Reporter Otto Greenberg, image

Excerpts from the novel "IN THE CIRCLE KUNDUZ" - M .: De'Libri, 2020. - 394 p. ISBN 978-5-4491-0575-2 D21 UDC 82-311.6 BBK 84 (4Ros = Rus) 6-44

From part II "ZUGZVANG OBERLEUTENANT BRUNO TEVS"

CORRESPONDENT "DER SPIEGEL" OTTO GREENBERG

Own correspondent of the German magazine Der Spiegel, Otto Greenberg, has arrived in the city of Kunduz. He was an intelligent, well-educated and experienced journalist. He was of medium height with a fair-skinned face and black wavy hair. His high forehead, crooked nose, and large black eyes revealed Greek or Jewish roots. Despite his forty years of age, due to constant and long business trips, Otto was single. At the same time, he looked after himself, was fit, regularly shaved smoothly and dressed tastefully. The duties of his service included sending materials to a publishing house in Hamburg about the events taking place in the north-east of Afghanistan. Along with this task, he was instructed to collect interviews for a detailed article, in connection with the upcoming 20-year anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.

In search of material for the article, he traveled around dozens of settlements in the northeastern part of the country, which were in the combat zone of the Soviet contingent at a distance of over a hundred kilometers from Kunduz - in the counties of the Balkh, Samangan, Sari-pul, Takhar, Kunduz, Baghlan, Badakhshan provinces meeting with participants in those long-standing dramatic events - field commanders and ordinary mujahideen who had already retired or who continued to fight against the ISAF. So, on September 2, 2009, on one of the local business trips to the Khost-Va-Fereng county in the mountains in the northeast of Baghlan province, Otto met a former mujahid named Ismatullah, who fought in the detachment of field commander Mohammad Marzbon, better known by the nickname Kazi Kabir - an associate of Ahmad Shah Massoud in the Islamic Society of Afghanistan party in Takhar province. Ismatullah told Otto the story of one dramatic battle in June 1986 with Soviet landing groups that suffered significant losses in the Mugulan, Cholbakhir and Tali Gobang mountains. At the end of his story, Ismatulla handed Otto a notebook and two photographs in it that belonged to a Soviet soldier. He found them under the boulders - at the place where the shuravis put their dead and wounded.

LUNCH in TEAHOUSE of YAKUB-KHAN

On September 4, Otto returned from a trip to Khost-Va-Fereng. He was very hungry and decided to go to a teahouse on the famous Kunduz circle - the central square of the city with many shops and dukans, snack bars, service points and everyday life. The teahouse where he occupied a room was just a stone's throw from the Spinzar Hotel, which belonged to the textile company of the same name. It was founded in Kunduz in the mid-1920s by Sher Khan Nashir. During the two weeks of his stay in Kunduz he has already become it's regular guest. The owner of the establishment was Yakub Khan, a former Mujahid Pashtun Gilzai, forty-five years old, in a black turban and with a black leather oval on his right eye, which he lost during the battles for Kunduz in August 1988. During the Afghan War of 1979-1989, Yakub Khan commanded a small detachment in the Shamsuddin group from the Islamic Party of Afghanistan, better known by the nickname Dr. Shams. Yakub-khan has received this teahouse as a gift from Shams for loyalty and courage.
Despite many years of participation in the battles, Yakub Khan was a goodwill and cordially greeted Otto at the entrance to the teahouse, winning the reciprocal favor of the German. So this time, seeing Otto, Yakub Khan broke into a smile and fervently put his hand to his heart. Otto, loudly greeted him and the visitors sitting at the entrance with the traditional "Assalamu Aleikum" and, making an order on the way, proceeded deeper into the hall. His favorite place was a corner trestle bed, located under a cooling air conditioner. He took off his shoes and, climbing onto the felted ottoman, stretched out his legs. Otto was tired that day. He looked around in the narrow elongated space of the hall and saw three fans blowing streams of air from the ceiling, slowly rotating their blades. On the trestle beds, peacefully chatting, people in Afghan national clothes and traditional headdresses ate and drank tea. Behind all this worldly bustle, Ahmad Shah Massoud, a smiling face, looked down from a large portrait on the wall.
The guests were served by the son of Yakub Khan - Zalmay. Visibly, it was a controversial dark-skinned youth of thirteen, with an embroidered kandahari (a Pashtun skullcap with a dome-shaped slit in the front) on black wavy hair, wearing a patterned vest over a traditional Afghan Peruhan shirt. He did not make Otto wait long and immediately brought the entire order, which had just been taken off the grill and continued to grill a kebab of lamb ribs with layers of fat tail fat with a slight smell of haze, a hot tandoor cake and a kettle of green tea. “Yes,” thought Otto, resting on a wide trestle bed from the unceasing noise of the street, contemplating on the hustle and bustle of medieval faces in traditional clothes, brisk market bargaining, donkey and horse-drawn carts and a caravan of giant two-humped camels loaded with huge bales that arrived from afar goods. Time has stopped here, since the reign of Mohammad Murad-bek 1815-1842 from the Katagan clan - the ruler of the Kunduz Khanate 1800-1859. " Otto finished his meal and, leaning the back of his head against the wall, closed his eyes from fatigue. Through the slumber, he heard the measured creak of fan blades, the clatter of dishes, the clatter of bones and the shuffling of shesh-besh checkers, the multilingual hubbub of interlocutors and the soulful song “Khuda Bowad Yarat” of the cult Afghan singer Ahmad Zahir, coming from the audio speaker.

