NationStates Jolt Archive

Baghdad had paid relatively little attention as Afghanistan had slid under the control of the repressive, fundamentalist Taliban. Whilst the regime was certainly disliked, its presence had never been considered particularly threatening. Through the 1980s UE had been extremely generous in its support for the Anti-Soviet resistance and because of this maintained its extensive tribal connections and loyalties that it could eventually draw upon if it wanted to force a change in regime. When that moment came however, it would be Muhammad Yaqub Shah, the heir apparent to the Afghan throne and recognised by Baghdad as the legitimate Head of State, who would be favoured as Afghanistan’s future leader. Having lived for the past three decades, which was most of his life, in comfortable exile within UE he was an urbane, charismatic man who garnered much respect in Baghdad’s high social circles. However, he was far from a warrior, and whilst he was ready to takeover his rightful realm, it was more out of a sense of duty than genuine enthusiasm.

In recent weeks, UE had heightened its intelligence gathering efforts in Afghanistan and reaffirmed old contacts to try and create more unified opposition, particularly in the Southern Pashtun areas. With North Pakistan and Depkazia mounting offensives against the Afghan Emirate in the Wakhan corridor, it seemed an opportune moment to attempt to destabilise the regime and try and bring about a revolution from within. Teams of Special Forces operating from bases across the border in North Pakistan had begun to once again supply weapons and training to friendly guerrillas.

Kandahar

Kandahar, the nation’s second city, was a Taliban stronghold and effectively the capital in all but name therefore toppling the regime’s local control would be ambitious, but a necessary one to break the hold of the Taliban. A loose alliance had been formed of local opposition groups and tribesmen whereby an offensive would eventually be launched against the city. Numbering several thousand, these casual groups of hill warriors had been supplied with small arms and rocket propelled grenades and had been given basic instructions on their use. Many were veterans of the Soviet campaign, and many more were young, moderate minded Muslims who wanted to enjoy the freedoms they had been told their brethren in UE enjoyed.

A twelve man special forces team from Bravo Company, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Reconnaissance Brigade had been ‘in country’ for just over two weeks. Having been inserted by helicopter from North Pakistan, they had linked up with agents working for the Federal Intelligence Bureau and their various tribal connections. Unlike their shady counterparts of the FIB however, they were dressed not in local or tribal dress but military fatigues and carried Special Forces issue equipment. It was military policy that its personnel should always act in the capacity of soldiers rather than spies, the latter being left to other agencies.

Lieutenant Abdul Haitham and his men had orders to eliminate or capture Mullah Abdul Razaq, the ruthless Interior Minister, who was according to an informant in Kabul flying south to Kandahar after attending the meeting of the Kabul Shura. Indigenous informants in both Kabul and Kandahar could not confirm when exactly he would be arriving but that it would be on an An-32 landing at Kandahar Airport. They had considered simply using a shoulder fired air defence missile to shoot down the transport but that had been deemed risky given that they would have no idea whether the Interior Minister would be aboard and that it would not give them an opportunity to capture him alive. The favoured option was to attack his military motorcade somewhere in the middle of the 15 mile stretch of road between the airport and the city thereby delaying reinforcements, hopefully giving them enough time to retreat out of the area after they had completed the objective.

They had been in position for nearly two days when, in the mid-afternoon, the team heard the whine of ageing Russian turboprops overhead. Quickly they spread out to their pre-arranged ambush positions, with the closest men just a hundred or so yards from the road.

The team sniper was lying prone, adjusting his scope, as the first vehicle came into view. As they had expected, there were three vehicles, a pair of UAZ 4x4s, the first open with a pintle-mounted machinegun and the second enclosed, sporting little Taliban flags, in which the target would be sitting. The third vehicle was a soft skinned Toyota truck no doubt containing members of the Taliban militia. As the lead UAZ approached he fed a fresh round into his British-made AWM rifle. He watched carefully, waiting for the vehicle to pass the point that they had decided on. Then he gently squeezed the trigger sending a .338 bullet through the head of the gunner on the open jeep with surgical precision. The sniper quickly worked the bolt feeding another round into the chamber and he snapped off another shot, which pierced the windscreen, killing the driver, just as the lifeless body of the gunner slumped onto the floor of the vehicle. The Taliban soldier in the first UAZ’s passenger seat then leapt out to take cover on the side of the road but was struck by another shot before he reached it.

The convoy had been forced to a halt. Immediately another member of the team broke cover to aim his Shipon, disposable rocket launcher at the now stationary truck. The rocket took seconds to cover the short distance and a blast of heat and smoke confirmed it had been destroyed. Then the soldier dropped the tube and brought his Muhannad assault rifle to his shoulder and dashed forward towards the road.

As soon as the rest of the squad had seen the truck go up in flames; they knew it was time to storm the remaining UAV and hopefully capture their quarry alive. As six soldiers dashed forward a pair of Minimi gunners kept covering fire on any survivors from the last two vehicles. Rushing forward with their assault rifles set on automatic, straight for the UAZ they quickly gunned down the two men in the front seats who were trying to reach for their weapons. Lieutenant Haitham himself was the first to actually reach the vehicle and peered into the backseat, all the time looking down the sights of his weapon. This was where a perfectly executed operation failed. Razaq was not there. Furious, he raced around checking each of the bodies, none of which bore any resemblance to the Interior Minister.

Then there was a high pitched whine followed by a crump as a mortar shell shook the road, cratering it just a hundred feet from their position. The team took cover, the six men on the road itself road thrusting themselves under the shot up vehicles as several more shells reverberated across the rocky landscape. Within seconds, two of the team had taken shrapnel injuries.

The team sniper, still providing over watch on the road in both directions then spotted additional vehicles coming from the direction of the airport. There were at least fifteen of them, mostly soft-skinned trucks filled with troops and 4x4 pickups armed with 12.7mm machineguns. It became clear that they had been setup and as was not uncommon in this part of the world, one of their indigenous contacts had either turned voluntarily or been broken by Taliban interrogators.

As the mortar bombardment continued, the Lieutenant ordered the men to clear the road and start retreating southward up a ridge. Carrying the wounded, they hurried as the incoming troops neared their position. Breaking radio silence to contact their operations base in North Pakistan they were told that the closest available air support would take a minimum of forty minutes to arrive and that was forty minutes they certainly did not have. Harassed by mortar fire, and the vehicle mounted heavy machineguns, two more of the team received injuries, slowing the team further. Meanwhile, approximately sixty Taliban troops had begun to dismount their trucks and chase the men up the hillside.

No longer able to outrun their pursuers the team made a last effort to turn and fight. Several minutes after a fierce gun battle had ensued; three of the Special Forces had been killed. Lieutenant Haitham then radioed his commanding officer and obtained permission to surrender his team. Before they did so however, they made sure to quickly destroy any maps or documents they carried and their communications equipment.

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Istanbul, the Ottoman Empire
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It was not so much apathy, the colonel reflected, but more along the lines of simple ignorance. The Ottomans were not completely involved in international politics, nay, a better term would be "out of", but they were still there. But no on had any idea why, or how, or even if the Ottomans existed, what they did, and so forth.

But there were a few places which the Ottomans still cared about. Foremost among these was United Elias, then the ruins of Sabir, and then Afganistan. Of these, the one currently on the agenda was thr third, a Taliban-ruled wasteland of guns, armed militias, and tribal warfare. With expansion to the north, of both countries, the empire and Afganistan, the Ottomans were in a situation to do something. And, unknown to them, they were thinking along the lines that Baghdad was.

