Jamadi-ul-Awwal 02, 1431 A.H, Saturday, April 17, 2010

But Haqqani had another opinion and we will see that he did not wait for the first main battle with the Soviets to unfold on his territory, rather he plunged into a deterrent battle in another area, making the Soviets understand that a battle on the Zadran road would be certain suicide, especially if it occurred at the beginning of the invasion. This might lead to an early frustration of the morale of the Red Army, which was not yet familiar with the territory or the nature of the war occurring upon it. In the framework of their preparations and consultations about the imminent first clash with the Red Army, there was a consensus among the Mujahideen that the Soviets would send large reinforcements to the Gardez, the capital of Paktia, and from there push on to the city of Khost across the Zadran road. And there the big clash would occur.

Preface:

I had the honor of becoming acquainted with a number of the generation of Giants who unleashed the Jihad in its legendary first beginnings in Afghanistan.

Among the names mentioned in the first part was the name of Sheikh Mahmud Lala, may Allah have mercy on him, whom I had met briefly at the Saran Center close to Gardez. I recalled that meeting in my first book, “15 Rounds Fi Sabeel Allah”.

In my stories of the events surrounding the launch of the first Jihad, I used many stories, some of which were from Maulavi Jalaluddin Haqqani, in addition to many other Mujahideen. I also make special mention of Golzarak, with whom I established a strong relationship in 1983 during the battle of Oruzgan and afterwards. He was a distinguished military personality, as well as being a man of learning, an historian and a poet. He was particularly interested in gathering and recording the events of the Jihad in his Paktia province, and especially the events of the first year, because these events were unusual in both incidents and personalities.

Golzarak had a project to print a book in two parts about the beginnings of the Jihad, and perhaps it could be that he published one part. I do not know what happened to his other historical and literary projects, or to what extent events helped or hindered him in those great ambitions. It is certain, however, that the Americans and their Western (and other) helpers spent huge sums of money in order to gather the documents of that period, written and photographed, and hid them in unknown darkness so that the Muslims would lose their history and their memory, knowing nothing of that history except for that which is stored by the West andits toxic perspectives.

In this installment, I encountered great difficulty in gathering details of the first ambush in the Zurmat valley. This had landed a very sharp blow against the Soviets in Paktia and demolished their terrifying myth in the eyes of the people.

The sources of the accounts I have used are Golzarak and others in the forefront of the Mujahideen in the region. I confess, however, that I did not make a great enough effort to delve into that important historical event. There are a number of excuses for this shortcoming, including my preoccupation with other matters and a lack of time to invest in that labor, in addition to the paucity of resources available to me. I feel sorry for all that, but this poor effort is better than nothing – Mustafa

The Plan for defending Paktia

The Mujahideen and the Soviets both knew that great prize of Paktia was the Khost Plain, on the border of Pakistan, which provides many strategic and political advantages with regards to dealing with Pakistan, whether or not the Soviets decided to launch an attack against it and with regards to controlling the Mujahideen supply routes, most of which ran through Paktia. Khost was one of the most important corridors, and the city of Khost was in the middle of the valley which would have been blockaded from an early period in the outbreak of the Jihad against the Kabul regime, if it had not been for the air bridge which connected it to the capital.

The road between Khost and the provincial capital Gardez was 100 kilometres long. It could be cut by ambushes laid by Jalaluddin, assisted by the tribes of Paktia, especially the Zadran tribe, across whose territory most of the road ran. The government army had sustained huge losses on the road during the time of President al-Tarraqi and later Hafizullah Amin, despite heavy Soviet assistance in experts and advisers. This situation was aided by the mountainous nature of the region, which helped in preparing very dangerous ambushes and led ultimately to the method of supplying Khost by air and bearing the huge financial costs that this entailed.

It was logical that breaking the land siege fixed around Khost would be a top priority of the Soviet army upon its coming to Paktia, meaning the decisive battle would occur on the road crossing the Zadran tribal region.

But Haqqani had another opinion, and we will see that he did not wait for the first main battle with the Soviets to unfold on his territory, rather he plunged into a deterrent battle in another area, making the Soviets understand that a battle on the Zadran road would be certain suicide, especially if it occurred at the beginning of the invasion. This might lead to an early frustration of the morale of the Red Army which was not yet familiar with the territory or the nature of the war occurring upon it. In the framework of their preparations and consultations about the imminent first clash with the Red Army, there was a consensus among the Mujahideen that the Soviets would send large reinforcements to the Gardez, the capital of Paktia, and from there push on to the city of Khost across the Zadran road. And there the big clash would occur.

