ANA Special Operations Command

The Afghan National Army Special Operations Command was a special forces formation of the Afghan National Army, established in 2011 and effectively dispersed after the defeat of the government by the Taliban in 2021.

ANA Special Operations Command
Active2011-2021
Disbanded2021
CountryAfghanistan
TypeSpecial forces
Part ofAfghan National Army
Afghan commandos from the Sixth Commando Kandak wait for two Mil Mi-17 "Hip" helicopters of the Afghan Air Force to land as they practice infiltration techniques at Camp Morehead in the outer regions of Kabul.

The ANA commandos comprised only seven percent of the Afghan defence and security forces, however they may have fought in 70 percent to 80 percent of the fighting during the War in Afghanistan.[1]

Predecessors

The history of special units in the Afghan military dates back to the Kingdom of Afghanistan in 1965 when the 242nd Battalion, the first paratrooper unit of the Afghan Army, was formed during Mohammad Zahir Shah’s reign.[2] Captain Habibullah would serve as first commander of the battalion after recently returning from Fort Benning to Afghanistan. In 1966 and 1967, two more paratrooper units known as the 444th and the 455th Commando Battalions were created as part of the 1st Army Corps.

Afghan Army Major Rahmatullah Safi would be appointed as the chief of staff for the 444th Commando Battalion, and he’d become a commander for the brigade only a year later. The new commander would prove to be a suitable leader for the newly-formed 444th Battalion as he had been trained in the British Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Soviet Ryazan Higher Airborne Command School. In the years 1962 and 1963, he and other commando brigades worked alongside the "National Mujahideen of Pashtunistan" against the Pakistani government, after the unsuccessful Bajaur campaign of 1960-1961.

One of the first major commando operations in-country involved the suppression of anti-government protests by the Islamic clergy on the night of May 24, 1970, with the operation lasting until the day after. Up to 1,500 mullahs from the southern and eastern regions of Afghanistan gathered in Pul-e-Khishti mosque in Kabul, protesting against the activities of the Marxist-Leninist People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan and the publication of the Parcham newspaper, which published an article on the centenary of the birth of Vladimir Lenin. Subordinates of Major Safi, using tanks and armoured vehicles, blocked the mosque, and then asked the mullahs to clear the premises where they’d be put on buses and deported from the capital.

On July 17, 1973, soldiers from the 444th Commando Brigade would become Mohammad Daoud Khan’s main striking force during the 1973 Afghan coup d'état as under the leadership of the Chief of Operations of the Battalion Headquarters Captain Faiz Mohammed, the commandos were involved in seizing Kabul International Airport, disarming the Royal Guard and arresting Crown Prince Ahmad Shah and Lieutenant General Abdul Wali Khan. The 1973 coup would result in Daoud Khan becoming first president of the Republic of Afghanistan, turning the country into a one-party autocratic state.

Under Daoud Khan’s presidency, the creation of more special commando units began with the establishment of the 466th Regiment (2nd Army Corps, Kandahar) in 1975 and the 666th Regiment (3rd Army Corps, Khost, Nadir Shah Kot District) in 1977. Soldiers from the 444th Commando Brigade would be sent to the city of Jalalabad after skirmishes along the Afghan-Pakistani border in 1974. The commando brigades would see more action during Daoud’s tenure as one year later, a young Ahmad Shah Massoud would start a rebellion in Panjshir Province against the Republican government on July 1975, along with Gulbuddin Hekmetyar, being assisted by the military intelligence service of Pakistan. Although the uprising in Panjshir saw initial success after a military garrison in Rokha District was taken by the militants, Daoud Khan sent troops to Panjshir, including the 444th Commando Brigade where they’d see action and engage with armed militants. The failed 1975 rebellion in Panjshir ended with a complete victory for the Afghan government, resulting in Massoud and Gulbuddin both fleeing to Pakistan and any form of rebellion in Panjshir being crushed.

Commandos under the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan

On 27th April 1978, a violent, pro-communist military coup commonly referred to as the “Saur Revolution” was staged by the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan, resulting in the overthrow and death of Mohammed Daoud Khan and the establishment of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. In contrast to the heavy involvement of commando brigades in Daoud’s 1973 coup d'état, the participation of commandos in the 1978 coup was not as significant as the Saur Revolution rather saw bombardments from the Afghan Air Force (using Sukhoi Su-7 strike fighters), artillery units, armoured units and firefights where Republican loyalists in the Afghan Army and police battled with Afghan Army units affiliated with the People’s Democratic Party of Afghanistan.