The issue that was being deliberated in Parliment (it was a joint session of all three houses) was the Afgan situation, but the Afgan situation in context. The Tsar of Russia, Wingert ("the great") was aggressive, and there were hints that Putin was still alive. Europe and the Holy League were looking strong, and with Centeral Asia and China in...turmoil, Afganistan stood, the forgotten and rediscovered Taliban regimn, as the last stronghold of, well, enemity.

Silently, Ottoman teams were deployed, and messages sent to Baghdad for a meeting on this subject...

OOC:Meant for this to be better; I'll get a good post up later this weekend.

Peshawar

As up-beat reports on the North Pakistani Army's progress in the Wakhan corridor flood back to Shareef and his government in the capital, the President begins to contemplate a more aggressive campaign against Kabul. Granted, he doesn't know about Elian special forces operations across the border, and it is probably best not to tell him (the Peshawar government is not exactly known for its tight lips), he begins to think along the same lines. Unlike most of his peers, namely the Kashmiris, Mustafa Shareef commands an intensely loyal and proffessional military, and it can do a number on Kabul if used properly.

Not unexpectedly, more Su-25 strikes are flown against the Afghan capital and Kandahar, and some regular army units are positioned on the North Pakistani side of the Khyber Pass. Any campaign against the Taliban, though, needs to be handled delicately for fear of inciting the very powerful Islamic fundamentalist faction and the many criminals with a working relationship with Kabul. Before anything, the opium cartels are given Peshawar's solemn word that nothing will happen to the poppy farmers, and after that Shareef makes a public address.

Standing on the balcony of the Interior Ministry building with one of his new Muhannad assault rifles, he speaks to a crowd of supporters.

"...The Taliban have betrayed us and their people. Their regime ceases to respect Islam and has become innundated with foreign malcontents and hoodlums with no understanding of how to run a government. Furthermore, we have recieved very reliable reports that the Taliban and its oil baron bedfellows plan a strike against our nation! We cannot wait for them to attack us!"

Shareef fires a short burst into the air, and the crowd erupts in cheers. Composed almost entirely of ardent Government supporters, it isn't a very good gauge of public opinion, but it is something to show the news cameras.

After composing a communique to the Elian embassy asking about an Afghan invasion, Peshawar asks for 30 MiG-29s.

Colonel Stewart Griffin found himself- once again- back in Afghanistan. He never understood the fascination every Major Power had with the place- most of it looked like a bomb had hit it (and several had!).

Still, he had returned to help the local Mujahadeen to finally wipe out the Taliban, and keep the Depkazis from totally over-running North-West Afghanistan. There had been the talks, the coffee, the social pleasantries, and the demands for blatanly unreasonable equipment- one of the Mujahadeen leaders had actually asked for a "Plasma Rifle in the 40 watt range", whilst yet another one wanted "Pulse Rifles, like in the movie with the Aliens", whilst a third wanted "Storm Trooper Blaster Rifles from the film with the Star Wars".

Despite the fact there was no running water or much in the medical facilities departments in the back-blocks of Afghanistan, it seemed that VHS players, Televisions, and Radios were in existence, even if they were tuned to the "20 Years Ago" frequency.

Colonel Griffin gave up explaining that there was no such thing as a Plasma Rifle or a Storm Trooper Blaster Rifle, and instead said he'd see what he could do... which would probably involve passing off crates of SLLE Rifles as the Latest And Greatest in Military Technology.

Still, it beat the hell out of the Desert any day of the week...

Depkazi forces in the corridor (in the northeast, not the northwest) were making the shallow-penetration invasion of largely friendly territory by mountain infantry of mountains that don't look especially impressive next to home look like a major challenge, even with most potential organised resistance scores of miles away fighting somebody else or being blown up.

Though there was little doubt that the Depkazis would reach the Pakistani border and/or meet up with North Pakistani troops at any moment, the effort was made difficult by problems such as the ridiculous composition of forces comprised along the lines of a combination of old lumbering Soviet divisions and traditional nomad and tribal standards reintroduced since independence. Worse than that, nobody knew exactly why or where they were going, who they were and, more importantly, were not fighting, the difference between Northern Alliance and Taliban forces, or even how to identify a unit or person as North Pakistani without walking up and asking him about it.

So the advance was going slowly, and in several directions, followed up by political officers handing out apologies when the wrong village was flattened by a tank or the wrong side was given fire-support in a civil-war engagement happened upon. It looked likely that the Depkazis would soon control the mouth to the Wakhan Corridor, but what they'd do with that control was quite up in the air.

It was in the rest of the Afghan struggle that Chokareff felt he had leverage. Apart from the Hazaras, many key groups in the major anti-Taliban alliance were ethnically of Depkazi extraction, and the strongholds close to the Depkazi border were now receiving significant material support, and were often visited by Depkazi political sections tasked typically with the headache inducing task of filling in religious cracks according to the President's design so that, if alliances were to break-down after victory, the Depkazis would know where they stood and where to place their support.

The Depkazis were also able through this natural co-operation to learn of Roycelandian presence and apparently anti-Depkazi bent, and, controversially enough, were soon seeing to it that anyone getting along too well with these people had their name passed around as users of televisions, radios, listeners to music, and what have you, with the intention being that, where possible, the Taliban authorities should be the ones to act. The Depkazis, on behalf of rebels associating with them rather than the westerners, would usually follow-up resulting acts of repression with an airstrike against Taliban-aligned targets, deploying dusted-off Su-17s in increasing numbers as a minimum of economic growth enabled basic airforce training to reach vaguely useful levels. The hope was to get Roycelandian contacts killed or arressted while increasing anti-Taliban sentiment and painting the Depkazis and the several thousand strong ranks of their loosely-termed allies as heroic defenders.

(OOC: BTW would someone be willing to RP the Taliban? Preferably somone with some knowledge of how the Taliban government is structured etc. I would do it, but that might be seen as a bit of a conflict of interest...)


Somewhere over the Arabian Peninsular

An Elias Air Force Il-86, call sign ‘Eagle One’, cruised westward, flying the President and his entourage from Baghdad to Amman for a one day regional visit. The President, eating a gourmet lunch with his wife in the opulent private dining room that doubled as the conference room, was suddenly interrupted when his Chief of Staff entered the room, “Sorry to disturb you, urgent message from the Ministry of Defence, some Army special forces have been captured in Kandahar while attempting to assassinate a Taliban Minister.”

The President, dropped his knife and fork and slammed on his fist on the table. “Damn it. Get me Zibari on the phone, put it through, I’ll take it in here.”

“Yes sir, you want me in on the call?”

“Please.” Barely a minute later, a phone receiver buzzed and the President reached for the receiver, confirming that a red light was illuminated showing that the call was on an encrypted line. “Ibrahim?” After confirming that Defence Minister Ibrahim Zibari was still on the other end, he continued, “We have back channel communications with the Taliban don’t we?”

“Yes Sir, it can be arranged, what message do you think we should send?”

“Tell them that they must treat our men in accordance with the Geneva Convention, and that we are willing to trade their lives for that Taliban spy we arrested a few years ago, he is alive, yes?”

“I believe so Mr. President, I think we wisely chose not to execute him just in case we needed a bargaining chip in the future, he is not terribly senior but is a relative one of their shura members...And if they refuse the deal?”

