Western Afghanistan
Given how remote the Sunni Mujahideen in Herat were from sup-
plies channelled through Pakistan, and how unpromising the ter-
rain, it is remarkable that conflict in the west was as heavy as it
proved to be. Shindand airbase to the south of Herat offered an
alluring target, and Herat itself had the recent experience of major
mobilisation during the March 1979 uprising. Major clashes
between the Mujahideen and the regime took place in October
1981, and December 1981–January 1982. Throughout 1984, as
Soviet tactics shifted, bombing occurred in the Herat area directed
at depopulating areas sympathetic to the resistance (Jossinet, 1986:
9). On 12 June 1985, a series of explosions rocked the Shindand
base, destroying up to 20 aircraft (Cordesman and Wagner, 1990:
55), and fighting three weeks later in Herat was so heavy that the
regime governor withdrew (Urban, 1990: 180). A regime attack on
Zendejan in January 1986 caused significant casualties, but pro-
duced no decisive military gain.
The Panjsher Valley
The Panjsher Valley, to the north of Kabul, is strategically import-
ant because it abuts the north–south road which connects Kabul to
Mazar-e Sharif via the Salang Tunnel and Pul-e Khumri. During
the Soviet–Afghan War it was the key base of Ahmad Shah
Massoud, and forces of the USSR and the Afghan regime made
major attempts to occupy it on a number of occasions. None was
successful, but on occasions Massoud was driven into tactical
retreat. The first major Soviet push into the Panjsher was in
September 1980; it was followed by further assaults in November
1980, January–February 1981, August 1981, May 1982,
August–September 1982, March–May 1984, September 1984, and
July 1985. Of these nine operations, two were particularly notable:
that of August–September 1982, on account of its scale and inten-
sity; and that of March–May 1984, on account of the new counter-
insurgency tactics which the Soviets tested. The former led to one
The Karmal Period, 1979–1986 89