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Directly after the coup, the 455th Commando and 242nd Para were combined into the 26th Airborne Regiment, stationed at [[Bala Hissar, Kabul|Bala Hissar fortress]].<ref name=":0" /> A reorganisation and redesignation of the commando formations took place, still retaining their numerical designation. For example, the 444th Commando Battalion was now the 444th Commando Regiment.<ref name=":0" /> As a result of the Khalq’s disastrous social reforms, land reforms, political purges and their oppression of the Afghan population;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Anthony |url=http://archive.org/details/afghanistanstwop00anth_0 |title=Afghanistan's two-party communism : Parcham and Khalq |date=1983 |publisher=Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8179-7792-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Amstutz |first=J. Bruce |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RUSNyMH1aFQC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation |date=1994-07 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-0-7881-1111-2 |language=en}}</ref> the Islamic clergy, regular civilians, [[Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan|Maoists]] and [[Parcham|Parchamites]], uprisings began in provinces such as [[Nuristan Province|Nuristan]] and [[Khost]] that the commandos would have to deal with, as well as seeing limited combat against the growing Mujahideen factions.<ref name=":0" />
Directly after the coup, the 455th Commando and 242nd Para were combined into the 26th Airborne Regiment, stationed at [[Bala Hissar, Kabul|Bala Hissar fortress]].<ref name=":0" /> A reorganisation and redesignation of the commando formations took place, still retaining their numerical designation. For example, the 444th Commando Battalion was now the 444th Commando Regiment.<ref name=":0" /> As a result of the Khalq’s disastrous social reforms, land reforms, political purges and their oppression of the Afghan population;<ref>{{Cite book |last=Arnold |first=Anthony |url=http://archive.org/details/afghanistanstwop00anth_0 |title=Afghanistan's two-party communism : Parcham and Khalq |date=1983 |publisher=Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8179-7792-4}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Amstutz |first=J. Bruce |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RUSNyMH1aFQC&printsec=frontcover&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation |date=1994-07 |publisher=DIANE Publishing |isbn=978-0-7881-1111-2 |language=en}}</ref> the Islamic clergy, regular civilians, [[Communist (Maoist) Party of Afghanistan|Maoists]] and [[Parcham|Parchamites]], uprisings began in provinces such as [[Nuristan Province|Nuristan]] and [[Khost]] that the commandos would have to deal with, as well as seeing limited combat against the growing Mujahideen factions.<ref name=":0" />

'''KERALA MASSACRE'''

On 20 April 1979, the 444th Commando Regiment and the 11th Division of the Afghan Army committed the [[Kerala massacre]], indiscriminately killing 1,000 civilians including women, children, the elderly and the disabled.<ref>https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/291156cd-c8e3-4620-a5e1-d3117ed7fb93/ajpreport_20050718.pdf</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=A grim chapter in Afghanistan war |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1980/0204/020434.html |access-date=2024-05-04 |work=Christian Science Monitor |issn=0882-7729}}</ref> Major Saddiq Alamyar, the commander of the 444th Commando during the massacre, was arrested by the [[Babrak Karmal|Karmal]] administration.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2015-11-02 |title=Head of Afghan Commando Unit Detained Over 1,000 Killings |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/head-afghan-commando-unit-detained-over-1-000-killings-n455586 |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=NBC News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Clark |first=Kate |date=2015-11-01 |title=A 36-Year Wait for Justice? Dutch arrest suspected Afghan war criminal |url=https://www.afghanistan-analysts.org/en/reports/rights-freedom/a-36-year-wait-for-justice-dutch-arrest-suspected-afghan-war-criminal/ |access-date=2024-05-04 |website=Afghanistan Analysts Network - English |language=ps-GB}}</ref> He was jailed for a decade before the government collapsed in 1992, as he fled Afghanistan and sought refuge in the Netherlands. He was detained in October 2015, aged 64, although the case against him was ultimately dropped by the [[Ministry of Justice (Netherlands)|Dutch Office of Prosecutors]] due to a lack of evidence.<ref>https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/sadeq-alamyar/</ref>


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 01:24, 4 May 2024

The Afghan Commando Forces were the combined special forces units of the Afghan Armed Forces, composed of numerous brigades, regiments and battalions established by King Mohammad Zahir Shah in 1964 and disbanded in 1992, following the collapse of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan and the events of the Afghan Civil War.

