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

Page 286 The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War
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a 40 meter drop. The canyon had a water reservoir, a supply dump
and 16 caves holding 60 people. We defended the canyon with DShK
machine guns on the high ground on both sides of the canyon.
In the early days of the war, the Mujahideen had very strong
bases around the province centers of Farah and Nimruz, but later
on Soviet/DRA pressure forced them outward from Farah to Sharafat
Koh. The Mujahideen had their first base at Sharafat Koh in the
Tangira Canyon in 1979. The Mujahideen were organized into tribal
groups and initially the Achakzai, Norzai, Barakzai and Alizai all
joined together and moved to a new base in Jare-e Ab Canyon. The
Soviets attacked this base in 1980 and the Mujahideen then moved
to Kale Kaneske Canyon. The Mujahideen had bases within the
city of Farah until 1982. As the DRA and Soviets tightened their
security around Farah, these Mujahideen moved out and some fell
back on Sharafat Koh. After the Mujahideen left Farah, they lost
their contact with the city population. The city population was not
tribal and looked down on the Mujahideen as rustics. In turn, the
Mujahideen looked down on the city dwellers for their easy life.
Sharafat Koh lies about 12 kilometers from Highway 1 and 20 kilometers
from Highway 517. We attacked convoys near Karvangah,
Charah and Shivan and the Soviets manned posts at Karvangah,
Charah and Velamekh to protect the convoys.
SKY WARRIORS STRIKE THE CANYON
In 1982, the Kal-e Kaneske Canyon was our primary base. Our
leader was Mawlawi Mohammad Shah from the Achakzai tribe. 3
Mohammad Shah liked to brag about his base and would often escort
visitors through the canyon. Once he brought a DRA officer into the
canyon and gave him a tour. The DRA officer was also an Achakzai
and he told Mohammad Shah that he was stationed in Shindand and
wanted to establish secret contact with Mohammad Shah and work
with him. Evidently, while the DRA officer was in our canyon, he
managed to steal a map showing our base defenses.
At noon in July, about a month after the DRA officer's visit, three
Soviet helicopter gunships suddenly flew down the canyon and fired
at the caves and structures of our base. Our DShK machine guns
were all positioned on the high ground and could not engage aircraft
flying below them in the canyon. The gunships were severely damag-
3 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.