AT THE SAME TIME. KUNDUZ CBU TF-47, September 5, 2009. After the discovery of the hijacked German fuel trucks and receiving aerial photographs from their location, Oberst Georg Jung decided to strike at them with ISAF aircraft. As a result of the raid of F-15ES fighter-bombers, according to various estimates, from one hundred to one hundred and sixty civilians who had accumulated near the trucks, including women and children, died.

ISAF AIRCRAFT AT UMAR HALE

Otto's slumber was interrupted by the loud noise of low-flying jet aircraft and heavy bombs falling nearby, shaking the ground. Five minutes later, the sirens of a dozen ambulances were heard screaming along the main street past the teahouse at high speed. The alarmed Yakub Khan went out into the street, watched them go and, going back to the teahouse, tuned the radio to the news wave. He turned up the volume and listened to the special text. Within a few seconds, his face changed noticeably and turned pale.
Otto felt his twist and asked:
- What happened ?!
- It was reported that ISAF planes launched an air strike in the vicinity of the Umar-Kheil village on the border of Chahar-dara and Aliabad counties, which led to a large number of civilian casualties, Yakub Khan said.
- Where is Umar-heil located ?! Otto asked forcefully.
- It's nearby! - answered Yakub Khan. - Kishlak Umar-kheil is located in Chahar-dara district. From Kunduz you need to drive two kilometers to the south, then turn west and drive about the same.
Otto left the money for the food and hurriedly left the establishment. He took a taxi on the Kunduz circle and soon arrived at the site of the airstrike. By that time, the area had already been cordoned off by police and Afghan ISAF assistance forces. Overturned burnt-out trucks with cisterns and fragments of human bodies scattered over hundreds of meters appeared. Otto took several pictures, but was unable to speak with any of the eyewitnesses. He decided to come to the site the next day to penetrate into the depths of the Umar-Kheil village and ask the local population about the incident.
Otto returned to the hotel and learned from the news programs on German television that more than a hundred peaceful Afghans had died as a result of NATO air strikes in the Chahar-dara district of the Kunduz province. ISAF said that seventy of them were Taliban and only thirty civilians - women and children. This number was significantly different from the data of Afghan and international human rights organizations.

