The surprised garrison troops rallied, however, and with the support of local civilians launched a counter-attack.[1] Besides al-Thabet, twelve other soldiers were also wounded amid the fighting. After about two to three hours of combat, the Chadians were forced to retreat under heavy fire by mid-day.[2][3][5][6][7] They left Colonel al-Thabet behind,[4] but managed to retreat with 24 to 34 captured military vehicles.[6][4][3]