Kot-e Ashro

Kot-e Ashro (also Kotah-ye `Ashro, Kot-i-Ashro, Kuteh-Ashro) (Pashto:کوټه عښرو ) is a small town in the western Paghman Mountains of Jalrez District, Maidan Wardak Province, Afghanistan. It was formerly the district capital until it was taken by the Taliban in 2006. The town lies along the Kabul-Behsud Highway, 14.6 kilometres (9.1 mi) by road northwest of Maidan Shar.[1]

Kot-e Ashro کوټه عښرو
Town
Kot-e Ashro Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 34°26′57″N 68°47′38″E
Country	Afghanistan
Province	Maidan Wardak
District	Jalrez
Time zone	UTC+4:30

History

During the Soviet–Afghan War it was a stronghold of the mujahideen.[2] They held their fort at Kot-e Ashro until 1987, when they were forced to surrender to the Soviets. Some 450 mujahideen were executed upon the orders of a Soviet commander.[3]

In 2006, the Taliban captured the town, and it ceased to be the capital of Jalrez district.[4]

In late July to early August 2012, 11 citizens of the Hazara ethnic group were brutally tortured and beheaded by the Taliban in Kot-e-Ashro. In one incident on August 1, five people were forced off a vehicle and killed together.[5]

References

1. "Jalrez". Google Maps, Google. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
2. "Infantry, Volume 93, Issue 4". 2004. p. 50-1.
3. Syed Shabbir Hussain, Absar Hussain Rizvi (1987). "Afghanistan Whose War?". el-Mashriqi Foundation. p. 98.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
4. "One Land, Two Rules (9): Delivering public services in insurgency-affected Jalrez district of Wardak province". Afghan Analysts Network. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
5. "The Beheadings in Jalrez". Afghanistan Daily Outlook. 4 August 2012. Retrieved 30 April 2020.