The Battle of Takur Ghar was a short but intense military engagement between American special operations forces and Al-Qaeda insurgents in March 2002, atop Takur Mountain Ghar in Afghanistan. The battle proved to be the deadliest entanglement of Operation Anaconda, an attempt early in the Afghan war to drive al-Qaeda forces from the Shahi-kot Valley and the mountains of Arma. The battle saw three US helicopters land on the mountaintop, each greeted by direct fire from al-Qaeda forces. Although the mountain was eventually taken, seven American servicemen were killed and many others injured. In honor of the first casualty of this battle, Navy Seal Neil C Roberts, the battle is also known as the Battle of Roberts Ridge. Late in the evening of March 3, two SEAL teams aboard two MH-47 Chinook helicopters were scheduled to arrive in Allez for immediate insertion into the Shahi-Kot Valley. Due to time constraints, a helicopter insertion was necessary for teams to reach the summit before dawn. The two teams were picked up by the two MH-47s around midnight but one of the ...