Operation Pickaxe-Handle

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Operation Lastay Kulang or Pickaxe Handle was a British-led NATO offensive in the southern Helmand province of Afghanistan. (The name of the operation is Pashto for "pickaxe-handle".) Lastay Kulang began on 30 May and ended on 14 June 2007, with 2000 ISAF and Afghan National Army troops taking part. The mission was a direct follow-up of Operation Achilles that ended on the same day. At around 4:00 local time on 30 May 2007, ISAF and ANSF personnel advanced towards the village of Kajaki Sofle, ten kilometres south-west of the town of Kajaki, to remove a Taliban force whose presence threatened the security and stability of the Lower Sangin Valley. During the night, elements of the American 82nd Airborne Division mounted an aerial assault on a Taliban compound. One of the Chinook helicopters taking part in the raid was apparently hit by an RPG round and crashed, killing five Americans, a Briton and a Canadian on board. By 2 June, NATO claimed to have surrounded several pockets of Taliban fighters. The Royal Engineers have also started several reconstruction projects in the area, such as digging irrigation ditches, to try to win over local support. On 5 June, a gun battle and air strikes killed an estimated two dozen Taliban fighters in Southern Afghanistan, the U.S.-led coalition and Afghan government reported. Upwards of 80 Taliban fighters may have drowned in two separate incidents in early June, when the makeshift boats they were travelling on sank as they attempted to cross the Helmand River. The sinkings were witnessed by NATO helicopters. A British soldier was killed in a firefight at a Taliban compound to the north east of Gereshk on 6 June. Another NATO soldier was killed in the south of the country that same day. On 8 June, a battle and air...