ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Ali Ahmad Jalali is a former Afghan Army Colonel. A distinguished graduate of the Military University in Kabul, he has also attended the Infantry Officers Advanced Course in Fort Benning, Georgia; the British Army Staff College in Camberley; the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California; the Frunze Academy in Moscow and the Institute of World Politics in Washington, DC. He taught in the Military Academy and advanced military schools in Kabul. He joined the Mujahideen in 1980 and served as the top military planner on the directing staff of the Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahideen (an alliance of three moderate Mujahideen factions) during the early 1980s before he joined Voice of America (VOA). As a journalist, he has covered Central Asia and Afghanistan over the past 15 years. He is the author of several books including works on the Soviet Military, works on Central Asia and a three-volume Military History of Afghanistan.
Lester W. Grau is a retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel. He served as an infantry officer and a Soviet Foreign Area Officer (FAO) throughout his career. He fought in Vietnam. In 1981, he completed one year of Russian language training at the Defense Language Institute at Monterey, California and then graduated from the U.S. Army Russian Institute (USARI) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany in 1983. USARI was a two-year post-graduate school which dealt with all aspects of the then Soviet Union and all classes were taught in Russian. He has served in Moscow and traveled extensively in the former Warsaw Pact and former Soviet Union and continues that travel today. Since 1983, his work has focused on Russian and Soviet tactics and operations. He has written a book on Soviet tactics in Afghanistan. Mr. Grau currently works at the Foreign Military Studies Office (FMSO) at Fort Leavenworth where he continues to work on operational and tactical issues.
{1} Ali A. Jalali, “Clashes of Ideas and Interests in Afghanistan”, paper given at the Institute of World Politics, Washington, D.C., July 1995, page 4.
{2} ibid, 3.
{3} ibid, 4.
{4} Oliver Roy, The Failure of Political Islam, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1994, page 158-159.
{5} Jalali,1
{6} Section derived from Richard F. Nyrop and Donald M. Seekins (editors), Afghanistan: A Country Study, Fifth edition, Washington: US Government Printing Office, 1986, 22-73 and Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, New York: Kodansha International, 1994.
{7} Claude Malhauret, Afghan Alternative Seminar, Monterey, California, November 1993.
{8} Mohammad Akbar is from the village of Shahi Kala in Mohammad Agha District of Logar Province. He graduated from high school in the region and joined the resistance in 1979 and fought in Logar Province until the collapse of the DRA. He was a member of the Islamic Party (HIH Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin). [Map sheet 2885, vic grid 1086].
{9} Toryalai Hemat was a regimental commander of a Mujahideen Mobile Regiment belonging to the Etehad-e Islamj (IUA) faction of Sayyaf. He fought in many provinces in Afghanistan during the war. [Map sheet 2885, vic grid 1086].
{10} Haji Sayed Mohammad Hanif is from Logar Province. [Map sheet 2885, vic grid 0674].
{11} Mulla Latif was killed in fighting later in the war.
{12} Doctor Mohammad Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 5328].
{13} LTC Haji Mohammad Rahim was an officer in the Afghan Army who became a Mujahideen and led a group in Kunar Province. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 7842].
{14} Commander Sofi Lal Gul is from Farza village of Mir Bacha Kot District, about 25 kilometers north of Kabul. He was affiliated with Mojadeddi's Afghanistan National Liberation Front of Afghanistan (ANLF) during the war with the Soviet forces. Commander Sofi Lal Gul concentrated his efforts on the Kabul-Charikar highway. [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 1356].
{15} The green zone is an irrigated area thick with trees, crops, irrigation ditches and tangled vegetation. Green zones usually run parallel to rivers and are usually practically impassable for vehicles.
{16} Toryalai Hemat was a regiment commander of a mobile force allied with the WA—Islamic Union of Afghanistan of Sayyaf. He fought in many provinces in Afghanistan. [Map sheet 3185, vic grid 0680].
{17} The Mujahideen acquired a lot of Afghan Army and DRA material. The Afghan infantry battalion had nine Goryunov 7.62mm machine guns and nine 82mm mortars by TO&E.
{18} Haji Abdul Qader was a HIK commander in the Bagram area. Haji Qasab was a JIA commander in the Deh Baba'Ali area. [Map sheets 2886 and 2887].
{19} Crossing the Panjshir River, or any of Afghanistan's major rivers, is always very risky. The rivers often appear calm and shallow, but they are treacherous. The Soviet soldiers, who expected to cross the river on a vehicle over the bridge, were probably not briefed as to the danger.
{20} Mulla Malang was one of the most famous commanders of the Kandahar area. He was an adherent of Mawlawi Mohammed Yunis Khalis-Islamic Party (Hezb-e-Islami-Khalis-HIK). [Map sheet 2180].
{21} The 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade was created using a regiment of the 5th Motorized Rifle Division shortly after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The 70th was designed especially for counterinsurgency and had three motorized rifle battalions, an air assault battalion, an artillery howitzer battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, a tank battalion and support troops. There are also some indications that a MRL battalion might have belonged to this organization.
{22} The large green zone to the south of Kandahar.
{23} Haji Mohammad Seddiq is from No-Burja village in Logar Province. The village is in the Tangi-Wardak area which connects the Saydabad District of Wardak Province to the Baraki Barak District in the Logar Province. Commander Seddiq’s village is located on the border between the two provinces. Therefore, his command fought in both provinces in coordination with other Mujahideen. Commander Haji Mohammad Seddiq was affiliated with Hekmatyar’s HIH. [Map sheet 2785, vic grid 8494].
