The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen ... - Tribal Analysis Center

VIGNETTE 10
RAID ON THE BRIDGE POST IN ALINGAR
by Doctor Abdul Qudus Alkozai and Commander Haji Sidiqullah
In February 1986, Commander Abdul Qudus Alkozai led a group of
15 Mujahideen on a raid of a government post near the center of the
Alingar District in Laghman Province. The post overlooked a bridge
on the Alingar River near Barwai Village, some four kilometers north
of Alingar. The bridge outpost was located within a walled enclosure
and included covered firing positions and parapets. The post included
a one-room guard house for the six soldiers who manned the post. The
outpost was part of a security belt protecting the district center against
Mujahideen attacks. There were several other outposts in the area
established in individual houses and fort-like structures. Among them
were. Ghulamali Qala to the north and Yawar Qala and Sahebgul Qala
to the south of the bridge post. They were about 150-200 meters apart
(Map 2-9 Alingar).
My guerrilla raiding party left its base in a nearby village at 2200
hours on a dark, cold, rainy winter night. Moving north to the objective,
I dropped a two-man observation/security party opposite the
Sahebgul Qala outpost. I posted another two-man observation/ security
party outside the Yawar Qala outpost and a final two-man observation/security
party alongside the road to the bridge. They were to pin
down any forces which attempted to come to the aid of the bridge outpost.
My eight remaining Mujahideen and I were armed with eight
automatic rifles and one RPG-7. We moved to the bridge and deployed
in the cover of a roadside ditch. We completely blocked the western
approach to the bridge.
My plan was to remain in the ditch until the soldiers at the outpost
opened the door of the guard house to relieve the sentry. Then,
using the light coming from the opened door to guide on, we would
jump over the low (one-meter) outpost enclosure wall, storm the post
and kill the occupants.
We waited for two miserable hours in the cold rain, but nothing
happened inside the outpost. Finally, I decided to take the initiative.
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].