The Battle of Shahabuddin

Abstract

During the 2010 parliamentary elections in Afghanistan, Baghlan saw on of the most intense fighting. Between 16-18 of September Taliban, Afghan and ISAF forces fought for a small combat outpost (COP). This militia base at the village of Shahabuddin had been set up only a month before and was filled with former allies, at the time enemies of the Taliban. Although the coalition forces were superior in terms of numbers, weapons, fire support, and intelligence, they were unable to breach the insurgent's positions near the combat outpost, and prevent the destruction of the COP by the Taliban. During the battle of Shahabuddin the Taliban forces masterly used their intimate knowledge of the terrain, successfully coordinated their units in different parts of the wider area, and fought with determination and courage comparable only to well trained regular units. This paper offers the most detailed narrative of the three days of fighting using open source materials, previously unavailable sources and interviews with Hungarian officers who were members of the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team at the time of the battle.