Afghan Army Paratroopers of the 444th Commando Battalion before a combat operation, Democratic Republic of Afghanistan, 1987

Although this doesn’t mean that commando brigades didn’t take part in the Saur Revolution, as Republican loyalist officers would find themselves in combat with supporters of the PDPA from the 242nd Airborne, 444th and 455th Commando Battalions. Additionally, Lieutenant General Shahnawaz Tanai, a former paratrooper, would also take part in the coup and take command of the 444th Battalion on the early morning of the 28th of April.

Even after the violent overthrow of Daoud Khan, the growth and creation of commando units didn’t cease or slow down as the 26th Airborne Regiment was later formed from the 242nd Airborne and 455th Battalion. Urban writes that the 26th Airborne Regiment was stationed at Bala Hissar fort in Kabul, but was subsequently moved to Bagram and reformed.[3] On the 5th of August 1979, the 26th Airborne Battalion would become politically unreliable as a series of purges and executions orchestrated by the Khalq faction would lead to the Bala Hissar uprising, partially involving some units of the 444th Commando Brigade that mutinied. The commando mutineers fought alongside Maoist mujahideen groups, more specifically, the Afghanistan Liberation Organization and the Afghanistan Mujahedin Freedom Fighters Front. The Khalq government would respond to the uprising with an aerial bombardment from Afghan MiG fighter planes, supported by tanks and artillery[4][5] arresting and executing captured rebels in Pul-e-Charkhi prison[6] After the uprising was put down, ending in victory for the Afghan government, the Khalq later reorganised the 26th Airborne Regiment into the 37th Commando Battalion. On the 15th of October, the 444th Regiment was ordered to suppress another rebellion started by Afghan Army mutineers of the 7th Infantry Division in Rishkhor on the southwestern outskirts of Kabul. On December 27, 1979, among many other Afghan officers who died during the Tajbeg Palace assault, was Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Yakub, who became Chief of the General Staff during the Saur Revolution. He was wounded in hand-to-hand combat with fighters of Major Rozin’s group from the Zenith detachment, and then shot dead by Abdul Wakil, who’d later become the Afghan Foreign Minister. The next day, some commando units participated in an attempted rebellion undertaken by officers loyal to Hafizullah Amin, the president of Afghanistan assassinated during the Tajbeg Palace assault.

Involvement in the Kerala massacre

The 444th Commando Brigade (along with the 11th Division) would also commit the Kerala massacre, indiscriminately shooting and killing up to 1,000 civilians, including women, children, the elderly and the disabled.[7] Major Saddiq Alamyar, commander of the 444th Commando Brigade. He was arrested by the Parcham government led by Babrak Karmal and remained in jail for a decade, before he took refuge in the Netherlands in the 1990s where he still resides in Rotterdam.[8][9] The case against Saddiq was ultimately dropped by the Dutch Office of Prosecutors due to a lack of evidence.[10]

In 1980, the strengthening of commando units continued. The 37th Battalion (formerly the 26th Airborne Regiment) was now deployed into a brigade, although retaining its roots: the fighters underwent airborne training, and the unit included the only airborne service in the entire Afghan army. In addition, in the same year, separate special-purpose companies were created in each of the three army corps, deployed in 1981 to the 203rd, 212th and 230th special-purpose battalions (SpN), reporting directly to the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Democratic Republic of Afghanistan (DRA).

The Commando Brigades were, in contrast, considered reliable and were used as mobile strike forces until they sustained excessive casualties. Insurgents ambushed and inflicted heavy casualties on the 38th Commando Brigade during the Second Battle of Zhawar in Paktika Province in May 1983.[11] After sustaining heavy casualties, the commando brigades were turned into battalions.[12]

On April 1986, the Afghan Army would successfully capture a territory near Khost known as Javara during Operation Trap, although Afghan commando units sustained heavy casualties during its capture and the mujahideen would take it back from the Afghan government months later. An incident also occurred where units of the 37th Battalion and the 466th Battalion accidentally landed in Pakistan, being flown there by Afghan Air Force helicopter pilots, 2 to 8 kilometres away from the originally intended landing area. The accidental landing was either played off of as a mistake by the pilots, or thought of as deliberate sabotage during the very beginning of the operation. Infantry units and the 666th Regiment from Khost, advancing along the border, could not come to the aid of the paratroopers, and after two days of fighting, the commandos were surrounded and the ammunition ran out. Commander Major Kalandar Shah ordered the commandos to retreat west, and then called artillery fire on his own position. 231 soldiers and officers of the 37th and the 466th Brigade were killed or captured. Only 18 people survived.

