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

VIGNETTE 3
BATTLE FOR KAMA
by Abdul Baqi Balots
The Kama area, located northeast of Jalalabad, is approximately
87 square kilometers in area. It is bordered in the west by the Kunar
River, in the south by the Kabul River and in the north and east by
mountains. It is a large, well-irrigated green zone which was densely
populated before the war. The Mujahideen in the area were all locals
defending their home turf. In February 1983,1 commanded a group of
35 men in my village of Sama Garay (one kilometer east of the town of
Kama). We had Enfield and G3 5
bolt-action rifles and a few
Kalashnikovs. We lacked the capability to launch major attacks, but
conducted hit and run actions. We did not have a base in the mountains,
but lived in the village. There were similar units in the other
villages in the area. The Kama District Mujahideen were very fragmented
and we had no contact with many groups in the area and so
we couldn't help each other. The Soviets could deal with us piecemeal.
We Mujahideen did not have a common contingency plan to deal with
the Soviets when they came in force to kill us all. And even if we had
such a plan, at that time our communications were primitive and most
communications were done with messengers.
The Soviets were close at hand. The Soviet "Thunder" unit 6
was
stationed in Samarkhel to the east of Jalalabad. They crossed the
Kunar River and established a base south of the Tirana Ghashe on
the plain (Map 10-3 - Kama). Then at dawn on 15 February 1983, 20
to 25 of their helicopters landed troops in the mountains north and
northeast of Kama. The helicopters landed at Mashingan Ghar, Spinki
Abdul Baqi Balots was a Hezb-e Islami (HIH) commander in the Kama area east of
Jalalabad. Before the communist takeover, he was a student in the tenth grade of high
school. School authorities were forcing him to join the Communist Youth Organization. His
father advised him not to join but to fight. He left school and joined the Mujahideen and
fought through to the end. [Map sheets 3085 and 3185].
5
The US M1917 Springfield Rifle which Springfield Armory produced for the British Army
in World War I. The Mujahideen called them the G3 rifle.
6
The 'Thunder" unit was the 66th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. The Mujahideen
called it the Thunder unit because it was a reinforced unit designed for counterinsurgency.
It had three motorized rifle battalions, an air assault battalion, a tank battalion, an artillery
howitzer battalion, a MRL battalion, a material support battalion, a reconnaissance company
and support troops.