The Badri 313 Battalion ( ps, بدري ٣١٣ قطعه) is a unit of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. The unit's name is closely associated with the

Haqqani network The Haqqani network is an Afghan Islamist group, built around the family of the same name, that has used asymmetric warfare in Afghanistan to fight against Soviet forces in the 1980s, and US-led NATO forces and the Islamic Republic of Afghanist ...

, which has reportedly provided them with training. Elite Taliban units like the Badri 313 have been reported as being "critical in the taking over of Afghanistan". In July and August 2021, the Taliban released online video on the Badri 313 Battalion in various local languages, English and Arabic. The Badri 313 Brigade is headquartered at Salahaddin Ayyubi Military Operations Academy.

Name

This unit is named after the Prophet Muhammad's army of 313 men at the

Battle of Badr The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...

, an early Muslim military victory against the

Quraysh The Quraysh ( ar, قُرَيْشٌ) were a grouping of Arab clans that historically inhabited and controlled the city of Mecca and its Kaaba. The Islamic prophet Muhammad was born into the Hashim clan of the tribe. Despite this, many of the Qur ...

which took place on March 13, 624.

History

The Haqqani network holds an important position within the Taliban's military as well as high command. The Haqqanis have traditionally called their elite forces the "Badri Army", and emphasized that these troops are ideologically closely aligned with

al-Qaeda Al-Qaeda (; , ) is an Islamic extremism, Islamic extremist organization composed of Salafist jihadists. Its members are mostly composed of Arab, Arabs, but also include other peoples. Al-Qaeda has mounted attacks on civilian and military ta ...

. Units termed "Army of Badr" first carried out

suicide attack A suicide attack is any violent Strike (attack), attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has suicide, accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have oc ...

s and raids on positions associated with the

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was a presidential republic that ruled Afghanistan from 2004 to 2021. The state was established to replace the Afghan interim (2001–2002) and transitional (2002–2004) administrations, which were formed ...

and its allies in 2011. The Badri 313 Battalion first emerged in the late stages of the

Taliban insurgency {{Infobox military conflict , partof = the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the Afghanistan conflict , image = 2021 Taliban Offensive.png , image_size = 300px , caption = Map of the 2021 Taliban o ...

, notably taking part in an attack on British security company

G4S G4S is a British Multinational corporation, multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a ran ...

's Kabul compound in November 2018. After the

2021 Fall of Kabul On 15 August 2021, Afghanistan's capital city of Kabul was captured by the Taliban after a major insurgent offensive that began in May 2021. This led to the overthrowing of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan under President Ashraf Ghani and ...

, the Taliban reported that the Badri 313 Battalion were securing the Arg (the Afghani Presidential Palace) and other important sites in the city. The Badri 313 Battalion were also reported as providing "security" at the

Kabul Airport , nativename-r = , image = Flightline at Kabul International Airport.jpeg , caption = The flightline at Kabul International Airport in January 2012 , IATA = KBL , ICAO = OAKB , ...

. The Badri 313 Battalion garnered worldwide attention after the Taliban victory in Afghanistan by mocking the US military by copying the Iwo Jima flag raising.

Equipment

The battalion is equipped with camouflage uniforms,

combat helmet A combat helmet or battle helmet is a type of helmet. It is a piece of personal armor designed specifically to protect the head during combat. Modern combat helmets are mainly designed to protect from shrapnel and fragments, offer some protec ...

body armor Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...

night-vision goggles A night-vision device (NVD), also known as a night optical/observation device (NOD), night-vision goggle (NVG), is an optoelectronic device that allows visualization of images in low levels of light, improving the user's night vision. The dev ...

M4 carbine The M4 carbine (officially Carbine, Caliber 5.56 mm, M4) is a 5.56×45mm NATO, gas-operated, magazine-fed carbine developed in the United States during the 1980s. It is a shortened version of the M16A2 assault rifle. The M4 is extensively ...

s, sidearms and

Humvee The High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV; colloquial: Humvee) is a family of light, four-wheel drive, military trucks and utility vehicles produced by AM General. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the ori ...

s of US origin. It is unclear how and where they acquired the equipment, either by corruption, seizure from surrendered Afghan National Army troops or simply by picking up those left behind by American troops.

References

* {{Taliban Military units and formations of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan Special forces units and formations