The Minister listened to static for a few seconds as the President paused for thought, “Ibrahim, if they have the nerve not to accept then I think I have had enough. How are our contingency plans for Afghanistan?”

“Well Sir, as you know I have made sure that all our operational scenarios are up to date. We have several plans based on differing objectives and intensities.”

“Ok. Distribute the ‘Change of Government’ op plan to the regional commander, and put the necessary forces on alert so we can go ahead within several days if necessary.”

“Yes Mr. President, I agree entirely, the circumstances are very favourable for regime change.”

“Yes I know your views. I will not however take any decisions on the use of force until I have taken advice from the whole Security Executive Committee.”

***

The President had put the government in motion. Whilst staff officers in the Ministry of Defence quickly made alterations to a war plan for Afghanistan that been sitting on the shelf for some time, Elias diplomats also swing into action. In Ankara, quiet discussions on Afghanistan are arranged, with diplomats stating that Ottoman-Elias co-operation would not only be beneficial to this operation but also improve relations on other issues as well. In Peshawar, the Shareef is told that he would indeed be allowed to purchase 28 Mig-29A ex-Elias Air Force fighters and he is also given some vague details about a plan to remove the Taliban but is told that for now the North Pakistan Air Force needed to stop attacking Kabul and especially Kandahar, but is not given an explanation for this.

Several airstrips around Kabul have begun receiving large shipments of goods from China, of all places, along with an increased influx of tourists clad in black suits and donning black sunglasses...

(TAG for now, big post coming up...Another hat gets thrown into the ring...)

Peshawar

As more optimistic reports about the Wakhan Corridor operation flood into the President's study, Shareef recieves the Elian communique.

"Order all planes back to base immediately! This is an opportunity that we can't miss!" says the President to an aide, referring to the availability of ex-Elian MiG-29As. North Pakistan has plenty of advantages over the Kashmiris as it is, and the arrival of MiG-29s could very well wipe the Kashmiri Air Force from the skies once and for all.

The flight of Su-22s airborne and headed to Kabul is ordered to turn back to base, and Shareef promises full compliance with the Elian plan for Afghanistan. But as far as he can tell, the Wakhan Corridor is not part of that plan. So as soon as the Sukhois are back, they are sent off to Gilgit and begin to fly raids in support of the Northern offensive.

The President also begins to contemplate the future of the Wakhan Corridor. He certainly doesn't want to give it back to Afghanistan, even with a favorable regime in Kabul, and that much is certain. But exactly how much of the corridor will be Depakzi and how much will be North Pakistani has yet to even be discussed. As of now, Mustafa Shareef holds Chokareff in a rather positive light, mostly of his own volition. And unlike most of the time, he doesn't necessarily view the Corridor as his god-given right like Kashmir. So even if North Pakistani and Depakzi ground operations are anything but harmonious, Shareef indicates to his aides that he would be willing to settle for anything between half and a third of the Corridor.

When it comes to operations in the greater part of Afghanistan, Shareef doesn't really want to test his luck. Nobody had invaded Afghanistan and come out better for it in a very long time, and Shareef doesn't think that he will be the first. Air raids are one thing, since he has complete superiority in pilots and planes, but ground operations are another matter entirely and likely to be confined to the simplest heliborne manouvers, heavily supported by air power and close to the border.

Sarhadd

If there is one category in which any North Pakistani military pilot rates an A+, it is adherence to orders. For the Helicopter-Borne Special Striking Force, orders are to attack Sarhadd.

The town is probably undefended, but regardless of that it is nearly flattened by Mi-24s, which strafe its buildings and streets, causing great loss of civillian life before the Mi-17s take their turn. They too empty their 57mm rocket pods before landing troops, who "take" Sarhadd with equal ruthlessness. By the end of it, there isn't very much left to take possession of.

Told, rather stupidly, to expect a counterattack, the heliborne troops dig in around the town. For advancing Depakzis and even the North Pakistani ground columns, it is potentially a very dangerous situation, especially as the SSG commandos, not informed of Sarhadd's capture, sneak-up on already tense and nervous Regular Army troops with many more heavy weapons than necessary.

OOC: The Roycelandians are anti-Taliban as well. Their involvement is not Anti-Depkazi, but pro-Mujahadeen (Northern Alliance, if you will).

In short, Roycelandia doesn't want to see the Depkazis invade, upset the internal situation in Afghanistan, and end up with the Taliban becoming more powerful and starting more Religious Opression.

Think of it as an Anti-Taliban war, not an Anti-Depkazi one...

OOC: Royce, the Depkazi's and North Pakistanis are in to exploit Afghanistan for themselves, and UE wants to establish a puppet dictatorship. The Apostles want to actually set up a democracy...perhaps the Roiks would be interested in working with us? If you claim to be friends of the Afghani people, then...

OOC: Those 'tourists' will stick out like a sore thumb, I expect!

Depkazia is anti-Taliban because much of the rebel movement is close to our border and comprised of ethnic Depkazis (in that Depkazia has, in AMW, replaced a lot of the lands/peoples from which Alliance fighters originate), and because we can potentially use that to create a link to North Pakistan and beyond. The Wakhan Corridor, created by European imperialists, is doomed to overrunning unless some major foreign power intervenes directly, and the idea of Roycelandia sticking its oar in upsets Chokareff, hence the reaction. He still wants Tommyguns, though, and judges that Afghanistan isn't as important to anyone else as it is to him/local powers, so he can possibly get away with it.

I don't know whether he's right, but he is sitting on three Soviet research reactors and a mountain of uranium, and the largest biological weapons testing facility in the USSR, so you'll have to excuse his presumptions and aggressive attitude.

South and Central Asia Command (SCACOM)

All UE military forces deployed outside of the Middle East were attached to one of several regional joint forces commands (JFCs). SCACOM was the newest of these, specifically setup to co-ordinate UE’s increasing military presence in North Pakistan but also responsibility for the wider region. Based at Kohat Air Force Base near Peshawar in some temporary pre-fabricated buildings, it was by far the smallest JFC with just over a thousand personnel, mainly Army Special Forces and an Air Force contingent under its command. For this reason, the CSAC Theatre Commander was young and of low rank.

Colonel Abdullah Juri looked out of the window of his poorly air-conditioned office. The day before he had been sent a set of documents from the Ministry of Defence giving him details of ‘Operation Buzkashi’. Since then, Kohat, which until a few weeks before had been a deserted runway used by the NPAF as an emergency dispersal field, had seen unprecedented activity. Almost at an hourly rate, Il-76s and even the occasional An-124 transport aircraft touched down unloading masses of equipment. The small staff HQ of SCACOM had grown within hours. Army and Air Force engineers worked around the clock installing new communications facilities, assembling prefabricated aircraft hangars and even laying concrete to double the size of the aircraft ramp area, increasing the airfield’s capacity. Meanwhile not just at Kohat but at Peshawar as well, additional Elias Air Force aircraft were being deployed. EA-70 Battlefield Reconnaissance aircraft, EA-80 based Standoff jamming and psychological warfare aircraft and RF-111 Photo recon planes were soon flying regular sorties, skirting and in some cases penetrating Afghan airspace in order to gather as much information as possible before the expected strikes.

(OOC: BTW would someone be willing to RP the Taliban? Preferably somone with some knowledge of how the Taliban government is structured etc. I would do it, but that might be seen as a bit of a conflict of interest...)



