Operation Panchai Palang, or Panther's Claw, was a British-led military operation of the Afghan War in Helmand Province in southern Afghanistan. It aimed to secure various canal and river crossings to establish a permanent International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) presence in the area. The Commander of the operation declared the first stage of the operation as a success on July 27, 2009. Soon after the Taliban insurgency took root in Afghanistan large tracts of Helmand Province came under Taliban control. Of all of Afghanistan's provinces, Helmand "has been the most difficult" for coalition forces, according to BBC News foreign correspondent Ian Pannell, and holds the largest Taliban presence. British forces deployed to Helmand in...
