Operation Mountain Fury

Operation Mountain Fury
Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
A soldier searches for weapons caches in the village of Alizai in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
Date September 16, 2006 – January 15, 2007 Location Paktika, Khost, Ghazni, Paktia, Logar Result Coalition victory
Belligerents
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan  Canada  United States  United Kingdom  Netherlands  Italy  Estonia	Taliban al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Gen. David Richards	Mullah Akhtar Mohammad Osmani †
Strength
4,000 3,000 Total: 7,000 [1]	Unknown
Casualties and losses
107 killed	1,131 killed

Operation Mountain Fury was a NATO-led operation begun on September 16, 2006 as a follow-up operation to Operation Medusa, to clear Taliban insurgents from the eastern provinces of Afghanistan. Another focus of the operation was to enable reconstruction projects such as schools, health-care facilities, and courthouses to take place in the targeted provinces.

During the operation, the Taliban suffered heavy losses during direct battle with NATO coalition forces; as a result, they are expected to focus more on tactics such as the use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), according to sources such as NATO's top commander James L. Jones and Canadian defence minister Gordon O'Connor. Jones also linked the large-scale production of opium to increased insurgent violence.