Sarposa prison attack of 2008

Taliban raid of Sarposa Prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan

Sarposa Prison attack

Part of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
| Date| June 13, 2008

|

Location|

Kandahar, Afghanistan

31°37′08″N 65°40′05″E﻿ / ﻿31.61889°N 65.66806°E﻿ / 31.61889; 65.66806Coordinates: 31°37′08″N 65°40′05″E﻿ / ﻿31.61889°N 65.66806°E﻿ / 31.61889; 65.66806
Result|  Taliban victory
(1,200+ prisoners freed).
Belligerents
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan|  Taliban
Casualties and losses
15 policemen killed[1]|  8 prisoners killed
2 suicide bombers detonated

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The Sarposa Prison attack was a raid on the Sarposa Prison in Kandahar, Afghanistan by Taliban insurgents on June 13, 2008. One of the largest attacks by Afghan insurgents, the raid freed 400-1000 prisoners.[2] As of 2008, prison administration was overseen by Abdul Qabir.[2]

## Followed unrest[edit]

In May 2008, 200 prisoners announced a hunger strike and 47 of the captives physically stitched their mouths shut to protest their conditions. The strike ended when the Afghan parliament agreed to review their detentions; as some of them had been held for two years without charge, or faced summary trials they felt were unfair.[2]

## Raid[edit]

On June 13, a tanker truck approached the front gates of the prison at approximately 21:00 after nightfall[3] and detonated explosives contained within itself, killing all Afghan police in the area.[2] A second suicide bomber was alleged to have walked to the back gates of the prison in the confusion, and detonated explosives he was carrying himself[2] although later reports suggested the rear wall had not been breached.[4] Insurgents fired rockets at the prison as the Taliban fighters broke in and a 30-minute battle began.

Over the next thirty minutes, a team of thirty insurgents aboard motorcycles fired AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades into the prison. Several ran into the prison and began freeing prisoners[3] who fled through the breached walls, and disappeared into nearby pomegranate and grape groves.[2]

## Outcome[edit]

Wali Karzai, the brother of President Hamid Karzai who is president of Kandahar's provincial council, said the prison held about 350 suspected Taliban fighters.

He said "all" the prisoners escaped and that [5]"There is no one left," he said. They were aided by minibuses waiting for them outside the prison during the attack. Some 390 of them were suspected Taliban fighters. Reports of people killed in the attack include: police officers, 8 prisoners and the 2 suicide bombers.[1][6]

Following reports of the mass-escape, Canadian troops stationed at Kandahar Airfield were deployed to secure the prison[7] and ISAF troops began a door-to-door search through Kandahar seeking escapees.[3]

### Resulting conflicts[edit]

Troops were redeployed[8] into the area following the prison break and have been involved in skirmishes that have, as of June 17, resulted in 20 Taliban Deaths in Tabin, 16 in Khohak and Arghandab, with 2 Afghan and 4 British soldiers killed in separate incidents,[9] which lead up to the Battle of Arghandab.

## See also[edit]

* Sarposa Prison tunneling escape

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b Gall, Carlotta (June 14, 2008). "Taliban Free 1,200 Inmates in Attack on Afghan Prison". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
2. ^ a b c d e f Time magazine, "Taliban Militants Storm Afghan Jail", June 13, 2008[dead link]
3. ^ a b c Schmidt, Doug. Saskatoon Star Phoenix, 1,000 inmates escape from Afghan prison after blast, June 13, 2008
4. ^ Panetta, Alexander. Canadian Press, Canadian troops encounter bomb, exchange gunfire on patrol in Kandahar City, June 17, 2008
5. ^ "Hundreds escape in Afghan prison attack". NBC News. Retrieved 2022-08-22.
6. ^ Starr, Barbara; Peikar, Farhad (June 14, 2008). "Taliban fighters escape after Afghan prison bombing". CNN. Retrieved 2008-06-15.
7. ^ Panetta, Alexander. Toronto Star, Kandahar prison attacked, June 13, 2008
8. ^ Taliban take over villages near Kandahar
9. ^ Afghan, NATO troops kill 36 Taliban near Kandahar

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Controversies surrounding people captured during the War on Terror