{24} Mulla Malang, now 38, is a Pashtun from the northwestern province of Badghisat. He was a student (taleb) at a religious school (madrassa) in Kandahar when the communists came to power in a bloody coup in Kabul in 1978. Mulla Malang joined a resistance cell in the southern suburbs of Kandahar (Malajat) and started fighting the communist regime. He was arrested in the fall of 1979 for spreading anti-government leaflets and later released in general amnesty after the Soviet invasion in January 1980. Mulla Malang immediately fled to Pakistan and joined Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Muhammadi’s Harakat faction. He returned to Kandahar for combat. Mulla Malang later joined HIK and became a major commander of the faction in the province with bases in Arghestan, Malajat, Pashmol and Khakrez. [Map sheet 2180].
{25} Lala Malang was a well-known Mujahideen commander who was based in Pashmol (he was killed during a major Soviet sweep of the Arghandab Valley in 1987).
{26} Asil Khan is a famous urban guerrilla who operated in and around Kabul. He belonged to the NIFA faction. Other notes and the DRA security plan consulted for this vignette. [Map sheets 2785, 2786, 2885 and 2886].
{27} Doctor Mohammad Wakil is from Shakardara District north of Kabul. He graduated from high school before the war. He joined the resistance and received medical training in Pakistan. [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 0734].
{28} Author Ali Jalali has conducted tactical classes on this very terrain while teaching Afghan Army officers at the Higher Education School. It truly is an excellent ambush site.
{29} Commander Qazi Guljan Tayeb was a third year student in Kabul Theological College during the communist takeover in 1978. He joined Hikmatyar and later switched to the Sayef faction in the mid-1980s. He was the Commander of Baraki Barak District of Logar Province. [Map sheet 2884, vic 0657].
{30} N. I. Pikov, “Vidy spetspropagandistskoy deyatel’nosti Armii Respubliki Afganistan” [Methods of Special Propaganda Activity of the Army of the Republic of Afghanistan], Opyt primeneniya Sovetskikh voysk v Respublike Afganistan [Experience applied by Soviet Forces in the Republic of Afghanistan], Moscow: Institute of Military History, 1990, 151-184 provides a good view of the composition and employment of these teams.
{31} Major Sher Aqa Kochay is a graduate of Afghan Military Academy, Kabul, and received training in commando tactics in the Soviet Union. He served in the 37th Commando Brigade and participated in DRA actions against the Mujahideen in Panjsher Valley. He defected, with a large amount of weapons, to the Mujahideen in 1982 and became a NIFA commander in Kabul. He organized a new Mujahideen base in the Khord Kabul area some 20 kilometers south of the Afghan capital. [Map sheet 2986, vic grid 4919].
{32} The southern east-west road on the map.
{33} Haji Mohammad Seddiq is from No-Burja village in Logar Province. The village is in the Tangi-Wardak area which connects the Saydabad District of Wardak Province to the Baraki Barak District in the Logar Province. Commander Seddiq’s village is located on the border between the two provinces. Therefore, his command fought in both provinces in coordination with other Mujahideen. Commander Haji Mohammad Seddiq was affiliated with Hekmatyar’s HIH. [Map sheet 2785, vic grid 7666].
{34} The Mujahideen called the 60mm mortar the “guerrilla mortar” (cheriki hawan) due to its light weight and transportability.
{35} Commander Sarshar was a police officer in Parwan who worked clandestinely with the Mujahideen. When his cover was about to be blown, he became a Mujahideen commander in Ghorband. He commanded a mobile group in the Ghorband front near Charikar. [Map sheet 2887, vic grid 1680].
{36} This was part of the Soviet 108th Motorized Rifle Division area of responsibility. At this time, the division’s 285th Tank Regiment was stationed in Charikar while the 177th Motorized Rifle Regiment was stationed 13 kilometers north at Jabulassarai. The outpost belonged to one of these two regiments.
{37} Tsaranwal (Attorney) Sher Habib commanded the Ibrahimkhel Front north of the city of Paghman. His primary AOR extended from Paghman east and northeast to Kabul (some 20 kilometers). [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 2369].
{38} Kochi are nomadic peoples.
{39} Commander Shahabuddin is from Shewaki Village south of Kabul. There is no map with this vignette. [Map sheets 2885 and 2886].
{40} LTC Haji Mohammad Rahim was an officer in the Afghan Army who became a Mujahideen and led a group in Kunar Province. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 7640].
{41} The Soviet Union and their clients in Kabul were also engaged in jamming international broadcasts beamed to Afghanistan. Afghans considered such broadcasts the only source of objective and uncensored news to the country. The jamming was done at other sites.
{42} In fact NIFA’s provincial commander, Wali Khan Karokhel, was the brother of Hasan Khan Karokhel. Hasan Khan Karokhel had his headquarters in Mulla Omar, the ancestral home of the Karokhel chiefs.
Hasan Khan later cooperated with the Mujahideen in a major action in 1984. He sheltered, guided and supported a NIFA force which blew up all the electric pylons between Butkhak and Sarobi. This cut off electrical power to Kabul for a long time. “Operation Black-out” marked the end of Hasan Khan’s service as the head of the government militia and he, along with his family and 400 followers, migrated to Pakistan and continued his struggle against the Soviet-backed regime from there. Hazhir Teimourian reported on this in The Times of London on 31 August 1984.
Wali Khan, Hasan Khan’s brother, remained NIFA’s provincial leader in Kabul until 1986. Afterwards, he acted independently mostly in the anti-Communist political movement outside the country. After the Soviet withdrawal, he joined the Council of Solidarity and Understanding--a movement of Afghan intellectuals campaigning for creation of a moderate government in Afghanistan. The movement, and particularly Wali Khan Karokhel, supported the restoration of the former King of Afghanistan as a person who would serve as a symbol of unity among the fractionalized Afghan Resistance. Wali Khan was assassinated in 1994 on the road between Peshawar and Islamabad by yet unidentified gunmen. Some speculation points to his political enemies among the extremist Islamic groups as the perpetrators of the murder.
