November 25 – December 7, 2001 · Southern Afghanistan Theater
November 25 – December 7, 2001
The Taliban heartland and birthplace of the movement, Kandahar was the final Taliban stronghold. Hamid Karzai — the future Afghan president — had parachuted into southern Afghanistan weeks earlier with a satellite phone and 30 fighters, rallying Pashtun tribes against the Taliban. US Special Forces and CIA officers backed Karzai while Marines established the first US forward operating base at Camp Rhino south of the city. After two weeks of fighting, Mullah Omar and the Taliban leadership fled on motorcycles into the Pakistani tribal areas. Kandahar fell on December 7.
Commanders