The Afghanistan War
Opposing Forces - The Mujahideen

    

The Mujahideen

In this section we will discuss the groups opposing the Soviet 40th army and Afghan forces.  These groups, collectively called the Mujahideen, were a varied coalition of loosely allied Afghan factions.  Each of which had its own political orientation, which ranged from Islamic fundamentalist, traditionalist,  to pro-monarchist.

These groups had little strategic cooperation and even fought against eachother on occasion.  The only binding thread that held them together was their opposition to the Soviet Army and the Soviet backed Afghan government.  This led to limited cooperation on the battlefield.

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The first of these groups were created after the 1978 April 27 revolution when a large number of the Afghan opposition forces began forming in the border regions near Pakistan.  By June of 1981 these groups united to form the Islamic Unity of Afghan Mujahideen.  This unity did not last long and by August of 1981 they Mujahideen had split into two major factions; a union of fundamentalist groups known as the "Group of Seven" and an organization of three traditionalist factions known as the "Group of Three".  In May of 1985 both groups again united to establish a unified opposition.  They were now known as the "Peshawar Seven".

The major factions of the "Peshawar Seven" are listed here, along with their leaders, political affiliation, operational region, and military leaders.  In some cases a brief description and other useful information will also be listed.

 

The National Islamic Front of Afghanistan (Mohaz Melli Islami)
Leader: Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani
Political Affiliation: Pro-Western and Pro-Royalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Pashtun
Operational Area: Khandahar and among Pathan border areas.
Military Leaders: Mohammed Amin Wardak, Abdul Rahim Wardak, Ramatullah Safi
Founded in 1978 in Pakistan by Pir Sayed Ahmed Gailani.  It is a loose Sufi conglomerate who followed their leader Pir Gailani out of tribal and religious loyalty.  The group lacked clear political organization that characterized many of the other factions.

 

The Afghan National Liberation Front (Jebhe Nejat Milli Nejad)
Leader: Sibghtullah Modjaddidi
Political Affiliation: Traditionalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Pashto and Naqshbandi Sufic
Operational Area: Kabul, Kunar, Nangrahar, Paktika, and Logar provinces.
This group was founded in Pakistan in 1979 and sought to establish an Islamic society based on sharia law.  It was open to all Muslims regardless of political or religious affilliation.  Many of its members were government officials from the previous regime.  The group also operated separate detatchments in Faryab, Takhar, and Kunduz provinces.

 

The Islamic Revolutionary Movement (Harakat-i-Inquilabi-i-Islami)
Leader: Mohammed Nabi Mohammedi
Political Affiliation: Traditionalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Pashtun (some Pathan and Uzbek)
Operational Area: Ghazni, Wardak, Koh-i-Safi, Badakhshan, and Kunar.
Military Leaders: Shabioullah, Qari Tadj Mohammad
Established in the Summer of 1973 in Pakistan by Mohammed Nabi Mohammedi.  The Soviets reported that this group had up to 10,000 members and 25,000 followers.  These numbers are generally regarded as inflated.  The group was reported as being hostile to national democratic power.

 

The Islamic Party (Hezbi-i-Islami)
Leader: Mawlawi Mohammad Younis Khalis
Political Affiliation: Islamic Fundamentalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Pashtun
Operational Area: Kabul, Nangarhar, and Paktika provinces.
Military Leaders: Abdul Haq, Jalulladin Haqani
This group broke away from the Islamic Party of Gulbuddin Hekmatyar in 1979.  It was made up of many Mullahs and other religious leaders who desire a return to the strict interpretation of Islam practiced in the Middle Ages.  Would now be referred to as an Islamicist group and during the Afghanistan conflict was known for terrorism and sabotage.

 

The Islamic Society (Jamiat-i-Islami)
Leader: Professor Burhanuddin Rabbani
Political Affiliation: Moderate Islamic Fundamentalist (Anti-Royalist)
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Tadjik, Uzbek, and Turkomen (some Pashtun)
Operational Area: Herat
Military Leaders: Ahmad Shah Massoud, Zabioullah, Mohammed Alim, Ishmael Khan, Mohammed Anwar
This group seeks to establish an Islamic government in Afghanistan, but is flexible enough to have dealings with the United States.  Ahmad Shah Massoud would later go on to become a major force against the Taliban in the 1990's.  He would be assassinated in 2001 by Al Qaida suicide bombers who backed the Taliban.

 

The Islamic Union for the Liberation of Afghanistan (Etihad-e-Islami)
Leader: Professor Abdul Rassul Sayaf
Political Affiliation: Islamic Fundamentalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: No specific group affiliation.
Operational Area: Paghman Province.  Lesser influence in Kabul, Nangarhar, Paktika, and Paktia.
This group was founded in March of 1982 to gain a numerical advantage over the traditionalist factions under the UIAM alliance framework.

 

The Islamic Party (Hezb-i-Islami)
Leader: Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
Political Affiliation: Fundamentalist
Ethnic/Tribal Affiliation: Tadjik and Pashtun (some Turkmen and Uzbeks)
Operational Area: Northeast, east, central, and southwest Afghanistan
The group is fundamentalist in nature and attempted to establish an Islamic state in Afghanistan.  Hekmatyar's group would survive the war, the civil war of the 1990's, and would even endure the US led war against the Taliban in 2001.  During the Soviet intervention the group was ruled by a central committee led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.  He also received significant US and CIA backing.