Soviet troops and additional Afghan forces, including the 203rd Special Purpose Battalion (tied to KHAD-e-Nezami, the intelligence wing of the Afghan Armed Forces, separate from KHAD) and units of the 38th Commando Battalion, had to be put into battle. Javara was finally captured which allowed Kabul to announce a major victory over the mujahideen. A parade of military units that participated in the operation was held in Kabul, and on August 19, 1986, during the celebration of Army Day, Defense Minister Lieutenant General Nazar Mohammed called the 37th Brigade, the 7th and 8th Infantry Divisions, as well as the 61st Separate Infantry Regiment, the pride of the Afghan Armed Forces. The Revolutionary Council of the DRA awarded the honorary name of "hero" to the 37th Commando Battalion, the 322nd Fighter Aviation Regiment and the 2nd Border Brigade. At the same time, the title of Hero of the DRA was introduced. It is noteworthy that of the first four Afghan heroes, two were commandos: Faiz Mohammed (posthumously) and Lieutenant Juma Khan from the 37th “Hero” Commando Battalion. Additionally, some paratroopers of the 37th Commando Brigade were taught how to use Nunchaku by the Soviet Airborne Forces.[13]

The fate of Juma Khan is, in a sense, indicative of the officer corps of commando units at that time. As a sergeant, he received the first officer rank for combat distinctions - like many other platoon commanders who didn’t have special training and often even secondary education. The number of officers who completed a short training course was steadily growing, but no more than 10-15 graduates of the Military University of the DRA arrived in the commando units every year.

In such a situation, all attempts at further deployment of the commando units stalled. The 444th Battalion was reorganised into a brigade [regiment-Giustozzi] consisting of six battalions (for comparison, the 37th Brigade had three). Since 1983, the regiment was stationed in Panjshir, and subsequently the 2nd Infantry Division was created on its basis. The rest of the units (the 37th and 38th Brigades, the 466th and 666th Regiments, the 203rd, 212th and 230th Special Forces battalions)[14] from April 28, 1986 became part of the commando air assault troops - a new type of troops of the DRA Armed Forces since April 28, 1986. All these units were ordered to be fully equipped with weapons, equipment and personnel, for which the units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of State Security were obliged to allocate several hundred military personnel. Since May 1987, the formation of two more regiments began (seemingly the 84th and 85th), and in September 1988 - an additional four assault battalions. Plans to create these four battalions were however abandoned in 1988.

In practice, all these plans could not be realized. By spring 1988, out of the authorized 11,550 personnel in the airborne assault forces (commandos), only 43% were present. The worst situation was with the staffing of servicemen in the short-term service (so-called school sergeants) - only 28%. Out of 102 tanks, only 14% were operational, with exactly four units in working condition. The staffing of BMPs (infantry fighting vehicles) was 22%, while for BTRs (armored personnel carriers) it was 60%. All the rocket artillery systems "Grad" arrived for the 37th Commando Brigade, but without transport-loading vehicles.

Every year, commandos lost about 10% of the personnel, and two-thirds of this number were deserters, but even against the background of other Afghan units, they looked formidable. Being the most combat-ready force at the disposal of the Kabul government, they were used not only for air assault operations at the forefront of advancing troops, but also to escort columns, cover the border, protect communications and the most important facilities. In 1988, in the 37th Brigade and three former special purpose battalions, the break between combat operations was no more than a week. Nevertheless, many Afghans still wanted to try out for the commando brigades in hopes of having a red beret, the indicator of a commando. Among them were Lieutenant of the Medical Service Najiba and Khatool Mohammadzai, a parachute instructor who received the rank of brigadier general in 2003.