Guantanamo Bay
detention camp|

* Suicide attempts
* Quran desecration controversy
* Boycott of military tribunals
* Former captives alleged to have (re)joined insurgency
* Hunger strikes
* Force feeding
* Homicide accusations
* Juvenile prisoners
* Seton Hall reports

CIA black site operations|

* Enhanced interrogation techniques
* Ghost detainees
* Waterboarding
* Destruction of interrogation tapes

Prison and detainee abuse|

* Abu Ghraib
* Bagram
* Canadian Afghan detainee issue
* Black jail
* Salt Pit
* Bruce Jessen
* James Elmer Mitchell

Prison uprisings
and escapes|

* Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
* Battle of Abu Ghraib
* 2008 Sarposa Prison mass escape
* Basra prison incident
* Afghan escapes
* Iraqi escapes

Deaths in custody|

* Dilawar
* Jamal Nasser
* Abdul Wahid
* Habibullah
* Abed Hamed Mowhoush
* Manadel al-Jamadi
* Nagem Hatab
* Baha Mousa
* Fashad Mohamed
* Muhammad Zaidan
* Gul Rahman
* Abdul Wali
* Dasht-i-Leili massacre

Tortured|

* Abu Zubaydah
* Mohamedou Ould Salahi
* Mohammed al-Qahtani
* Khalid Sheikh Mohammed
* Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
* Binyam Mohamed
* Khalid El-Masri

Forced disappearances|

* Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi
* Abdu Ali al Haji Sharqawi
* Mohammed Omar Abdel-Rahman
* Tariq Mahmood
* Hassan Ghul
* Musaad Aruchi
* Hiwa Abdul Rahman Rashul

Reports and legal developments|

* Ryder Report
* Fay Report
* Taguba Report
* Church Report
* Detainee Treatment Act
* Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
* Military Commissions Act of 2006
* Senate Armed Services Committee Report
* Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture

Related media|

* The Road to Guantánamo
* Taxi to the Dark Side
* Standard Operating Procedure
* Torturing Democracy
* Enemy Combatant
* The Report

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War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

Overview|

* Prelude
* History
* Timeline
* Operations
* Logistics
* Impact
* International Security Assistance Force
* Taliban insurgency
* Drone strikes in Pakistan
* Withdrawal of U.S. troops
* 2011–2016
* 2020–2021
* Resolute Support Mission
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Casualties
and losses|

* Afghan forces
* Civilian
* 2001–2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2011
* 2012
* Coalition
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* Aviation incidents

Timeline|

| 2001|

* Bombing of Kandahar
* Fall of Mazar-i-Sharif
* Siege of Kunduz
* Herat uprising
* Fall of Kabul
* Battle of Tarinkot
* Fall of Kandahar
* Battle of Qala-i-Jangi
* Dasht-i-Leili massacre
* Battle of Shawali Kowt
* Battle of Sayyd Alma Kalay
* Battle of Tora Bora

|

2002
–2006|

* 2002
* Guantanamo Bay
* Uruzgan bombing
* Kabul bombing
* 2003
* Pakistan Embassy in Kabul attack
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006

2007|

* Shinwar shooting
* Hyderabad airstrike
* Nangar Khel incident
* Helmand airstrikes
* Baghlan bombing
* Bagram bombing
* South Korean hostage crisis

2008|

* Haska Meyna airstrike
* Azizabad airstrike
* Wech Bagtu airstrike
* Kabul Indian embassy bombing
* Kabul S Hotel attack
* Kidnapping of David Rohde
* Sarposa attack
* Kandahar bombing
* Spin Boldak bombing

2009|

* Granai airstrike
* Kunduz airstrike
* Narang raid
* February Kabul raids
* Kabul Indian embassy bombing
* Kandahar bombing
* NATO HQ bombing
* Camp Chapman attack
* Battle of Sabzak

2010|

* January Kabul attack
* Raid on Khataba
* February Kabul attack
* Uruzgan attack
* Sangin airstrike
* Maywand murders
* Tarok Kolache
* Nadahan bombing
* May Kabul bombing
* Badakhshan massacre
* Operation Halmazag

