Taliban Ambush in the Sayal Valley

Operation Brass Monkey was a clearance mission from Sept 15-20, 2011 of the remote Saygal Valley in Laghman Province, Eastern Afghanistan. Coalition forces killed 10 insurgents, found two weapons caches and detained three suspected insurgents during the operation. They also conducted shuras with village elders and collected biometric information of military aged males. Featured are Oklahoma National Gaurd soldiers from the 45th Infantry Brigade Combat Team out of Stillwater, Okla. working with Afghan National Army soldiers from the 1st Brigade, 201st Corp. The mission was significant as it was the first time in years a coalition force of this size had ventured deep into the Saygal Valley--considered a Taliban stronghold.