United States and NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) operations, alongside Afghan National Army forces, continued against the Taliban through 2008.
On April 27, President Karzai escaped another attempt on his life: gunmen opened fire during a military parade celebrating the nation's victory and liberation from the eight-year occupation of the Soviet Union. The firefight lasted about a quarter of an hour, with 3 dead and over 10 wounded.
As of September 11, 2008 has been the deadliest year for US forces since the start of the war with 113 deaths. Early September also marked the first time the war spilled over on to Pakistani territory. The year was also the deadliest for several European countries in Afghanistan.
There are two "coalitions" operating in Afghanistan, one of which has a strict basis in international law. The "US-led coalition", identified by the press, refers to Operation Enduring Freedom, mostly special forces, air and naval forces, within a strictly US chain of command, exercising over a wide international geographic area, the US right to "self defence" accorded by the UN charter. The "NATO-led coalition", identified by the press, refers to the forces of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) led by NATO, with a specific United Nations Security Council mandate within Afghanistan, including most of the US forces in Afghanistan, NATO contingents and some non-NATO forces.
Events in May
By the end of December 2007, the situation on the ground in Helmand province reached a stalemate. A de facto border was established east of Garmsir along the banks of the Helmand River that divided British-held from Taliban-held territory. The British were outnumbered by the larger Taliban force which was receiving reinforcements from Pakistan. However the British had jets and heavy artillery on their side. Both forces were fighting in the coming months for mere yards of territory.
In early April 2008, U.S. Marine reinforcements were sent to NATO forces in Helmand to help in the fight. After all of the troops arrived, Marines from the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) started their operations with an attack on the Taliban-held town of Garmsir on April 29. The operation was in conjunction with British troops of the 16 Air Assault Brigade. They met almost no resistance, because the Taliban had already observed in the previous days the movements of the Marines before the operation and expected an assault so withdrew to take up positions a few kilometers outside the town. For the next few days there was no contact between the US Marines and the Taliban. But, on May 1, a Marine patrol tried to push further outside of the town and almost immediately were met with machine gun and rocket fire. The unit was pinned down against a dirt berm for several hours. Soon Marine and Taliban forces exchanged mortar fire. At the end of the day, no Marines were hurt or wounded. The Taliban casualty count was not known.
Fighting in Afghanistan was not limited to the south. In May, Norwegian and German led ISAF forces, alongside Afghan National Army troops, conducted Operation Karez, a military operation in Badghis province in the north of Afghanistan. It was the second time in half a year that Norwegian and German ISAF forces had participated in an offensive in Badghis province. Their objective was to eliminate the presence of Taliban insurgents who had regrouped in the area in the aftermath of Operation Harekate Yolo in late 2007. On May 23 the ISAF-led operations concluded on with no casualties among the ISAF soldiers nor the Afghan security forces. The given numbers of Taliban insurgent casualties in the operation vary, but were estimated between 13 and 15 killed in action.
Events in June
In June 2008, British prime minister Gordon Brown announced the number of British troops serving in Afghanistan would increase to 8,030 - A rise of 230 personnel. The same month, however, the UK lost its 100th serviceman killed in the war since 2001, reflecting the nature of the ferocious fighting in Helmand.
On June 13, Taliban fighters demonstrated their ongoing strength, liberating all prisoners in an attack on Sarposa Prison, Kandahar. The well-planned operation freed 1200 prisoners, 400 of whom were Taliban prisoners-of-war, causing a major embarrassment for NATO in one of its operational centres in the country.