{43} Asil Khan was a NIFA commander and a famed guerrilla commander in the Kabul area. [Map sheets 2885 and 2886].
{44} Commander Wazir Gul was affiliated with Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (JIA) of Burhanuddin Rabbani. His base was in Tezin southwest of Sarobi. He fought in the Sarobi, Lataband and Mahipar areas. [Map sheet 2986, vic grid 4723].
{45} Commander Wazir Gul was affiliated with Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (JIA) of Burhanuddin Rabbani. His base was in Tezin southwest of Sarobi. He fought in the Sarobi, Lataband and Mahipar areas. [Map sheets 2985 and 2986vic grid 5618].
{46} Commander Wazir Gul was affiliated with Jamiat-e Islami Afghanistan (JIA) of Burhanuddin Rabbani. His base was in Tezin southwest of Sarobi. He fought in the Sarobi, Lataband and Mahipar areas. [Map sheets 2985, 2986, vic grid 7617 to 8317].
{47} Haji Sidiqullah was the Provincial Military Commander of the HIH party in Laghman. He joined Hekmatyar in the fight against Daoud--before the communist revolution. He had no formal military education. Dr. Abdul Qudus was a guerrilla commander under Sidiqullah. He doubled as the force medic, since he received medic’s training in Pakistan. [Map sheet 3086, vic grid 2455].
{48} Mawlawi Shukur Yasini is a prominent religious leader in Nangrahar Province. He is from the village of Gerdab in Kama District northeast of Jalalabad. During the war, he was a major commander of the Khalis group (HIK). Later, he joined NIFA. During the war, he took television journalist Dan Rather to his base in Afghanistan. He also accompanied Congressman Charles Wilson of Texas into Afghanistan several times. During most of the war he was active in his own area, fighting the DRA in Jalalabad and the Soviet 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade at Samarkhel. He became a member of the Nangrahar governing council after collapse of the communist regime—a position he held until the Taliban advance in September 1996. [Map sheet 3185].
One day, three Soviet soldiers from the 66th Brigade crossed the Kabul River for a picnic. They were drinking vodka and cooking shashlik around a campfire when Mawlawi Shukur captured them. One of the Soviets, named Naomov, converted to Islam and fought with the Mujahideen for three years. Author Ali Jalali interviewed Naomov during his visit to Washington; D.C. sponsored by the Freedom House. Naomov spoke Pushtu well by that time. Naomov recommended that “the Mujahideen quit fighting one another and unite against the enemy.” Naomov settled in Canada.
{49} The 66th and 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigades were forces created for counterinsurgency. They had three motorized rifle battalions, an air assault battalion, an artillery howitzer battalion, a MRL battalion, a reconnaissance battalion, a tank battalion and support troops. The 70th was located in Kandahar. The 2nd battalion of the 66th was located in Asadabad. Each of its motorized rifle companies had four motorized rifle platoons instead of the usual three.
{50} The video camera was an important accessory of this war. Mujahideen used video cameras to record their actions so that they could prove that they expended weapons, ammunition and supplies and achieved results. The video tapes justified the issue of more supplies to the faction.
{51} Mawlawi Shukur Yasini is the narrator of the previous vignette. [Map sheet 3185].
{52} Nawaz Khan was a cadet in the Afghanistan Military Academy when he joined the resistance. He was a Mujahideen commander in Mehtar Lam, the Provincial Capital of Laghman Province. Haji Sidiqullah was the Provincial Military Commander of the HIH faction in Laghman. He joined HIH in the fight against Dauod before the communist revolution. Dr. Qudus was a commander under Sidiqullah who doubled as the force medic. [Map sheet 3086, vic grid 2455].
{53} According to Soviet sources, the DRA 71st Infantry Regiment was garrisoned in Mehtar Lam with some forces in the Alingar area. The 81st Mechanized Infantry Regiment was stationed further to the south in Nangrahar Province. General Alexandr Mayorov, Pravda ob Afganskoy voyne [Truth about the war in Afghanistan], Moscow: Prava Chiloveka, 1996, Map set.
{54} Sidiqullah states 120 DRA casualties.
{55} Mulla Malang was one of the most famous commanders of the Kandahar area. He was an adherent of Mawlawi Mohammed Yunis Khalis-Islamic Party (Hezb-e-lslami Khalis). [Map sheet 2180, vic grid 4794].
{56} Doctor Mohammad Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 4830].
{57} Probably the 902nd Border Guards Battalion.
{58} Toryalai Hemat was a regiment commander of a mobile force allied with the IUA—Islamic Unity of Afghanistan of Sayyaf. He fought in many provinces in Afghanistan. [Map sheet 3185, vic grid 8299].
{59} Moscow soghra is the Arabic. Many Arabs came to Afghanistan for the jihad. The overall Afghan impression of the Arab Mujahideen, gathered from our interviews, is that they were prima donnas who were more interested in taking videos than fighting.
{60} Haji Malangyar fought in the heavily contested Shinwar District. There is no map with this vignette. [Map sheet 3185, vic grid 7910].
{61} Doctor Mohammad Wakil is from Shakardara District north of Kabul. He graduated from high school before the war. He joined the resistance and received medical training in Pakistan. [Map sheet 2886., vic grid 0737].
{62} Bagh-e means orchard. This was probably the 520th Brigade.
{63} Gul Sardar Hotel near Sarpuza.
{64} Commander Sher Padshah and Sheragha are from Laghman Province. [Map sheet 3086].
