Word: gardez
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...reports indicated that Soviet and Afghan forces had mounted a desperate effort to break the latest guerrilla siege of Khost. Supported by Soviet Sukhoi-25 attack jets, an estimated 20,000 troops repeatedly struck rebel positions along the 50-mile highway that connects Khost and the provincial capital of Gardez...
...forcing Kabul to airlift up to 50 tons of food a night before rebel antiaircraft fire halted the flights. To smash the blockade, Soviet and Afghan troops launched a major assault on Dec. 19. Sources said the attackers quickly punched through the Sataw Kandaw Pass on the twisting Gardez-Khost road. But the rebels soon dug in. With 6,000 to 10,000 guerrillas deployed along the road, the insurgents claimed to have halted the drive before it could pick up speed...
Afghan officials put a brave face on the fighting even while issuing contradictory statements. Sulayman Laeq, Minister for Tribal Affairs and Nationalities, reported early last week that the "security of the Gardez- Khost highway has now been ensured" and "traffic is now normal." Two days later, however, Radio Kabul said that "fierce" and "heavy" fighting was raging on the highway. On New Year's Eve, the station reported victory again and said that bunting-clad relief trucks were rolling into Khost...
...Soviet assault apparently began last month with a massive helicopter airlift of paratroopers into the Afghan town of Gardez, 65 miles south of Kabul. For nearly a month, the small Soviet garrison at Khost, 22 miles from the Pakistani border, had been under siege by the Afghan mujahedin...