The capital of Kunar province, Asadabad lies just 5 miles from the Pakistani border. The village is bordered by rugged mountains and thick woodlands that provide militants a blanket of camouflage under which they easily infiltrate from neighboring Pakistan.

Asadabad is located 114 miles from the capital of Kabul, and has a remarkably dangerous terrain of plummeting, steep valleys and sharp mountain peaks that rise 14,000 feet into the sky. High and low, there are plenty of places to hide for al Qaeda terrorists foreign fighters who use the remote area as a staging ground for battles.

US forces have been in Asadabad since the early stages of the War on Terror, carrying out both public reconstruction efforts and covert operations to quell the plague of al Qaeda and Taliban rebels in and around northwestern Afghanistan.