The operation was launched to open the road from Gardez to Khost that had been blocked by Mujahideen forces and a local tribe for several months, in order to deliver supplies to the population and Afghan government troops in the besieged city on the Afghan–Pakistani border.

[4] The ground offensive began after weeks of failed negotiations with the Jadran tribe and Mujahideen commander Jalaluddin Haqqani, who had numerous bases in the region and hoped that Khost would eventually fall into their hands which would allow them to proclaim the first territorial stronghold in Afghanistan independent of the pro-Kremlin regime in Kabul.

Special units of the 40th Army conducted a massive propaganda campaign using radio broadcasts and distributing thousands of leaflets, calling on the Jadran tribe to retreat and the local population to leave the area.

The initial phase of the operation began on 19 November with an offensive carried out principally by Afghan troops, in order to clear the plains around Gardez, before moving into mountainous areas.

The attack quickly bogged down under heavy fire and Mujahideen counter-attacks, and the Soviet force withdrew after suffering severe casualties.

In a night attack, an airborne brigade was flown in by helicopters to capture Mirujan, at the southern end of the mountains on the Gardez-Khost road.

The Mujahideen, having lost control of the pass, realised that a conventional defence would only entail more losses for them, and they withdrew their main units from the path of the Soviet offensive.