{65} Haji Badshah Khan is from the warrior subtribe of Dad Khel of the Zadran tribe. He lives on the Saroti pass approach to Khost. When the communist coup occurred, he took his family to Pakistan and then returned to build resistance forces in the area. [Map sheets 2883 and 2983].
{66} Lashkar in Pushto usage means a tribal army or armed force. A lashkar is usually gathered for a short time.
{67} Commander Haji Aaquelshah Sahak is from the Chardehi District of Kabul (which is a southern suburb). He was affiliated with NIFA. [Map sheets 2786 and 2886].
{68} Reportedly two companies from the 200th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion.
{69} Zakari, a Mujahideen in Commander Sahak’s group, gave the following account of a portion of the battle. “I had an 11-shooter [bolt-action Enfield rifle]. It held 10 rounds in the magazine and one in the chamber. The Russians knew the sound of the 11 shooter and would count off the 11 shots and then charge after the 11th shot while you were trying to reload. I was shooting at this Russian and had fired all 11 shots. He had counted my shots off and charged me. I yelled for help to my friend who had an RPG-7 antitank grenade launcher. ‘What, shoot him with this thing?’ my friend replied. ‘Yes, he’ll kill me’ I answered. ‘Okay” he yelled and fired his RPG-7. It completely disintegrated the Russian.”
{70} Commander Sofi Lal Gui is from Farza village of Mir Bacha Kot District about 25 kilometers north of Kabul: ‘He was affiliated with Mojaddedi’s Afghanistan National Liberation Front of Afghanistan (ANLF) during the war with the Soviets. Commander Sofi Lal Gul concentrated his efforts on the Kabul-Charikar highway. [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 0754].
{71} Haji Abdul Qader was a Commander for the HIK faction. His forces were based around the vital Bagram area. [Map sheet 2886, 2887, vic grid 2872]
{72} General Guzarak Zadran was an officer in the Afghan Army and attended the Afghan Army Higher Officers Training Institute where the author, Ali Jalali, was his instructor. He joined the resistance and fought in Paktia Province. He fought in Zhawar 1 and 2 and at the Satakandow pass. He belonged to ILIA. After the fall of the DRA, he became the Deputy Minister of Defense in the interim government. Currently he lives near Peshawar. [Map sheets 2883, 2884, 2983].
Lieutenant Omar (Zabit Omar) graduated from the Kabul Military Academy in the 1970s. After the communist coup and the Soviet invasion, Lieutenant Omar joined the Mujahideen of the fundamentalist Islamic Party (HIK) founded by Mawlawi Mohammed Yunis Khalis. He was a close aide to Jalaluddin Haqani and fought with him throughout the war. Haqani ran the Mujahideen effort in the crucial Paktia Province. Lieutenant Omar also served as
Mawlawi Nezamuddin Haqani was a group commander and a deputy to Jalaluddin Haqani. He was a member of the fundamentalist Islamic Party (HIK) led by Mawlawi Mohammed Yunus Khalis. He joined the Mujahideen following the communist coup in 1978 and fought in the Paktia area. Prior to the Soviet invasion, his group had liberated the area surrounding Khowst and only the city of Khowst remained under government control.
Mawlawi Abdul-Rahman of Zadran is the son of Noor Mahmuod from Kandow village. When Soviet forces attacked Satakandow pass, his group of 100-120 local Mujahideen occupied positions at Ghelgoy. They were armed with 82mm recoilless rifles, ZGU-1 machine guns, DShK machine guns, 82mm mortars, MBRL and one Stinger. His group fought a rearguard action through the pass to Sewak before they went into the mountains. He lost ten KIA in the fighting.
{73} Lakatega means erected stone.
{74} The Dari Khel tribe is a subdivision of the Zadran tribe. The Dari Khel have a well-deserved reputation as a very military and warlike people.
{75} Possibly the AM 2B9 Vasilyek (Cornflower) 82mm automatic mortar. This weapon can fire direct and indirect fire. Other candidates are the older D-44 85mm gun (which was found in airborne units) or the M-69 76mm mountain gun.
{76} Vignette 17 in The Bear Went Over the Mountain describes the battle for the Satakandow pass from a Soviet perspective.
{77} This was probably the 2A36 152mm gun, the “Hyacinth”. It has a maximum range of 28.5 kilometers and fires 5-6 rounds per minute. The round weighs 46 kilograms and has a muzzle velocity of 942 meters/sec. The piece weighs 9,800 kg and has a 8.197 meter long barrel. Krasnaya zvezda [Red star], 16 July 1993, page 2.
{78} General Wardak was an officer in the Afghan Army. He trained at US military schools before the war and testified before the United States Congress on several occasions during the war. He was one of the most noted Mujahideen commanders. At the close of the war, he was seriously wounded by a SCUD missile and was treated in the United States for his wounds. He became the first Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Government of Afghanistan in 1992 following the Mujahideen victory and the downfall of the communist regime in Kabul. NIFA records and other interviews conducted by Ali Jalali are used in this vignette. Correspondent Askold Krushelnycky accompanied NIFA forces and filed a report on Operation Gashay in The Sunday times of 6 November 1988. [Map sheets 2985, 2986,3085 and 30861.
{79} A layout and discussion of the security outposts along this stretch of highway are found in LTC Tubeev’s article on pages 129-133 of The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan, edited by Lester W. Grau, Washington: NDU Press, 1996.
{80} Asef Khan was the commander of Task Force Hurricane.
{81} Haji Zaman Ghamsharik was the commander of Task Force Gulf. At the start of the war, Ghamsharik controlled Khogiani District. He faked a defection to the DRA and requested that the DRA provide him trained personnel to run the district. The DRA responded by sending him 71 communists—who were promptly executed.