The commando air assault brigades would meet their end, being disbanded in the autumn of 1988 by President Mohammad Najibullah shortly before the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan. All regiments and battalions were transferred under the command of army corps commanders. This decision was made because there were no more offensive operations planned, and there was a catastrophic shortage of forces to defend Kabul, Jalalabad, Khost, Kandahar, Herat, and other provincial capitals.

By the end of the 1980s, the conscription system for military service in the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan had completely collapsed. In this situation, the Afghan military command focused on developing territorial and ethnic self-sustaining units, various militias, and armed groups that had switched sides to support the government such as Pader Watan and the Sarandoy. The strength of regular units dwindled, evidently through the 666th Commandos being destroyed in late March 1991 during the Siege of Khost. Information is unavailable for the fates of other brigades, regiments, and battalions, but none of them are listed among the units that came under the control of the Mujahideen in the spring of 1992. However, according to rumours,Shahnawaz Tanai, who had fled to Pakistan, managed to recruit a certain number of Pashtun commando officers into the ranks of the Talibanmovement.

Creation of the Commandos

In July 2007, the ANA graduated its first commandos, intended to form a battalion. The commandos underwent a grueling three-month course being trained by the United States Army Special Forces ("Green Berets"). They were fully equipped with U.S. equipment, and received specialized light infantry training with the capability to conduct raids, direct action, and reconnaissance. They also provided a centrally held rapid reaction force for the Afghan government.[15]

Training was conducted at the Morehead Commando Training Center (Rish Khor camp), a former Taliban training compound located ten kilometres (six miles) south of Kabul. The camp was reported as being in either Wardak Province or Kabul Province. Supply, logistics and operations training was conducted by mentors from Combined Security Transition Command-Afghanistan, United States Special Operations Forces, French Special Forces, and ANA Commando personnel themselves.[16] The first ANA Commando Kandak graduated on July 24, 2007, with Colonel Fareed Ahmadi as the Kandak commander.[15]

The unit drew personnel from all over Afghanistan from various Afghan Army units, taking in prospective Pashtuns, Tajik, Hazara, Uzbek and Turkmen to prevent forms of tribal allegiance and bias.[17]

3rd Special Forces Group and 7th Special Forces Group rotated responsibility to train and advise in Afghanistan.

Graduating classes
Afghan commandos stand in formation during the graduation of the 7th Commando Kandak (Battalion) in 2010
  • The 1st Commando Kandak (Battalion) - graduated on July 24, 2007 - stationed with the 201st 'Selab' (Flood) Corps.[18]
  • The 203rd (2nd) Commando Battalion - Colonel Ggulam Nabi - graduated on October 16, 2007 - stationed with the 203rd 'Tandar' (Thunder) Corps of the Afghan National Army.[19]
  • The 3rd Commando Kandak - graduated on January 30, 2008 - stationed with the 1st Brigade (Kandahar) of the 205th 'Atal' (Hero) Corps.[20]
  • The 4th Commando Kandak - graduated on May 8, 2008 - stationed with the 1st Brigade (Herat) of the 207th 'Zafar' (Victory) Corps.[20]
  • The 5th Commando Kandak - graduated in October 2008 - stationed with the 209th 'Shaheen' (Falcon) Corps.[21]
  • The 6th Commando Kandak - graduated in May 2009, stationed with the 1st Commando Brigade
  • The 7th Commando Kandak - graduated on January 21, 2010, stationed with the 215th 'Maiwand' (Battle) Corps.[20]
  • The 8th Commando Kandak "Lamer & Sun" - graduated on May 6, 2011, stationed with the ANA's 1st Commando Brigade.
  • The 9th Commando Kandak "Cobra" - graduated on August 17, 2010, stationed with the ANA's 1st Commando Brigade.

Operations

The first ANA Commando Kandak conducted its first operation, a two-day mission, in September 2007, 50 kilometres (30 miles) southwest of Jalalabad in the Sherzad district of Nangarhar province. There they captured two large weapons caches, over 80 kg of opium and detained Haji Shir Khan, a known improvised explosive device maker.[22]

November 2007: 3rd Toli, 1st Commando Kandak (201st Corps), conducted an air-assault raid at dawn on the compound of a high-level Taliban facilitator, kicking off a four-day offensive operation named Operation Commando Fury in the Tag Ab Valley, Kapisa Province, from November 10–14, 2007. A joint effort by the Afghan National Police and other ANA forces assisted the Commando kandak in disrupting the Taliban hold on the Tag Ab Valley.[23]

6th Commando Kandak, performing a clearing exercise in Kabul Province.

