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90-643: Shamalan can refer to: M. Night Shyamalan Nawa-I-Barakzayi District in Afghanistan Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Shamalan . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Shamalan&oldid=933122571 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

180-751: A desert reclamation project to help turn parts of the Helmand River Valley into fertile farmland. In Nawa, the Shamalan canal , a branch of the Boghra canal , was built by the Helmand Valley Authority . It replaced the old system, increased the water supply, improved water distribution and brought new lands under irrigation. Additional irrigation in the 1970s brought more water into the southern reaches of Nawa, more land under cultivation, and allowed new land settlement. In 1978

270-681: A 39-man Soviet Airborne company. In October 1985, specialist operators from the KGB's Group "A" ( Alpha ) were dispatched to Beirut , Lebanon . The Kremlin had been informed of the kidnapping of four Soviet diplomats by the militant group, the Islamic Liberation Organization (a radical offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood ). It was believed that this was retaliation for the Soviet support of Syrian involvement in

360-485: A Soviet spetsnaz air-assault. The Spetsnaz achieved victory by knocking out several rebel positions above the base, a mile-long series of fortified caves in a remote canyon. A successful long-term campaign codenamed Operation "Curtain" or "Veil", lasted from 1984 to 1988, which aimed to close off the Afghan-Pakistani border and cut off supply routes coming in from Pakistan. The operation caused great distress to

450-689: A communist nation defeat an American ally, and secondly, test and evaluate their most sophisticated radars and missiles directly against the best aircraft America could deploy. Soviets recovered at least two very important pieces of American equipment, a cryptographic code machine, and an F-111A escape capsule, which now sits in a Moscow Museum . Soviet Spetsnaz forces took part in the Soviet–Afghan War of 1979–1989 in Afghanistan, usually fighting fast insertion/extraction-type warfare with helicopters. Their most famous operation, Operation Storm-333 ,

540-421: A greenhouse and 4,000 farmers had signed up to receive the tunnels along with seed to plant alternative crops. The main problems were still a lack of Afghan security forces , teachers , agricultural advisers and doctors . The main road through the district is Route 605 . There are currently plans to build a road linking Nawa and nearby Garmsir District with the provincial capital Lashkar Gah . Nawa and

630-461: A ground reconnaissance detachment. This unit, the 4th Special Volunteer Detachment , was to be recruited from the fleet's athletes and have an initial size of 65 to 70 personnel. Later the unit was renamed the 181st Special Reconnaissance Detachment. They were trained as frogmen. The most prominent of these new recruits was Viktor Leonov , who joined the Soviet Navy in 1937. He was assigned to

720-602: A reconnaissance mission around a Soviet cruiser berthed at Portsmouth Dockyard in 1956. In November 2007 the BBC and the Daily Mirror reported that Eduard Koltsov, a former Soviet frogman , claimed to have caught Crabb placing a mine on the Ordzhonikidze hull near the ammunition depot and cut his throat. In an interview for a Russian documentary film, Koltsov showed the dagger he allegedly used, as well as an Order of

810-681: A series of federal government reforms consolidating power in the Kremlin and strengthening of the powers of the President of Russia . The crisis began when a group of armed radical Islamist combatants, mostly Ingush and Chechen, occupied School Number One (SNO) in the town of Beslan , North Ossetia (an autonomous republic in the North Caucasus region of the Russian Federation ) on 1 September 2004. The hostage-takers were

900-481: A special freezer truck. In the years following the hostage-taking, more than 40 of the surviving attackers were tracked down and have been assassinated, including Aslambek Abdulkhadzhiev in 2002 and Shamil Basayev in 2006, and more than 20 were sentenced, by the Stavropol territorial court, to various terms of imprisonment. The mass sieges which saw people taken in the thousands also involved FSB's Alpha Group and

990-882: A submarine training detachment and then transferred to a repair station in the Northern Fleet at Polyarnyy . Leonov had trained as a scuba diver , after which he joined 4th Special Volunteer Detachment, where he proved his daring and leadership skills conducting numerous clandestine operations and twice being awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union . Initially the unit was confined to performing small scale reconnaissance missions, platoon sized insertions by sea and on occasion on land into Finland and later Norway. They began conducting sabotage missions and raids to snatch prisoners for interrogation. They would also destroy German ammunition and supply depots, communication centers, and harass enemy troop concentrations along

