Key Facts
- Duration
- 6 days (25 Nov – 1 Dec 2001)
- Prisoners taken
- More than 400 foreign fighters
- Prisoners surviving
- 86
- First U.S. combat death
- CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann
- U.S. troops wounded
- 5 (first Purple Hearts of Afghan war)
Strategic Narrative Overview
On 25 November 2001, the inadequately searched prisoners violently revolted inside the fortress. Fighting rapidly escalated as the prisoners seized weapons. Northern Alliance troops, reinforced by British SBS and American special forces operators on the ground, called in U.S. air support to contain the uprising. The battle raged for six days across the fortress compound, representing one of the fiercest close-quarters engagements of the entire Afghan campaign.
01 / The Origins
Following the U.S.-led coalition's intervention to overthrow the Taliban's Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan — which had harbored al-Qaeda operatives — more than 400 foreign fighters surrendered near Mazar-i-Sharif in late November 2001. They were transported to Qala-i-Jangi fortress and held by Afghan Northern Alliance forces under Abdul Rashid Dostum, while CIA personnel interrogated them to identify al-Qaeda suspects. Critically, the prisoners had not been properly searched before detention.
03 / The Outcome
Coalition and Northern Alliance forces quelled the revolt by 1 December 2001. All but 86 of the more than 400 prisoners were killed. CIA officer Johnny Micheal Spann became the first American killed in combat in Afghanistan. Among the 86 survivors were U.S. citizens Yaser Esam Hamdi and John Walker Lindh. Several coalition personnel received high decorations, including a Navy Cross, a Distinguished Service Cross, and Conspicuous Gallantry Crosses.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Abdul Rashid Dostum, Johnny Micheal Spann (KIA), David N. Tyson, Major Mark Mitchell, Master Chief Stephen R. Bass.
Kinetic Engagement Axis
Scroll horizontally to view full axis. Events plotted relatively.