Ahmad Shah (Taliban)

Ahmad Shah (nom de guerre Mohammad Ismail, aka "Sharmak" by Marcus Luttrell) (ca. 1970 - ca. April 2008) was a high-ranking Taliban leader who commanded a group of insurgents known as the "Mountain Tigers",^[2] operating in eastern Afghanistan and the Hindu-Kush mountains.^[3]

The target for Operation Red Wing, Shah survived the American operation but was killed during a shootout with Pakistani police in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in April 2008.^[4] His most famous battle was when his unit of around 80-200 men killed a total of 19 U.S. Special Operations operators. This included three of the four SEALs in Operation Red Wing and an additional eight SEALs along with eight Army "Nightstalker" Commandos who died when their MH-47 helicopter was shot down during the attempted rescue of the four U.S. Navy SEALs who started the Red Wing mission. Marcus Luttrell was the only survivor.

Afghan Civil War

Commander Ismail initially fought against the Taliban and al Qaeda in 2001.^[4] But he eventually switched sides and later became a key facilitator for foreign fighters traversing and operating in the challenging terrain of the northeast.^[4]

Operation Red Wings

On June 28, 2005, U.S. Navy SEALs mounted an unsuccessful operation to capture or kill Shah. Of the four SEALs, three were killed by a belligerent force of about 80-200 Taliban. A team of 16 SEALs and Nightstalkers sent to extract the overwhelmed SEAL team were killed when their Chinook helicopter took a hit from a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG). In an interview with Lisa Myers, Mohammad Ismail maintained that his forces set a trap for the American forces.

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