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1080-487: A variety of Soviet special operations ( spetsoperatsiya ) units. In addition, many Cheka and Internal Troops units (such as OMSDON and ODON ) also included osobovo naznacheniya in their full names. Regular forces assigned to special tasks were sometimes also referred to by terms such as Spetsnaz and osnaz . Spetsnaz later referred specifically to special ( spetsialnogo ) purpose ( naznacheniya ) or special operations (spetsoperatsiya; spec ops ) forces, and

1170-657: Is a British stabilization advisor from the Helmand Provincial Reconstruction Team . Scott Dempsey is the representative from USAID . Abdul Manaf was appointed District Governor in the summer of 2009. A 2008 survey by the Afghan government recorded 49 villages, 18 Community Development Councils, 12 Primary Schools, 7 Secondary Schools, and 4 Health Centers, with 10 km of asphalted roads. As of February 2010 its bazaar had more than 100 shops, as opposed to 6 before Operation Strike of

1260-760: Is a Russian term, it is typically associated with the special units of Russia, but other post-Soviet states often refer to their special forces units by the term as well, since these nations also inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies. The Russian abbreviations spetsnaz and osnaz are syllabic abbreviations of Soviet era Russian, for spetsialnogo naznacheniya and osobogo naznacheniya , both of which may be interpreted as "special purpose". As syllabic acronyms they are not normally capitalized . In Ukrainian they are known as spetspryz ( спецприз ), an abbreviation of viiska spetsiialnoho pryznachennia ( війська спеціяльного призначення ). They are general terms that were used for

1350-771: Is believed that during the war in Afghanistan, Soviet special forces came in direct conflict with Pakistan Army 's special forces, the Special Service Group . This unit was deployed disguised as Afghans, supporting the Mujahideen fighting the Soviets. A battle reported as having been fought between the Pakistanis and Soviet troops took place in Kunar Province in March 1986. According to Soviet sources,

1440-477: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Nawa-I-Barakzayi District It is one of the top opium -producing districts in Afghanistan with 6% of Afghanistan's total crop being grown there. This has made the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district a central hub in the opium and heroin trade. The district has also been the scene of heavy fighting during

1530-458: Is governed by Abdul Manaf. He lives in a compound next to a Marine base. The District Administrator is Haji Mohammed Khan. The District Chief of Police is Haji Muhammed Nafex Kahn. The Afghan National Army in the area is led by Captain Saki Dad. The International Security Assistance Force main representative is Lieutenant Colonel Matt Baker of the 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines . Ian Purves

1620-922: Is located in the southwestern part of Afghanistan, which consists mainly of desert or semidesert land. The region is crossed by the Helmand River , which flows from the Hindu Kush to the Sistan Basin in Iran. The basin has several slightly salty lakes and marshes. Barley, corn, fruits, wheat, and poppy are grown in the Helmand Valley. Temperatures in Nawa-i-Barakzayi average about 46F in January and about 92F in July. The average annual precipitation ranges from 0 to 0.8 inches. Very little snow falls in

1710-599: The Alpha Group and Zenith Group . The Soviet forces occupied major governmental, military and media buildings in Kabul , including their primary target – the Tajbeg Palace . In the first one and a half years of the war, Spetsnaz units in the form of the 459th special forces company, were exclusively responsible for reconnaissance missions and intelligence gathering for the 40th Army . Aside from reconnaissance,

1800-759: The 1st Battalion, 5th Marines were featured in the independent documentary film Patrol Base Jaker (2011). The film features Abdul Manaf in his role as the Nawa District Governor and Haji Mohammed Khan as the Nawa District Administrator. Filmmaker David Scantling joined the Marines during their 2009 deployment in the Nawa District. Spetznaz Spetsnaz ( Russian : Спецназ ) are special forces in many post-Soviet states . Historically, this term referred to

1890-433: The 20mm guns from their AH-1W SuperCobra helicopter gunships to avoid the risk of civilian casualties. The militants managed to escape. Taliban forces withdrew to Marjah while observing the Marines. In mid-May 2010 1st Battalion 3rd Battalion was substituted by 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines . Partnering with Afghan National Army soldiers from the 215th Corps , the battalion found itself in an area awash with money as

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1980-530: The Afghan parliamentary elections the battalion suffered another loss when 1st Lieutenant Scott Fleming was shot and killed. Nevertheless, on election day Nawa District was the one location in Helmand Province with no reported Taliban attacks. Residents claimed that the Marines from 3rd Battalion had implemented good security measures and encouraged the people to cooperate with the government, preventing

2070-655: The Helmand province campaign . It was a Taliban stronghold until the summer of 2009, when United States Marines were deployed there as part of Operation Strike of the Sword . In January 2010 ISAF chief Stanley McChrystal and the country's prime minister Hamid Karzai visited the district to assess the ISAF's work in combating the insurgents. Nawa previously fell to the Taliban in early August 2016, but Afghan forces reentered

