| Siege of Samarkhel | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of Afghan Civil War (1989–1992), Battle of Jalalabad (1989) and Afghanistan–Pakistan skirmishes | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||||
 Republic of Afghanistan |
Supported by: | ||||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||||
|
Shahnawaz Tanai[1] Mohammed Ehsan |
 Gulbuddin Hekmatyar Ahmed Gailani Hamid Gul | ||||||||
| Strength | |||||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Heavy | Unknown | ||||||||
The Siege of Samarkhel (Pashto: د سمرخېل محاصره, Persian: محاصرهٔ سمرخیل) occurred in 1989 during the Afghan Civil War, more specifically, the Battle of Jalalabad. Mujahideen forces and Pakistani forces seized Samarkhel, a village east of Jalalabad, its military base, and advanced towards Jalalabad Airport, only two miles from the city. This resulted in a 4-month siege, where the Afghan government re-captured Samarkhel and the military base by the end of June 1989.[6][7] By July 1989, the mujahideen did not attempt to stop the government from recapturing their lost territory.[8]
According to Kaushik Roy, the Mujahideen managed to temporarily seize the airport as part of their broader offensive on 7 June 1989, although it was recaptured by government forces two days later on 9 March.[9] Osama bin Laden contributed by sending a group of Arab fighters to join the Mujahideen in Nangarhar Province from Al-Qaeda. These fighters were involved in the advance towards Samarkhel.[10] The Afghan Interim Government, composed of seven Jihadi parties and backed by Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) known as Peshawar Seven, on securing Jalalabad as a key target following the Soviet withdrawal. Organised counterinsurgency operations were launched by the Afghan Armed Forces to slow the Mujahideen's advances.[11]
- ^ a b "What Happened in the Battle of Jalalabad?". Rebellion Research. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
- ^ "Afghanistan Rebels Lose Key Battle". Washington Post. 8 July 1989. Retrieved 2019-12-20.
- ^ "The Lessons of Jalalabad; Afghan Guerrillas See Weaknesses Exposed". New York Times. 13 April 1989.
- ^ Roy, Kaushik (2014). War and State-Building in Afghanistan: Historical and Modern Perspectives. Bloomsbury Academic. p. 45. ISBN 9781472572196.
- ^ Kepel, Gilles; Milelli, Jean-Pierre (2008). Al Qaeda in Its Own Words. Harvard University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780674028043.
- ^ "Afghanistan Rebels Lose Key Battle". The Washington Post. 7 July 1989.
- ^ Bird, Tim; Marshall, Alex (2011-06-28). Afghanistan: How the West Lost Its Way. Yale University Press. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-300-15457-3.
- ^ Burns, John F.; Times, Special To the New York (1989-09-13). "Jalalabad Shows Its Recovery As Siege by Rebels Dwindles". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-26.
- ^ Roy, Kaushik (2014). War and State-Building in Afghanistan: Historical and Modern Perspectives. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 135. ISBN 9781472572196.
- ^ Stenersen, Anne (2017). Al-Qaida in Afghanistan. Cambridge University Press. p. 22. ISBN 9781107075139.
- ^ Azimi, General Nabi (2019). The Army and Politics: Afghanistan: 1963–1993. AuthorHouse. ISBN 9781728387017.