Kidnapping of Otto Grinberg and Sultan Mukhadi

Early in the morning Otto summoned Sultan Mukhadi, an interpreter who accompanied him on all his trips to the provinces, to the hotel, and, having sat down with him in a taxi, went to the place of yesterday's tragedy, to Umar-heil. Having reached the place soon, before getting out of the car, Otto instructed the driver:
- If we do not leave the village by 20.00, inform the administration of the Spinzar hotel about it.
Then Grinberg and Mukhadi got out of the car and disappeared into the depths of the village. Otto, who managed to become familiar with the Taliban in the villages of the Katagan provinces, was able to collect several interviews with local residents in Umar-Kheil. However, the Taliban, who had nothing against him personally because of his peaceful journalistic activities, but wanted revenge against the ISAF and the Bundeswehr for the tragedy in Chahar-dar, seized him along with the translator Muhadi, and no one knew about their whereabouts for some time. The taxi driver, not waiting for the exit from the village of Grinberg and Mukhadi, as he had been instructed, reported the incident upon arrival at Spinzar.

In the village of Khalazai, special forces came suddenly and acted with lightning speed. Tevs and his group kicked and knocked out doors with gun butts, burst into the premises of adobe buildings, opened fire on the Taliban, trying not to catch the hostages in the bustle, but received a fierce rebuff. The hostages darted to the side and huddled in corners, trying to hide from the crossfire. The battle lasted less than ten minutes, when the shooting stopped, Tevs ordered his subordinates to clarify the losses. And he himself, taking a photograph from his breast pocket, began to look for leader Shamsuddin among the killed Taliban, but he was not there.
- Gone! Hissed Bruno in annoyance.
After clarifying the losses, he contacted Jung:
- Mr. Oberst, finished! I have one killed and three wounded, with varying degrees. One of them is a correspondent for Der Spiegel ... - damn it!
There was a pause.
- What about Shamsuddin ?! Jung asked serenely.
- He is not among the dead. But nobody left the perimeter. I don’t understand how we missed it! - annoyed Bruno.
There was silence on the air again. It was evident that the outcome of the operation upset Jung.
- Bad! Jung returned to the conversation.
- Okay, after returning to base - debriefing. Now, to evacuate our deceased and wounded - they are in a helicopter and to Mazar-i-Sharif, and the DerSpiegel correspondent is loaded onto an armored personnel carrier and taken to Kunduz to the MSF civilian hospital "Doctors Without Borders" - he has nothing to do in our military hospital, he already  broke our operation.
While Tevs reported to the command on the results of the operation, five ATF DINGO-2 armored personnel carriers were gathered to the place of its implementation. TF-47 special forces doctors immediately gave Otto Greenberg an anesthetic injection, and the thigh stitched with a bullet was tightened with a tourniquet and bandaged. In the report of Oberleutnant Bruno Tevs to Oberst Jung about the losses in Operation Joker, the name of the Afghan translator Sultan Mukhadi, who was shot in the head in a shootout and died on the spot, was not mentioned. A visit to the village of Umar-Kheil for an interview cost him his life. Otto Greenberg blamed for his death exclusively on himself.
After waiting for the evacuation of the deceased and two wounded soldiers by helicopter to Mazar-i-Sharif, Bruno ordered two special forces from his group to load Otto Greenberg into an armored personnel carrier and accompany him to the MSF hospital in Kunduz. He sat in the front seat with the driver, and Greenberg and two commandos in the back. For some time on the way, staring with a glass gaze ahead, the frantic Bruno drove in silence, but when entering Kunduz, he turned sharply and fell on Otto Grinberg with loud curses:
- Why are you here? Why didn't you sit at home ?! You thwarted our operation! The fighter was lost because of you, two more were wounded, Shamsuddin was missed!
Pale from painful shock, blood loss and the action of an analgesic, Otto Greenberg resolutely replied:
- You do your job, and I do mine!
Having received a firm answer, Bruno cooled down.

HOSPITAL MSF "DOCTORS WITHOUT BORDERS"

