Tarinkot was historically part of the
Loy Kandahar (Greater Kandahar) region. This locale remained a seat of some of the Tarin (or Tareen)
Pashtun tribal
sardars, as early as the 12th-13th centuries AD and some of them later migrated to the
Indian subcontinent during or after the
Mughal-Safavid War (1622-23).
21st century On November 16, 2001, anti-Taliban groups in the area
rose up against their Taliban governor, which marked the first organized Pashtun resistance against the Taliban.
Hamid Karzai, then an obscure statesman, was in the region at the time trying to organize a militia while accompanied by an 11-man U.S. Special Forces team, known as
Operational Detachment Alpha 574. The Taliban launched a counterattack, confronting Karzai and his militia who dug in to defend the town. With the help of U.S. air power, they drove the Taliban back from Tarinkot. In 2004, an American base called FOB Ripley, named after U.S. Marine
John Ripley was built in Tarinkot. It was established by a Joint Task Force made up mainly of the
22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) (22nd MEU SOC), 2-5 Infantry (bobcats)/3rd BDE/ 25th Infantry Division, US Army Civil Affairs, and the Florida and Iowa National Guard Task Force 168 in May 2004. Subsequently, other foreign military forces have operated at the base outside Tarinkot. After the 22nd MEU SOC led
Operation Mountain Storm, most of the Taliban forces moved to the mountainous region between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In August 2006, as
ISAF's mission assumed responsibility for security in Afghanistan's south, Dutch troops built Kamp Holland, later becoming the
Multi National Base Tarin Kot. Beginning in March 2007, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) began construction of a road from Tarinkot westward to
Deh Rahwod and then to
Shahidi Hassas District, in the western areas of Oruzgan province. At the same time, the USACE also started paving and bridge construction to improve the road to Kandahar. On 4 July 2010, U.S. soldiers from 1st Squadron,
2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment assumed responsibility over operations in Tarinkot and Deh Rahwod in the wake of the Dutch withdrawal from Uruzgan. On 27 July 2011, a young
Pakistani man from the
Waziristan region was captured by the
Afghan National Army and ISAF forces during a raid on the house of Mullah Qasim in the Sur Marghab area near Tirinkot. The would-be bomber named Saifullah was interviewed by
Pajhwok Afghan News reporter
Ahmad Omaid Khpalwak. In the interview Saifullah said he and 14 other Pakistanis spent at least two months wandering around the city to select a proper time and place for an attack. "Many times we encountered foreigners, but Mullah Qasim would escape after seeing foreigners and finally we were arrested without carrying out any attack," he said. Around noon on 28 July, three suicide attackers blew up vehicles packed with explosives at the gates of government compounds while other attackers equipped with heavy weapons entered the buildings and began killing everyone inside. After the shooting ended at least 19 people were killed and 37 wounded. The dead included Pajhwok reporter Khpalwak, 10 children, 2 women and 1 member of the
Afghan National Police. Khpalwak was shot 20 times. On March 1, 2011, U.S. soldiers from 4th Battalion, 70th Armor Regiment assumed responsibility of Tarinkot and Deh Rawod. On November 23, 2011, U.S. soldiers from the 1st
Reconnaissance, Surveillance and Target Acquisition Squadron,
14th Cavalry Regiment assumed responsibility over operations in Tarinkot. In September 2016, Tarinkot was under threat by Taliban fighters. It was fully captured by them during the August
2021 Taliban offensive. ==Geography==