1986 Miram Shah incident

Part of the Pakistan Soviet air confrontations ,Second Battle of Zhawar, Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan and Operation Cyclone
| Date| 2nd April 1986

|

Location|

Miram Shah

Result|

Pakistani victory

* Capture of the aerial assault force
* Destruction of a Soviet aircraft

Belligerents
Soviet Union
Afghanistan|  Pakistan
Units involved

Soviet Air Forces
Afghan Army

* 38th Commando Brigade

Pakistan Air Force
Pakistan Army

* XI Corps
* SSG

Casualties and losses

Afghanistan

* 6 Mi-8 captured[1]
* 120+ captured[1]

Soviet Union

* 1 aircraft destroyed

Pakistan

* 2 wounded

1986 Miram Shah incident refers to an accidental intrusion of Pakistani territory by 38th commando brigade of Democratic Republic of Afghanistan during the Second Battle of Zhawar . The strike force constituting 120 personnel and six helicopters accidentally landed near Miram Shah in Pakistan instead of Zhawar due to poor visibility in the darkness of night. This force was surrounded and taken prisoner[2].

## Background[edit]

The Second Battle of Zhawar was a significant engagement that took place during the Soviet-Afghan War. It pitted Afghan Army units, supported by the Soviet Union, against mujahideen faction led by Jalaluddin Haqqani.[3][4][2] The objective of the battle was to destroy the mujahideen's logistical base located in Zhawar, just three kilometers from the Durand Line.[4][3][2][5]

The initial offensive, known as the First Battle of Zhawar , and was launched in September 1985. DRA divisions, with air support from the Soviet Union, initiated the attack while major mujahideen commanders were absent, including Haqqani who was on pilgrimage to Mecca. The DRA forces advanced from Khost and successfully captured the village of Bori, northeast of Zhawar. However, they encountered fierce resistance and were forced to retreat.[3][4][5]

The main attack began on September 4 and initially achieved success, with the capture of the village of Lezhi and the killing of a mujahideen commander. However, the offensive was halted at the heavily fortified Manay Kandow pass, where the mujahideen put up a strong defense.[3][4][2][5]

## Incident[edit]

On 2 April 1986, the DRA launched artillery strikes and aerial bombardment on Zhawar cave network. Then six Mi-8 carrying 120 troops of the 38th Commando Brigade took off from Khost airfield, with the aim of landing at the designated point near Zhawar. The commandos successfully landed facing no resistance,[6][7] but the ground assault had to encounter fierce resistance from Mujahideen forces present at the Dawri Gar mountain.[3][8][4][9] The ground offensive was forced to stop as they were encountering heavy losses. The command post for the operation was shifted from Khost to Tani and contacted the aerial assault group. The commander of the assault group reported that they could see the battle taking place far away from their location.[6] It was now 3 in the morning. The Afghan government artillery fired an flare on the Dawri Gar mountain. The command station asked the assault group commander that "Do you see the round?" and they replied that the location was about 15 kilometers from their location.[6] The Afghan government artillery again fired another flare five kilometers south. Again the commander was asked that whether he could see the flare. He replied that it was about ten kilometers from their location. Command post informed the assault group that they had crossed the border and landed five kilometers inside Pakistan near Miram Shah.[3][4] Soon the strike group began withdrawal preparations.[6][7][8]

## Pakistani response[edit]

A Pakistani aerial reconnaissance plane had spotted the aerial assault group and the army was informed. Soon the Pakistan Army surrounded the strike group.[6]. The Pakistani force included SSG personnel[2][5] as well as XI corps troops.They strike group tried to resist and engaged in combat but they were outnumbered and thus they surrendered to Pakistani forces.[3][4] All six Mi-8 helicopters and all 120 commandos were captured.[6][5][7][8][9]

## Aircraft shootdown[edit]

To bomb Mujahideen bases the Soviet planes began flying over Pakistani airspace. Pakistani army in response ordered the troops to shoot down any enemy aircraft flying overhead.[6][9] They fired a total of 14 Surface to Air missiles on Soviet aircraft and managed to shoot down one Soviet aircraft with the pilot safely ejecting and landing into Afghan territory. Moreover, Soviet air strikes on Pakistani forces wounded two Pakistani soldiers.[6][2][5]

## References[edit]

1. ^ a b "Campaign for the caves of Zhawar" (PDF).
2. ^ a b c d e f Jalali, Ali Ahmad (March 17, 2017). "A Military History of Afghanistan: From the Great Game to the Global War on Terror". University Press of Kansas - via Google Books.
3. ^ a b c d e f g Wilcox, Vanessa. "LibGuides: 2nd Battle of Zhawar (1979-1989): Home". novosel.libguides.com.
4. ^ a b c d e f g Bock, Jon (September 15, 2023). "How This Subterranean Logistics Base in Afghanistan Bedeviled Soviet Invaders". HistoryNet.
5. ^ a b c d e f Jalali, Ali Ahmad; Grau, Lester W. (May 5, 1999). "The Other Side of the Mountain: Mujahideen Tactics in the Soviet-Afghan War". U.S. Marine Corps, Studies and Analysis Division - via Google Books.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h "The campaign for the caves" (PDF).
7. ^ a b c Grau, Lester W. (March 5, 2004). "The Soviet–Afghan War: A Superpower Mired in the Mountains". The Journal of Slavic Military Studies. 17 (1): 129–151. doi:10.1080/13518040490440692 - via CrossRef.
8. ^ a b c Riedel, Bruce (July 28, 2014). "What We Won: America's Secret War in Afghanistan, 1979 89". Brookings Institution Press - via Google Books.
9. ^ a b c Westermann, Edward. "The Limits of Soviet Airpower: The Failure of Military Coercion in Afghanistan, 1979-89". University of New Brunswick Libraries. Retrieved 2007-03-29.