Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War - Bennett Park Raiders

VIGNETTE 4
SURPRISED BY THE SOVIETS IN THE DARA-E NUR
by Doctor Mohammad Sadeq
In March 1984, the DRA and Soviet forces again tried to destroy
the Mujahideen forces in the Dara-e Nur Valley. A total of 120
Mujahideen armed with seven RPG-7s, one 82mm mortar, one DShK
and many Kalashnikovs blocked their advance at Shokyali Village
which is located at the junction of Dara-e Nur and Bar Kot Valleys.
(Map 8-4 - Bar Kot) We positioned our forces to block both valleys
and the high ground between them. The enemy came and tried to
overcome our defenses but failed. Then the government sent a group
of the area's elders to talk to us. The elders tried to persuade us not
to fight in the area and to leave, but we refused. We held the area for
another year before the enemy brought another column against us.
Nader, the DRA police chief for the area, sent us a message also
trying to persuade us not to continue to fight in this area. He warned
us that, if we did not leave, the Soviets would destroy all the villages
in the area. It was now April 1985. At 2030 hours one evening, my
group left the village of Sotan. We were armed with an RPG-7 and
Kalashnikovs. We were moving to the junction of the two valleys along
the foot of the mountains. One of my men stated "I will fire a shot to
show our presence and let the people know that we are not cowards. It
will show them that we are not intimidated and that we are still here."
I tried to talk him out of it, but he finally fired the shot. As soon as
he fired, the night lit up with return fire from all the Soviets who
we discovered were in the area in force. The Soviets had arrived the
previous night and had waited all day for us. We had not reached the
junction yet, but were at a place called Kar. The Soviets were firing at
us from positions on the mountain to the west and to the east is a steep
canyon with a sheer 150 meter wall. We were trapped and surrounded,
so we went to ground and fought back through the night and next
day. With the day, helicopters came and fired at us. We grimly held
our position and waited for the next night when we would try a breakout.
But the Soviets had also had enough fighting, and they pulled out
at the end of the day. I lost one KIA and one WIA. I do not know if
there were any Soviet casualties.
Doctor Mohammed Sadeq was a commander with the HIH in Kunar Province and was also
the narrator of the previous vignette. [Map sheet 3186, vie grid 4742.]