2011|

* Mano Gai airstrike
* Sarposa prison escape
* Bin Laden raid
* Logar bombing
* I-C Hotel Kabul attack
* Nimruz bombing
* Zabul bombing
* Chinook shootdown
* Helmand killing
* Pakistani border attack
* Ashura bombings

2012|

* Order of battle
* Urination video
* Kapisa airstrike
* Quran burning protests
* April attacks
* Forward Operating Base Delhi massacre
* Kandahar massacre
* September Camp Bastion raid
* Shesh Aba raid
* Body pictures

2013|

* Farah attack
* June Kabul bombings
* Presidential palace attack
* Herat U.S. consulate attack
* Jalalabad Indian consulate bombing

2014|

* Kabul S Hotel attack
* Herat Indian consulate attack
* Bagram bombing
* Paktika bombing
* Yahyakhel bombing
* December Kabul bombings
* Atiqullah Raufi assassination

2015|

* Park Palace attack
* Kabul Parliament attack
* Khost bombing
* April Jalalabad bombing
* 7 August Kabul attacks
* 10 August Kabul bombing
* 22 August Kabul bombing
* Ghazni prison escape
* Battle of Kunduz
* Hospital airstrike
* Kandahar Airport bombing
* Kabul Spanish Embassy attack
* Bagram bombing

2016|

* Nangarhar offensive
* Operation Omari
* April Kabul attack
* Kunduz-Takhar highway hostage crisis
* Kabul Canadian Embassy convoy bombing
* 30 June bombings
* July Kabul bombing
* Janikhel offensive
* AUoA attack
* September Kabul attacks
* Battle of Tarinkot
* Battle of Kunduz
* Battle of Boz Qandahari
* Mazar-i-Sharif German consulate bombing
* Bagram bombing

2017|

* January bombings
* Sangin airstrike
* March Kabul attack
* Nangarhar airstrike
* Camp Shaheen attack
* May Kabul bombing
* June Herat bombing
* Battle of Bora Bora
* June Lashkargar bombing
* August Herat attack
* 17 October attacks
* 20 October attacks
* 28 December Kabul bombing

2018|

* I-C Hotel Kabul attack
* STC Jalalabad attack
* Kabul ambulance bombing
* March Kabul bombing
* Kunduz madrassa attack
* 22 April Kabul bombing
* 30 April Kabul bombings
* Battle of Farah
* July Jalalabad bombing
* Battle of Darzab
* Ghazni offensive
* September Jalalabad bombing

2019|

* Maidan Shar attack
* Camp Shorabak attack
* 2019 Kabul mosque bombing
* 1 July Kabul attack
* Ghazni bombing
* 28 July Kabul bombing
* July Farah bombing
* 7 August Kabul bombing
* 17 August Kabul bombing
* 2 & 5 September Kabul bombings
* 17 September bombings
* Qalat bombing
* Jalalabad suicide bombing
* Haska Meyna mosque bombing
* Bagram attack

2020|

* 6 March Kabul shooting
* Kabul gurdwara attack
* May attacks
* June attacks
* July attacks
* August attacks
* Jalalabad prison
* September attacks
* October attacks
* November attacks
* Kabul University attack
* December attacks

2021|

* Attacks
* Taliban offensive
* Kabul school bombing
* Battle of Kandahar
* Fall of Herat
* Spin Boldak shooting
* Battle of Lashkargah
* Capture of Zaranj
* Fall of Kabul
* Kunduz mosque bombing
* Kandahar bombing
* 2021 Kabul Airlift
* Operation Allies Refuge
* Operation Pitting
* Operation Devi Shakti
* Kabul airport attack
* August 29 drone strike

Aftermath|

* Recognition of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan
* Republican insurgency
* Islamic State–Taliban conflict

War crimes|

* ICC investigation
* Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission
* War crimes by the Taliban
* Kunduz hospital airstrike
* Kandahar massacre
* Torture
* Bagram torture and prisoner abuse
* Salt Pit

Peace
process|

* Afghan peace process
* Afghan peace groups
* Tabassum movement
* Enlightenment Movement
* Uprising for Change
* People's Peace Movement
* 2021–2022 Afghan protests

Reactions|

* Afghan War documents leak
* International public opinion
* Opposition
* Protests
* To the fall of Kabul

Memorials|

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