In his meetings with the field commanders, Haqqani focused on the importance of the first battle and its impact the morale of both the Mujahideen and their foes. He reminded them of the lessons of the first military clashes with the army of the ruling regime, and how, when the Mujahideen seized the first government position, this encouraged the people and they dared to attack the army and destroy their positions and convoys. The awe that people held the army and regime in was brought down, and the hope of the people that they could be overcome rose. And Haqqani said, “If we are defeated, may Allah not ordain it, then no one will dare to raise a weapon in the face of the Red Army.”

Then he directed a question to Major Golzarak:

“Tell me, Golzarak, how might the Russians behave in their war with us?”

Golzarak took a military map form his pocket and spread it before Jalaluddin and the other commanders. The men gathered in a circle, reviewing the major’s markings upon the lines of his colored map. Their ears and their minds hung upon every word that went round in the council. The major began to explain in his calm tone, and his face acquired its customary sternness in crucial situations like this. His sharp blue eyes flickered back and forth between the map and the faces of Haqqani and the others. He began explaining as if he were reading a prosaic story that he had memorized by heart, and as if he were once again an instructor in the Kabul military academy.

“As we all expect, the Russian will push a huge military force towards Gardez, and then attempt to open the road to Khost. This matter is certain. Another thing is that there will be heavy air cover, which will protect the advancing force, paving the way for it and intervening in any opposition it encounters”.

“Aircraft will heavily bomb our positions between Gardez and the Zurmat plain, to provide security for their coming from Ghozny to Gardez, where they will stay for two or three days, before launching towards Khost. During that time, the aircraft will conduct reconnaissance missions of the area and their forces’ lines of advance, striking any suspicious positions. If they discover the headquarters of our leadership, they will bomb it, and perhaps bring in airborne special forces troops. The villages close to their forces line of advance will be bombed, to force the people to flee, and to prevent the Mujahideen from hiding among them”.

“The forces advancing towards Khost will be under the cover of helicopters. These aircraft could disperse mines along the secondary roads that our men might use to hinder our movements and to impact the morale of the people when they are also struck by them. In order to have an even greater impact on our morale, they might to conduct assassinations against our high and mid-level leadership”.

“They might resort to using poison gas against us. We can easily avoid the effects of these gases by following a few guidelines, because of our mountainous regions and because of the impedance of the gas’s movement by the wind. But ignorance about this weapon could have a great impact on the morale of our men”.

Golzarak continued with his explanation of the precise details of what he expected to happen, so that unit leaders would not be surprised and confused by any unexpected behavior on the part of the enemy.

He no sooner finished then Jalaluddin asked him another question, saying:

“Tell me, Golzarak, how do the Russians expect us to confront them?”

“The Russians will not expect any great change in the fighting methods of the Mujahideen. True, some heavy weapons from the army have fallen into our hands, but the lack of sufficient ammunition for them limits their effectiveness in a prolonged confrontation. Additionally, the helicopters can pinpoint and destroy the sources of heavy weapon fire. If we use our artillery at 9:00 in the morning, by 10:00 we will have lost it all”.

“They expect us to place small ambushes around Gardez on the road coming from Zurmat and the road going to Khost: small ambushes equipped with anti-tank rocket launchers, mines spread along the road, and light weapons. They know the bravery of the Mujahideen in battle. They also know the limitations of our ammunition and our vulnerability to air attacks”.

Haqqani asked him, “Very well, Golzarak, is it possible for us to surprise them with something new?”

The major swiftly answered, “Of course we can! We could for example organize concentrated night attacks, and we can gather our men from ambushes, and attack the enemy at an isolated point. Their losses would be great, and we are more capable than they at this kind of war.”

Haqqani responded, “That is correct, Golzarak. Are the rest of the brothers in agreement with Golzarak’s ideas?”

They all declared their agreement, other than some marginal comments and questions, and Haqqani continued:

“What I want is for the Russians to continue in their belief that we are on the same, old path. To ensure that, we will during the coming weeks and until the snow begins to melt launch raids on the garrisons of Khost and Gardez. Our ambushes will appear along all the roads that Golzarak mentioned, so that the Russians will think that everything is proceeding according to the model we drew up during these past twenty months”.

Jalaluddin stood up, saying:

“We place our trust in Allah. If Allah aids you, then no one will overcome you. We must begin our work now. Let the commanders of the units head out to their areas to make the necessary arrangements”.

