Preparation
The initiator and overall commander of the operation was General Abdul Rahim Wardak, a former officer in the Afghan Army, who at this time belonged to National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (NIFA), a Mujahideen party based in Peshawar. The operation was planned shortly after Soviet forces had withdrawn from Nangarhar Province, and its objective was to prevent the DRA from reinforcing its presence in Jalalabad in prevision of a future Mujahideen offensive against that city, scheduled for 1989. It was part of a campaign to close the highway for a period of two months, involving different Mujahideen parties, including NIFA, Jamiat-e Islami, Hezbi Islami and Hezb-e Islami Khalis, each one responsible for closing the highway for 15 days.
Wardak divided his forces into nine separate task forces, numbering between 130 and 350 men each, for a total force of 2,600. Besides small-arms, they were armed with MILAN anti-tank missiles, 82 and 75 mm recoilless rifles, 82 mm mortars, 107 and 122 mm Saqar rockets and Stinger missiles. Five task forces were assigned as strike groups, each charged with seizing a specific stretch of the highway, two were used as blocking forces against the expected DRA counterattack, one group was held in reserve, and one was given the mission of bombarding Kabul International Airport with Saqar rockets, in order to disrupt DRA air operations. Organising the Mujahideen attack took Wardak two months, moving supplies to forward depots, and deploying units into the target area.
The objective was a 70-kilometer stretch of highway between Sarobi and Surkhakan bridge, near Mehtar Lam. This area was defended by various DRA units beloging to the 8th and 18th border guard brigades, the 8th infantry division, the 15th tank brigade, supported by a Sarandoy battalion and various local militia groups. These units manned a series of outposts and bases, whose purpose was to keep the strategic highway open. Each outpost was manned by five to ten men, armed with heavy machine-guns, mortars and AGS-17s. Each base was occupied by platoon-sized units, reinforced with one or two tanks or armoured personnel carriers, medium artillery and mortars.
Read more about this topic: Operation Arrow
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