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

VIGNETTE 14
THE FALL OF CHAGHNI BASE CAMP
by Commander Abdul Razek,
Haji Pir Mohammad, and Amir Mohammad
Chaghni base camp is in Shahr-e Safa District about 10 kilometers
from Highway 1—the main highway from Kabul to Kandahar.
We normally set ambushes on the south side of the road, since the
north side is open between Shahr-e Safa and Kalat. There was only
one place optimum for ambush—a six-kilometer stretch where a
dry river bed parallels the road way. We could hide many Mujahideen
in the high ground overlooking the road and escort vehicles
could not cross the river bed to get up into our ambush positions,
since the dry river banks were like sheer walls. Although no APC or
tank could get across, we mined the area between the road and
the river bed anyway. The high ground of Sher Alikhan Mountain
protected our withdrawal. Further, there were no villages or villagers
nearby to provide warning to the enemy. We built permanent
fighting positions at this site and we ambushed the enemy at this
site continually, but they always seemed surprised. The enemy
convoy would usually reach our ambush site in the late afternoon
since they left Kabul about 0800. The enemy usually sent tanks,
BMPs and APCs to escort their convoys. We normally positioned our
heavy weapons on favorable ground higher up and positioned our
small arms forward.
At the point that we usually laid our ambushes, there was one
road that intersected our area. It had to cross the river bed, but we
usually mined that road as well for good measure. The normal reaction
of the enemy convoy, when ambushed, was to drive off the road
to the north to get out of range of our weapons. They never tried to
attack us. Their trucks would be burning and destroyed, everything
would be in chaos and everyone was looking to his own survival.
There was no coordinated response. Escort tanks and APCs would
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.