Hmmn, this looks interesting but the UK can't really get involved itself in this due to military commitments in Africa crisis etc...I would be happy to rp for the Taliban though. I'm no expert but I did read a book on the Taliban government a while back (actually before 9/11 when nobody really cared about Afghanistan).

Hmmn, this looks interesting but the UK can't really get involved itself in this due to military commitments in Africa crisis etc...I would be happy to rp for the Taliban though. I'm no expert but I did read a book on the Taliban government a while back (actually before 9/11 when nobody really cared about Afghanistan).

Fine with me, go right ahead. But can you try and post as regularly as you can, since you do seem to have rather longer periods of inactivity than is preferable.

(Ok I'll try my best ;) As you may be able to tell I've done a bit of research for this.)

Posting as Taliban

In Kandahar Mullah Mohammed Omar and his main tool of government, the Supreme Shura had been primarily concerned with planning a grand counter-offensive against the invading forces in the Wakhan corridor. His anger was particularly directed at the North Pakistanis as he felt betrayed by Shareef who had apparently sold him out to please Baghdad and the Depkazians. The so called 4th Armoured Force, actually the only such force had been dispatched from its headquarters in Kabul and was proceeding on the road that led through the mountains of Badakhshan province towards the corridor. With a hundred vehicles, about half of which were BMP and BTR personnel carriers and the rest a combination of T-62 and T-55 main battle tanks, and a few towed artillery pieces it represented the best equipped and most conventionally organised unit that the Taliban could muster. Led by Mullah Mohammed Zahir, a member of the military Shura, Mullah Omar could count on his loyalty to the cause. As for the men of the force, they were a mixed bag. Around half were the more ideologically sound youths educated in the Madrassas, and the other half were the more experienced veterans of the pre- 1992 Afghan Army, who’s loyalty to the movement was questionable.

As often occurred in time of crisis, the Supreme Shura ordered recruitment drives to increase the size of the 45,000 or so strong Taliban militia. Normally, recruitment officers would be sent out to the Pashtun areas around Kandahar and the South and enforce conscription. However, this was becoming increasingly dangerous as the loyalties of the hill tribes dwindled as the government failed to live up to its promises of a collective leadership based on the early Islamic model and had become a repressive, inefficient dictatorship. It was for this reason that Mullah Omar decided not to agree to the terms of the prisoner exchange suggested by Baghdad. By instead using the ‘spies’ as examples he hoped to instil enough fear that people would be prepared to fulfil their duty to the faith. In his opinion, his ability to maintain a grip over the people who should in theory most loyal to the Taliban given its leadership were overwhelmingly Pashtun was more important than temporarily appeasing a distant Baghdad.

So, after a day long trial at the Islamic Supreme Court by Chief Justice Maulvi Said Mohammed Pasanai, each of the Elias soldiers taken prisoner were hanged publicly. Pamphlets were soon issued claiming a victory against foreign unbelievers who had tried to infiltrate the heart of the nation and been arrested and subject to Islamic law. Rading between the lines many would read it as a warning that treason would not be tolerated.

Meanwhile in Kabul, Chairman of the Kabul Shura, also known as the Shura of Acting Ministers, Mullah Mohammed Rabbani, notionally head of the Afghan government was becoming more concerned as he heard of what the Leader of the Faithful had orchestrated. Although the Kabul based ministries were under his control, all power was effectively subordinated to the clerics in Kandahar and he had very little input into policy. Rabbani, being more liberal than Omar, commanded much loyalty in Kabul and in Jalalabad as well, and possessed connections in Peshawar. Seeing that Omar's move could well doom the Taliban he was now making plans for the future. Being popular, moderate and experienced he saw himself as the natural leader of a post-Taliban Afghanistan. To this end, he got a contact, who ironically enough worked for the North Pakistani security services, to pass on a message to the Elias Embassy in Peshawar. In it he informed the UE diplomats, as if they would not find out anyway, of the executions of their men, and openly condemned Mullah Omar as a an extremist and a tyrant, pledging his support for any actions to remove him from power.

News of the executions of Elias soldiers by the Taliban eventually reaches Baghdad via the Federal Intelligence Bureau and also Rabbani’s backchannel message. The President, utterly enraged, immediately convenes a meeting of the Security Executive Committee and orders that Operation Buzkashi be carried out as planned as soon as the military was ready. Preparations are undertaken with renewed vigour, with the Sixth Army 2nd Airborne brigade based Basrah placed on high alert. However, further deployments into North Pakistan are limited, for fear that it would give the Taliban some warning of what was about to happen to them. Especially given the operations in Gabon which had been criticised in retrospective for being poorly planned out, Defence Minister Zibari was this time determined to achieve the objectives in an efficient manner. Faced with questions from the press about the alleged spies, Foreign Ministry spokesman deny any knowledge of the individuals and are dismissive, claiming that the Taliban was attempting to stir up trouble for political gain.

As for Rabbani’s message, officials were uncertain how exactly to respond and whilst his potential usefulness was not in question there were fears that his apparent cordial approach might have indeed been a ploy to get UE to give away information on what it was about or not about to do to the Taliban. It is decided to wait for events to unfold before sending a reply. However, Rabbani does achieve one thing in opening dialogue with Baghdad: It is decided not to place him on the so called ‘nomenclature’. This was a list of the top 35 Taliban leaders who had been slated for ‘urgent capture or elimination’. Complete with brief biographical details and photographs the list was being distributed to all Elias military officers taking part in the forthcoming operation.

In Afghanistan itself, additional Special Forces teams had been inserted from their bases on the other side of the North Pakistan frontier, specifically focusing on organising Anti-Taliban Pashtun tribes of the south into a loose alliance. Whilst no more actions take place in Kandahar for the moment, an offensive of indigenous resistance fighters is organised against the town of Qalat some 70 miles North East of Kandahar. The rebellion consisting of just over a thousand poorly equipped and trained militia was fairly insignificant but would hopefully create a distraction that could serve to divert Taliban troops away from Kandahar.

The Roycelandian Mission to Afghani, horrified at the news of the execution of Elian soldiers, has sped up training of Mujahadeen Fighters. Colonel Griffin has spent a great deal of time convincing the Tribal Leaders that Mullah Omar is "Perverting the Faith" and his actions are not true to the Koran, instead being a bastardisation towards his own ends.

"Surely the Prophet weeps in Paradise at the sight of this perversion? How can True Believers stand by and allow these practices, which are clearly haram, to continue?" Colonel Griffin asked one leader in his tent over coffee and roast goat one evening.

Unlike the Elian trained Freedom Fighters, the Roycelandian Mujahadeen were well equipped (SMLE rifles, Vickers Guns, Webley Revolvers, GPS systems), but it was co-ordination that was lacking. But they had a target: Mullah Omar. And Death would soon visit him upon swift wings, of that Col. Griffin was sure.

Twelve EA-160 Strike Fighters, made up of the 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, cruised at the leisurely height of 22,000ft over the Southern Afghanistan border after a short flight from their base in North Pakistan. High above any known Afghan air defences, Squadron leader Captain Rifaat El-Said looked out of the canopy at the sunset, which would soon bathe the jagged rocky peaks of the White Mountains in darkness.

