Among the heaviest sustained combat by conventional Australian forces since Vietnam, the battles disrupted Taliban operations in Orūzgān Province.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 16 March – 12 April 2009
- Australian killed (First Battle)
- 1 personnel
- Australian casualties (Second Battle)
- 0 personnel
- Second battle duration
- Approximately 2 hours
- Operation name (Second Battle)
- Operation Shak Hawel
- Australian unit
- 1st Mentoring and Reconstruction Task Force (MRTF-1)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Kakarak village in Orūzgān Province's West Dorafshan district was considered one of the last Taliban outposts in the area. Australian MRTF-1 forces operating alongside Afghan National Army troops encountered a numerically superior Taliban presence, prompting two separate engagements a month apart as coalition forces sought to clear insurgent strongholds.
On 16 March 2009, a six-man Australian OMLT with ANA troops was attacked by a superior Taliban force; one Australian was killed before Dutch Apache gunships and US aircraft enabled withdrawal. On 12 April, during Operation Shak Hawel, a Taliban force attacked an Australian platoon that initially fell back to a compound, then regained the initiative with cavalry overwatch, Special Forces blocking positions, and close air support over two hours of fighting.
Both engagements inflicted heavy casualties on Taliban fighters and significantly disrupted insurgent activities in the Kakarak area. Evening airstrikes on 12 April destroyed a compound used by insurgents. The second battle, in which Australian conventional forces suffered no casualties, was noted as some of the most intense fighting Australian troops had experienced since the Vietnam War.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
3 belligerents
Side B
1 belligerent