December 2007: The second ANA Commando Kandak, originally from the 203rd Corps, conducted a series of raids throughout the Sabari district in Afghanistan's Khowst Province, Dec. 27–28, 2007. During the operation, the force arrested a suspected major insurgent facilitator primarily associated with the Hizb-i-Islami Afghanistan terrorist organization and believed to have ties to the Haqqani network terrorist group, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. The combined Afghan force conducted the two-day operation without a shot being fired.[24]

January 2008: The Third ANA Commando Kandak, originally from the 205th Corps, along with Coalition forces, conducted a four-day operation to disrupt insurgents activity in the volatile Tag Ab Valley of Kapisa Province January 19–23, 2008. The Third Commando Kandak patrolled the Naghlu Reservoir to the village of Jangali in order to disrupt insurgent activities in the center of the valley as the combined force moved north. This operation served as a graduation exercise to providing confidence in the abilities of the newly formed Commando Kandak.[25]

February 2008: The second ANA Commando Kandak (203rd Corps), along with Coalition forces, captured a key insurgent facilitator in Khost Province February 9, 2008. The Ministry of Defense announced that ANA forces captured a known Taliban commander, Nasimulla, during a combined operation in the Dand Faqiran area of Yaqubi District.[26]

February 2008: 1st Toli of the First ANA Commando Kandak (201st), conducted a night air-assault raid in Helmand Province to capture the Taliban leader Mullah Abdul Bari. Bari was one of the top remaining Taliban field commanders able to launch deadly attacks in Helmand and Uruzgan province. He led Taliban operations against the British in northern Helmand province in the Kajaki, Musa Qala, and Baghran districts. Bari was the former governor of Helmand under the Taliban regime.

The operation, named "Say Laab", meaning flood, utilized multiple helicopters and put over 100 commandos onto four separate targets simultaneously. The operation captured 11 combatants as well as destroying six enemy vehicles containing thousands of pounds of weapons and munitions, as well as nearly $8 million of illegal narcotics. Bari and 29 Taliban fighters were killed during the five-hour-long operation. The exact date of the operation wasn't given, but was reported to media by the U.S. Combined Joint Task Force 82 on March 1, 2008.[27]

Brig. Gen. Dadan Lawang, commander, 1st Commando Brigade, join local leaders as they prepare to break ground on the repair of Route Highlife during a ceremony March 11, 2011, at the Khakrez District Center in Kandahar Province.

April 2008: one Commando Kandak (unknown designation) conducted operations in Nuristan Province on April 6, reportedly netted several members of the terrorist group Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin (HIG). The mission led to a coalition airstrike that, along with the ground fighting, left as many as 20 insurgents dead.[28]

By the end of 2008, the six ANA commando battalions were stationed in the southern region of Afghanistan assisting the Canadian forces.

Creation of Special Forces

A special operations unit was first conceptualized in 2009 and established in 2010.[29]

The first Special Forces team, whose soldiers were selected from the ANA Commandos (this practice was discontinued later to preserve commando capability), finished training in May 2010. The organization was based on the US Army Special Forces.[30][31] Initially all the Special Forces candidates were planned to come from the Commando Kandak (Commando Battalion), only requiring 10 weeks of training. However, after the initial period it was planned that Special Forces recruiting was to be conducted throughout the Army, and initial Special Forces training was to be 15 weeks. Commando graduates of the special forces course would retain their 'commando' tab and would also have a 'special forces' tab on top of the commando tab in addition to receiving a tan beret. These candidates were normally selected after serving four years as a Commando.[29]

In May 2010 the first class of the ANA Special Forces graduated from their 10-week qualification course and moved on to the operational portion of their training. In November 2010, the ANA Special Forces Class 1 received their tan berets in a ceremony at Camp Morehead after completing 26 weeks of on-the-job training partnered with US Special Forces. The initial selection involved taking the 145 commandos who volunteered, putting them through a one-week qualification process (similar to the one used in the United States), and finding, as in the US, that only about half (69) passed. These Special Forces soldiers formed the first four A-Teams (of 15 men each). Some of the just-graduated special forces soldiers used to help US Special Operations Forces train the 2nd class of candidates.[32] Special Forces were trained to focus on interacting with the population through jirgas with village elders, but capable of unilateral operations.[33] A second ANA Special Forces class completed training in December 2010.[34]