Commandos under the Kingdom of Afghanistan

The history of special units within the Afghan Armed Forces dates back to early 1964 when the 242nd Parachute Battalion was established, the Royal Afghan Army’s first elite formation which was an independent battalion, subordinate to the General Staff. Sardar Abdul Wali, Commander-in-Chief of the 1st Central Army Corps, established the battalion in order to suppress demonstrations, riots in the capital Kabul, and to prevent potential coup attempts.[1][2] Command of the battalion was passed down to Capt. Habibullah, who recently completed the Infantry Officers’ Advanced Course and airborne training in Fort Benning, United States. The 242nd Parachute Battalion was stationed in Sherpur Fort, northwest Kabul where they conducted airborne training in Bagram and Jalalabad.[3]

During the summer of 1967, the 444th Commando Battalion was formed by Sardar Abdul Wali, becoming the Royal Afghan Army’s second elite formation and the most important commando unit in Afghanistan’s military history. The 444th Commando Battalion was commanded by Lt. Col. Aqel Shah, who later passed it to Maj. Rahmatullah Safi, who received in the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Soviet Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School.[4][5][6] The battalion was stationed in Bala Hissar fortress in the southern outskirts of Kabul, being airborne-qualified and under the control of the 1st Central Army Corps. To properly accommodate the new commando formations, they were given access to BTR-40 personnel carriers, tanks and other military equipment.[7][8] Gen. Khushal Peroz, of 444th Commando, also stated they were the first unit in the Royal Afghan Army to use the AK-47 rifle. The early commando and parachute battalion’s officer base was primarily made up of the Afghan aristocracy and those close to Sardar Abdul Wali, fearing a potential coup attempt from Mohammad Daoud Khan.[9]

Under the reign of Mohammed Zahir Shah, more specifically in 1964, the 242nd Parachute Battalion wore locally-produced one-piece olive drab overalls, inspired by those worn by the Soviet Airborne Forces, as well as metal airborne wings with a black cloth backing. In 1967, the 444th Commando Battalion wore the standard khaki Afghan Army uniform, as well a distinct blue patch and jump wings with a light blue cloth backing. The Afghan commandos wore Soviet-style pilotkas, adorned with a small metal pin of the Royal Afghan Army’s insignia or a military variant of Afghanistan’s national emblem.[10] The commandos became the first unit in the Afghan Army to use Frog Skin camouflage two-piece uniforms in 1969, initially imported from the Soviet Union. In 1970, paratroopers also resorted to using Frog Skin camouflage. Maroon berets additionally become part of the commando headdress, pulled down to the right.[11][12]

Operations under the KoAF

On 24 May 1970, the first documented commando operation took place, involving the suppression of anti-government protests by the Islamic clergy.[13] Up to 1500–3000 mullahs from the eastern and southern regions of Afghanistan travelled to Kabul’s Pul-e Khishti Mosque and protested against:

  • The activities of the PDPA and a publication of newspaper “Parcham” which celebrated the centenary for Vladimir Lenin’s birth
  • “Anti-religious” films being shown on television about Prophet Yusuf
  • Displays of caricatures of Prophet Mohammed and his number of marriages being quoted by foreign press outlets and the leftist “Esalat” newspaper (which is still in existence)

Sardar Abdul Wali ordered units of the Royal Afghan Army, such as the 717th Civil Disciplinary Regiment, to remove the protestors by force and use buses to deport them out of Kabul, back to their homes. The 717th arrived at Pul-e Khishti Mosque at 2:00am, with the 444th Commando Battalion arriving with tanks and armoured vehicles, led by Col. Rahmatullah Safi. The protestors performed a sleep-in outside of the mosque and inside its courtyard as a form of peaceful protest, as soldiers attempted to wake them up and make them leave the area. As a result of the protestors not leaving the mosque, the soldiers used their gunstocks to disperse the crowd, as they reluctantly moved towards Maiwand Road where the supplementary buses were parked to deport the protestors from the capital. The protestors reluctantly went inside the buses, shouting “Death to Abdul Wali” and “Allahu Akbar”.[14]

Commandos under the Republic of Afghanistan

Between 1972–1973, the 455th Commando Battalion was being formed at Bala Hissar fortress as the Royal Afghan Army’s third elite formation.[15] Before the battalion could come to full strength, Daoud Khan successfully managed to depose Zahir Shah and the Afghan monarchy during the 1973 Afghan coup d'etat in 17 July.[16][17] Leftist junior officers of the 242nd Parachute Battalion offered their support to Republican elements taking part in the coup, with the 444th Commando Battalion being heavily involved. After the coup, Capt. Hashem Wardak was promoted to the rank of Major and given command of 242nd Para.[18]