2160-728: The Kronstadt rebellion 1921, setting up machine guns behind units of the Red Army, to "increase their motivation". The GRU and NKVD descended from the Cheka . Since 1927 Russians were experimenting with parachutes. Airborne units were used against central Asian and Afghan insurgents. GRU and NKVD derived from the Cheka and participated in the Spanish Civil War fighting fascists behind their lines using guerilla strategies. Fighting Germany, Japan, Poland and Finland in

2250-597: The Lebanese Civil War . However, by the time the Alpha group arrived, one of the hostages had already been killed. In a tit-for-tat response, Alpha group operators first identified the terrorists using local sources, then moved into the Lebanese villages where the terrorists were from and took their relatives as hostages. Some of the hostages were dismembered, and their body parts sent to the hostage takers, with

2340-566: The Moscow theatre hostage crisis and the Beslan school hostage crisis . The crisis took place from 14 to 19 June 1995, when a group of 80 to 200 Chechen terrorists led by Shamil Basayev attacked the southern Russian city of Budyonnovsk , where they stormed the main police station and the city hall. After several hours of fighting and Russian reinforcements imminent, the Chechens retreated to

2430-517: The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan seized control of the government and began a program of rapid modernization. Among the many institutions they targeted were the local landlords, known as the khans . In Helmand Province groups of local warlords and armed resistance fighters quickly rose in opposition to the government and filled the power vacuum left by the khans. Most resistance in Helmand

2520-599: The Riyadus-Salikhin Battalion , sent by the Chechen terrorist warlord Shamil Basayev, who demanded recognition of the independence of Chechnya at the United Nations and the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya. On the third day of the standoff, counter terrorism units stormed the building using heavy weapons after several explosions rocked the building and children started escaping. It

2610-615: The Russian Revolution of 1917. Also, during World War I, General Aleksei Brusilov became one of the first senior commanders to use the tactics of fast action shock troops for assaults following concentrated accurate artillery fire in what would later be known as the Brusilov Offensive of 1916. Such tactics, considered revolutionary at the time, would later inspire people like Prussian Captain Willy Rohr in

2700-532: The Second World War , new units of storm pioneers, parachuters, NKVD and GRU were set up. Thereby the soviets merged existing experiences and started to unify different military branches . The Soviet leadership had an urgent need for intelligence on German land forces in northern Norway and Finland . On 5 July 1941 Admiral Arseniy Golovko of the Northern Fleet authorized the formation of

2790-741: The Spetsnaz GRU in attempted rescuing of the hostages. Russian special forces were instrumental in Russia's and the Kremlin backed government's success in the Second Chechen War after learning lessons from the mishandling of the first war . Under joint command of Unified Group of Troops (OGV) formed on 23 September 1999. GRU, FSB and MVD spetsnaz operators conducted a myriad of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations, including targeted killings of separatist leadership, in

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2880-491: The Taliban chased out the police and seized control of the town of Nawa-I-Barakzayi. They held it for two weeks before being driven out by NATO and Afghan soldiers. In 2007, Nawa was described as "relatively peaceful". In 2008 the Taliban launched their spring offensive, Operation Ebrat , aimed at isolating Lashkar Gah, using Nawa-i-Barakzayi as a staging area for men and equipment coming north from Garmsir . In October 2008

2970-542: The U.S. Agency for International Development was in the process of spending $ 30 million in an attempt to increase agricultural production (and create jobs for thousands of otherwise-potential Taliban recruits), but was also resulting in tensions between the local community council and tribal elders. In-mid June, Lima Company took part in Operation New Dawn, establishing observation posts in southern Shorshork, an area in between Nawa and Marjeh . In late July,

3060-576: The Vietnam War . Within South Vietnam , rumors persisted for years that men with blue eyes were reportedly spotted doing recon missions and testing their new SVD Dragunov sniper rifles. John Stryker Meyer was with Studies and Observation Group RT Idaho and had two encounters with what they believed were spetsnaz units operating in Laos in 1968. Their mission was twofold: first of all, to help

3150-567: The Volgograd bombings under the demands of Umarov, and a number of National Olympic Committees had also received threats via e-mail, threatening that terrorists would kidnap or "blow up" athletes during the Games. In response to the insurgent threats, Russian special forces cracked down on suspected terrorist organizations, making several arrests and claiming to have curbed several plots, and killed numerous Islamist leaders including Eldar Magatov,

