Battle of Jaji

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Jaji
partof=Soviet war in Afghanistan


caption=
date=May 20 - June 13, 1987
place=Pakistani-Afghan border
casus=
territory=
result=Unclear
combatant1=flag|Soviet Union,
flagicon|Afghanistan|1980 Democratic Republic of Afghanistan
combatant2=Afghan and Arab Mujahideen
combatant3=
commander1=
commander2=Jalaluddin Haqqani,
Osama bin Laden
commander3=
strength1=
strength2=
strength3=
casualties1=
casualties2=
casualties3=
notes=The Battle of Jaji occurred in May 1987, during the first stage of withdrawal of Soviet forces from their failed invasion of Afghanistan.cite web
last=Grau |first=Lester
url=http://leav-www.army.mil/fmso/documents/Withdrawal.pdf
title="Breaking contact without leaving chaos: the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan"
publisher= Foreign Military Studies Office Publications
accessdate=2007-08-17 ] Remaining Soviet troops supported the Soviet-backed government's operations in Paktia Province against the Mujahideen, hoping to relieve a besieged garrison at Ali Sher, and cut off supply lines to the Mujahideen from Pakistan.cite book
first = David | last = Isby
title = War in a distant country, Afghanistan: invasion and resistance
date = 1989
publisher = Arms and Armour Press
isbn= 0 85368 769 2
pages= p42]

The Mujahideen "al-Masada" compound in had been constructed by Osama bin Laden, in order to have a training facility that didn't rely on Pakistan. [cite book
title=Ghost Wars: The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001
last=Coll |first=Steve
year=2004
publisher=Penguin Books
isbn= 1594200076
pages= p157, p163-164] On May 20, after Ali Sher had been relieved,Fact|date=January 2008 Jaji was attacked by Russian Airborne Troops, Spetznaz, the Soviet-backed Afghan Army and tribal militias.Fact|date=January 2008

The Mujahideen army numbered in the thousands, having drawn recruits from the surrounding area, cite news |first= Tim |last= McGirk |authorlink= |coauthors=
title= Moscow's Graveyard
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1090775-2,00.html
work= |publisher= [http://www.time.com/ Time]
date=2005-08-06
accessdate=2007-08-04 ] including forces from all seven of the resistance parties. Among the leaders were Jalaluddin Haqqani and Mohammed Anwar, whose experienced troops were carrying Stinger and Blowpipe missiles that threatened Soviet gunships.

Eventually, after 24 days of combat, a number of Soviet-aligned Afghan soldiers had defected to the Mujahideen, and the Soviets, having made no headway, decided to pull back. Fact|date=January 2008

This battle later became famous due the participation of Osama bin Laden, whose force of 50 Mujahideen resisted the assaults of 200 Soviet Spetznaz for a week, according to the reports of the time. [cite news
title=Echoes of Afghanistan in the streets of Fallujah
first= Colin |last= Freeman
url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/11/11/EDG7O9PC171.DTL
date=2004-11-11
publisher=San Francisco Chronicle
accessdate=2007-04-28] However, some suggest that bin Laden and his fighters eventually retreated after taking losses. [ cite book
title=Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama Bin Laden
first=Peter |last=Bergen
url=http://books.google.com/books?id=sRhZDrJb0zgC&pg=PA90&vq=Jaji%2089&sig=D9ZUXg7q-baLV7CBJdzewoZXJbM#PPA57,M1
date=May 28, 2002
publisher=Free Press
isbn= 0743234677
pages= p56-57]

At least 12 of the defenders, chiefly Arab volunteers, were killed in the week-long battle, and Bin Laden suffered a foot wound. [Coll, p163] Ahmed Said Khadr would often praise the bravery of the fighters in Jaji to his children, but refused to confirm whetheror not he had actually participated. [Michelle Shephard, "Guantanamo's Child", 2008.]

In the end, the mujahideen successfully held their complex system of tunnels and caves named "al-Masada" ("Lion's Den") just outside the village of Jaji, near the Pakistani border, from Soviet capture. [cite web |url=http://www.peterbergen.com/bergen/articles/details.aspx?id=235
title= Review of the "Osama bin Laden I know" by Dick Clarke in the Washington Post
accessdate= 2007-08-05
first= Richard A. |last= Clarke
date=2006-01-22 |year= |month= |publisher= [http://www.peterbergen.com/ PeterBergen.com] |pages= |language= ]

Although relatively unimportant in military terms, the battle had been chronicled daily by Arab press outlets during its firefights, and left an impression of bin Laden as a victorious military leader, attracting a number of followers to his cause. [cite news
title=Profile of Osama bin Laden (transript)
url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0608/22/i_ins.01.html
date=2006-08-22
publisher=CNN.com
accessdate=2007-08-05]

References

*cite news
title=Reagan's Osama Connection
url=http://www.slate.com/id/2102243/
date= 2004-06-10
publisher=Slate
accessdate=2007-04-28