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

VIGNETTE 14
AMBUSH AT MAZAR CREEK
by Commander Qazi Guljan Tayeb
East of my base in Baraki Barak is the town of Padkhab-e
Shana. It is located one and a half kilometers from the Kabul-
Gardez highway. The Soviets had put security posts on the high
ground around this town to protect the highway from Mujahideen
attacks coming out of Baraki Barak District. I decided to attack
these posts in July 1985. By that time I had switched from the
Hikmatyar faction to the Sayaf faction.
We moved out from Baraki Barak at dusk. I had some 100
Mujahideen with me. We crossed the highway and entered Padkhab-e
Shana town. It is a large town occupying a square kilometer and
containing some 1,000 houses. My Mujahideen moved into houses and
stayed with the people throughout the next day. That night, using
local guides, we set up ambushes on the roads leading into the village.
The area around the town is also a green zone with orchards and woods
(Map 15 - Mazar). Mazar Creek passes through the town near the
bazaar. Mazar Creek begins at a spring and has good water. Soviet
soldiers would go to the creek to get water, wash, fish and take a dip.
We put an ambush at the creek near the spring. We put another
ambush along their supply route which ran to the Soviet security posts
from the main road. There was a path that ran from the security posts
to the town dwellings. Soviets would often come down this path to the
town to steal or extort things. We set our third ambush along this path
in an area covered by buildings and orchards where the enemy maneuver
would be restricted and constrained. We set our fourth ambush
along the path from the creek to Mir Ghyas hill.
In the morning, a few Soviets came to the creek. The Mujahideen
at this ambush site opened fire and then left quickly after they saw
that they had killed some Soviets. About the same time, a Soviet jeep
drove along the supply route. That ambush opened fire and hit the
jeep. Soviet tanks came from Pule-e Alam and surrounded the town.
We hid our weapons and mixed with populace. Gradually we left the
Commander Qazi Guljan Tayeb was a third year student in Kabul Theological College during
the communist takeover in 1978. He joined Hikmatyar and later switched to the Sayef
faction in the mid-1980s. He was the Commander of Baraki Barak District of Logar
Province. [Map sheet 2884, vie 0657].