After briefly being used as palace guards at the Arg Presidential Palace, the 444th Commando Battalion were moved to Jalalabad from Kabul, leaving the 455th Commando Battalion as the only formation in Bala Hissar fortress, under the command of Maj. Hashem Zadran. Between 1975–1977, under the presidency of Mohammed Daoud Khan, three more commando formations were established; the 466th Commando Battalion, 2nd Army Corps (Kandahar), the 666th Commando Battalion, 3rd Army Corps (Khost, Nadir Shah Kot) and a supposed 777th Commando Battalion stationed in Gardez, also under the control of the 3rd Army Corps. In 1974, the Afghan commandos received the Italian M1929 Telo mimetico camouflage, produced locally from fabric printed within Afghanistan.[19][20][21] In the mid-1970s, the commandos additionally received a unique orange-green “splinter” camouflage manufactured in Afghanistan.[22]

Operations under the RoAF

On 17 July 1973, the 444th Commando Battalion would become the main striking force of Republican elements during the 1973 Afghan coup d'etat. Under the leadership of Capt. Faiz Mohammed, the Chief of Operations of the 444th Commando Battalion, the commandos seized Kabul International Airport and the Arg Royal Palace at midnight, disarmed the Royal Guard and coordinated the arrests of members of the royal family such as Crown Prince Ahmad Shah and Lt. General Abdul Wali Khan.[23][24] As a result of Faiz Mohammed leading part of the battalion in support of Daoud, he was promoted to the rank of Major and given command of the battalion, purging it of royalist elements. As a further reward, Faiz Mohammed became the Minister of Interior and command of the 444th Commando Battalion was given to Maj. Hedayatullah.[25]

In 1974, soldiers of the 444th Commando Battalion were sent to the city of Jalalabad due to skirmishes along the Afghan-Pakistani border, also known as the Durand Line.[26] A year later, in 1975, 444th Commando would be sent to Panjshir Valley in order to quell an uprising started by Ahmad Shah Massoud (then-22 years old) and Gulbuddin Hekmetyar, being assisted by the Iranian SAVAK and the Pakistani ISI.[27][28] Although the 1975 Panjshir Valley Uprising saw initial success, with a military garrison being taken by the rebels in Rokha District, the 444th Commando Battalion (in assistance with the Afghan Air Force) successfully engaged with the armed militants, ending in a complete victory for the Afghan government, resulting in Massoud and Hekmetyar fleeing to Pakistan and any form of rebellion in Panjshir being crushed.[29][30] In the same year, the 444th Commando Battalion were sent to Laghman to quell the 1975 Laghman uprising by armed Islamists, targeting government headquarters. The rebels faced defeat, being arrested upon arrival, as well as Jamiat-e Islami commander Mawlawi Habib Rahman.[31][32]

Commandos under the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

On 27 April 1978, armed forces units loyal to the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan deposed President Daoud Khan, overthrew the Republican government and established the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, during the Saur Revolution.[33][34][35] The commando battalions would find themselves becoming the victims of in-fighting, as the 444th, 455th Commando Battalions and the 242nd Parachute Battalion fought amongst each other.[1][2] Communists within the 242nd Para neutralised the battalion to ensure soldiers didn’t intervene on behalf of President Daoud Khan, meanwhile Bala Hissar barracks were set on fire by the PDPA-affiliated rebels to distract and immobilise the 455th Commando Battalion.[1] During the final hours of the coup, Lt. Imauddin, an officer of the 444th Commando Battalion, ordered Daoud Khan to surrender, to which he refused. As a result, Imauddin shot him and Naim Khan.[2] Additionally, Lt.Gen Shahnawaz Tanai, would also take part in the coup, being photographed standing outside the gates of the Arg Presidential Palace.[36] Tanai took command of the 444th Commando Battalion on the early morning of the 28th of April.[1][37]

Directly after the coup, the 455th Commando and 242nd Para were combined into the 26th Airborne Regiment, stationed at Bala Hissar fortress.[1] A reorganisation and redesignation of the commando formations took place, still retaining their numerical designation. For example, the 444th Commando Battalion was now the 444th Commando Regiment.[1] As a result of the Khalq’s disastrous social reforms, land reforms, political purges and their oppression of the Afghan population;[38][39] the Islamic clergy, regular civilians, Maoists and Parchamites, uprisings began in provinces such as Nuristan and Khost that the commandos would have to deal with, as well as seeing limited combat against the growing Mujahideen factions.[1]