An ATF-DINGO-2 armored personnel carrier with the wounded Otto Greenberg briskly drove into the yard of the MSF Doctors Without Borders hospital. The accompanying commandos helped him down and, putting him on a stretcher, brought him to the emergency room. Bruno followed them.
- Yes! He thought. - After the heat of Kunduz, here is a real paradise - snow-white walls, coolness from air conditioners, staff in ironed clothes and a delicious smell from the dining room. Here it is an island of civilized Europe in a medieval country!
There was a commotion in the emergency room, the doctors came running, then they ran away again - no one seemed to care about the wounded Greenberg. Bruno was very nervous and looked with his eyes for someone to pass him on as soon as possible. Noticing that the correspondent's health was deteriorating, Bruno began to distract with everyday questions.
- Where do you live in Germany? He asked, already kinder.
“In Munich,” Otto replied, dropping the barrage of accusations.
- Great! And I'm from the south - from Freiburg! - shared Bruno.
- What are you doing in Afghanistan? Bruno asked.
- At the moment, I am collecting an interview for an article dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
- For the anniversary of the withdrawal of Soviet troops ?! - Bruno asked again, showing his interest in this topic, - OK! But the Soviet troops left twenty years ago, and how is this connected with the events in Umar-Kheil? How did the wind blow you there ?!
- I'm a journalist! My place is where things happen, ”Otto replied calmly.
Noticing that Bruno had thawed, Otto ventured to ask:
- Oberleutenant, forgive the tactlessness, can I ask you about one case?
- I hope this is not writing an article for you ?! - Bruno joked. - With all my desire to be useful to you, you must remember that I am a soldier of the ISAF group and I have a lot of responsibilities, somehow, an entrusted unit and demanding bosses.
- The request is simple - you need to go to the Spinzar hotel, where I rent a room, and pick up my large travel bag from there. It contains all my luggage: clothes and change of underwear, - Otto explained its essence, - the number has been paid for by the end of the month, so there will be no problems with access. And here's another thing: in the top drawer of the bedside table is an old, shabby notebook. Please put it in your bag.

NOTEBOOK and OLD PHOTOS

The next day, as promised to Otto Greenberg, Bruno stopped at the Spinzar Hotel. Administrator, has already been warned. Bruno went up to the room, took out a large travel bag from the closet, put it on the bed and went to the nightstand for a notebook. Pulling on the handle of the drawer, he took out an old, brown leather-bound, frayed-edged notebook and tossed it casually inside the bag. From the notebook that fell over the top of the things, the edges of two yellowed photographs with streaks of dried blood protruded. Bruno noticed a photo in these scraps, something very familiar, dear.
He opened his notebook and saw in one of the pictures his young mother in girlhood - Rosa Schmidt, in the other - six Soviet soldiers standing in an embrace. In the left corner, smiling, his father Konstantin Tevs was standing, who died in Afghanistan. A copy of this collective photo was framed on a sideboard in the living room in Freiburg. Konstantin sent this picture in a letter home - to Dzhambul in early 1985, in the first month of his stay in Afghanistan. In the corner on the back of the photo was written obliquely: “To my beloved wife Rosa and our son, whom we will call Bruno, from his father. Kunduz. Afghanistan, February 1985 ".
Bruno was amazed. Not remembering himself, he rushed to the hospital to Otto Greenberg to ask him where the notebook and photographs had come from. When he ran into the room, Otto was lying on the bed and having dinner peacefully. Bruno took a plate of soup from his hands and, taking photos from his pocket, said: "Where from ?!"
Otto was indignant:
- Do you know, Mr. Oberleutenant, that rummaging in other people's things is indecent ?! - But, soon realizing that Bruno's frenzy was connected with the photographs from his notebook, which obviously had a direct bearing on him, answered sincerely: - From the Mujahideen!
- Get ready! Let's go ... and show the one who gave it to you, - Bruno self-directed.
- First, it’s not possible now, Otto replied calmly, “because I cannot walk. Secondly, I never disclose my sources, this is professional ethics! He explained.
Bruno's speech, in high tones, frightened medical staff and three civilian Afghans   lying on neighboring bunks. A minute later, the nurse on duty and the doctor Ahmadzai entered the room.
- What's happening? Ahmadzai asked in a firm voice.
Bruno, realizing that the situation was out of control and urgently needed to be normalized, reassured:
- It's all right, Frau, we were clarifying business matters.
- This is not a military hospital where they can conduct official investigations. I ask you to leave the ward now! Akhmadzai demanded, pointing her hand towards the exit.
Bruno realized that the situation was tense and it was better to leave:
- Okay, I'll leave.
With these words, he left the room and headed for the exit.
Otto connected Bruno's emotions with good reasons and, leaning on crutches, hurried to stop him. Stepping out of the chamber, he shouted after Bruno, who reached the end of the long corridor:
- Wait!
Bruno stopped. Together they went out into the hospital garden, sat down on a bench and started talking.
- These are the things of my dead father, Bruno said bitterly, his eyes filling with moisture.
- So your father was a Soviet soldier and died in Khost-Va-Ferenga ?! - Otto was surprised.
- Yes! - answered Bruno. - After his death, my mother and I moved to Germany.
- That's it! - comprehended Otto with empathy and immediately promised from the heart. - I promise you! As soon as I pass on the cane, we will certainly go with you to the kishlak in Khost-Va-Fereng to the Mujahideen who gave me these photos and a notebook. And now, as part of my promise, I have two requests for you. First, you need to visit the brother of the deceased translator Sultan Mukhadi, Yahya, and give his family money from me, and at the same time offer him to work as an interpreter for the duration of our trip to Khost-Va-Fereng in the mountains. The second - I strongly ask you to change from military uniform to civilian during the trip. And even better in traditional Afghan clothing. My personal experience after the recent tragedy in Umar Kale has shown that it is not worth arousing anger in the Taliban and ordinary Afghans.
They returned to the ward, Otto explained where it would be possible to find the brother of the deceased translator, Yahya Muhadi, and, taking out a sealed envelope with money from his travel bag, handed it to Bruno.