{82} General Gulzarak Zadran was an officer in the Royal Afghan Army. He trained in the United States and attended the Afghan Army Higher Officers Training Institute, where the author, Ali Jalali, was his instructor. He joined the resistance and fought in Paktia Province. He fought in Zhawar one and two and at the Satakandow pass. He belonged to Abdul-Rab Russul Sayyaf’s Islamic Union of Afghanistan (IUA). After the fall of the DRA, he became the Deputy Minister of Defense in the interim government. Currently he lives near Peshawar. [Map sheet 2882].
{83} It was common practice for Mujahideen and DRA to enter each other’s radio nets for deception, harassment or to pass messages. General Gulzarak would often talk to the other side and curse and insult them.
{84} Sources for this vignette include Commander Mulla Malang, Akhund Zada Qasem, several Mujahideen from Uruzgan, Kandahar and Helmand Provinces and Mr. Jalali’s personal notes and papers.
{85} Mulla Malang states that he was a general officer.
{86} Haji Abdul Qader was a school teacher who became a Mujahideen commander. He was initially with the HIK faction and later with the IUA faction. [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 2970]. Mr. Anthon Jalali’s notes also used in this vignette.
{87} The Soviet 682nd Motorized Rifle Regiment and the 354th Separate Airborne Regiment were garrisoned in Bagram.
{88} Muslims pray five times a day and wash before prayers.
{89} Many of the home in Afghanistan are surrounded by high, thick adobe walls and are actually small forts.
{90} Commander Sher Padshah is from Laghman Province. [Map sheet 3086, vic grid 0149].
{91} The Bernau is the Czechoslovak M26 light machine gun. The Mujahideen called them “20-shooters.”
{92} Doctor Mohammad Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 4341].
{93} The Soviet force was either from the 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade or the Spetsnaz battalion based in Jalalabad.
{94} Doctor Mohammed Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province and was also the narrator of the previous vignette. [Map sheet 3186, vic grid 4742.]
{95} Haji Sidiqullah was the Provincial Military Commander of the HIH party in Laghman. He joined Hekmatyar in the fight against Daoud--before the communist revolution. He had no formal military education. Dr. Abdul Qudus was a guerrilla commander under Sidiqullah. He doubled as the force medic, since he received medic’s training in Pakistan. [Map sheet 3086, vic grid 1745].
{96} Haji Sidiqullah and Dr. Abdul Qudus are the narrators of the previous vignette. [Map sheet 3086, vic grid 1948].
{97} Toryalai Hemat was a regiment commander of a mobile force allied with the IUA-Islamic Union of Afghanistan of Sayyaf. He fought in many provinces in Afghanistan. [Map sheet 3185, vic grid 8892].
{98} A Soviet account of this action is contained in vignette 26 of The Bear Went Over the Mountain. The Soviet account mistakenly has the action to the northeast of Jalalabad, a mistake that Les Grau made based on a similar name and some vague text.
{99} 2These were two battalions from the 56th Air Assault Brigade in Gardez. The battalions drove to Jalalabad and then to Shinwar. They staged the air assault from a field site in Shinwar. Why they did not fly to Jalalabad airfield and then stage the air assault from the airfield is a mystery. The ground force was most likely from the Soviet 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and the DRA 11th Infantry Division.
{100} Commander Qazi Guijan Tayeb was a third year student in Kabul Theological College during the communist takeover in 1978. He joined Hikmatyar and later switched to the Sayef faction in the mid-1980s. He was the Commander of Baraki Barak District of Logar Province. [Map sheets 2784, 2785, 2884, 2885].
{101} Forces on the Gardez axis were from the Soviet 56th Air Assault Brigade and the DRA 12th Infantry Division. Forces on the Kabul and Wardak axes were probably from the Soviet 103rd Airborne Division and 108th Motorized Rifle Division, while DRA forces were probably from the 8th Infantry Division, 37th Commando Brigade and 15th Tank Brigade.
{102} Ziarat means shrine.
{103} The AK-74 Kalashnikov 5.56mm assault rifle was issued only to Soviet troops. DRA troops had the older AK-47 Kalashnikov assault rifle. The Mujahideen called the AK-74 the “Kalakov”. One of the Pashtun songs of the time had a line “A mother should not mourn a son killed by a Kalakov” This meant that her son died fighting Soviets.
{104} Tsaranwal (Attorney) Sher Habib commanded the lbrahimkhel Front north of the city of Paghman. His primary AO extended from Paghman east and northeast to Kabul (some 20 kilometers). [Map sheet 2786, 2886].
{105} The forces on the main axis were probably from the Soviet 108th Motorized Rifle Division, while DRA forces were probably from the 8th Infantry Division, 37th Commando Brigade and 15th Tank Brigade. The forces on the northern axis were probably from the Soviet 103rd Airborne Division.
{106} Abdul Baqi Balots was a Hezb-e Islami (HIH) commander in the Kama area east of Jalalabad. Before the communist takeover, he was a student in the tenth grade of high school. School authorities were forcing him to join the Communist Youth Organization. His father advised him not to join but to fight. He left school and joined the Mujahideen and fought through to the end. [Map sheets 3085 and 3185].
{107} The US M1917 Springfield Rifle which Springfield Armory produced for the British Army in World War I. The Mujahideen called them the G3 rifle.
{108} The “Thunder” unit was the 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. The Mujahideen called it the Thunder unit because it was a reinforced unit designed for counterinsurgency. It had three motorized rifle battalions, an air assault battalion, a tank battalion, an artillery howitzer battalion, a MRL battalion, a material support battalion, a reconnaissance company and support troops.
