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Afghan mujahideen: the story on HearLore | HearLore
— Ch. 1 · Origins And Formation —
Afghan mujahideen.
~6 min read · Ch. 1 of 7
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, transforming a simmering civil war into a full-scale liberation struggle. Resistance groups had already begun forming earlier that year, with open rebellion erupting by early 1979. On the 2nd of February 1979, reports emerged showing Afghan dissidents receiving guerrilla training across the border in Pakistan. The situation escalated dramatically during the Herat mutiny in March, when unorganized army mutineers from the 17th Division and civilians briefly overthrew the city garrison before facing air bombardment. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi, an Islamic mystic leader known as a hazrat, created the Afghan National Liberation Front on the 25th of May 1979, appealing for support in New York City just days later. Sayyed Ahmad Gailani, a spiritual figure called a pir, established the National Islamic Front around the same time. Mawlawi Mohammad Nabi Mohammadi, a religious scholar and former parliament member, formed the Revolutionary Islamic Movement after assaulting leftist Babrak Karmal inside the House of Representatives in 1966. By the 11th of August 1979, four major groups including Jamiat-i Islami and Hezb-i Islami Khalis united to form a new organization based in Peshawar, Pakistan, aiming to establish an Islamic Republic. Hazara tribes maintained approximately 5,000 men under arms by August 1979 alone.
Factions And Alliances
The resistance fractured into two distinct alliances: the Sunni Peshawar Seven and the Shia Tehran Eight. The Peshawar Seven included fundamentalist factions like Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, which received the largest share of funding from Pakistan's ISI, Saudi intelligence, and American CIA operations. Jamiat-i Islami, headed by Burhanuddin Rabbani, a theology professor at Kabul University, represented a more moderate Tajik faction advocating for a semi-democratic Islamic state. Traditionalist groups such as Jabha-i Nejat-i Milli under Sibghatullah Mojaddedi favored restoring Afghanistan's ousted King Zahir Shah. The Tehran Eight emerged in 1987 as a coalition of Shia militias operating primarily in central Afghanistan among ethnic Hazaras. Sazman-i Nasr became the strongest group by the mid-1980s before most merged into Hezb-e Wahdat in 1989. Dutch journalist Jere Van Dyk reported in 1981 that guerrillas were effectively fighting two civil wars simultaneously, one against Soviet forces and another among themselves. At least three different iterations of an Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahedin alliance failed to last beyond short periods.
Foreign Intervention And Funding
Operation Cyclone became the Central Intelligence Agency's largest and most successful covert operation ever, channeling massive resources through Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency. By May 1980, mujahideen controlled virtually all rural Afghanistan, clearing regions of communist loyalists except near the Soviet border where Abdul Rashid Dostum commanded forces. The CIA provided heavy equipment starting in 1985, including bazookas, heavy machine guns, snow boots, and ski tents for winter operations. Saudi Arabia and China contributed significantly to strengthening the movement by 1987, while private donors from Arab states added substantial funding streams. Britain's support through MI6 and SAS training represented Whitehall's most extensive covert operation since World War II. Ahmad Shah Massoud's Jamiat-i Islami received British assistance while other factions relied heavily on Pakistani intelligence channels. Pakistan controlled which rebels received aid, ensuring four fundamentalist factions obtained most financial and military support. The Hezb-i Islami Gulbuddin faction received the lion's share of weapons distributed through ISI and CIA networks. Private charities from Persian Gulf states funneled large amounts of money directly to resistance groups operating out of Peshawar.
Military Tactics And Equipment
The portable surface-to-air Stinger missile first appeared in September 1986, changing the balance of air power in the conflict. Military analysts later coined the term Stinger effect to describe how these missiles neutralized Soviet helicopter superiority. Some statistics claiming massive aircraft losses came from mujahideen self-reporting with unknown reliability levels. A Russian general claimed American figures greatly exaggerated actual Soviet and Afghan plane casualties during the war. Most weapons used by resistance fighters were of Soviet design, including Chinese 83mm recoilless rifles and Soviet 82mm mortars captured or supplied by foreign backers. Lee-Enfield rifles, Egyptian AKMs, and Chinese SKS carbines formed part of their standard arsenal alongside twin-barreled Type 58 machine guns. By 1987, raised funding allowed acquisition of better winter gear and heavier weaponry like bazookas. Despite controlling six entire provinces by late 1988, mujahideen could not seize major cities due to coordination problems and insufficient heavy firepower. The Afghan Army successfully repelled attempts to capture Jalalabad in March 1989, creating a three-year stalemate that ended only when Soviet support collapsed.