3240-472: The 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii; died while supporting combat operations in Nawa, Afghanistan. [3] On April 2, 2010, Lance Cpl. Curtis M. Swenson with 1st Battalion 3rd Marines, was killed after a Humvee in which Swenson was riding hit a roadside bomb that flipped the vehicle in Nawa, Afghanistan. [4] By the spring of 2009 Helmand

3330-983: The 459th was also tasked with capturing prisoners, kidnapping enemy agents, and targeted assassination of leaders and field commanders of the Mujahideen. By 1985, the GRU had expanded its special forces footprint to two Spetsnaz brigades in Afghanistan, comprising just under 5,000 troops. These were the: 15th Special Purpose Brigade – paired up and supported by 239th Helicopter Squadron equipped with Mi-24 (16 units), Mi-8 (16 units), deployment in Ghazni . 22nd Special Purpose Brigade – paired up and supported by 205th Helicopter Squadron equipped with Mi-24 (16 units) Mi-8 (16 units) deployed in Lashkar Gah . The Spetsnaz often conducted missions to ambush and destroy enemy supply convoys. The Mujahideen had great respect for

3420-613: The British launched a series of unsuccessful sweeps aimed at driving the Taliban out of Nawa. That same year there was one Afghan NGO working on an irrigation intake off the Helmand River with some 700 men and vehicles at work. In 2009 the Taliban began moving even more men into Nawa, possibly for additional attacks against Lashkar Gah. On May 13, they launched an attack against the Afghan National Police in

3510-549: The Chechens of using the hostages as human shields. According to official figures, 129 civilians were killed and 415 were injured in the entire event (of whom 18 later died of their wounds). This includes at least 105 hostage fatalities. However, according to an independent estimate 166 hostages were killed and 541 injured in the special forces attack on the hospital. At least 11 Russian police officers and 14 soldiers were killed. Basayev's force suffered 11 men killed and one missing; most of their bodies were returned to Chechnya in

3600-525: The FSB headquarters. Militant leader Doku Umarov —dubbed "Russia's Osama bin Laden "—took responsibility for the attacks. In July 2010, President Dmitry Medvedev expanded the FSB's powers in its fight against terrorism. In 2011, Federal Security Service exposed 199 foreign spies, including 41 professional spies and 158 agents employed by foreign intelligence services. The number has risen in recent years: in 2006

3690-467: The FSB reportedly caught about 27 foreign intelligence officers and 89 foreign agents. Comparing the number of exposed spies historically, the then-FSB Director Nikolay Kovalyov said in 1996: "There has never been such a number of spies arrested by us since the time when German agents were sent in during the years of World War II." The 2011 figure is similar to what was reported in 1995–1996, when around 400 foreign intelligence agents were uncovered during

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3780-1056: The Finnish and Russian coasts. When the European conflict ended, the Naval Scouts were sent to fight the Japanese. Leonov along with Capt. Kulebyakin and 140 men, landed on a Japanese airfield at Port Vonsan , unaware that they were opposed by over 3,500 enemy soldiers. A tense standoff ensued, until the commanding officers of the unit managed to bluff the Japanese forces into surrendering. Each Soviet front/army up to 1942 had their own independent guard-battalion ( Otdelnly Gwardieskij Batalion Minerow), OGBM, so called miners, for reconnaissance and commando missions. The soldiers had to be younger than 30, were mostly athletes or hunters and had to identify 100% with their mission. Many exhausted and wounded soldiers were, even in training, left to their own devices. The selection methods qualified

3870-490: The Marines in his squad. He was later posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for his actions. On October 20, 2009, Lance Corporal David R. Baker with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was killed by an IED in the district. On November 10, 2009, Corporal Justin J. Swanson with 1st Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment was killed by an IED in the district. In November 2009, 1/5 was replaced by 1st Battalion, 3rd Marines . In

3960-571: The Red Star medal that Koltsov claimed to have been awarded for the deed. Koltsov, 74 at the time of the interview, stated that he wanted to clear his conscience and uncover what exactly had happened to Crabb. Peter Mercer of the Special Boat Service describes this incident in his autobiography: "The cruiser [Ordzhonikidze] was carrying the two Soviet leaders, Khrushchev and Bulganin, on a goodwill visit to Britain. His [Crabb's] task

4050-404: The Soviet Union's Spetsnaz GRU , special operations units of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Soviet General Staff (GRU). Today it refers to special forces branches and task forces subordinate to ministries including defence, internal affairs, or emergency situations in countries that have inherited their special purpose units from the now-defunct Soviet security agencies . As spetsnaz

