In the book Swimming With Warlords, which I recently reviewed – TMP link – there is an interesting anecdote.
On page 11, the author describes returning to the Amu Darya (Oxus) river crossing between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, between Kokol in Tajikistan and the Al Khanoum* region of Afghanistan, about 7 hours' drive south from Dushanbe. When he visited here in 2001, it was a busy site for shipping arms and supplies to the Northern Alliance, In 2013, it was a sleepy place with little activity other than smuggling.
The journalist notices underfoot "…some rusted old .30-millimeter shell casings, likely from a Russian anti-aircraft gun once positioned on the border."
A Tajik man, also waiting to cross into Afghanistan, explains that the shell casings "were from fifteen years ago, fired at the Taliban by Tajik soldiers as makeshift artillery support for [the Northern Alliance] in [their] effort to hold on to one last piece of real estate in the north." He shows a tattoo as evidence that he was once in the Soviet army when Tajikistan was still part of the Soviet Union.
What sort of anti-aircraft weapon are we talking about? Do you think they are talking about direct fire or indirect fire? How far away would the Northern Alliance have been? Why not use actual artillery?
It certainly sounds like the seeds of an interesting scenario: Taliban attacking, Northern Alliance defending their last base, backs to a river, Soviets firing in support.
Also: Russian soldiers were operating the river ferry in 2001. The author describes the soldiers as wearing camo, but with "heads in Afghan scarves."
According to Wikipedia, although Tajikistan became independent in 1991, "Russian border troops were stationed along the Tajik–Afghan border until summer 2005."
* According to Wikipedia, Al Khanoum AKA Ay Khanum AKA Alexandria on the Oxus is an archeological site. Google Maps has a location: link However, the river on the border is the Panj River…