KERALA MASSACRE

On 20 April 1979, the 444th Commando Regiment and the 11th Division of the Afghan Army committed the Kerala massacre, indiscriminately killing 1,000 civilians including women, children, the elderly and the disabled.[40][41] Major Saddiq Alamyar, the commander of the 444th Commando during the massacre, was arrested by the Karmal administration.[42][43] He was jailed for a decade before the government collapsed in 1992, as he fled Afghanistan and sought refuge in the Netherlands. He was detained in October 2015, aged 64, although the case against him was ultimately dropped by the Dutch Office of Prosecutors due to a lack of evidence.[44]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  2. ^ a b c Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  3. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  4. ^ Cooley, John K. (2002). Unholy Wars: Afghanistan, America and International Terrorism (3 ed.). Pluto Press. ISBN 978-0-7453-1917-9.
  5. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  6. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  7. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  8. ^ "BTR-40". Weaponsystems.net. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  9. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  10. ^ GenerationMeat (2024-05-03). "Khushal Peroz with other Afghan commandos of the 444th Commando Battalion, 1967". r/afghanistan. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  11. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  12. ^ Isby, David (2013-02-20). Russia’s War in Afghanistan. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0179-1.
  13. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  14. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  15. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  16. ^ "CONTENTdm". content.library.arizona.edu. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  17. ^ "Afghan King Overthrown; A Republic Is Proclaimed". The New York Times. 1973-07-18. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  18. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  19. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  20. ^ "Afghanistan - Camopedia". www.camopedia.org. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  21. ^ Isby, David (2013-02-20). Russia’s War in Afghanistan. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4728-0179-1.
  22. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  23. ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019-04-11). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963-1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 978-1-7283-8701-7.
  24. ^ "General Khoshhal Peroz". India Today. 2012-06-11. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  25. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  26. ^ "«Пожарная команда» Кабула | Warspot.ru". web.archive.org. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  27. ^ Times, Eric Pace Special to The New York (1975-08-13). "Afghan‐Pakistani Trouble Brewing Again Near the Khyber Pass". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  28. ^ https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Chapter-1-3.pdf
  29. ^ Gall, Sandy (2021). Afghan Napoleon: The Life of Ahmad Shah Massoud. Haus Publishing. ISBN 978-1-913368-22-7.
  30. ^ Ken Conboy; Paul Hannon (1992). Elite Forces of India and Pakistan.
  31. ^ Sharma, Raghav (2016-07-15). Nation, Ethnicity and the Conflict in Afghanistan: Political Islam and the rise of ethno-politics 1992–1996. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-317-09013-7.
  32. ^ Tanwir, Dr M. Halim (2013-02-22). Afghanistan: History, Diplomacy and Journalism Volume 1: History, Diplomacy and Journalism. Xlibris Corporation. ISBN 978-1-4797-6092-3.
  33. ^ Wahab, Shaista; Youngerman, Barry (2007). A Brief History of Afghanistan. Infobase Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4381-0819-3.
  34. ^ Urban, Mark (2016-07-27). War in Afghanistan. Springer. ISBN 978-1-349-20761-9.
  35. ^ https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3112&context=kabultimes – Kabul Times Newspaper 1978
  36. ^ "«Пожарная команда» Кабула | Warspot.ru". web.archive.org. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  37. ^ "«Пожарная команда» Кабула | Warspot.ru". web.archive.org. 2022-11-30. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  38. ^ Arnold, Anthony (1983). Afghanistan's two-party communism : Parcham and Khalq. Internet Archive. Stanford, Calif. : Hoover Institution Press, Stanford University. ISBN 978-0-8179-7792-4.
  39. ^ Amstutz, J. Bruce (1994-07). Afghanistan: The First Five Years of Soviet Occupation. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7881-1111-2. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  40. ^ https://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/uploads/291156cd-c8e3-4620-a5e1-d3117ed7fb93/ajpreport_20050718.pdf
  41. ^ "A grim chapter in Afghanistan war". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  42. ^ "Head of Afghan Commando Unit Detained Over 1,000 Killings". NBC News. 2015-11-02. Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  43. ^ Clark, Kate (2015-11-01). "A 36-Year Wait for Justice? Dutch arrest suspected Afghan war criminal". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English (in Pashto). Retrieved 2024-05-04.
  44. ^ https://trialinternational.org/latest-post/sadeq-alamyar/
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