4140-411: The Spetsnaz, seeing them as a much more difficult opponent than the typical Soviet conscript soldier. They said that the Spetsnaz-led air assault operations had changed the complexion of the war. They also credited the Spetsnaz with closing down all the supply routes along the Afghan-Pakistani border in 1986. In April 1986, the rebels lost one of their biggest bases, at Zhawar in Paktia Province , to

4230-425: The Sword , which would target Taliban positions in Nawa-i-Barakzayi and Garmsir. According to Marine Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, the operation was aimed to improve security ahead of presidential elections, allowing voter registration where before there was none. The BBC said that while that was the official goal of the operation, the real goal was the change the momentum of the war, which had previously favored

4320-535: The Sword . After the Taliban fled in 2009 the district marketplace reopened, irrigation canal clearing projects started, and a local community council was established. By 2010 millions of dollars were being pumped into public works projects, including a town hall and police station. There were also numerous agricultural projects spearheaded by various NGOs, including USAID. In 2009 they delivered wheat grain seeds to 6,000 farmers. As of 2010 250 workers had been hired to construct plastic crop tunnels that function like

4410-445: The Taliban from firing a single shot. By the end of 3rd Battalion's deployment in the fall of 2010, Nawa was regarded by many as "a model of counterinsurgency operations and the most stable district" in southern Afghanistan. The success of 3rd Batallion, 3rd Marines redirected OEF's focus to the hostile Nawa-I-Barakzayi District and the city of Marjah . Mujahideen commander Mullah Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada, based in Musa Qala in

4500-452: The Taliban, and create the perception that security in Afghanistan was improving. On July 2, hundreds of Marines from 1st Battalion, 5th Marines were lifted by helicopter into the district, encountering sporadic resistance. The conflict began around 1:00 am local time when Marines were dropped by CH-47s and UH-60s helicopters of the 82nd Airborne Division , into dirt fields around the district capital of Nawa-I-Barakzayi. The first shots of

4590-435: The assault group: Colonel Oleg Ilyin, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Razumovsky of Vega, and Major Alexander Perov of Alpha. At least 30 commandos suffered serious wounds. By the mid-2000s, the special forces gained a firm upper hand over separatists and terrorist attacks in Russia dwindled, falling from 257 in 2005 to 48 in 2007. Military analyst Vitaly Shlykov praised the effectiveness of Russia's security agencies, saying that

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4680-454: The attack leading to doctors in local hospitals being unable to respond adequately to the influx of casualties. All but two of the hostages who died during the siege were killed by the toxic substance pumped into the theatre to subdue the militants. The use of the gas was widely condemned as heavy-handed. Physicians in Moscow condemned the refusal to disclose the identity of the gas that prevented them from saving more lives. Some reports said

4770-574: The battalion suffered the loss of Corporal Joe Wrighstman, who drowned in the Helmand River while attempting to save the life of an Afghan National policeman . Just days later they had to secure the crash site of Dealer 54, an HMLA-369 helicopter which had crashed near Lashkar Gah , killing the two pilots. Around this time, India Company conducted Operation Thresher and later Operation Mako in areas of Nawa District under heavy Taliban influence, finding several cache sites and taking some detainees. In September, while providing pre-election security for

4860-402: The battle was actually fought between the GRU's 15th Spetsnaz Brigade, and the Usama Bin Zaid regiment of Afghan Mujahideen under Commander Assadullah, belonging to Abdul rub a-Rasul Sayyaf's faction. Fighting is also alleged to have taken place during Operation Magistral where over 200 Mujahideen were killed in a failed attempt to capture the strategic Hill 3234 near the Pakistani border from

4950-432: The ceiling and caused casualties in excess of 80% of the auditorium's occupants. After a two-and-a-half-day siege and the execution of two hostages, spetsnaz operators from the Federal Security Service (FSB) Alpha and Vympel a.k.a. Vega Groups , supported by the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) SOBR unit, pumped an undisclosed chemical agent into the building's ventilation system and raided it. During

5040-465: The development of the Prussian Stormtroopers (founded in 1915). The origins of the Spetsnaz can be found in the Russian Civil War . To act against anti-Communist workers and farmers, the Soviet regime set up so called Tschasti Osobogo Nasatschenia (Units for special use) in 1918. In the next year they were expanded to the so-called Cheka (The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission), fighting counterrevolution and (alleged) sabotage. They took part in

