Editing Operation Anaconda (section)

==Aftermath==
After defeating Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in the Shah-i-Kot valley, coalition forces launched a series of follow-up operations codenamed "[[Operation Jacana]]" starting April 16. These operations aimed to tackle insurgents who were expected to regroup and launch guerrilla attacks in surrounding areas. The British Defense Secretary, [[Geoff Hoon]], announced the largest deployment of British combat forces since the [[Gulf War]] in 1991. Around 1,700 [[Royal Marines]], including troops from the [[45 Commando]] battalion, were sent to Afghanistan for these planned operations. Franks and Hagenbeck anticipated many more battles ahead, stating that there were ‘thousands of enemies [still] out there’. In fact, this assumption turned out to be completely false, and Operation Anaconda became the last major battle in Afghanistan for the next several years. This led many Royal Marines to complain that they had been deployed "a month too late", as the combat action that they had anticipated did not materialize.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farrell |first1=Theo |title=Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan |date=7 September 2017 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4735-2240-4 |pages=107–108 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiitDQAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref>

The 10th Mountain Division carried out intelligence-driven operations to locate any remaining Al-Qaeda and Taliban insurgents but did not find much, as it appeared that the jihadists had either escaped to [[Pakistan]] or gone into hiding in remote areas of Afghanistan. A large proportion of the US forces found themselves in a state of waiting, eager to act, but with no immediate tasks at hand. The troops of the Royal Canadian Infantry Corps found themselves in a similar situation, spending only 5 out of 120 days actively engaged in operations outside their bases.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Farrell |first1=Theo |title=Unwinnable: Britain's War in Afghanistan |date=7 September 2017 |publisher=Random House |isbn=978-1-4735-2240-4 |pages=108–109 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PiitDQAAQBAJ |language=en}}</ref> By July the tactical-level units from the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division, including TF Rakkasan, had all
departed Afghanistan; the CTF Mountain headquarters staff followed in early September.<ref>U.S. Army, A Different Kind of War</ref> They were replaced by CTF 82, formed from the headquarters of the 82d Airborne Division and led by the division's commander, Major General [[John R. Vines]]. CTF 82's headquarters was at Bagram Airfield, and Vines-based TF Panther, his primary maneuver element, at the Kandahar Airfield. TF Panther was under the command of Colonel James L. Huggins and had two infantry battalions from the 3d Brigade of the 82d Airborne Division and one attached infantry battalion from the division's 1st Brigade. Huggins also had support from artillery, aviation, military intelligence, and other units. TF Panther deployed to Afghanistan in late June 2002 and would serve under CTF 82 until 5 December 2002. At that point TF Devil, a unit formed around the 1st Brigade, 82d Airborne Division arrived to take the lead in tactical-level security operations.

The Taliban subsequently portrayed the operation as a "historical battle" and a "beginning of the sacred jihad against the occupation of Afghanistan", praising Saif-ur-Rehman Mansoor's leadership. The battle and Mansoor (who was killed in 2008) were eulogized by the Taliban's official website, ''[[Voice of Jihad]]'', on 7 March 2021.<ref name="roggio" />