Operation Karez - The Operation

The Operation

The long planned operation was initiated on May 13 and lasted for ten days. By the twilight of the first day of the operation, the 250 Norwegian soldiers had encamped next to the village of Kor-i Karez, all according to plan. Suddenly the Norwegian soldiers came under fire from Taliban insurgents armed with assault rifles, machine guns and rocket propelled grenades. The Taliban insurgents attacked from a distance of around 1200 metres, in what Major Rune Wenneberg described as a "well coordinated assault" against the soldiers of Telemark Battalion. While initially surprising the Norwegian ISAF soldiers, they quickly took control of the situation, and supported by CV 9030 armoured vehicles and mortars, the soldiers of the Telemark Battalion were able to successfully repel the Taliban assault. The exchange of fire dropped in intensity after the Norwegian soldiers used heavy weaponry against the insurgents, and after a couple of hours the Taliban insurgents had fled the scene.

This was the first time in its history the Telemark Battalion had participated in actual combat. The Commander of the QRF, Lt. Col. Kjell Inge Bækken was proud of the professionalism and the calmness the Norwegian soldiers showed during the whole clash, further stating that they had trained long for military operations such as these. The participating soldiers also commented that the training they got at home was important for their success in the operation.

On May 14 and May 16 the soldiers of the Telemark Battalion engaged the Taliban insurgents in two further confrontations from a safe distance, again supported by CV 9030 armoured vehicles, mortars and NATO close air support, as well as by Afghan security forces.