The Battle of Musa Qala was a military action in Helmand Province, southern Afghanistan, launched by the Afghan National Army and the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) against the Taliban on 7 December 2007. After three days of intense fighting, the Taliban retreated into the mountains on 10 December. Musa Qala was officially reported captured on 12 December, with Afghan Army troops pushing into the town centre. Senior ISAF officers, including US general Dan K. McNeill, the overall ISAF commander, agreed to the assault on 17 November 2007. It followed more than nine months of Taliban occupation of the town, the largest the insurgents controlled at the time of the battle. ISAF forces had previously occupied the town, until a controversial withdrawal in late 2006. It was the first battle in the war in Afghanistan in which Afghan army units were the principal fighting force. Statements from the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) emphasised that the operation was Afghan-led, although the ability of Afghan units to function without NATO control was questioned during the battle. Military engagement over Musa Qala is part of a wider conflict between coalition forces and the Taliban in Helmand. Both before and after the battle, related fighting was reported across a larger area, particularly in Sangin district to the south of Musa Qala.

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_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1600:

The Peruvian stratovolcano Huaynaputina exploded in the most violent eruption in the recorded history of South America. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huaynaputina

1884:

More than sixty tornadoes struck across the Southern United States, believed to be among the largest and most widespread tornado outbreaks in American history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enigma_tornado_outbreak

1910:

The football stadium Old Trafford in Greater Manchester, England, hosted its first match between Manchester United and Liverpool. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Trafford

1942:

World War II: In the largest attacks mounted by a foreign power against Australia, more than 240 bombers and fighters of the Imperial Japanese Navy bombed Darwin, Northern Territory. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Darwin

1986:

The first module of the Soviet space station Mir was launched, establishing the first long-term research station in space. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mir

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

brouhaha (n): A stir: a fuss or uproar http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/brouhaha

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

People have such terrible assumptions about ghosts — you know, phantoms that haunt you, that make you scared, that turn the house upside down. Yin people are not in our living presence but are around, and kind of guide you to insights. Like in Las Vegas when the bells go off, telling you you've hit the jackpot. Yin people ring the bells, saying, "Pay attention." And you say, "Oh, I see now." Yet I'm a fairly skeptical person. I'm educated, I'm reasonably sane, and I know that this subject is fodder for ridicule. ... To write the book, I had to put that aside. As with any book. I go through the anxiety, "What will people think of me for writing something like this?" But ultimately, I have to write what I have to write about, including the question of life continuing beyond our ordinary senses. --Amy Tan http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Amy_Tan