Qualla: Siege of Musa Qala https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:31 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Siege of Musa Qala https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala Siege of Musa Qala: Introduction https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. The Pathfinders called the tallest building "the Alamo." A prison tower in the middle of a mud-walled compound, it gave them the best angle for the .50 caliber machine gun they mounted on its roof. From July 17 to September 12, 2006, roughly ninety British, Danish, and Afghan troops held the district centre of Musa Qala -- "the fortress of Moses" in Pashto -- against a Taliban force that attacked more than a hundred times. They ran low on ammunition, water, and sleep. Resupply helicopters drew such intense fire that crews began refusing the mission. And in the end, it was not soldiers but tribal elders who broke the deadlock, walking into the compound to propose a deal that neither side had the strength to refuse.

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Siege of Musa Qala: A Fortress Built on Friction https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. Musa Qala sits on the banks of its namesake river, a tributary of the Helmand, in one of Afghanistan's most contested provinces. Its population of 15,000 to 20,000 belongs mostly to the Alizai Pashtun tribe, divided into six competing clans. When the U.S.-led intervention toppled...

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-a-fortress-built-on-friction.mp3 0:06 2 full Siege of Musa Qala: Twenty-Five Men in a Mud Compound https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. On June 14, 2006, the 25-man British Pathfinder Platoon, commanded by Major Nick Wight-Boycott, was ordered into Musa Qala. They were a mobile reconnaissance unit, ill-suited for garrison duty, but the battle group had no one else to send. The district centre was a cluster of low...

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-twenty-five-men-in-a-mud-compound.mp3 0:06 3 full Siege of Musa Qala: Under Siege https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. At one in the morning on July 17, the Pathfinders watched through night vision devices as figures crept toward the walls. Then came the RPGs -- four or five rockets, followed by a storm of small-arms fire. The garrison answered with rifles, machine guns, and 51mm mortars, then ca...

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-under-siege.mp3 0:06 4 full Siege of Musa Qala: The Elders Walk In https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. By late August, Musa Qala was destroying itself. Much of the town centre lay in ruins. Most residents had fled, unable to trade, farm, or send children to school. On August 26, a woman and her child were killed in the bazaar during a firefight -- and the elders had endured enough...

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-the-elders-walk-in.mp3 0:06 5 full Siege of Musa Qala: The Flag and the Lorries https://qualla.com/siege-of-musa-qala/ Photo credit Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam, Public domain. General David Richards insisted on one condition: if the ceasefire held for a month, both sides would withdraw and leave the town to its people. The elders agreed. Governor Daoud drew up a 14-point plan: Afghanistan's flag would keep flying over the district centre, the elders wo...

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Image: Lance Corporal Chad J. Pulliam | Public domain

]]> Wed, 25 Mar 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/t/m/t/8/siege-of-musa-qala-wp/tmt8-siege-of-musa-qala-the-flag-and-the-lorries.mp3 0:06 6 full