5130-426: The district center in mid-August, making the district contested. In October 2016, Taliban has seized control of the district and killed the Ahmadshah Salem, the district's chief of police. Nawa-I-Barakzayi is located on a flood plain that had been farmed for centuries, with farmers taking water from the river via locally built canals. In the 1950s and 1960s the United States sponsored the Helmand Valley Authority ,

5220-458: The district, that overwhelmed several posts. By late spring they had established a solid foothold in the district. On July 2, 2009, Marines from the 1st Battalion, 5th Marines (1/5) occupied the district as part of Operation Strike of the Sword . They set up their headquarters in Forward Operating Base Geronimo . On August 26, Lance Corporal Donald Hogan, a Marine with 1/5, threw himself in front of an improvised explosive device (IED), saving

5310-411: The district. On January 10, 2010, Lance Corporal Jacob A. Meinert with 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, Bravo Company was killed in action in Nawa, Afghanistan. [1] On January 24, 2010, Lance Corporal Timothy J. Poole Jr. with 1st Battalion 3rd Marine Regiment, Bravo Company was killed in action during a patrol in Nawa, Afghanistan. [2] On February 16, 2010, Lance Cpl. Noah M. Pier, assigned to

5400-455: The drug naloxone was used to save some hostages. Also referred to as the Beslan massacre started on 1 September 2004, lasted three days and involved the capture of over 1,100 people as hostages (including 777 children), ending with the death of 334 people. The event led to security and political repercussions in Russia; in the aftermath of the crisis, there has been an increase in Ingush – Ossetian ethnic hostility, while contributing to

5490-421: The end of the Second World War the Soviet Union dissolved most of the special units. At the end of the 1950s the KGB and GRU set new special forces units up. The 3rd guard special-reconnaissance-brigade was founded in 1966, being stationed with the Soviet forces in East Germany in Fürstenberg / Havel . Lieutenant-Commander Lionel Crabb was a British Royal Navy frogman and MI6 diver who vanished during

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5580-458: The experience learned in Chechnya and Dagestan had been key to the success. In 2008, the American Carnegie Endowment 's Foreign Policy magazine named Russia as "the worst place to be a terrorist", particularly highlighting Russia's willingness to prioritize national security over civil rights. By 2010, Russian special forces, led by the FSB, had managed to eliminate the top leadership of the Chechen insurgency, except for Dokka Umarov . From 2009,

5670-435: The highly questionable, have captivated the imagination of Russians. A number of books about the Soviet military special forces, such as 1987's Spetsnaz: The Story Behind the Soviet SAS by defected GRU agent Viktor Suvorov , helped introduce the term to the Western public. The Imperial Russian Army had hunter-commando units, formed by a decree of Emperor Alexander III in 1886, which saw action in World War I prior to

5760-421: The hospital compound at dawn on the fourth day, meeting fierce resistance. After several hours of fighting in which many hostages were killed by crossfire, a local ceasefire was agreed, and 227 hostages were released; 61 others were freed by the Russian forces. A second Russian attack on the hospital a few hours later also failed and so did a third, resulting in even more casualties. The Russian authorities accused

5850-502: The kidnappers. Either way, the show of brutal force had its effect, and for the next 20 years no Soviet or Russian officials were taken captive, until June 2006. After the collapse of the USSR, spetsnaz forces of the Soviet Union's newly formed republics took part in many local conflicts such as the Tajikistani Civil War , Chechen Wars , Russo-Georgian War and the Russo-Ukrainian War . Spetsnaz forces also have been called upon to resolve several high-profile hostage situations such as

5940-476: The late Nineties. With the resurgence of the Taliban in 2005/2006, opium cultivation would explode in the district, hitting 10,168 hectares of poppy (or 6% of Afghanistan's total). Only Nad-i-Ali and Nahri Sarraj districts had higher levels. This has made the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district a central hub in the opium and heroin trade. One local dealer allegedly moved his poppy to heroin-producing labs as far away as Badakhshan and Takhar Provinces. Nawa-i-Barakzayi

6030-705: The late summer and early fall the Marines detained Haji Adam, one of Nawa's main drug lords, and turned his house into Combat Outpost (COP) Sullivan. In November two local officials were assassinated. On December 17, 2009, Admiral Mike Mullen , the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , visited Patrol Base Jaker and touted the security gains by touring the Nawa district center without wearing body armor . Several weeks later Afghan President Hamid Karzai and ISAF commander General Stanley McChrystal also visited Nawa on January 2, 2010. On January 9, 2010, British journalist Rupert Hamer and Lance Corporal Mark D Juarez of 1st Battalion 3rd Marines were killed by an IED in