TRIP TO HOST-VA-FERING

Otto's wound began to heal, and he could already move, leaning on a cane. Fulfilling the promise given to Bruno, on the agreed day, as soon as dawn broke, they took a taxi and, having stopped for the translator Yahya Muhadi, headed east from Kunduz to Talukan. From there they turned south to the mountainous region of the Khost-Va-Fereng county. Without difficulty, having found in one of the adobe dwellings of the village of Yakhchan-Khurd, Ismatulla - short, lean with a shaved head, red-bearded Tajik, visibly 45 years old, Otto introduced him to Bruno as the son of one of the Shuravi who died in the battle, about whom he told him...

AIR IMPACT ON A MEDRACE IN KISHLAK DAFTANI

Otto Greenberg's cure went on as usual. He refused the offer of the DER SPIEGEL management to return to Germany. Despite the limited mobility, he actively worked from the hospital - he made appointments in his inner garden and quickly traveled outside. And now, in anticipation of Yahya Muhadi, Otto went out into the garden in advance to breathe in the fresh autumn air. The sun was no longer hot, but it was warm. Autumn in Kunduz is a great time, Otto thought. His thoughts were interrupted by a phone call from Hamburg.
The publishing house was interested in the state of his health and the course of treatment. As soon as Otto finished the conversation, suddenly a loud sound was heard and two attack helicopters with the image of the national flag of Afghanistan flew low over the ground. This was soon followed by the thunder of heavy explosions. With a brisk limp, leaning on a cane, Otto walked to the middle of the hospital corridor, where the nurse on duty was located, to inquire about what had happened. Nobody knew anything yet, but the presentiments were not happy. The first thing that came to Otto's mind was the analogy of the tragedy in Umar-heil. A few minutes later, the alarm bells rang, and a commotion began.
The medical staff ran down the hospital corridor to the exit, loaded into ambulances and, having turned on loud sirens, hastily left for the call. There was still no one to ask about what had happened. It remained to wait for the official news. Soon, local TV news reported that at about 11:00 am, Afghan military aviation, with the support of ISAF forces, launched an air strike on the village of Daftani in the Dashti-e-Archi district, northeast of the city of Kunduz. It was also reported that at the time of the airstrike in the Daftani madrasah, festivities were held on the occasion of the results of the competition of the Koran-readers - hafiz among children from six to thirteen years old. In a solemn atmosphere, they were awarded diplomas and gifts. Otto began to hastily think how he could get to the scene of the tragedy and interview local eyewitnesses and victims of the airstrike. It is pointless to rely on the truthfulness of information from heralds from the ISAF and Afghan official sources, Otto thought, especially considering that Dashti-e-Archi is entirely under Taliban control. The only correct decision, Otto believed, is to get in touch with them. " Suddenly it dawned on him, he remembered with exhaustion, the one-eyed Yakub Khan - the owner of a teahouse in the Kunduz circle, who in the 1980s commanded one of the detachments in Shamsuddin's group. “This must be the surest move!” Otto admitted, deciding through him to establish contact with the Taliban and obtain their sanction for journalistic investigation. At that moment, Yahya Mukhadi drove up to the hospital and they immediately went to the teahouse of Yakub Khan.
- Do not misunderstand me, Yakub Khan was sincere, “in many respects I condemn the policies and actions of the Taliban movement and do not agree with the venerable Shamsuddin himself in everything, so I stay away from them. I would also recommend that you take into account, - reminded Yakub-khan, - that when the hostages were released in the village of Halazai, including you, Mr. Otto, Shamsuddin's people died. And he himself, it is important to note, miraculously survived. Therefore, they are unlikely to be happy to see you alive.