All began to rise and Jalaluddin took the bridle of his mule in his left hand and, with his right hand, started to balance the position of his ancient rifle on his shoulders. Golzarak approached him and whispered in his ear, saying:

“Maulavi Sahib, you did not order an increase in the ambushes on the Khost highway!!”

He answered him tersely:

“We will not increase the ambushes because that is not necessary”.

Surprise appeared on the face of the officer, and he continued his questioning in a polite tone:
“I fear that will be necessary to repulse the attack on Khost”.

Jalaluddin mounted his mule and looked into the face of the young officer, saying as he urged his mule to into a walk, [i]“This is not necessary to defend Khost, Golzarak, because we will not let them reach Gardez itself”./I]

Golzarak’s eyes widened in surprise and stood there staring in amazement at Jalal al-Din as he headed out with his mule in the direction of Gardez.

Fighting Helicopters is Forbidden

Khalil, Haqqani’s younger brother, pressed his body against the rocks next to his older brother Ibrahim, while helicopter rounds peppered the ground close to his feet, kicking up the dust and scattering the branches of small trees above the heads of the two brothers. No sooner had the helicopter gone a little distance away, than Khalil shook the dust off himself angrily and stood pointing his Russian rifle towards the helicopter, firing a short round as he cursed and screamed:

“A curse upon you, pig!”

Ibrahim dragged his little brother down below the rocks and yelled at him:

“Are you crazy? It will kill you; and your bullets don’t affect it”.

In even greater agitation, Khalil screamed with the blood rushing to his white face, the dirt clinging to little hairs that grew in patches on his cheeks, and wearing clothing whose original color had all faded:

“ Jalaluddin told me that I will place the Dushka (DShK 50 cal anti-aircraft machine gun ) on the mountain top and open fire on those dogs. Then why has he forbidden us to fight helicopters? Has Jalaluddin become afraid of the Russians?”

Ibrahim responded to his little brother with a mixture of anger and scorn:

“You have definitely gone mad. Jalaluddin is planning the big battle. What do you know about the art of combat? You are a child. If I had married, I would have produced a child of about your age”.

Khalil screamed at the top of his voice, almost masking the sound of the nearby explosions:

“You are also young! How old are you? 20? 21? Jalaluddin is 15 years older than you are, as for Ismail he is more than...”

The shouting of the brothers was interrupted by the calm, recognizable voice of the Mujahid Abdul Bari, who had previously been a corporal in the army. He was drawn towards them by the loud shouting between them and he asked in his distinctive voice:

“What is with you two? Has one of you been hit?”

Ibrahim laughed, pointing to his younger brother:

“Nothing, other than the fact that this lad has lost his mind and wants to disobey the orders of Jalaluddin and place the Dushka on the top of the mountain and hit the helicopters”.

Abdul Bari smiled and the features of his strong, kind face transformed:

“Don’t worry, Khalil. Jalaluddin will soon issue orders for that. I have never seen anything before like that heavy aerial bombardment. They began at 7 in the morning, and ended at 5 in the evening. They’re bombing the whole area from Khost to Zurmat. O Allah, Moscow has sent all of its aircraft to us here in Paktia.”

Abdul Bari stroked his long black beard and began to watch the helicopters bomb a nearby position. He muttered, “Idiots, there is no one there. Do you wish to tear out the mountains?”

He then continued, as if he was talking to himself, “Did you know? They threw cluster bombs on the mountain west of Khost. They looked like green locusts. One of the shepherds and his flock found themselves in the middle of the mines. Twenty sheep were killed and the shepherd’s son lost his leg. Poor thing… poor child!”.

Abdul Bari stood distractedly with his far-away gaze, absently repeating the same sentence: “Poor thing… poor child”.

Traced in his imagination was a picture of the family he had left behind in Mazar-i-Sharif: his old mother, his wife and his small son, Naseem. What had happened to them now? A year and a half had passed since he deserted the army while serving in Khost and joined the Mujahideen, becoming one of the most Mujahideen of Paktia.

He thought that his family had perhaps lost hope in his return. He knew nothing about them, and they didn’t know whether he was dead or alive. How he missed his child Naseem, and how he longed to hug him to his chest and kiss him. The poor thing… the poor child. Abdul Bari unconsciously repeated this, completely unaware of those around him.

He was awoken from his dreams by the voice of Khalil:

“Hey, Abdul Bari. Where are you?”

He responded, not completely returned to the world around him:

“Tomorrow I will be in Shahi Kut with 50 men”.

