The mujahideen army was estimated from as low as fifty members, to numbering "in the thousands", having drawn recruits from the surrounding area, Osama bin Laden led the defense of the Masada compound, supported by his two key commanders,
Abu Ubayda and
Abu Hafs. Additional individuals involved in the battle were Azzam's son
Hutaifa,
Abu Khalil who was in charge of keeping up a steady barrage of
mortars,
Tamim al-Adnani, a figure known as "Abu al-Hasan," tenatively identified as
Wael Julaidan, and
Enaam Arnaout who identified himself to the Arab press as "Abu Mahmoud, from Syria", who was photographed alongside bin Laden and quoted as saying that the Soviets had dropped
napalm, destroying the trees that the mujahideen had hoped to use for fortifications. Apart from the Arab fighters, there were also a few jihadists from the wider Muslim world who took part in the battle. One of them was
Mukhlas, an Indonesian who was later indicted in the
2002 Bali bombings. In addition to the foreign fighters, Afghan forces from
all seven of the resistance parties were part of the larger action. Among the Afghan leaders were
Jalaluddin Haqqani,
Mohammed Anwar, and
Abdul Rasul Sayyaf, whose experienced troops were carrying
Stinger and
Blowpipe missiles that threatened Soviet gunships. After relieving the Soviet garrison, Ali Sher, the Soviets launched an attack against bin Laden's base in Jaji, deploying approximately 200
Soviet Airborne Troops and
Spetsnaz forces supported by the Soviet-backed Afghan Army and Afghan tribal militias. The bombardments were carried out daily until June. On 25 May, a Soviet warplane flying above bin Laden's training camp was targeted by a separate group of Afghan fighters. The plane was hit and shattered into fragments, ultimately crashing close to bin Laden's camp. This was seen as a key moment in the battle by bin Laden and his Arab fighters, particularly due to its occurrence on the 27th day of
Ramadan. This day is regarded as highly sacred in the Muslim calendar, believed to be a day when destinies are determined and the gates of heaven are opened. Bin Laden and his men did not see it as a coincidence that the Soviet plane had been shot down on this particular day. Amidst the relentless Soviet bombardments, bin Laden grew concerned that his men couldn't hold out much longer if they remained. As a result, he made the decision to abandon the al-Masada compound. When one of his men objected, bin Laden responded by pulling at the dissenter's beard while yelling and scolding. Bin Laden later justified this by claiming the dissenter was "possessed." To prevent the Soviets from seizing anything from the camp, the Arabs deliberately destroyed large parts of it. They rolled their cannons into the ravines and buried their automatic weapons. As a final measure, one of the men threw a grenade into the pantry. On 29 May, in what is also referred to as the "Battle of 1 Shawwal," a group of around 25 Arab fighters fought off a much larger group of Soviet commandos. Soviet commandos entered the Masada compound but were repelled by the Arabs and a handful of Afghan supporters. In the heat of the battle, there were only nine mujahideen defenders left alive inside the compound, but the Soviets did not realize this weakness and failed to take advantage of the situation before reinforcements arrived. Bin Laden and his men found themselves pinned down the entire day due to relentless enemy mortar fire. In the midst of the heavy Soviet bombardment, bin Laden suddenly fell asleep. While bin Laden's nap has often been portrayed in
Jihadi propaganda as evidence of holy grace and peaceful steadfastness under fire, journalist
Lawrence Wright suggests that bin Laden, most likely, simply fainted, considering his known struggle with
low blood pressure, which often made him feel lightheaded. By 5:00 in the afternoon, the Arab fighters managed to outflank the Soviet forces, who opted for a retreat due to the lack of available air support at that moment. This battle later became famous due to the participation of bin Laden, whose force of 50 Arabs fought alongside the Afghan rebels. Following the skirmish, Abu Ubayda presented bin Laden with a small
AK-74s he had recovered from a dead Soviet soldier. Bin Laden kept this rifle as a trophy, consistently wearing it on his shoulder thereafter. After the battle, Sayyaf assumed control of the al-Masada compound, utilizing it strategically as an outpost overseeing a vital caravan supply route. Still, the event became a landmark for the Arab fighters, solidifying their legend and jihadist legitimacy. While
Ahmed Khadr, often praised the bravery of the mujahideen fighters in Jaji when discussing it with his children, he never confirmed his personal participation in the battle.
Essam al-Ridi, an American who took part in the battle, later shared his disillusionment, claiming that approximately 50 mujahideen fighters had been killed while only two Soviet soldiers had perished. ==Significance==