- And you explain to them that I am a journalist, Otto taught, and my job is to collect genuine material. I only ask them to admit me to the autochthonous population of Daftani, to the victims who have lost their children, - he begged.
- Okay. I will try, - Yakub Khan promised. However, by the expression on his face, it was hard to believe in the prospect of this venture.
Otto, on the other hand, gave himself the instruction not to leave the teahouse until he got contact with the Taliban. While Yakub Khan was making an appointment with someone on the phone, he walked with Yahya Mukhadi deep into the teahouse and, occupying the usual trestle bed, made an order. Watching closely Yakub Khan who remained at the entrance and the visitors who entered the teahouse, Otto and Yahya slowly ate mutton kebab, flatbread and drank tea.
In the long run, a gray-bearded man of about fifty in a blue perukhan and a light turban approached Yakub Khan's teahouse. Yakub Khan led him to the trestle-bed where Otto and Yahya were sitting and, pointing his palm at the guest, quietly said:
- This is the one you need. Otto and Yahya politely left the trestle bed and invited the guest to sit down. Yakub Khan ordered a kettle of tea for the guest and returned to the entrance. The guest silently took off his shoes and climbed onto the trestle bed, sitting down in a corner.
- I am a correspondent for the German magazine Der Spiegel Otto Greenberg, - he introduced himself to the guest, - and this is my translator Yahya Muhadi. His brother Sultan Mukhadi was one of the hostages in the Khalazai village. He died on release.
Yahya translated Otto's words for sure and without hesitation. The guest nodded his head and, devoutly putting his palm to his heart, expressed his condolences to Yahya, after which he introduced himself:
- I'm Halfutdin. What would you like? He asked dryly.
- I ask to be admitted to the village of Daftani, so that I can interview the local residents, and if I succeed, then the families of the victims, Otto expressed his aspiration.
- Okay! We will take you to Daftani and are even ready to ensure your safety, - Halfutdin admitted, - in return we must receive a truthful coverage of this atrocity, without distortion. Exactly the way it is.
- I promise you to shoot the reportage on a photo and video camera and send it to the editorial office along with the written material, greatly complicating this attempt at falsification, Otto promised.
On this they agreed. Khalfutdin urgently appointed the place and time of the meeting on the southern outskirts of the Daftani village at 6.00. Leaving the teahouse, cheered up, Otto warmly thanked Yakub Khan for organizing the meeting and, clapping his hands gratefully, left several hundred euros in his palm. Then he got into a taxi called by Zalmay and went to the MSF hospital. By the time Otto arrived at MSF, his courtyard was filled with ambulances and over a hundred Afghans. There was a male hubbub and female sobs. MSF Medecins Sans Frontieres Hospital and two other hospitals in Kunduz were filled with children from Daftani. Having waited tensely for the onset of the morning, dejected by the mass tragedy, Otto and Yahya Mukhadi at the appointed hour drove up to the southern outskirts of Daftani by taxi. Halfutdin was already there. He greeted impassively and, looking piercingly into Otto's eyes, asked:
- Do you confirm the fulfillment of our requirements ?
- I confirm! - Otto answered with conviction and Halfutdin led them with Yahya along the narrow streets of Daftani. After walking a little, they came to the building of an old mosque. Its facade was riddled with a thousand bomb fragments. Suddenly we saw the rickety frame of the tent erected on the occasion of the festivities, the roof torn off by the explosion and heaps of pairs of children's shoes left after the tragedy of the last day. Otto took a camera out of his bag and, setting the current time on the screen, began to shoot everything. The place where the children were during the celebrations was profusely covered with blood. Scattered around were scraps of clothing and small fragments of human bodies. Otto moved the camera smoothly, trying not to miss anything. By this time, a large crowd of men had already gathered at the mosque, who fervently discussed yesterday's tragedy. Halfutdin led Otto and Yahya to them and, before allowing them to collect interviews, covered his face with a piece of turban, leaving only his eyes and made a heartfelt speech to the camera:
- Corrupt government officials said that the Afghan Air Force launched a targeted airstrike on the village of Daftani in Kunduz province, destroying the Taliban training center and thirty of its militants, including Taliban leader Mullah Beriani who had arrived from Quetta Shura and nine field commanders. It was also noted that none of the civilians were injured in the airstrike. You will see for yourself that it was a mass murder of children.
Halfutdin was followed by a resident of Daftani - lanky Mohammad Ishan, dressed in a brown Peruhan and beige pakol:
- When the helicopters appeared in the sky, the children got scared and began to shout: They will drop bombs on us! They will drop bombs on us! And the adults reassured them: This will not happen! Do not be afraid!" However, it happened! - Mohammad Ishan told emotionally, wiping his tears with the sleeves of his Peruhan. - The ceremony was attended by over two hundred children. They were about eleven, twelve, and a little older. Thanks to the fact that I stood a little further away, I miraculously managed to survive.
After Mohammad Ishan, with a tremor in his voice and grief in his eyes, a bony farmer living near the madrasah by the name of Haji Gulyam, who was holding a gray donkey with bundles of brushwood by the bridle, spoke out.
After taking a few more interviews at the site of the bombs, Halfutdin led Otto and Yahya further along narrow streets past the houses of the village of Daftani. From every courtyard came women's groaning and crying. Parents and relatives said goodbye to the dead children before taking them to the cemetery. Entering the courtyards, in order to avoid the lynching, Halfutdin raised his hand, making it clear to the inhabitants of Daftani that the infidels Otto and Yahya were his people. Otto was serene and continued to film everything that appeared in front of him.
- My son was only thirteen years old! - said Abdul Khalid, a blacksmith of the village of Daftani, who was sitting by the body of his son, wiping tears from his eyes with cracked, twisted fingers. - He learned the Quran by heart and was invited to the ceremony of awarding the Hafiz reciters. On that day he was festively dressed and especially happy.
- My two sons have learned the Quran by heart. Finally, the long-awaited day of their awarding with diplomas and participation in the ceremony of tying a turban came, - the mother of two dead brothers, dressed in a burgundy veil, told about her misfortune, - they so desired it. The day before, they brought home two flower wreaths, which I was supposed to wear on them when they would return from the celebrations. I went out to meet them on the street, holding in my hands the wreaths they had prepared, but they were not there. Suddenly, two helicopters flew low in the sky, and I heard four loud explosions, followed by screams. After a short time, their father returned, carrying the bodies of our two sons on his shoulders. Entering the house, he told me: "Our sons learned the book of the Almighty by heart and immediately went to meet him".
Khalfutdin again covered his face with a piece of turban and spoke to the camera:
- Among those killed in the air strike in Daftani, one hundred and one children died, more than a hundred were injured. Thirty-seven children will be buried in Daftani today. The bodies of children from other villages have already been taken by their parents for burial in other places. I draw the attention of everyone! - he raised his index finger. - Among the dead and wounded during the air strike in Daftani, there was not a single Taliban fighter, but only civilians.
Otto and Yahya Mukhadi completed their mission to Daftani. They returned depressed and devastated. At the same time, Otto felt a sense of deep satisfaction that he was able to do his job. He was overcome by two questions: from whom did the information about the presence of Taliban leaders in Daftani come from ?! And who gave the order to launch an air strike on the Afghan Air Force ?!