Ibrahim was stunned, and he cried out in shock and amazement:

“Shahi Kut?? In Zumat?? Why??”

“I don’t know. These are the orders of Maulavi Sahib. We will not go down to the ruined village but stay in the mountains behind it until Jalaluddin’s orders reach us”.

Ibrahim struck his hand on his forehead and, still confused and not understanding what he was saying, exclaimed:

“Shahi Kut! This is not rational: you are our best marksman for anti-tank rockets. What will you do there?? And how can you go with your entire group? The Zurmat Plain stretches as far as the eye can see! You would have to walk for hours before a tank would be in range of your weapon. This is madness… we do not need…”

Abdul Bari shrugged his shoulders, paying no heed to the words of Ibrahim, and said indifferently:

“I don’t know, this is what Maulavi Sahib Jalaluddin wants. He must be planning something”.

Abdul Bari was right. Because there was something that Jalaluddin was planning.

Four long days passed and the modern Russian M24 helicopters almost did not stop. They bombed everything and every place where a person could possibly hide. Most of the villages, even in the depths of the mountains, fell under the bombardment and destruction. Indeed the violent aerial assault paving the way for the attacking Russian forces was proceeding exactly as Golzarak expected.

Jalaluddin issued orders to hide the heavy weapons in places he himself had determined. Golzarak alone knew that this was tied to a plan he was preparing in absolute secrecy.

The First Battle with the Russians

News arrived that the Russian forces had reached Ghozny and were preparing to move towards Gardez.

Jalaluddin met with the unit leaders and gave them orders about what they must do throughout the day, until the time came for the battle.

The Mujahideen had to spread out from one end of the Zurdat Valley near Gardez to the other part of the valley opposite Shahi Kut.

In the morning it was expected that aircraft would bomb the sides of the road along which the Russians would advance. The Mujahideen had to stay away from that area until the bombardment was over, and then occupy their positions when the Gardez forces advanced, moving towards the Zurmat Plain, until they reached the enemy forces from Ghozny actually approaching Gardez.

Here the unit leaders asked in astonishment:

“We expect the Russian forces to come to Gardez, not that a force from Gardez will move out to the Zurmat Plain. In a position like this we can fight, but not attack on exposed ground like this!”

Jalaluddin answered them:

“This is what the Russians also expect. For that reason, we will attack them in a place where they do not expect it, and that is the Zurmat Plain, at a time when they will never expect to see us there… in the morning!”

Confrontation in the Wide Valley

In the middle of the night, the Mujahideen slipped away in small parties from Shahi Kut, heading for the broad Zurmat Plain. Along the sides of the road which crossed the valley, the Mujahideen chose their positions with the utmost care. They spread out in small groups over a distance of five kilometers. They numbered 200 Mujahideen. The road was in the sights of their rifles, and they did not plant mines on the road. All that was required was to camouflage the concealed men, so their brothers covered them with tree branches and grass, even dirt and thorns, so that the enemy would not discover their position, and expose them all to annihilation, and cause the entire plan to fail. Thus those men spent the night until the morning.

The helicopters began their work early in the morning, reconnoitering the valley and bombing the corridor leading to Gardez. This activity continued until 10 in the morning, until the Russian forces appeared in the distance. Three light armored vehicles arrived, moving rapidly and disregarding the men’s ambushes until they reached the end of the road from Gardez. They began firing on the rocks and proceeded for a while towards the city. They then turned around and returned to where they had come from. The force continued along the road towards the city, and the helicopters continued to hover overhead. They would move ahead of it to the corridor and fire long showers of gunfire, then turn around and go back.

The convoy halted briefly until the helicopters had finished their reconnaissance and strafing. They then resumed their march after being reassured that the road was safe.

The first tank arrived in front of the position of Abdul Bari, and it was he who was tasked with determining the start of the battle.

Abdul Bari fidgeted underneath the heaps of earth and thorns which was covering him, murmuring in a low voice the prayer which Jalaluddin had taught him: In the name of Allah, I trust in Allah, and when ye throw, it is not ye who throws but it is Allah who throws.”

Then he cried in his booming voice announcing the start of the battle: “Allahu Akbar!”