His Weapon Systems Officer soon confirmed they were approaching the release point, a full forty nautical miles from their targets in Kandahar, and the other planes rolled their wings in succession, confirmation that their weapons were ready, radio silence being in effect. Then without any human involvement, the launch computer released munitions from the weapon hardpoints of eight of the aircraft in quick succession, matched perfectly to pre-programmed GPS co-ordinates. This anti-climax over, El-Said banked for home, left only to imagine what damage his cargo would inflict.

A total of sixty-four EAW-38 glide bombs manoeuvred themselves onto the correct trajectories, the twenty 'C' version anti-tank munitions programmed to raid down on vehicle parks, and the rest 'D' versions containing fuel-air sub munitions, targeted at personnel barracks, communications buildings, ammunition , fuel dumps and various other targets mostly on the city’s outskirts.

The four other aircraft, which did not drop their weapons, remained on station, circling until they might be called in to support the ground forces, if for example they met heavier resistance than expected.

***

Sweeping low over the same mountains, a formation of helicopters from the Air Force Special Force’s Air Group, more commonly known by their call sign, the ‘Black Knights’. They also were heading to Kandahar. The air group of EA-22, EA-24, EA-28 and EA-34 helicopters was bearing the entirety of Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Reconnaissance Brigade, a total of 136 highly trained commandos. As they approached the city, hugging terrain, explosions were visible lighting up the night sky, as the Air Force’s ordinance rained down. It had been perfectly timed that the commandos would arrive just minutes after the air strikes.

The helicopter force then split into two, heading in slightly different directions. The first headed towards Kandahar airport, fifteen miles from the city centre. Minutes later and the they approached the airport perimeter. As planned, the airport’s electrical supply had been sabotaged by commandos who had been on the ground for several days providing surveillance, bathing it in almost total darkness. Two EA-34 attack helicopters swooped overhead first of all, using their FLIR to target the bewildered crew of a pair of anti-aircraft gun positions with fin-stabilised rockets.

Four EA-22G Special Forces helicopters flared as they approached Kandahar Airport’s main runway, their door gunners providing suppressing fire with their 7.62mm guns. As the helicopters touched ground, the NVG equipped Special Forces jumped out hastily, grouping into four 11 man squads and heading for prearranged positions around the tarmac area, by which time the helicopters had lifted off and proceeded to circle the LZ to provide additional covering fire if necessary.

Meanwhile the other attack group had headed to downtown Kandahar, such as it was. The city in evening was usually quiet, and many had only just been aroused by the explosions of the air dropped ordinance. The noise of the panic, the blasts themselves and the after shocks of ammunition and fuel exploding largely obscured the sound of the helicopter rotors. The flight of eight EA-28 light helicopters and two much larger EA-24s flew very low, less than a hundred feet from the buildings. Just in case though four EA-34 attack helicopters flew higher overhead, ready to pounce on any resistance at a moments notice and ready to attract ground fire.

The objective was Mullah Omar’s official residence. The EA-28s arranged themselves in a carefully choreographed assault where six of them touched down at various points within a block’s radius of the objective, each deploying six man teams to secure the perimeter and prevent reinforcements or worse, anyone escaping. Barely three minutes, later the other two EA-28s touched down within the actual compound itself. The two EA-24s meanwhile hovered precariously over the building as Special Forces abseiled onto the roof, the same roof where Mullah Omar was sometimes known to have slept.

Sarhadd

The previous night had been a trying one for the North Pakistani ground forces. An SSG company had been all but destroyed by the heliborne troops after having been mistaken for Taliban...after all, they were in disguise. They spent the morning picking through the bodies, and a few Mi-8s had flown in to evacuate casualties and deliver ammunition. The spectacle of more North Pakistani helicopters in the air is enough to send the few residents of Sarhadd still in the town at that point into the hills, eroding much of the expected local support, but Shareef never really intended the Wakhan operation to be anything less than rapid and brutal anyway. He isn't so much concerned about assimilating the corridor into North Pakistan, but rather securing a land bridge to Depakzia, civilian opinion be damned.

So when news of a Taliban armored column headed for the corridor reaches Peshawar, the military command doesn't take long to panic. Shareef never allowed generals with too much initiative or a talent for independent thought to stay alive for very long, so not much is done until the President himself works out a response. Fortunately, he more capable than many, and doesn't take long at all to decide on a course of action. Since the North Pakistani Army is probably no better equipped than the Taliban force, at least as far as tanks are concerned, Shareef decides to attack with his sizable stable of Su-25s and Mi-24s, and also to deploy a blocking unit equipped with recoilless rifles and AT-3 missiles to the town of Zibak, on the road towards the corridor.

800 men are requisitioned for the task, all part of the Chitral garrison, and the same Mi-8s and Mi-24s that destroyed Sarhadd arrive at Chitral's small airstrip to pick them up. Taking armored vehicles through the mountains is always a risky proposition, as the Soviets found out the hard way, and with the advantage of position the North Pakistanis hope to cause the Taliban column to halt, making it a sitting duck for the air force.

(Posting as Taliban)

Kandahar

The bombs struck Kandahar without any warning. No one heard aircraft overhead, and the few operational ‘Fire Can’ fire control radars had reported no contacts, due to their unreliability and the difficulty in detecting aircraft at range due to the amount of ground clutter resulting from Afghanistan’s mountainous terrain. There was some siginificant damage. The accurate munitions had destroyed some of the Taliban’s better air defence equipment including KS-19 100mm towed AAA guns, a range of parked artillery pieces and many of the 4x4 pickup trucks that the militia used so effectively. The headquarters of the 2nd Army Corps which commanded all military and paramilitary forces in the region had been practically destroyed. In terms of the city’s defence troops, there had been relatively few casualties as most were at home with their families as it was evening. However this made it more difficult for them to organise and after the initial blasts when the militia, a few thousand strong had been called out to prevent public disorder, it was somewhat chaotic. This was not helped by the fact that nearly 2,000 of the better troops in 2nd Army Corps had been dispatched to quell the Qalat uprising under the command of Mullah Razaq.

As soon as the helicopters were noticed, they were subjected to sporadic and largely inaccurate small arms fire apart from a dozen or so Zu-23 towed guns that would have found it difficult to aim as the helicopters were flying so low over the rooftops. On the realisation that Mullah Omar’s residence was being targeted there was a mixed reaction by troops. Several hundred, largely on foot towards it to mount a spirited counter-attack whilst many others chose instead to avoid the fight, with many hoping for Omar’s downfall as much or more than the attackers.

Mullah Omar had been rudely awakened by explosions, seemingly occurring across the city. However, he was immediately not terribly concerned. Whilst that may have sounded odd, the city had been subject to a series of recent air raids from North Pakistan’s fighters that whilst being poor for morale had not inflicted much noticeable damage. He had taken Baghdad’s disavowal of the executed soldiers as a sure sign that they would not enact retribution, so he really did not expect the wrath of UE to come down on his Islamic Emirate. He sent one of his guards to contact 2nd Army Corps headquarters to ascertain the damage but he returned within minutes having not been able to raise anyone. This was not that surprising given the notoriously unreliable communications. A few minutes later, his guards reported that helicopters had been sighted approaching the compound. The one eyed veteran warrior then knew that they were coming for him. It became clear he had made a fundamental miscalculation. It was clear he had no time to escape, so his choices were simple, either to fight or capitulate. If it would not jeopardise his family’s safety he would have chosen the former and accepted a martyr’s death, however given the circumstances he thought it would be wiser to surrender himself to the foreigners. They after all claimed to be followers of the prophet as well, and that much was comforting for he thought it unlikely that they would execute a religious figure. Also he believed that by giving himself up tat might satisfy the enemy’s desire for retribution and that they would then leave Afghanistan at the hands of Taliban successors, Insh Allah.

