So far, the rapid return of the radical Islamic Taliban has puzzled the West. It is now clear: a new force has contributed to the victory.
Instead of turban they wear helmets with night vision devices, instead of traditional robes camouflage uniforms and bulletproof vests, instead of sandals heavy combat boots: the Taliban special unit “Badri 313” has had a special place in the propaganda of the Islamists since they came to power in Afghanistan. The well-equipped elite force also faces the Bundeswehr at Kabul airport.
The name of the unit already ties in with Islamic heroic stories: it alludes to the Battle of Badr in the 7th century, when the Prophet Mohammed is said to have triumphed with only 313 soldiers against one of the ruling tribes on the Arabian Peninsula. The battle is considered a key moment in early Islamic history.
Military force – better equipped than expected
The special unit “Badri 313” has “probably some of the best trained and equipped fighters” in Afghanistan, according to Matt Henman, head of terrorism and insurgency at the military magazine “Jane’s”. He estimates their number at a few thousand fighters. According to Henman, it is “very likely that they received at least basic training from Pakistan”.
The members of “Badri 313” have “proven their effectiveness on the battlefield,” says Bill Roggio, editor-in-chief of the “Long War Journal”, a US magazine that deals with the war on terror. “In the final offensive since May we have seen that the Taliban’s special forces played a central role in the conquest of Afghanistan,” he says, but does not rule out a certain exaggeration in the Taliban’s propaganda.
With the victory over the Afghan army, the fighters are now even better equipped, as they have captured their weapons and vehicles, as can be seen in pictures on the net. Large parts of the equipment originally came from the USA – and the unit insisted on mocking the US armed forces: a propaganda photo shows fighters hoisting a Taliban flag – in the style of the famous Photos of the US forces at the Battle of Iwojima in Japan during World War II.
Taliban struggles have become more professional
Beyond the military, however, unity also plays a political role. It is closely linked to the Hakkani network, a notorious sub-group of the Taliban. Two representatives of the network are currently involved in negotiations on the new government in Kabul. According to Roggio, the elite troop “Badri 313” represents “the combination of years of military training by the Taliban and the efforts of the Hakkani network to professionalize” the militia.
And with success: “We have seen a remarkable professionalization of the Taliban since the mid-2000s,” confirms Gilles Dorronsoro, Professor of Political Science at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. “The war they are waging is not at all the same as the one their parents waged against the Russians,” he says, alluding to the fight against the Soviet invaders from 1979 onwards. “They learned locally and are very good technically “says the expert.
A military expert who does not want to appear in the newspaper with his real name, but is active on Twitter under the pseudonym “Caliber Obscura”, reports to the AFP news agency that the Taliban launched the special unit against the Islamic State (IS) jihadist militia between 2017 and 2020. would have used. For a few days now, the fighters from “Badri 313” have been deployed to provide security around Kabul airport – and so face the US troops and the Bundeswehr soldiers directly.
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