Battle of Aranas

The Aranas ambush was an attack by the Taliban against a US-Afghan patrol returning from a tribal meeting. The Taliban inflicted heavy casualties on US-Afghan forces, and the Americans managed to evacuate with their wounded in the darkness.

Battle of Aranas
Part of the War in Afghanistan
Village of Aranas
Date 9 November 2007 Location Nuristan Province, Afghanistan Result Taliban victory
Belligerents
United States Afghanistan	Taliban
Commanders and leaders
1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara † Sgt Kyle J. White (WIA)	Unknown
Units involved
U.S. Army 1st Platoon, Chosen Company 2nd Battalion (Airborne) 503rd Infantry Regiment 173rd Airborne Brigade Afghan National Army	No specific units
Strength
United States: 14 soldiers Afghanistan: Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
United States: 6 killed 8 wounded Afghanistan: 3 killed 11 wounded	1 killed

Prelude

On November 8, 2007, members of the 1st Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion (Airborne), 503rd Infantry Regiment, and 173rd Airborne Brigade moved to the village of Aranas in Nuristan Province to meet with the village chiefs. The American platoon consisted of 14 Americans alongside an Afghan-allied squad. They set out in darkness and arrived there, spending the rest of the day in the village. The next morning, the platoon met with the elders, but due to suspicion, the leader of the platoon, 1st Lt. Matthew C. Ferrara, ordered the platoon to go back.

Ambush

The troops began walking down the mountain, and after twenty minutes of walking down, the Taliban launched a three-pronged attack on the troops while also attacking from the village. The Americans began firing back, and the Taliban attacked with a rocket-propelled grenade, knocking down Sergeant Kyle J. White. Meanwhile, the platoon leader, along with Sgt. Phillip A. Bocks and specialist Kain Schilling, were cut off from the rest, attempting to climb down 50 meters below; they were all severely wounded. Kyle became conscious again and attempted to heal both Matthew and Bocks, but they were dead, although Schilling was saved.

Kyle soon took command and was able to find a functional radio to communicate for support; this enabled the Americans to fight back with artillery and air support. The fighting lasted for more than 4 hours until nightfall arrived. The Taliban kept shooting in the darkness to force the Americans to fire back and reveal their locations. Several pieces of equipment were hidden safely from the enemy, and by then, a helicopter had arrived at the scene to evacuate the troops. The Americans lost six men killed and eight wounded, while the Afghan allies lost three killed and 11 wounded. The Taliban reportedly lost only one man.

Aftermath

The Aranas ambush marks 2007 as the deadliest year for the US in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001. American dead rose to more than 100 in 2007.

Sergeant Kyle was awarded Medal of Honor for his actions on the battlefield.