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

Chapter 6, Vignette 6a Page 191
regime was withdrawing its military and administrative units from
those remote areas which could not be easily maintained or defended).
This convoy deployed in the Mehtar-e Lam Baba hills north of
the Kabul river and began to employ long-range artillery and rocket
fire across a wide front stretching from Khairokhel to Kaftarkhana.
Their artillery and . BM-21 multiple rocket launchers were firing at a
range of over 10 kilometers, so their fire was not very accurate or
effective. However, later in the day, part of the column moved along
the main road toward the battle area and tried to cross the
Surkhakan bridge. The enemy base at Kaftarkhana was still alive.
However it was under attack by Shari'ati's group and could not spare
its fire against the Mujahideen in adjacent areas.
In order to contain the movement of the enemy column, I moved
my assault group with all available RPG-7s to positions facing the
Surkhakan bridge. I also destroyed the highway bridge at Khairokhel
village with demolition charges that we had brought for this
purpose all the way from our home base. The enemy tanks and APCs
in his column came under flanking fire from my RPGs. The enemy
could not hit my RPG gunners since they were protected by a steep
turn in the road. The enemy could not flank my position since the
off-road areas were heavily mined and the blown bridge prevented a
frontal assault. This significantly boosted my Mujahideen's morale
and gave them a sense of improved security. For some reason, enemy
air activity was weak despite the fact that the area was open and the
fight was going on in broad daylight.
At dusk the enemy column pushed its infantry out front to clear
the way for the vehicles, but it did not make any headway. Later, as
we moved our spoils and POWs to their mountain positions in the
south, I withdrew my security elements from the highway since the
enemy was moving yet another motorized column into the area from
Jalalabad. By the next day, Task Forces Falcon, Gulf and Hurricane
had withdrawn their forces from along the highway. The enemy
columns coming from Jalalabad and Laghman moved slowly down
the road all the way to Mash'ala Base and reinforced it The
Mujahideen never overran this base and it played a pivotal role in
maintaining enemy's presence.
Following this, I limited our action to firing our heavy weapons at
enemy targets on the highway. Shortly thereafter, I withdrew my
Mujahideen from the operation since DRA forces had moved into my
district and were threatening our homes.