{109} Marko is the Chinese copy of the German M-88 Mauser.
{110} Haji Abdul Qader was a commander in the Bagram area. The authors have consulted other documents to add detail to his account. A former teacher, Abdul Qader hails from the Sayghani village just six kilometers northeast of the Bagram air base. His group was initially affiliated with the HIK faction. He later joined Sayyaf’s IUA faction. [Map sheets 2886 and 2887].
{111} Most probably the Soviet 103rd Airborne Division and the 108th Motorized Rifle Division and the DRA 8th Infanfantry Division and 37th Commando Brigade.
{112} Mawlawi Shukur Yasini is a prominent religious leader in Nangrahar Province. He is from the village of Gerdab in Kama District northeast of Jalalabad. During the war, he was a major commander of the Khalis group (HIK). Later, he joined NIFA. During the war, he took television journalist Dan Rather to his base in Afghanistan. He also accompanied Congressman Charles Wilson of Texas into Afghanistan several times. During most of the war he was active in his own area fighting the DRA in Jalalabad and the Soviet 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade at Samarkhel. He became a member of the Nangrahar governing council after collapse of the communist regime--a position he held until the Taliban advance in September 1996. [Map sheet 3185].
{113} Colonel H. B. Hanna, The Second Afghan War, 1878-79-80, Its Causes, Its Conduct, and Its Consequences, Volume II, Westminister: Archibald Constable and Co., Ltd., 1904, 282-287.
{114} Mohammad Asef was initially a Hezbi-lslami (HIH) commander until 1984 when he joined NIFA. He was in high school when the communists came to power. He graduated from school and then joined the resistance. He is from Bazetkhel in Surkh Rud District southwest of Jalalabad in Nangrahar Province. [Map sheet 3085].
{115} Haji Sayed Mohammad Hanif is from Logar Province. [Map sheet 2885, vic grid 2577].
{116} Haji Sayed Mohammad Hanif provided the previous vignette, [Mapsheet 2885, vic grid 2577].
{117} Commander Sher Padshah is from Laghman Province. Map sheet 3085.
{118} Bernau M26 Czechoslovak light machine’ guns.
{119} Engineer Mohammad Ibrahim is a graduate of Kabul University in the College of Agriculture. He was a group commander in Farah Province and doubled as medical officer and facilitator. Initially he was with Mawlawi Mohammad Shah but left in 1985 when his Barakzai tribe had a falling out with the Achakzai tribe of Mawlawi Mohammad Shah. He then fought for Haji Ghulam Rasul Shiwani. He now works with the UNHCR. [Map sheets 1581 and 1582].
{120} The communists called it Mordar Koh (Filthy Mountain) after the Mujahideen moved their bases there in 1979.
{121} Mawlawi Mohammad Shah was one of the famous commanders of the war. He was a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Movement (IRMA) of Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi.
{122} Para means ridge.
{123} Troops were from the Soviet 5th Motorized Rifle Division. If the number of tanks and APCs is correct, this was a regiment (probably the 371st Motorized Rifle Regiment) reinforced with air assault forces.
{124} Mawlawi Mohayddin Baloch is from Nimroz Province. His base was at Lowkhai, the district capital of Khash Rud District on the Khash Rud River. He was initially with Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi of the Harakat-e Ingelab-e Islami (HAR). Later on he switched to HIK (Khalis). [Map sheet 1579 and 1580].
{125} Nan is flat Afghan unleavened bread. It is oval-shaped and about the thickness and size of a small or medium pizza.
{126} Sultan Mohammad of Topkhana is a member of the minority Shia religious community in Afghanistan. He belonged to the moderate Harakat-I Islami (HI) faction founded by Ayatollah Asef Muhsini in neighboring Iran. He fought from the communist overthrow of the government until the withdrawal of Soviet forces. [Map sheet 2180].
{127} The Kandahar area was heavily garrisoned by the DRA 2nd Corps Headquarters, the 15th Infantry Division, the 7th Tank Brigade, the 3rd Border Guards Brigade, the 366th Fighter-Bomber Regiment and the 379th Separate Bomber Squadron. Soviet forces included the 70th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and a Spetsnatz battalion.
{128} Islam Dara was the Mujahideen name for their base behind Shawadan mountain. The Soviet 103rd Airborne Division launched an attack on this base in 1985 and this is described in Vignette 25 of The Bear Went Over the Mountain. The site location in The Bear Went Over the Mountain is wrong.
{129} As an example, see vignette 5 in The Bear Went Over the Mountain.
{130} Mohammad Shah Kako initially fought with HIK and then switched to IUA. Abdul Ghani fought with the ANLF. [Map sheet 2180].
{131} Commander Akhtarjhan was a Jamiat-I-Islami (JIA) commander in Arghandab District northwest of Kandahar. He was an elementary school student when he joined the Jihad at the age of 12. At the end of the war he was 25 years old and a commander. He joined the Jihad because he had had two brothers in the Jihad and they were both killed. He took their place as family tradition dictated. He served under Mulla Naqib, the most powerful Jamiat commander in the area. [Map sheet 2180].
{132} The PMN mine is a small, plastic antipersonnel mine manufactured by the Soviet Union. It is pressure activated. The Mujahideen called them Kandani (sugar pots) due to their similarity in size and shape.
{133} Rest and relaxation.
{134} Page 6, Afghanistan Report #40, July 1987, published by the Crisis & Conflict Analysis Team of the Institute of Strategic Studies in Islamabad, Pakistan: “It was reported that over a period of one and a half month (sic) ending June, 1987, the Soviet-Kabul troops had suffered about 250 soldiers killed and 800 injured in Qandahar city and its suburbs. They lost more than 100 vehicles, tanks, and jeeps, besides 13 aircraft/helicopters. About 2,500 Afghan government soldiers joined the Mujahideen during this what seemed to be the longest Soviet-Kabul operation against the Mujahideen for several years. The offensive apparently spilled over into July 1987.”