Depkazi Premier calls for emergency intervention in Afghanistan...

Citing the latest explosion of violence, and specifically the involvement of multiple foreign powers, across the border in Afghanistan, President Tchokareff has urged his people, to whom he refers as comrades, children, lambs, and holy soldiers, often in the same wheezing breath, to take seriously their role to the south. He does this in a two and three quarter hour speech broadcast on national radio and television on every existing station, and before a 'spontaneous' gathering of fifty thousand admirers at Registan Square, in which he announced the deployment of new forces across the border.

Samarqand's official line is that the operation specifically is, "...in pursuit of the multi-national People's Islamic destruction of the artificial imperialist Wakhan Corridor that has for generations acted as a barrier to normal relations". Generally, Depkazi policy is one of support for ethnic Depkazi anti-Taliban forces, and is little more detailed than that. Key generals and self-proclaimed heads of government in the rebel movement enjoy the support of their Depkazi brethren, but it is not clear if Tchokareff intends to use the dominance of ethnic Depkazis in much of the north to exert direct control over Afghanistan, or whether he hopes to be able simply to prevent religious radicalism upsetting his rather self-important position in Central Asia. That Samarqand appears perfectly happy to see Shiite Hazara in the Northern Alliance taking up Depkazi-supplied arms possibly supports the latter notion, though, with Tchokareff, it is always hard to say much for sure.

Regardless of whether or not Samarqand's broad motivations would, if intelligible, be agreeable to Baghdad and its supporters and hangers-on, there was almost certainly still cause for concern and friction. Muhammad Yaqub Shah was not the Depkazi pick for Afghan leader, even if Tchokareff didn't plan to take-over for himself. Samarqand's man was the other historical claimant, this time by past presidency, not heredity, the other Rabbani, rebel leader and former president, Burhanuddin Rabbani*.

The Depkazi premier's somewhat out-dated (in context) anti-imperialist rantings were made apparently in no small part at the expense of the Roycelandians, whose involvement in Afghan rebel movements had seemed to irritate Tchokareff. At the same time, though, Samarqand was forwarding to Roycelandian firms large orders for purpose-built 9x18mm Thompson submachine-guns, some with pistol-type foregrip, some without, and with a quantity of both drum and box magazines, apparently to arm internal security units and some border and mountain patrol forces.

Termiz, southern Depkazia

The Immortal Regiments of The Depkazi People's Will (the Depkazi army, by any other name) represented one of the largest standing armies in the region, with 325,000 recruits backed by 190,000 irregulars as required, and its commander in chief (need one ask whom?) felt that it was one of the most heavily armed, too... but it almost certainly was not one of the best. It hadn't fought more than a stone-throwing troublemaker in fifteen years, and training hadn't been up to much in the interim. Even with a couple of thousand troops in the western end of the Wakhan Corridor (totally unaware of the approaching Taliban force and lucky for the relatively more alert nature of the Pakistani air force), and a few thousand more lingering nervously around two Russian forces in Depkazia, plus several percent of its strength lined-up along borders and around vital infrastructure, the Immortal Regiments had spare enough men to sweep half the region, given its heavy weapons and the support of the Aeronautical Battle Force, if only anyone in the ranks had known what he was doing.

From the border town of Termiz, along a road important to the Soviet Army en route to Kabul, Tchokareff's Right Front Division moved its vanguard to enter Afghanistan, bound for Mazar-i Sharif, last thought to be under friendly control. Already Depkazi MiG-19s were flying low over Jeyretan, and people there could probably almost hear the squeaking of T-62 and T-72 MBTs, BMP-1 and BMP-2 ICVs, and the creeping of BTR-70 APCs as they advanced up the road. The archaic MiGs, flown by the worst of Depkazia's many inexperienced pilots, were essentially no more than primitive scouts-cum-bait as the Depkazis sought to confirm the relatively friendly nature of the region, which was considered to be in Northern Alliance hands under commanders armed and sometimes sheltered by Samarqand.

As the advance was initiated, the Depkazi Premier declared that the new thrust was a response to the movement of the 4th Armoured Force against multinational, holy, and popular forces in the Wakhan Corridor... which he still hadn't managed -or bothered- to warn, and which, if left to its own devices, was likely to be caught sucking its collective thumb, wondering whether or not it had reached the Pakistani frontier and just exactly where its light mountain infantry should stop advancing.


*I'm not sure if this is the best choice, and I'm not too certain about how we're doing things, but others seem to be picking-up real parties for various causes, so I thought maybe B.Rabbani could be shaped into a Depkazi pick.
Since in AMW Depkazia replaces Tajikistan and, more importantly to the particular ethnic population, Uzbekistan, and since (though it's not quite that simple) the Depkazis are generally considered to represent an ethnic group, I've assumed the Tajik-Depkazi correlation (amongst others). Along with the Uzbeks and Turkmen (also Depkazis) this explains Samarqand's interest in the Northern Alliance and parts of Afghanistan.
On B.Rabbani, I think that there's every chance he wouldn't be what it appears that Tchokareff would want him to be, but good enough at saying the right thing and making enough moderate gestures to satisfy fear of extremism, and any past reluctance to give up power might still seem favourable to Taliban or anarchy on the Depkazi border, anyway.

As Mullah Omar and his guards gave himself up to the Special Forces who had up until now been ruthlessly storming his residence, the most senior officer around was summoned to meet with him, as was protocol. Captain Rafiri, Commanding officer of Alpha Company of the 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Reconnaissance Brigade was introduced to Mullah Omar. The two men then talked alone in an office within the residence, as the other Special Forces bound the captured guards and defended the building against the Taliban counter-attack. Being polite but firm he instructed the toppled Head of State that his family would not be harmed. When Mullah Omar asked his fate, Rafiri pulled out his service Sig P226 9mm handgun, cocked it, placing one round in the chamber, then ejected the magazine. He then placed the weapon on the desk and left the room. He would at least give the man the option of an honourable death.

Although the operation had thus far been faultlessly executed, that did not mean there had not been losses. An EA-28 that had been circling after dropping its troops had been struck by 23mm anti-aircraft rounds. Whilst the gun had been quickly disabled by an EA-34 gunship, it was not quick enough to save the stricken helicopter. Despite the efforts of the pilots, the EA-28 smashed into a street in the middle Kandahar, instantly killing the crew and probably bystanders as well. As the Taliban militia fought back it was becoming clear that the Special forces would not survive without reinforcements for much longer. However, this had always been known and planned for, and the third phase of this carefully organised operation would soon be underway.

Two hours previously, twenty-six EA-80 tactical transport aircraft had taken off from bases in UE, carrying a total of four infantry battalions from the Sixth Army’s 1st Airborne Brigade. Escorted by a squadron of Su-30MUE long range fighters, the transport aircraft approached Kandahar just time to support the commandos on the ground. As they neared the city, the formation split, with each aircraft designated to drop its troops at a different Landing Zone. With their navigation lights extinguished, the pilots had to rely on their NVGs to avoid collisions.

In the hold of the first EA-80, along both sides and in the in the middle around 100 Airborne troops, comprising a single company sat in rows. Whilst some did last minute equipment checks, Gunnery Sergeant Haitham chatted to one of his subordinates, “So, Operation Buzkashi? Wonder where the hell they got that name?”