6120-425: The level of terrorism in Russia increased again. Particularly worrisome was the increase in suicide attacks. While between February 2005 and August 2008, no civilians were killed in such attacks, in 2008 at least 17 were killed and in 2009 the number rose to 45. In March 2010, Islamist militants organised the 2010 Moscow Metro bombings , which killed 40 people. One of the two blasts took place at Lubyanka station, near

6210-409: The local residents, over 20% of their homes were destroyed during the Soviet occupation. The Soviet occupation also saw the rise of poppy growing in Nawa District. During the Eighties the Akhundzadas gradually consolidated power over most of Helmand, eliminating other Mujahideen factions. Two prominent pro-government commanders in the Nawa area during this time were Khano and Allah Noor. Allah Noor

6300-604: The meantime inflicting heavy casualties among Islamist separatists. Some of these successful missions were directed against separatist leaders such as Aslan Maskhadov , Abdul Halim Sadulayev , Dokka Umarov , Akhmadov brothers , Turpal-Ali Atgeriyev , Akhmed Avtorkhanov , Ibn al-Khattab , Abu al-Walid , Abu Hafs al-Urduni , Muhannad , Ali Taziev , Supyan Abdullayev , Shamil Basayev , Ruslan Gelayev , Salman Raduyev , Sulim Yamadayev , Rappani Khalilov , Yassir al-Sudani . During these missions, many operators received honors for their courage and prowess in combat, including with

6390-451: The mujahedin war effort, with Spetsnaz units intercepting 990 supply caravans and killing 17,000 insurgents. For their role in Operation Curtain , the Spetsnaz suffered a total of 570 killed with a further 11 missing. Casualty breakdown by unit was: In May 1986, the Spetsnaz also succeeded in inserting air-assault forces into remote regions in Konar Valley near Barikot which were previously considered inaccessible to Soviet forces. It

6480-553: The north, first issued a fatwa legalizing poppy cultivation in Helmand Province in 1981. After their victory over government forces, the Akhundzadas turned Nawa-I-Barakzayi into one of Afghanistan's top opium-producing areas: in 1994 farmers in the district cultivated an estimated 6,074 hectares of poppy, or 8.5% of Afghanistan's total. Under Taliban rule, Nawa-I-Barakzayi's opium production plummeted to as low as 505 hectares in 1996, although it would steadily increase throughout

6570-405: The operation were fired at daybreak (around 6:15 am) when a Marine unit received small-arms fire from a tree-line. Cobra attack helicopters were called in and made strafing runs at the tree line from where the fire was coming from. Marines also encountered a group of about 20 militants holed up in a mud-brick compound. The Marines refrained from calling in a fixed-wing airstrike and instead used

6660-411: The raid, all of the attackers were killed, with no casualties among spetsnaz, but about 130 hostages, including nine foreigners, died due to poor first aid after falling unconscious from the gas. Most died after being evacuated from the theatre and laid outside on their backs instead of in the approved recovery position and then choking to death. Russian security agencies refused to disclose the gas used in

6750-526: The region. Nawa-I-Barakzayi's name reflects the dominant Pashtun tribe in the district, the Barakzai . There is also a large minority of tribesmen from the Noorzai Tribe . Prior to the 1970s, it was called Shamalan after a small village at the south end of the district. As a result of land settlement, by 1975 there were 16 other tribes and ethnic groups in the area. The villages are located along

6840-617: The residential district and regrouped in the city hospital, where they took between 1,500 and 1,800 hostages, most of them civilians (including about 150 children and a number of women with newborn infants). After three days of siege, the Russian authorities ordered the security forces to retake the hospital compound. The forces deployed were elite personnel from the Federal Security Service 's Alpha Group, alongside MVD militsiya and Internal Troops. The strike force attacked

6930-419: The rivers, where irrigation is possible. Drought has affected this district since the late 20th century, reducing the number of livestock that can be sustained. A 2003 UN census recorded a population of 66,263 but a 2008 Afghan government survey counted 89,814 people. Most of the inhabitants are Pashtun . The district center is also called Nawa-I-Barakzayi . As of February 2010 the Nawa-i-Barakzayi district

7020-458: The threat that their relatives were next. The remaining hostages were released immediately. Russian sources indicate that the release of the Soviet hostages was the result of extensive diplomatic negotiations with the spiritual leader of Hezbollah , Grand Ayatollah Mohammad Hussein Fadlallah , who appealed to King Hussein of Jordan and the leaders of Libya and Iran to use their influence on

