Operation Rhino was a raid led by the United States Army's 75th Ranger Regiment (3rd Ranger Battalion), who were led by Colonel Joseph Votel,[1] and other SOCOM units on several Taliban targets in and around Kandahar, Afghanistan during the invasion of Afghanistan at the start of the War in Afghanistan (2001–present)On the night of October 19, 2001, before the Rangers dropped, several targets on and around the objective were targeted by U.S. air power, first by bombs dropped from B-2 stealth bombers[citation needed], then by fire from orbiting AC-130 aircraft. These air strikes resulted in a number of enemy KIAs and several enemy fleeing the area. Following the air strikes, the 4[citation needed] MC-130 Combat Talon aircraft flew over the drop zone (DZ) at 800 feet. In zero illumination, the Rangers proceeded to exit the MC-130s.