A young looking corporal, eager for his first combat mission replied, “Apparently Buzkashi is an ancient Afghan sport that involves hunting mountain goats from horses I believe.”

Suddenly the conversation was broken as at the the indicator lights at the rear and front of the cabin changed from Green to Amber and the co-pilot gave a five minute warning over the announcer. He could hear the pitch of the turboprops changing as the plane slowed and an LCD screen near the loadmaster’s console showed that the aircraft was descending. The Gunnery Sergeant then stood up and taking responsibility for his stick he gave orders. “Stand Up” All the soldiers then raised from their uncomfortable canvass and metal seats. “Hook On.” The men sitting on each side then attached their parachute cords to rails running down on each the side of the fuselage and the ones in the middle prepared to latch on as soon as the others had gone. The two side doors either side of the main ramp then slid open on command followed by the rear ramp which would be used to drop two large crates of equipment.

In the cockpit the co-pilot checked his heads up display and saw that they had reached 8,000ft and were flying directly towards the LZ. The pilot remarked, “Rather them than me…” then checked his instruments for the final time and brought the throttles completely to idle. There was another buzz from the mission map and the co-pilot flicked the cabin lights from amber to green.

Upon seeing this the loadmaster flicked a switch on his console and the ramp rollers slid the crates out of the aircraft and the attached cords caused the drogue chutes to open. Seconds later the gunnery sergeant standing between the two parachute cords yelled. “Go.” Then in quick succession soldiers on each side started jumping out, then more men moved up to follow them. Only minutes later all had left and now the gunnery sergeant and the company Captain fixed their own chutes before jumping out into the dark Afghan sky, hoping they would make the LZ and not end up in either trees or buildings.

***

Not far away, in the cockpit of a larger Il-76 transport plane a low buzz sounded and a co-. The navigator/engineer then muttered into his intercom, “Sir, we got the beacon.” The first of four separated by fifty miles or so, it would land heavier equipment, including Faaris Light Armoured Vehicles at Kandahar airport now that they had received a signal from the ground forces that it had been secured.

As the plane descended, the pilots constantly checked their old-fashioned dials and were concerned that they could not yet see the runway, as the lights had been extinguished in the special forces raid, but their navigation/weather radar showed them on course. They also carefully monitored their TCAS display to prevent colliding with one of the circling helicopters. In the dead of night, it was a tricky operation to say the least. Suddenly the runway lights illuminated below and they could see the airfield sprawling out beneath them. Immediately the co-pilot nudged back the control yoke and flared the Il-76 onto the tarmac as the whine of engines turned to a deafening roar as thrust reversers kicked in to slow the aircraft..

OOC: Sorry for the lack of participation, guys! I've just started work as a Nightfill guy, which involves some pretty odd hours- if I'm not at work, I'm at home asleep, basically! I'll try and get something intelligent up at the weekend, but no promises, OK?

[OOC: A tag, and a post on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Indonesia, as Hudecia has gone inactive but they'd probably have a finger in things somewhere around here...]

Makassar, Islamic Republic of Indonesia

The corridors of Ujung Pandang, the ancient fortress rebuilt following the fall of Bonstock to house the government of the Islamic Republic, were filled with whispered conversation and the echo of military boots on stone floors... though few here knew exactly what was happening, the tension in the air was undeniable.

In the heart of the Ujung, surrounded by the imposing Hudecian-uniformed soldiers of the Islamic Guard, Muhammed Kalla did not share their ignorance.

He had carved his state from the ashes of the Bonstockian republic, had masterminded the ouster of foreign peacekeepers and brought about an end to pervasive ethnic fighting with raw brute force. He had forged the core of an Islamic empire in Southeast Asia, and had dreampt of things greater still.

And, he had done all of it alone... the great political alliances of the world, for one reason or another, were arrayed against him: the imperial Christianity of the Holy League, the leftist atheism of the Progressive Bloc, the democratic corporatism of NATO, all threatened his future ambitions. But they had always been more interested in opposing each other than in Indonesia, and that had worked to Kalla's advantage. He had consolidated and planned while Indonesian money and agents trickled out into the surrounding areas... Papua and the Solomons, Malaya, the Philippines, even as far as Xinjiang, were all home to Islamic groups with ties to Indonesia, and feelers had even probed into East Africa, in search of links with God's Spear. In time, it was hoped, his republic would grow and be joined by brother-states, and his position would be rendered unassailable.

Indonesian relations with Afghanistan and the Taliban had been seen in this light: both were fundamentalist movements, supporting dictatorial regimes in environments filled with ethnic strife. They shared little in common on a practical level, the distance between them too great and their projective power too small to produce any true cooperation, though both provided some support to the same extranational 'terrorist' groups. But a Taliban Afghanistan represented an ideological partner for Kalla in a world otherwise filled with opposition, and that left him with a keen interest in their fate.

So it was that the arrival of news that Afghanistan's ostensibly Islamic neighbours were moving against the Taliban did not sit well in the Ujung.

Kalla could, of course, do nothing, save perhaps to grant succour to those able to escape defeat... individuals whose influence and connections might prove useful to him in future. Officially the IRI would release statements calling for an end to internal conflict between 'Muslim brothers', warning of the rising danger posed by the 'restored Crusaders' and their 'atheist spawn'. He would not openly support the Taliban, however, even with words, for there would be little gained from provoking the likes of United Elias.

It was the role of the Elians which kept Kalla's senses glued to events in Afghanistan, ever since a garbled phone call from an agent in Kandahar had awoken him with reports of Elian forces storming the residence of Mullah Omar. Kalla did not fear United Elias as a conventional threat: Indonesia was strong enough to repel such a distant power, and was more concerned with the much-closer Sujavans. But Brunei was uncomfortably close, and the idea of a strike aiming to remove him directly could not be ruled out. Kalla was many things, but he was not a martyr: there would be no satisfaction if his movement survived but he was not astride the pinnacle.

So it was that Indonesian-loyal operatives in Afghanistan were ordered to stand down and await further instruction: they would be more useful alive under a new regime than dead in defence of a dying one. Plans were also laid to move Kalla's personal headquarters out of Makassar, into the mountainous interior of Sulawesi where locating him would be difficult and escape far more easy. And, though he had no intention of personally getting his hands dirty, something ought be done to try and discourage anti-fundamentalist action in future...

Mardan, North Pakistan*

The midday bustle of crowds in downtown Mardan is broken suddenly by a clap of thunder and a gout of flame. A moment of silence is quickly replaced by the screams and footfalls of a populace in panic, no one quite sure of just what has occured.

Authorities arriving on the scene will have little difficulty identifying the target of the blast: a downtown police station stands smoking, one wall collapsed inward from an explosion centred in a neighbouring alley (though far more damage has been done to the restaurant on the alley's other side, whose wood-and-plaster fell far more readily than the station's brickwork). Amidst the wreckage strewn about the area will be found the shredded remains of the van that likely carried the device which birthed such destruction.

Local media are soon on the recieving end of a release by a group calling itself the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, claiming responsibility for the bombing and calling it 'the first of many righteous strikes by men of faith against secularist traitors to the Islamic community.

Authorities will already be familiar with the Lashkar, an organisation operating out of Afghanistan and the northwestern subcontinent, known or suspected of involvment in terrorist killings since the mid-90s. Several members sought by local authorities for arrest have sought shelter in Afghanistan, where the Taliban have refused demands for extradition.