Social Dynamics And Women
Women participated in the war effort by cooking food, washing clothes, smuggling weapons, and encouraging male relatives to join the fight against occupation forces. Bibi Ayesha, nicknamed Kaftar meaning dove, operated as a female warlord in Baghlan Province according to recorded accounts. Female refugees created Landays poems reflecting on the suffering and struggle they witnessed throughout the conflict. However, some factions reportedly captured Afghan women to keep as slaves, a practice documented by a 1992 Press-Republican newspaper report. Many women supported the Democratic Republic government where they enjoyed certain social privileges despite the overall split between opposing sides. Some mujahideen leaders engaged in pedophilia through Bacha bazi practices involving keeping boys for personal servitude and displaying power. This tradition had been outlawed under the previous regime with death penalties enforced for violators. Schools and teachers became legitimate targets for attacks because commanders believed communist ideology was being taught within educational institutions. The lack of clear political strategy among guerrilla groups weakened their effectiveness despite widespread praise for their bravery against a superpower.
Post-Soviet Civil War
The Geneva Accords signed the 14th of April 1988 committed Soviet troops to withdraw completely by the 15th of February 1989, completing their exit in two phases ending November 1988. Commander Boris Gromov of the 40th Army remained the last Soviet soldier to leave Afghanistan after fulfilling his duties. Mujahideen factions captured Kabul on the 28th of April 1992 following the collapse of Mohammad Najibullah's government, celebrating what they called Victory Day. However, divisions immediately triggered another civil war as former allies turned against each other over power sharing arrangements. The Peshawar Accord attempted to establish a new government but failed to prevent infighting between Sunni factions and Shia Hezb-e Wahdat militias. By summer 1990, Afghan government forces were on the defensive while mujahideen expanded territory through spring offensives led by Massoud in 1990 and 1991. Soviet support dried up after the August 1991 coup attempt in Moscow, causing fuel shortages that grounded the Afghan Air Force. Desertion rates skyrocketed among regular army units as morale collapsed under pressure from multiple rebel fronts. Dostum's Jowzjani militia defected to Massoud in March 1992 after negotiations, sealing the fate of the communist regime.
Rise Of The Taliban
The Taliban emerged in 1994 as a puritanical movement recruiting religious students from madrasas across Pakistan's border during years of anarchy. Supported by Pakistani intelligence, the group defeated former mujahideen factions in a highly effective military campaign establishing the Islamic Emirate by 1996. Nearly all original Taliban leadership had fought for either Hezb-i Islami Khalis or Harakat-i Inqilab-e Islami during the earlier Soviet war. Yunus Khalis and Nabi Mohammadi strongly supported the new movement, with Mohammadi even dissolving his own organization to join them. Rabbani and Sayyaf opposed the Taliban, forming the Northern Alliance which recruited Abdul Qadee, Shi'ite leaders like Muhammad Mohaqiq, and former government commander Abdul Rashid Dostum. This opposition force later received support following the United States invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 that successfully drove out the Taliban. Hamid Karzai rose to power after the fall of the Islamic Emirate, marking the end of the first Taliban period before they regrouped to retake control in 2021.
When did the Soviet Union invade Afghanistan and when did resistance groups begin forming?
The Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in December 1979, while resistance groups had already begun forming earlier that year with open rebellion erupting by early 1979. Reports emerged on the 2nd of February 1979 showing Afghan dissidents receiving guerrilla training across the border in Pakistan.
Who were the leaders of the Peshawar Seven alliance formed in August 1979?
The Peshawar Seven included fundamentalist factions like Hizb-i Islami Gulbuddin led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar and Jamiat-i Islami headed by Burhanuddin Rabbani. Sibghatullah Mojaddedi led traditionalist groups such as Jabha-i Nejat-i Milli within this alliance based in Peshawar, Pakistan.
What weapons did the CIA provide to mujahideen fighters starting in 1985?
The CIA provided heavy equipment starting in 1985 including bazookas, heavy machine guns, snow boots, and ski tents for winter operations. The portable surface-to-air Stinger missile first appeared in September 1986 changing the balance of air power in the conflict.
How did women participate in the Afghan mujahideen war effort during the Soviet invasion?
Women participated in the war effort by cooking food, washing clothes, smuggling weapons, and encouraging male relatives to join the fight against occupation forces. Bibi Ayesha operated as a female warlord in Baghlan Province while female refugees created Landays poems reflecting on the suffering they witnessed throughout the conflict.
When were the Geneva Accords signed and when did Soviet troops complete their withdrawal from Afghanistan?
The Geneva Accords signed the 14th of April 1988 committed Soviet troops to withdraw completely by the 15th of February 1989 completing their exit in two phases ending November 1988. Commander Boris Gromov of the 40th Army remained the last Soviet soldier to leave Afghanistan after fulfilling his duties.