In August 2008 a detachment of Marines left Musa Qala to assist in the taking over of Taliban headquarters in the Helmand province in a sister town called Nawzad. The town was used by the Taliban as a safe haven while they were not in Musa Qala and had been completely abandoned by all Afghan civilians due to Taliban presence. In Nawzad the Marines successfully drove the three to four hundred Taliban out with heavy airstrikes and ground forces in just over 14 hours. The Marines did not have the resources to hold the Taliban headquarters and had to return to base, which resulted in the Taliban returning several days later.