[OOC: *At least, I THINK its in North Pakistan... if I'm getting my maps wrong, I'll edit to correct.

And it seems in hindsight I've gotten a bit carried away for what was originally meant as a tag...]

OOC:Sorry guys...I'll try to have a post up as soon as I can.

(OCC: Mardan is indeed inside North Pakistan. No problem there.)

Mardan

Ambulances and medevac helicopters converge on downtown Mardan as the several hundred injured are prepared for transport and bystanders drag people from the wreckage. It isn't long before the police have their first suspects, and a few unlucky individuals find themselves thrown into the back of a paddy wagon and sent to the bomb-blasted Mardan Municipal Police Station. Even in its current state, the solidly built cellblock can fulfill its intended function. It is rather unlikely that any of the arrested have anything to do with the bombing, but at this stage the police don't care.

It isn't long before the SSG's intelligence section arrives at the scene via helicopter, and armed SSG commandos begin to disperse the crowd at the blast site. Bits of evidence are collected in an effort to determine the perpetrators, the SSG officers on the scene currently unaware of other developments.

Peshawar

Mustafa Shareef flies into a rage upon hearing of the bomb attack, and immediately blames the Kashmiris in spite of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi's admission of responsibility. Intelligence analysts get right to work concocting a Taliban-Kashmiri terrorist conspiracy and a bombing raid is ordered against Srinagar. As the Su-22s rocket off the tarmac, laden with cluster bombs, Shareef appears on his balcony with a Muhannad assault rifle. He declares, to the news cameras and assembled crowd of supporters, that Parak Singh and the Taliban are cooperating with the goal of taking-over North Pakistan, and that North Pakistanis should be "especially vigilant" for Kashmiri Special Branch spies.

Balkh, Northern Afghanistan

The scale of Tchokareff's interest in Afghanistan was becoming clear at a rapid pace as a whole Depkazi army established itself on both sides of the border, squeezing across the Soviet-era bridge as armour and infantry moved between Termiz and Jeyretan. Recon-configured MiG-21 zipped overhead with Su-17 and a couple of Su-25 waiting in close proximity to respond against any sighted threats. Keen to make lasting progress before something, the Premier was coming to town.

Tchokareff arrived unannounced, on one of his sudden whims, aboard a specially outfitted Mi-6 Hook helicopter with only as much spent on luxury as on armour and countermeasures. Depkazi troops in Afghanistan -having made such impressive and daring progress that the border was still plainly visible- lined up with AK-74s polished. The President was here, it soon was seen, to pin a medal and confer a commission upon a Depkazi-Afghan warlord. This would remain policy as Samarqand made generals of locals favoured by Tchokareff as the Depkazis prepared forces to press on into the heart of Balkh and Badakhshan... not to mention Jowzjan, Kondoz, Takhar...

(I'm preparing a post from the Taliban should be up soon, just so you guys know I havent forgotten about this)

Most of the Depkazi advance in Afghanistan was confined to two provinces- the wide, shallow penetration of eastern Badakhshan to meet with North Pakistani forces in what was now essentially territory disputed by three nations, and the stalled drive into Balkh, which had taken Jeyretan and had its sights on a still somewhat distant Mazar-e-Sharif, but was supported by a large Depkazi-dominated Northern Alliance presence.

Strange, then, that it was in Kunduz, to the east of Balkh, that the next action took place. Jowzjan, to the west, largely under the control of one of the more erratic and Tchokareff-like warlords given a rank by the premier (the infamous Dostum), was far more interesting to Depkazia, having been part of a Depkazi Khanate before placement in Afghanistan by Anglo-Russian treaty (now of course rejected by Samarqand) and containing oil and gas fields, but that would be delt with later. The issue now wasn't directly of conquest, Tchokareff just needed Taliban-aligned Pashtun, and he found a worthwhile number in Kunduz.

After several reconnaissance missions, during which a MiG-19 was lost (no details on whether the dilapidated machine, flown by a man who didn't really make the grade as a fighter pilot, crashed in an accident as the result of a hit by ground fire), two Su-25 Frogfoot of the Aeronautical Battle Force, showering Taliban positions with rocketry and cluster munitions. As yet there had been only one such strike as this, north of the city of Konduz...

Soon, people on and around the targetted earthworks began to fall under the attack of a Novichok binary nerve agent. Difficult to detect by standard western means and able to attack even suited personnel and permeate skin, it seemed like over-kill against Taliban militia. But it was very deliberate: Tchokareff intended to allow Russian and other Holy League observers to witness his campaign in northern Afghanistan, partly to mock the Russians for their failure (because he was of course hugely confident of his own impending victory), but primarily to show that he was not a weak link in the formative Tetrarchy and that Depkazia was a capable power in its own right. Further, the employed Novichok, coming from the Soviet-built Chemical Research Institute near Nukus and evolved by Depkazi technicians, had the potential to damage genes and pass-on harm to the off-spring of survivors... almost as if Samarqand wished northern Afghanistan free of non-Depkazi, or at least of Pashtun.

Wakhan Corridor

"...What do you mean, mines?!" shouts a lieutenant at the confused and worried commander of a T-34/85. "I don't bloody care if the whole road is one giant bomb! Get this column moving or so help me I'll shoot every one of you!'

"But sir..."

As the lieutenant reaches for his Tokarev, the tank commander disappears into the T-34's turret and gives the order to start moving once again. The column starts to shamble north towards Sarhadd once again, negotiating the poor roads and passes through the Karakoram Range. Although most of the North Pakistani Army's 4th (Gilgit-Baltistan) Corps is, at long last, on the move, the going had not been easy and conditions show no signs of improvement. Through a mixture of poor planning and incompetence at all levels, of the handful of roads available to mechanized forces most of them are blocked by wrecked or broken-down armored vehicles. Mi-2s carrying regimental and brigade commanders circle overhead all day and all night, trying in vain to help sort-out the terrible mess that is the 4th Corps' advance.

The only forces making headway are the heliborne battalions and the SSG. Leaving Sarhadd in ruins, the North Pakistani helicopters begin the process of airlifting troops to Zibak as part of the effort to secure the main road from Mazar-e Sharif in the short term, and in the long term to help Shareef assert control over as much of the corridor as is possible.

As the first Mi-8s land outside Zibak, and disgorge their human cargoes in a surprisingly orderly manner, escorting Mi-24s loiter overhead, avoiding the display of mindless carnage witnessed in Sarhadd. Su-25s do the dirty work this time, and drop cluster bombs on the town's center.

Peshawar

As the Afghani campaign progresses, Shareef starts to consider how he can get the most out of his military contribution. After pacing his office for the better part of a day, he decides that the best way to give himself a favorable negotiating position is to move as many forces into as much of Afghanistan as possible. The orders go out, and an additional three regiments prepare to redeploy from the turbulent southwest to Gilgit-Baltistan. Time is, of course, of the essence and they are ordered to leave behind all heavy equipment, no kidding. Almost 6,000 North Pakistani troops prepare to deploy to one of the world's most dangerous countries equipped only with assault rifles, and often not even that much.

News of the Depkazi gas attack, which has yet to reach the North Pakistani president, will probably have little to no effect on North Pakistani policy. While Shareef does have a sense of morals, his ambition is stronger, and he is rarely inclined to change his ways if it doesn't lead to territorial or financial gain.