He then launched the first round on the tank facing him. Its turret was blown into the air, and it exploded. For five kilometers, all along the length of the ambush, there were successive explosions of tanks and ammunition trucks. Chaos spread in the ranks of the Russian force, and it turned tail , and sought refuge in flight: back to Ghazni from where it had come. The vehicles in the front tried to get past the wrecks, and flee to Gardez. But mines had been planted and the Mujahideen had hastily laid ambushes in order to cut off communications between the city and the force under attack. Those vehicles fell into the trap and only a few escaped. Even the reinforcements that tried to move from Gardez fell into the ambushes and the mines. They were thrown into confusion and overcome by hesitation. They then retreated until the situation became clearer. The enemy soldiers and many of its vehicles were scattered in disorder in many directions. The helicopters tried to help them, but in the atmosphere of violent chaos, their efforts were mostly futile. One of the aircraft was struck and crashed in the valley. Some went to Gardez, while a number of others turned back in the direction of the capital Ghazni. When dusk fell, the battle was approaching its end. The convoy had been destroyed and the counterattack launched in attempt to save it had been defeated. The Mujahideen began to evacuate the Martyrs and the wounded from the field of battle. As for the booty, it was very great, and had to be swiftly collected before the aircraft came to destroy it in the morning, or a new force came from Gardez or Ghazni to withdraw their losses and pursue the Mujahideen exhausted by yesterday’s battle

There were forty Martyrs from the battle and about 90 wounded.

Jalaluddin smiled when they brought him among the booty a number of modern weapons, including sniper rifles with scopes, and submachine guns only carried by Russian officers. Jalaluddin began to inspect the rifles, and take them in his hands in amazement.

Then he remembered the man who had asked him when the Russians would come, so that he could take as booty from them such a rifle as this. So he said to those around him:

“The sniper rifle is his portion in front of Allah, for it has been promised to him. As for this modern machine gun, this is for Abdul Bari, who fired the first shot in this great victory.”

Standing next to him was Maulavi Abdul Rahman. Bowing his head, he said in a voice that struggled with tears:

“May Allah have mercy on them. Both of those men were martyred”.

The Gift

Jalauddin stood under a large tree on top of the mountain overlooking Shahi Kut. He was preparing to move out towards the city of Oruzgan. Standing at his side were Golzarak and Maulavi Abdul Rahman. He began to straighten his garb and balance his ammunition belt and his ancient rifle on his shoulders. He addressed the two men:

“I am leaving Paktia now, and I am certain that none of the people fear the Russian army. Its reputation has been destroyed and after that it will never defeat us, Allah permitting. No matter what force they gather against us, no one will retreat before it”.

“I am heading for Oruzgan today, for the fighting has been heavy there for several days, and I have heard that Maulavi Arslan is ill”. The two men said goodbye to him and withdrew. Then his brothers Ibrahim and Khalil came up to him. He scrutinized the face of his younger brother and spoke to him in concern:

“What is with you Khalil? Are you sick? Your eyes are red and swollen.”

The young man answered him in a weak, exhausted voice:

“Never, Maulavi Sahib. But I did not sleep well last night.”

But Ibrahim explained the matter to his older brother, saying:

“Khalil cried a lot last night. He lost many friends in the battle yesterday. They were among the martyrs. And he has been greatly affected by the loss of Abdul Bari.”

Jalaluddin responded with sympathy:

“Those Martyrs are happy. They are now in the Garden of Eternity, alive with their Lord and sustained. We are pained by their loss, but we should not be sorrowful for them. We should be happy and rejoice for them and we wish to join to them.”

Khalil responded with emotion:

“Abdul Bari dreamed about his son so much and wanted to see him. Now, he is about to buried in a strange land away from his home and his family.”

Jalaluddin responded kindly, “We beseech Allah to grant patience to his family and compensate them with goodness in his stead. As for you, look out for yourself and your health. Don’t abandon yourself to sorrow. For the war has not ended yet and the path of Jihad is long”.

Jalaluddin bid farewell to his brothers, and began to quietly descend the mountain. He had not gone very far when Khalil yelled:

“Sahib, are we allowed to use the Dushka against the aircraft?”

Jalaluddin turned smiling and said in a loud voice:

“Of course you can do that. That’s the reason we put you on the mountain.”

Khalil could almost fly with happiness. He shouted giddily:

“And if I shoot down an airplane, will you grant me a new rifle?”

Jalaluddin responded, and the smile had not left his lips:

“Rather I will find you a pretty girl to marry.”

The young man’s face reddened with embarrassment, and he was silent as he hid from the glances of his brother Ibrahim, who laughed noisily until he was sitting on the ground holding his stomach.

Al-Somood Magazine

Translated and submitted by a Mujahid

Part 1 jalaluddin Haqqani, a Legend in the History of the Afghanistan Jihad