{135} Lieutenant Omar (Zabit Omar) graduated from the Kabul Military Academy in the 1970s. After the communist coup and the Soviet invasion, Lieutenant Omar joined the Mujahideen of the fundamentalist Islamic Party (HIK) founded by Mawlawi Mohammed Yunis Khalis. He was a close aide to Jalaluddin Haqani and fought with him throughout the war. Haqani ran the Mujahideen effort in the crucial Paktia Province. Lieutenant Omar also served as a group commander in Paktia Province throughout the war. [Map sheet 2983, vic grid 8267].
Mawlawi Nezamuddin Haqani was a group commander and a deputy to Jalaluddin Haqani. He was a member of the fundamentalist Islamic Party (HIK) founded by Mawlawi Mohammed Yunis Khalis. He joined the Mujahideen following the communist coup in 1978 and fought in the Paktia area. Prior to the Soviet invasion, his group had liberated the area surrounding Khost and only the city of Khost remained under government control.
{136} General Shahnawaz Tani was from the neighboring town of Tani and enjoyed some popular support in the area. He later became DRA Defense Minister. On 6 March 1990, he joined forces with Mujahideen faction leader Gulbuddin Hikmatyar in an attempted coup against communist President Najibullah. When the coup failed, he fled to Pakistan.
{137} Perhaps this was a reconnaissance in force.
{138} Local name for the chalk layers in the rock which mark this saddle.
{139} Lieutenant Omar contributed to the previous vignette.
Mawlawi Nezamuddin Haqani contributed to the previous vignette.
Mawlawi Abdul-Rahman was a group commander from the Zadran tribe in Paktia Province. His brother was killed in this action. Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin, The Bear Trap, London: Leo Cooper, 1992, 166-173 and Ijaz S. Gilani and Fazal-Ru-Rahman, Afghanistan Report, Islamabad: The Institute of Strategic Studies, Numbr 25, April 1986, 2-5 also consulted for this vignette.
{140} Following Zhawar Two, the remnants of the 38th Commando Brigade became the base of the newly-formed 2nd Division.
{141} Veterans of Zhawar have proposed to Haqani that the caves be restored and kept as a museum so that 200 years from now, people can visit them and reflect on their heritage.
{142} Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin, The Bear Trap, London: Leo Cooper, 1992, 171.
{143} Commander Assadullah is from Charquala village in Narang Subdistrict of Kunar Province. He is the son of Mawlawi Mohammad Amin. He graduated from high school and emigrated to Pakistan in 1978 and later entered the Jamiat Islami faction’s (JIA) military academy and completed the year-long course. He became a Mujahideen regimental commander of the Krer-based regiment. This was the Asama Ben Zaid Regiment of Sarkani District (Asama Ben Zaid was a close companion of the Prophet Mohammad and one of the Prophets military leaders. At one point, Asama ben Zaid fought the Byzantines). The Regiment belonged to the Sayyaf faction (IUA) and so Commander Assadullah switched factions. [Map sheets 3287 and 3387].
{144} Pakistani Strategic Studies Review, April 1986 notes: “Soviet forces launched air-cum-ground attack on Mujahideen base in Krer area killed 26 Mujahideen destroyed their entire armament and lost 42 men after 15 hours fighting March 26. Mujahideen killed 70 Kabul and 50 Soviet troops and lost 42 men in their bid to break Soviet-Kabul encirclement of Soran base in Krer area of Sarkani District March 28-31. Mujahideen repulsed Soviet attack after hours of occupation of their base in Krer after inflicting heavy losses and capturing three Soviet troops during 48 hours fighting March 30-31.”
{145} Commander Assadullah is the source of the previous vignette.
{146} Abdul Razek was a major commander in the Kandahar area. Several of the current Taliban leaders once worked for him. His command included Shahr-e Safa District northeast of Kandahar. [Map sheet 2280, vic grid 6016].
Haji Pir Mohammad was a subgroup commander for Abdul Razek in the Kandahar area. Amir Mohammad was a combatant in Abdul Razek’s group.
{147} Mawlawi Mohayddin Baloch is from Nimroz province. His base was at Lowkhai, the Khash Rud district capitol on the Khash Rud river. He was initially with Malawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi of the Harakat-e Ingelab-i Islami (HAR). Later, on he switched to HIK (Khalis). [Map sheet 1680].
{148} Kochi are nomadic tribesmen of Afghanistan. They live primarily by herding and trading sheep, goats and camels.
{149} More probably, these were Spetsnaz from Lashkar Gah.
{150} Commander Sofi Lal Gul is from Farza village of Mir Bacha Kot District. This is about 25 kilometers north of Kabul. He was affiliated with Mojaddedi’s Afghanistan National Liberation Front of Afghanistan (ANLF) during the war with the Soviets. Commander Sofi Lal Gul concentrated his efforts on the Kabul-Charikar highway. [Map sheet 2886, vic grid 0350].
{151} Amir Mohammad was a combatant in Abdul Razik’s group in the Shahr-e Safa district northeast of Kandahar. There is no map with this vignette.
{152} Mawlawi Mohayddin Baloch is from Nimroz province. His base was at Lowkhai, the capitol of Khash Rud district on the Khash Rud river. He was initially with Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi of the Harakat-e Ingelab-i Islami (HAR). Later, on he switched to HIK (Khalis). There is no map with this vignette.
{153} Commander Haji Aaquelshah Sahak is from the Chardehi district of Kabul (a southern suburb). He was affiliated with NIFA. [Map sheet 2884, vic grid 3058].
