Shah-i-Kot Valley
Encyclopedia
The Shah-i-Kot Valley is a valley
located in Afghanistan
's Paktia province, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a mean
altitude
of 9000 feet (2,743.2 m). Shah-i-Kot means "Place of the King" and it has historically been a redoubt for Afghan guerrillas hiding from foreign invaders.
The area was the scene of fierce fighting between the Afghan mujahideen
rebels and Soviet forces
during the Afghan-Soviet War.
It was also the scene of what was then the largest battle of the U.S.-Afghan War to date.
The Battle of Shah-i-Kot took place during Operation Anaconda
, which began on 2 March 2002.
Valley
In geology, a valley or dale is a depression with predominant extent in one direction. A very deep river valley may be called a canyon or gorge.The terms U-shaped and V-shaped are descriptive terms of geography to characterize the form of valleys...
located in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
's Paktia province, southeast of the town of Zormat. The terrain in and around the valley is notoriously rugged, located at a mean
Mean
In statistics, mean has two related meanings:* the arithmetic mean .* the expected value of a random variable, which is also called the population mean....
altitude
Altitude
Altitude or height is defined based on the context in which it is used . As a general definition, altitude is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The reference datum also often varies according to the context...
of 9000 feet (2,743.2 m). Shah-i-Kot means "Place of the King" and it has historically been a redoubt for Afghan guerrillas hiding from foreign invaders.
The area was the scene of fierce fighting between the Afghan mujahideen
Mujahideen
Mujahideen are Muslims who struggle in the path of God. The word is from the same Arabic triliteral as jihad .Mujahideen is also transliterated from Arabic as mujahedin, mujahedeen, mudžahedin, mudžahidin, mujahidīn, mujaheddīn and more.-Origin of the concept:The beginnings of Jihad are traced...
rebels and Soviet forces
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the Afghan-Soviet War.
It was also the scene of what was then the largest battle of the U.S.-Afghan War to date.
The Battle of Shah-i-Kot took place during Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda
Operation Anaconda took place in early March 2002 in which the United States military and CIA Paramilitary Officers, working with allied Afghan military forces, and other North Atlantic Treaty Organization and non NATO forces attempted to destroy al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in the Shahi-Kot...
, which began on 2 March 2002.