7110-611: The title Hero of the Russian Federation . At least 106 FSB and GRU operators died during the conflict. The crisis was the seizure of the crowded Dubrovka Theatre on 23 October 2002 by 40 to 50 armed Chechens who claimed allegiance to the Islamist militant separatist movement in Chechnya . They took 850 hostages and demanded the withdrawal of Russian forces from Chechnya and an end to the Second Chechen War . The siege

7200-453: The troops as elite but caused high numbers of casualties. The "miners" infiltrated foreign-occupied areas by air and land, and cooperated with, and trained, local partisans . Immediately before the major Russian offensive at Smolesk in 1943, 316 OGBM were dropped by parachute in nine groups. Up to 300 km behind the enemy lines, they blew up 700 km of railways in cooperation with local partisans, using 3,500 explosive charges. By

7290-484: The two-year period. Olympic organizers received several threats prior to the Games. In a July 2013 video release, Chechen Islamist commander Dokka Umarov called for attacks on the Games, stating that the Games were being staged " on the bones of many, many Muslims killed ...and buried on our lands extending to the Black Sea." Threats were received from the group Vilayat Dagestan , which had claimed responsibility for

7380-411: The word's widespread use is a relatively recent, post- perestroika development in Russian language. The Soviet public used to know very little about their country's special forces until many state secrets were disclosed under the glasnost ("openness") policy of Mikhail Gorbachev during the late 1980s. Since then, stories about spetsnaz and their purportedly incredible prowess, from the serious to

7470-458: Was actually a native of Nawa-i-Barakzayi (Khano was from Farah Province ); both individuals recruited their militias from unemployed youths in the province. After the Soviet withdrawal, they administered the area for the Afghan government until they were overrun by the Akhundzadas in 1993. The Akhundzada victory was short-lived, however, as the Taliban conquered Nawa-i-Barakzayi along with rest of Helmand in late 1994 and early 1995. In July 2006

7560-485: Was carried out on tribal lines; without a significant tribal base, Nawa-i-Barakzayi became a major government stronghold. During the Soviet occupation, the Afghan Communists recruited many of their Khalq militia from Nawa-i-Barakzayi. The Russians also had a major operations base near Lashkar Gah with at least 2500 soldiers, including the 22nd Spetznaz Brigade. The main Russian strategy in central Helmand

7650-415: Was executed on 27 December 1979 which saw Soviet special forces storming the Tajbeg Palace in Afghanistan and killing Afghan President Hafizullah Amin , his son and over 300 of his personal guards in 40 minutes. The Soviets then installed Babrak Karmal as Amin's successor. The operation involved approximately 660 Soviet operators dressed in Afghan uniforms, including ca. 50 KGB and GRU officers from

7740-513: Was in this chaos most of the officers were killed, trying to protect escaping children from gun fire. At least 334 hostages were killed as a result of the crisis, including 186 children. Official reports on how many members of Russia's special forces died in the fighting varied from 11, 12, 16 (7 Alpha and 9 Vega) to more than 20 killed. There are only 10 names on the special forces monument in Beslan. The fatalities included all three commanders of

7830-417: Was officially led by Movsar Barayev . Due to the disposition of the theatre, special forces would have had to fight through 100 feet (30 m) of corridor and attack up a well defended staircase, before they could reach the hall in where the hostages were held. The terrorists also had explosive devices. The most powerful of these was in the center of the auditorium ; if detonated, it could have brought down

7920-413: Was perceived as being one of the key centers of the Taliban movement. By early June 2009 over 10,000 Marines had poured into southern Afghanistan, the first wave of what President Obama promised would be a 21,000 strong surge. The Marines planned a series of operations to assault Taliban strongholds and then consolidate the Afghan government's position in the region. The first was Operation Strike of

8010-421: Was to cut a deal with the main mujahideen commander, Mullah Mohammad Nasim Akhundzada which divided the province into the Soviet areas ( Lashkar Gah and Gereshk ) and the mujahideen areas (everywhere else). After repeatedly taking indirect fire from mujahideen units operating in the Nawa area, the Soviets launched a clearing operation there in 1987 and set up a Sarandoy (Armed Police) Battalion. According to

8100-492: Was to measure the cruiser's propeller and to discover how the ship managed to travel at twice the speed originally estimated by British naval intelligence." The Warsaw pact invaded Czechoslovakia in 1968 to stop the " Socialism with a Human Face " movement. Spetsnaz units secured key points in the capital, Prague , seizing the airport, bridges, radio stations and the president's palace. Some 3,300 Soviet military experts, among them spetsnaz, were sent to Southeast Asia during

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