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

VIGNETTE 2
SOVIET RAID ON KANDA
by Doctor Abdul Qudus Alkozai and Commander Haji Sidiqullah
In July 1985, about one month after the Soviet raid on the
Mujahideen base in the village of Badiabad, the Soviets made a
similar attack against the resistance base of Doctor Alkozai at Kanda
Warajayee. Kanda Warajayee, commonly called Kanda, is located on
the main road between the provincial capital of Mehtar Lam and
the Alingar District in the Laghman Province. The village is nearly
eight kilometers south of the Alingar District center.
I located my base just outside the village to the west of the
main road. I moved all the crew-served weapons from my house in
the village to the base since the Soviets had conducted a series of
raids on the homes of known Mujahideen commanders. I located my
base in a ruin near an intermittent drainage ditch and protected it
with security posts and crew-served weapons firing positions.
One day in July 1985, a group of six Soviet helicopters flew into
my area. The helicopter group included four gunships which started
firing at positions around my house. It seemed to me that the enemy
intended to land troops and mount a raid on my house. The
Mujahideen in my base opened up with machine gun fire on the
enemy helicopters. This forced the Soviets to land at a distance from
the village. As the helicopters landed about three kilometers away
from Kanda on Shakhatara Dashta {plain), six of my Mujahideen
carried an 82mm Chinese-manufactured recoilless rifle to a natural
drainage ditch which extended from the village to the Prang Ghar
Mountain to the west (Map 9-2 - Kanda).
The Soviet soldiers jumped from their helicopters onto the open
terrain near a flock of sheep. The Soviets promptly gunned down the
unarmed teenage shepherd. The enemy then tried to advance on
Kanda under the air cover provided by their gunships. But the intensity
of fire from my Mujahideen pinned them down in the open. As
the fire fight continued, more of my Mujahideen rushed into the fray.
This forced the Soviet troops to withdraw, quickly board their helicopters
and fly away. The Soviet raid was a complete failure.
Haji Sidiqullah and Dr. Abdul Qudus are the narrators of the previous vignette. ^Map sheet
3086, vie grid 1948].