Siege of Khost

Siege of Khost
	Part of the Soviet–Afghan War and the Afghan Civil War (1989–1992)
	Khost Khost (Afghanistan)
Date	1980 – March 31, 1991
Location	Khost, Khost Province, Afghanistan
Result	Mujahideen victory Soviet withdrawal (1988); Mujahideen forces capture the city (1991); Decimation of the 666th “Air Assault” Commando Regiment (1991);
Belligerents
Democratic Republic of Afghanistan; Soviet Union (1980–1988)	Afghan Mujahideen: Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin; Haqqani network; Harakat-i-Inqilab-i-Islami; Local Ahmadzai tribes; Arab Foreign Fighters; Afghan Interim Government (from 1988) Hezb-e Islami Gulbuddin (until July 1989); Harakat-i Inqilab-i Islami; Supported by: ; Pakistan; Inter-Services Intelligence; Pakistan Air Force ;
Commanders and leaders
Mohammed Rafie; Abdul Qadir; Shahnawaz Tanai; Mohammad Aslam Watanjar; Abdul Rashid Dostum; Nazar Mohammed; Mohammed Asif Delawar; Sergei Sokolov; Valentin Varennikov; Boris Gromov	Gulbuddin Hekmatyar; Jalaluddin Haqqani; Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi; Ibrahim Umari Haqqani

During the nine-year Soviet–Afghan War in the 1980s and the subsequent Afghan civil war, the town of Khost was besieged for more than eleven years. Its airstrip's 3 km runway served as a base for helicopter operations by Soviet forces.

It began soon after the invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops, when Afghan guerillas took control of the only land route between Khost and Gardez, effectively putting a stop to the Soviet advance.^{[citation needed]}

At the end of July 1983, the forces of Jalaluddin Haqqani laid siege to two towns in Khost and the Tani, Mangal, Zazai and Waziri tribes began taking an active part in the fighting, despite being passive up until then. All of the aforementioned events coincided with former King Mohammed Zahir Shah's appeal for a united front, which caused rumours about the Royalists intending to establish a provisional government in a liberated Khost. However, Khost wasn't captured and by October, the Tani tribe had withdrawn from coalition due to a tribal rivalry with the Zadran. Many rebels also returned home as winter came on. By the end of December, government forces arriving from Gardez ended the siege of the two towns and recaputered Zazi Maidan.^[4]

Operation Magistral was an offensive launched to relieve it at the end of 1987. The first convoys reached Khost at the end of December 1987. When the main Soviet force had withdrawn, Mujahideen groups cut off Khost once again, as they had done since 1981.

Following the creation of the Commander's Shura, which united the Peshawar Seven and assault was coordinated to capture Khost, an assault which at least according to former special envoy to the Mujahideen Peter Tomsen was more an ISI operation than a Mujahideen one.^[5] This fighting was a co-ordinated attack by the forces of Hezb-e Islami of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, Jalaluddin Haqqani and local Ahmadzai tribes led by Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi. The Ahmadzai were able to spearhead the assault after Hezb-e Islam and Haqqania suffered setbacks, and eventually able to capture the city and negotiate the surrender of the garrison resulting in victory on March 31, 1991.^[6]

Notes

^ Coll 2004, pp. 226–227.
^ Maley 1998, pp. 63.
^ Roblin, Sebastien (2019-03-16). "Pakistan's F-16s Battled Soviet Jets—and Shot Down the Future Vice President of Russia". The National Interest. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
^ Roy, Oliver (November 30, 1990). Islam and resistance in Afghanistan. Cambridge University Press; 2nd edition. p. 198. ISBN 978-0521397001.
^ Tomsen, Peter. The Wars of Afghanistan: Messianic Terrorism, Tribal Conflicts, and the Failure of Great Powers. 2011
^ Tomsen, Peter

References

Coll, Steve (2004). Ghost Wars The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. Penguin Press (published December 28, 2004). ISBN 9781594200076.
Maley, William (1998). Fundamentalism Reborn? Afghanistan and the Taliban. Hurst. ISBN 9781850653608.

Notes

References

Further reading