203rd_Corps_(Afghanistan)
203 Mansoori Corps
Military unit
The 203 Mansoori Corps is one of the eight corps of the Islamic Emirate Army established in October 2021 and headquartered in Gardez. The current Chief of Staff is Maulvi Hezbollah Afghan.[1] In December 2021, 450 soldiers after completing military training graduated from the 203 Mansoori Corps headquarters in Paktia province. The corps includes of the 2nd and 3rd Border Brigade each consists of hundreds of security personnel.[2]
| 203 Mansoori Corps | |
|---|---|
| Pashto: ۲۰۳ منصوري قول اردو | |
| Founded | October 2021 |
| Country | Afghanistan |
| Allegiance |  Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan |
| Branch | Afghan Army |
| Type | Corps |
| Nickname(s) | Mansoori |
| Engagements | Republican insurgency in Afghanistan |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of Staff | Maulvi Hezbollah Afghan |
| Commander | Qari Mohammad Ayub Khalid |
| Deputy Commander | Rohul Amin |
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan-era corps it replaced was known as the 203 'Tandar' Corps and was a part of Afghan National Army.[3]
| Chiefs of Staff | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief of Staff | Period | Notes | Ref(s) |
| Ahmadullah Mubarak | 4 October 2021 – 4 March 2022 | [1] | |
| Maulvi Hezbollah Afghan | 4 March 2022 – Present | [4] | |
| Commanders | |||
| Commander | Period | Notes | Ref(s) |
| Qari Mohammad Ayub Khalid | 4 October 2021 – Present | [1] | |
| Deputy Commanders | |||
| Deputy Commander | Period | Notes | Ref(s) |
| Rohul Amin | 4 October 2021 – Present | [1] | |
| 203rd Corps | |
|---|---|
203rd Corps patch | |
| Active | 23 September 2004[5]–14 August 2021[6] |
| Country |  Afghanistan |
| Branch |  Afghan National Army |
| Type | Corps |
| Headquarters | Gardez, Paktia Province, Afghanistan[7] |
| Nickname(s) | Tandar (Thunder)[7] |
| Engagements | War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) |
| Commanders | |
| Last commander | General Dadan Lawang |
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The 203rd 'Tandar' (Thunder) Corps was a corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA), headquartered in Gardez. The original Gardez Regional Command was established on 23 September 2004.[5] It was heavily involved in the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021).
Early in 2006, the formation carried out the very first of the reborn Afghan Army's Medical civic action programs, providing medical assistance to the civilian population, in Khost Province.[8] On 19 October 2006, as part of Operation Mountain Fury, two Embedded Training Teams (ETTs) supervised a D30 artillery section from Fourth Battalion, Second Brigade, 203rd Corps, as it fired its first combat artillery missions, harassing the enemy with indirect fires.[9] Three days later, the battalion successfully conducted counterfire (with assistance from a US Q-36 radar).[citation needed]
Major General Abdul Khaliq, the corps commander, took operational command of Operation Maiwand in Andar district, Ghazni Province, a reported Taliban stronghold, in July 2007. This was reported as the first large-scale mission the ANA had planned and executed.[10] Maiwand involved over 1,000 Afghan and 400 United States Army personnel.
As of 2009, the corps consisted of the First Brigade (Khost), Second Brigade (Forward Operating Base Rushmore, Sharana, Paktika Province), and Third Brigade (Ghazni). As of 30 November 2011, Brig. Gen. Zamaray Khan was listed by Jane's Defence Weekly as commander of the Second Brigade, 203rd Corps.[11]
The corps was supported by the Gardez Regional Support Squadron of the Afghan Air Force, equipped with eight helicopters: four transport, to support the corps' commando battalion; two attack; and two medical transport.[12] In 2017, the 203rd Corps and 303rd Police Zone demonstrated a high level of cooperation not seen across Afghanistan according to Colonel Matthew J. Van Wagenen, commander of Task Force Southeast.[13]
The last commander of the Corps was General Dadan Lawang who had earlier been retired by Asadullah Khalid but brought back by Ashraf Ghani.[14] The Corps surrendered in Gardez on 14 August 2021.[6]
- "د اسلامي امارت په تشکیلاتو کې نوي کسان پر دندو وګومارل شول". باختر خبری آژانس. October 4, 2021.
- "اسلامي امارت په هېواد کې «پیاوړې» او «خپلواکې» اردو جوړلو ته ژمن دی". December 1, 2021.
- "Interim Taliban government rebrands Afghan army". www.aa.com.tr. 7 November 2021.
- کاکړ, جاويد هميم (March 4, 2022). "په یو شمیر وزارتونو، قول اردو ګانو او ولایتونو کې نوې ټاکنې وشوې" – via pajhwok.com.
- Afghan National Army activates second regional command Archived 2010-08-30 at the Wayback Machine, September 23, 2004, AFPS
- "Taliban encircling Afghan capital Kabul, prepping final assault through east | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. 14 August 2021.
- Radin, CJ. "Afghan National Army (ANA)" (PDF). The Long War Journal.
- Dan Huvane, ANA, Combined Task Force Devil Team Up for MEDCAP, Desert Devil Dispatch, 82nd Airborne Division, 15 February 2006, accessed at http://www.bragg.army.mil/82dv/desert%20devil%20dispatch%5B%5D, via Samuel Chan, "Sentinels of Afghan Democracy," at https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/2009-Archive/.
- (First to Fire, "FA Journal", Jan/Feb 2007)
- Chan, "Sentinels of Afghan Democracy," 2009, p.36
- JDW 30 Nov 11, p.34
- "Afghan National Army Air Corps: February 2009 Update | FDD's Long War Journal". www.longwarjournal.org. February 20, 2009. Archived from the original on September 12, 2010.
- Dennis, Christopher (July 13, 2017). "Task Force Southeast PART 2 of 5 -- Who we TAA, the 203rd Corps and 303rd Police Zone". Archived from the original on 2021-07-09.
- Clark, Kate (21 August 2021). "The Taleban's rise to power: As the US prepared for peace, the Taleban prepared for war". Afghanistan Analysts Network - English (in Pashto).