The force numbered 646 Special Forces operators in December 2011.[35] This unit also had female Special Forces operators to interact with female civilians, such as searches, interviews or medical examinations. There were plans to create one Special Forces platoon of just female operators so they could interact with women and children.[29]

The first formation of the 1st Commando Brigade headquarters was dissolved in order to provide personnel for the forming ANA Special Operations Command headquarters.[36] to fill the gap, a new, second, 1st Commando Brigade headquarters staff was established. The 2nd Commando Brigade headquarters was planned to be operational by September 2011. The 1st Special Forces Brigade was also established, modeled on the United States Army Special Forces model. The brigade's missions were planned to include ‘internal defence’ and ‘SOF reconnaissance’ as well as ‘direct action.’

Establishment of ANA Special Operations Command

From mid-2011, the ANA began establishing a full command, the ANA Special Operations Command, to control the ANA Commando Brigade and the ANA Special Forces. In 2011, ANASOC consisted of 7,809 commandos and 646 special forces personnel.[35]

As of April 2012, the reported strength of the Commandos (as opposed to the whole ANASOC) was 8,500 men organized into eight kandaks, as well as one group of 500 Special Operations troops.[37]

In July 2012, the Special Operations Command was officially established as a formation with the status of a division, including a command and staff. Reportedly the command had between 10,000 and 11,000 special operations soldiers by December 2012.[38][39] Previously this was organised as one brigade with 8 kandaks, all with a minimum of 6 companies. Because the ANASOC had grown to larger than a brigade in size, it was anticipated that it would be split into 3 – 4 brigades, one of which would be a Special Forces Brigade.

An Air Force Special Mission Wing, inaugurated in July 2012, was established to work with ANASOC.[40] A later DOD story said that the unit, the smallest in the Special Security Forces, "was originally established in 2006 as the Afghan Air Interdiction Unit assigned to the Ministry of Interior and re-flagged as the 777th Special Mission Wing." ..The SMW used "Mi-17 helicopters and PC-12 fixed-wing aircraft."[41]

An Afghan National Army Commando with the 3rd Tolai, 1st SOK, patrols through a poppy field during a clearing operation in Khogyani District, Nangarhar Province, on 9 May 2013.

The same month (July 2012), the Afghan commandos conducted their first successful night operation. United States Department of Defense Press Secretary George Little told the media that: "Last night in Afghanistan, US special operations joined Afghan commandos from the first special operations battalion in a full mission exercise demonstrating a night air assault. This was an Afghan plan, an Afghan-led mission. Afghan pilots flew four helicopters during the exercise, which involved more than 50 Afghan commandos, and US special operations forces acting in an advisory capacity. ..[T]he commandos successfully discovered and apprehended a person of interest, recovered weapons and intelligence."[42]

In March 2013, U.S. special forces handed over a base in Nirkh District, Wardak Province to the Afghan commandos.[43] Afghan commandos gradually began taking over the lead from NATO forces the fight against insurgents.[44] In April 2013, Afghan commandos killed 22 insurgents in Nangarhar Province and captured another 10 insurgents.[45] On September 20, 2014, local officials in Ghazni Province reported that Taliban insurgents from different regions of Afghanistan led by camouflaged men wearing black masks captured several villages, set at least 60 homes on fire, killed more than 100 people and beheaded 15 family members of local police officers. The masked insurgents reportedly carried the black flag of the Islamic State, openly called themselves soldiers of Daesh, and did not speak any local languages.[46] Deputy Police Chief, General Asadullah Ensafi, reported that Taliban ambushes stopped reinforcements from the regionally responsible ANA and provincial police from reaching the area. However, Afghan special forces inserted by helicopter were able to reinforce units already defending the area and Ensafi reported that the "immediate threat to [the] district's center had been nullified."[46]

In mid-late 2017 the Afghanistan Analysts Network wrote that the two special operations brigades were:[47]

..made up of four and the other of five Special Operations Kandaks (battalions, SOKs) that were aligned with regional ANA Corps. The US DoD stated in June 2017 that “[t]he SOKs are the primary tactical elements of the ANASOC, and they conduct elite, light-infantry operations against threat networks in support of the regional corps’ counterinsurgency operations and provide a ..response capability against strategic targets.” An additional, separate Special Operations Kandak, the 6th SOK based in Kabul, functioned “as the ANA’s national mission unit,” providing “the President of Afghanistan and the [Chief of General Staff] with a rapidly deployable special operations force able to respond to national-level crises throughout Afghanistan.”

