Khost District

Khost District
خوست ولسوالۍ
District
View from the hill in Khost toward Khost Mosque
Khost District
Location in Afghanistan
Coordinates: 35°24′00″N 70°48′00″E / 35.40000°N 70.80000°E / 35.40000; 70.80000
Country Afghanistan
ProvinceKhost
CapitalKhost
Government
 • TypeDistrict
Population
 (2025)[1]
 • Total
170,615
Time zoneUTC+04:30 (Afghanistan Time)

Khost District (Pashto: خوست ولسوالۍ), historically known as Matun, is a municipality situated in the central and southeastern part of Khost Province in Afghanistan. It has an estimated population of 170,615 people.[1] The cit of Khost is within the district. Shaikh Zayed University is located to the northwest of the city, and Khost International Airport is situated about 15 km (9.3 mi) to the southwest in the neighboring Mandozayi District. The main road in the district is the Khost-Gardez Highway.

History

Further information: History of Afghanistan

On 2 January 1879, General Roberts entered Matun from Hazir Pir in the Kurram valley, with a small armed contingent.[2] The intent was to pacify the district, which was described as "an unsophisticated country where the revenue had hitherto been collected in copper."[3]

During the Soviet–Afghan War, the Afghan mujahideen blockaded Khost District, cutting off all lines of communication. The Soviets were forced to respond with Operation Magistral in 1987 to reopen the Khost–Gardez Highway and bring relief to the District.[4] Khost District was the scene of intense fighting in 1987, with over 1,500 mujahideen and one American adviser killed by DRA troops, according to Tass, the official Soviet news agency.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Estimated Population of Afghanistan 2025-26" (PDF). National Statistics and Information Authority. September 2025. p. 54. Retrieved 2025-12-25.
  2. ^ David Gillard, Great Britain. Foreign Office. British documents on foreign affairs--reports and papers from the Foreign Office confidential print: From the mid-nineteenth century to the First World War. The Near and Middle East, 1856-1914, Volume 12. University Publications of America, 1984
  3. ^ Eliakim Littell. Living age ..., Volume 208. The Living Age Co. Inc., 1896
  4. ^ Lester W Grau. The Bear Went Over the Mountain: Soviet Combat Tactics in Afghanistan. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 1-4289-8148-9, ISBN 978-1-4289-8148-5
  5. ^ The Soviets Report American Killed in Afghanistan. The Dispatch, Lexington NC. 28 Dec 1987.


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.