France and in Afghanistan, criticized the lack of ammunition, radios, mortars, and air reconnaissance, and the fact that reinforcements had been brought by road only.

[44] General Michel Stollsteiner, commander of Allied forces in the Kabul region during the ambush, acknowledged an "excess of confidence" in that the zone was considered to be largely secured.

[45] Sixteen months later, on 17 December 2009, coalition forces conducted Operation Septentrion in the Uzbin Valley, "to show these insurgents that we can go where we want when we want" according to a French military spokesperson.