Commandos were used to spearhead challenging fights and were regarded as one of the best units in the region.[48]

The National Mission Brigade was activated on July 31, 2017, and took over command of the 6th Special Operations Kandak and the Ktah Khas. The Ktah Khas was '..often referred to as the Afghan Partner Unit.. a light infantry special operations unit consisting of three companies and support elements.'[49] In addition to the 6th SOK and the Ktah Khas, later reports indicated that two Special Forces Kandaks may have eventually been added.[35]

In August 2017, the New York Times reported that the strength of the Afghan Commandos was 21,000, with an increase to 30,000 as a goal.[50] The same month, General John W. Nicholson Jr., the commander of the Resolute Support Mission, said: "The [commandos] have never lost a battle...The Taliban have never won against the commandos...They never will."[51]

With the December 2017 approval of the Fiscal Year 2018 tashkil (Table of Organisation), ANASOC was authorized a strength of 16,040 personnel, organised into four Special Operations Brigades (SOB) and a National Mission Brigade (NMB).[35] By 2021, there were at least two special operations brigades (1st, 2nd).

At the beginning of January 2021, the Afghan special operations were losing roughly 1,200 people a month, said Lieutenant Colonel Matthew A. Chaney, the commander of 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at the time.[52]

2021 Taliban offensive

In July 2021, during the 2021 Taliban offensive, Turkey agreed to host future training of the Afghan Commandos, and to begin to transport them there for training beginning immediately.[53]

During the Taliban offensive, the Commandos fought tenaciously and were seen as the Afghan military's best-trained and most highly motivated troops. The commandos were deployed on mass across a vast geographical area, however this isolated many units as they were abandoned by other ANA units and locals. In June 2021, 50 commandos managed to recapture Dawlat Abad from the Taliban, however after receiving no reinforcements, commandos were encircled and made a desperate last stand. Those that survived and were captured were executed by the Taliban.[54][55] "The resulting death of 24 of the country’s most highly trained fighters became a national story—in part because the dead included Major Sohrab Azimi, a well-known special operator—and one that weighed heavily on [Army] morale."[56]

During the 2021 Taliban offensive, 22 Commandos were executed by the Taliban in the Faryab Province after surrendering.[57] While the Taliban were known to show leniency to normal ANA troops, Commandos and Air Force pilots were especially targeted by the Taliban.[58]

Around 500–600 Afghan troops made up mostly of commandos also refused to surrender in Kabul and instead joined up with US forces at Hamid Karzai International Airport, helping them secure the outer perimeter of the airport during the 2021 evacuation from Afghanistan.[59]

Following the fall of Kabul to the Taliban, on August 17, 2021, several ANA commandos were reported to be moving to Panjshir, joining the National Resistance Front of Afghanistan.[60][61]

Some Afghan commandos were evacuated to the UK. On 1 September 2021, Forbes magazine reported that the United Kingdom was contemplating recruiting such evacuated commandos into the British Army.[62]

In October 2022, the Russian armed forces reportedly started to recruit ex-Afghan commandos to Ukraine.[63] An interview with Major General Kyrylo Budanov confirms sightings of ex-Afghan commandos deployed in Ukraine.[64]

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Bibliography
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  • Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, "Afghan Special Mission Wing: DoD Moving Forward with $771.8 Million Purchase of Aircraft that the Afghans Cannot Operate and Maintain," SIGAR Audit 13-13, June 2013. Qualified Afghan personnel and equipment maintenance were short, and the divided Ministry of Defence - Ministry of the Interior organisation presented problems, potentially jeopardizing $771.8 million in planned but not-yet-arrived U.S.-funded aircraft. The SIG called for the suspension of contracts awarded for the new aircraft until a memorandum of understanding was signed between the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defence.
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