Three former Afghan generals told the Associated Press that Afghan Special Forces soldiers, who fought with US troops after the chaotic US withdrawal last year and then fled Iran, are now being recruited by Russian forces to fight in Ukraine.
He said the Russians intend to lure thousands of elite former Afghan commandos into a “foreign force” offering steady payments of $1,500 a month and a way for them and their families to avoid deportation to their country. Promise safe places. Something that many believe. Must die at the hands of Taliban.
“They don’t want to go to fight, but they have no choice,” said one of the generals, Abdul Raf Argandiwal, adding that the dozen or more commandos in Iran with whom he has communicated via text messages are more afraid of exile
“They ask me: ‘Do you have a solution? What to do? If we go back to Afghanistan, the Taliban will kill us.’
Arghandiwal said the recruitment is conducted by a Russian Wagner Group mercenary force. Hebtollah Alizai, the last Afghan army chief before the Taliban came to power, said a former Afghan special forces commander who lives in Russia and speaks Russian is also helping the recruitment effort.
The Russian recruitment comes months after warnings from US soldiers, who fought alongside Afghan special forces, that the Taliban intended to kill them and that they may join US foes in order to survive or because they are upset with their former ally. Were.
A GOP congressional report in August specifically warned of the danger that Afghan commandos—trained by the U.S. Navy SEAL Task Force and Army Green Berets—about the Islamic State group, Iran or Russia, or the US military’s strategy for fighting. can provide information. for them.
Michael Mulroy, a retired CIA officer who served in Afghanistan, said: “We didn’t get these guys out like we promised, and now it’s back to us.” He said that Afghan commandos are highly skilled and fierce fighters. “Frankly, I don’t want to be on any battlefield, let alone fight Ukrainians.”