{154} ‘The Logistics System of the Mujahideen”, page 55, unpublished government contract study written in 1987.
{155} Commander Sarshar was a police officer in Parwan and worked clandestinely with the Mujahideen: When his cover was about to be blown, he became a Mujahideen commander in Ghorband. He commanded a mobile group in the Ghorband front near Charikar. [Map sheet 2887].
There is no map for this vignette. This operation is describe in Chapter 10, Vignette 4, “Defending Against a Cordon and Search Operation in Parwan” by Commander Haji Abdul Qader.
{156} Akhund Zada Qasem was a commander with Harakat-e Ingilab-i Islami (HAR) of Mawlawi Nabi Mohammadi. He was also in charge of medical support to the Musa Qaleh Front in Helmond Province. This was a major Mujahideen stronghold under the late Mawlawi Nasim Akhund Zada. Akhund Zada was one of the major Mujahideen regional commanders. After his assassination in 1986, his brother Mawlawi Sediq Akhund Zada took over. This front was in control of much of Helmond Province during the war and was one of the few major unified Mujahideen commands. The front was supported by and became rich from the drug trade. Qasem was in charge of medical support and was a member of the counsel of the command. [Map sheet 1981].
{157} Haji Mohammad Seddiq is from No-Burja Village in Logar Province. The village is in the Tangi-Wardak area which connects the Saydabad District of Wardak Province to the Baraki Barak District in the Logar Province. Commander Seddiq’s village is located on the border between the two provinces. Therefore, his command fought in both provinces in coordination with other Mujahideen. Commander Haji Mohammad Seddiq was affiliated with Hekmatyar’s HIH. [ Map sheet 2785].
{158} Commander Shahabuddin is from Shewaki Village south of Kabul. There is no map for this vignette. Kabul map sheets are 2885 and 2886.
{159} Haji Mohammad Yakub, whose nickname was Mansur (Victor), was an urban guerrilla in Kabul. He belonged to the HIH faction. There is no map with this vignette.
{160} Mohammad Humayun Shahin joined the Mujahideen as a high school student and served as a combatant and commander in the HIH urban guerrillas in the southwestern suburbs of Kabul in the Chardehi District. His high school student identification enabled him to move around Kabul until he graduated in 1981. Then, he was provided with forged documents showing that he had completed military service. This enabled him to stay in the city and avoid being press-ganged into the army. His group often conducted combined actions with the famed Mohseni urban guerrillas. After the collapse of the communist regime, Shahin was appointed regiment commander under the Islamic government and promoted to Brigadier General. There is no map with this vignette.
{161} Commander Asil Khan was a famed urban guerrilla commander in Kabul. He served the NIFA faction.
{162} Mohammad Humayun Shahin provided the material for a previous vignette in this chapter.
{163} Mohammad Humayun Shahin provided the material for the previous vignette.
{164} The British Sten gun is a 9mm World War II submachine gun. It has a 32 round magazine and a rate of fire of some 540 rounds per minute.
{165} After we interviewed this source, the authors agreed that he should be provided anonymity. There is no map with this vignette.
{166} Morghgiran means “chicken snatchers”
{167} Commander Shahabuddin is from Shewaki Village south of Kabul. There is no map with this vignette.
{168} Zabat Halim was a legendary urban guerrilla who had been an NCO in the Royal Afghan Army. His death was a blow to the Mujahideen.
{169} Commander Shahabuddin is from Shewaki Village south of Kabul. There is no map with this vignette.
{170} Commander Sarshar was a police officer in Parwan and worked clandestinely with the Mujahideen. When his cover was about to be blown, he became a Mujahideen commander in Ghorband. He commanded a mobile group in the Ghorband front near Charikar. There is no map with this vignette. Charikar is found on Map sheet 2887.
{171} Ghulam Farouq was a urban guerrilla in Kandahar. He belonged to the Islamic Movement (HI-Harakat-I Islami) of Ayatollah Shaikh Asef Muhseni which is a minority Shia Muslim faction. His nickname is Gulalai. There is no map with this vignette.
{172} Ghulam Farouq contributed to, the previous vignette. There is no map with this vignette.
{173} Mohammad Humayun Shahin contributed to other vignettes in this chapter.
{174} “Ya Ali” is a saying commonly chanted by Shia when asking for heavenly help.
{175} Commander Akhtarjhan was a Jamiat-e-Islami (JIA) commander in Arghandab District northwest of Kandahar. He was an elementary school student when he joined the jihad at the age of twelve. At end of the war, he was 25 years old and a commander. He joined the Jihad since he had two brothers in the Jihad and they were both killed. He took their place as family tradition dictated. He served under Mulla Naqib, the most powerful Jamiat commander in the area. There is no map with this vignette. Kandahar map sheet is 2180.
{176} Animal carrying capabilities are: mule-250 to 335 pounds [H. W. Daly, Manual of Pack Transportation, Washington: Government Printing Office, 1917, page 18]; camel-400 to 600 pounds [ Lewis Burt Lesley, Uncle Sam’s Camels: The Journal of May Humphreys Stacey Supplemented by the Report of Edward Fitzgerald Beale (1857-1858), Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1929, page 9]; and central Asian horse-215 pounds [William H. Carter, Horses Saddles and Bridles, Baltimore: The Lord Baltimore Press, 1902, pages 262-263]. Donkey figures unavailable.
{177} “The Logistics System of the Mujahideen”, unpublished government contract study written in 1987.
{178} Mohammad Yousaf and Mark Adkin, The Bear Trap: Afghanistan’s Untold Story, London: Leo Cooper, 1992, 36.