Between August 1983 and January 1984, Mujahideen forces laid siege to the town of Urgun, which was defended by a garrison of troops loyal to the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.

The town represented a political objective, in that the newly formed Mujahideen government-in-exile had set its sights on Urgun as a future provisional capital.

[1] In August 1983, the mujahideen laid siege to the Nek Mohammed Kala fortress, but they were unable to approach it as it was protected by minefields and heavy machine-guns.

The prize, crewed by former DRA crewmen was quickly put to use, clearing a path through the minefields and knocking out the machine guns, before breaching the fort walls.

The tank crossed the minefields protecting Urgun, destroying machine guns on the way, followed by an assault group that overran the positions of the battalion defending the south of the town.

In the morning, Soviet and Afghan aircraft relentlessly bombed and strafed the exposed mujahideen, destroying their tank and forcing them to retreat into the mountains.

[3] The mujahideen parties in Pakistan had received new weapons, and thus the insurgents demonstrated new confidence in carrying out large-scale operations involving different factions.

For the Mujahideen guarding the road to Urgun, there was a strong possibility that would be denied their share of the loot, in favour of those participating in the direct assault of the town.