Following 9/11, Mazar Sharif was the first Afghan city to fall to the Northern Alliance (United Front). The Taliban's defeat in Mazar quickly turned into defeat from the rest of the north and west of Afghanistan. On November 9, 2001 the city was captured by the Afghan Northern Alliance forces after the Battle of Mazar e Sharif with help from the United States Special Operations Forces and bombing by U.S. Air Force aircraft. As many as 2,000 Taliban fighters who surrendered were reportedly massacred by the Northern Alliance after the battle. Reports also place U.S. ground troops at the scene of the massacre.