A WEEK LATER, HQ TF-47

In the office of Oberst Georg Jung the telephone rang. On the return link was the city of Calw (FRG) KSK operational headquarters, Brigadier General Markus Neumann.
- Hello, Mr. Brigadier General, Oberst Jung preceded the greeting from the other side.
- Hello, Oberst! - Neumann greeted and asked a question: - Tell me, which of the German journalists is hanging around there at the moment? Otto Krueger from Der Spiegel, is there ?!
- Otto Greenberg! Jung corrected, anticipating the problem.
- We rescued him from captivity ?! Neumann asked.
- That's right, Mr. Brigadier General, him! Jung confirmed.
- His article in Der Spiegel on the Daftani airstrike made a lot of noise. In the Bundestag, ISAF, Pentagon, Bundeswehr - everyone is very nervous, - said Neumann.
- He was wounded, as far as I remember? - remembered Neumann.
- That's right, Mr. Brigadier General, was! Jung said.
- And what is he still doing there ?! - asked Neumann.
- Undergoing treatment at MSF Hospital, Mr. Brigadier General, Jung reported.
- So send him to hell in Germany, Neumann commanded, raising his tone.
- I can’t, Mr. Brigadier General. MSF Hospital is an international civilian institution. And to Greenberg I am not the boss. He has his own leadership in Hamburg. And in general, I propose to think about whether we should quarrel with Spiegel. Journalists are scandalous people, it is better not to grapple with them. Otherwise, they will start to follow on their heels, sniffing out the fried, destroying the network of agents built over the years.
- Okay, agreed Neumann, “then block their access to the scene and the local population to collect malicious information, ordered Neumann.
- This is impossible, Mr. Brigadier General, Jung replied. “Unfortunately, they have their own sources of information and they are free to move.
- Unfortunately! - Neumann was annoyed, but we liberate them from their captivity and, often, sacrificing our people!
- I’ll think about it, Jung promised, “and try to do something, Mr. Brigadier General.
- Okay, Oberst! - Neumann hoped, ordering at last, - Keep me informed.
Oberst Jung hung up and immediately called the assistant.
- Urgently call the oberleutenant Thevs.
Five minutes later, there was a knock on Jung's office.
- Mr. Oberst, oberleutenant Thevs has arrived at your order! - earnestly reported Bruno.
- Oberleutenant, - began Oberst Jung, who came out from behind a large work table, motioning to Bruno to sit on a pair of leather armchairs by the coffee table, - as far as I know, you are in contact with journalist Otto Greenberg?
- Yes, yes, Mr. Oberst, I support!
- Where is he at the moment? Oberst Jung asked.
- Still undergoing treatment at MSF Doctors Without Borders, Bruno said.
- This Greenberg, with his material on the Daftani airstrike, caused a great stir in society. Some time ago my big bosses phoned me from Kalw, they are extremely indignant at the publication of his article in Der Spiegel. I consider it necessary, ”Jung claimed,“ that you should immediately go to this Greenberg at the MSF Doctors Without Borders hospital and, as he risked his own and the lives of his subordinates in the name of his salvation, insist that he leave Afghanistan without delay.
- Yes, Mr. Oberst! - accepted Bruno for execution, not knowing how to approach the solution of this problem.
In addition to Oberst Jung's arguments given in a telephone conversation to Brigadier General Neumann, Bruno and Otto had already established good relations and some moral obligations by that time. Indeed, thanks to the appearance of Otto Bruno have received relics - photographs and a notebook of his father, handed over by the Mujahideen Ismatulla, who told about the circumstances of the fatal battle of a group of Soviet soldiers in the Khost-Va-Fereng mountains. The wonderful Afghan woman Sita Ahmadzai, who stunned Bruno at first sight, also appeared in Bruno's life thanks to Otto. However, half an hour later he was sitting opposite Otto Greenberg in his room at MSF Hospital.
- Otto, we managed to make good friends with you. I sincerely do not want to spoil relations with you, but they expect results from me, - explained Bruno.
At this time, Sita Ahmadzai looked into the room, like a ray of the sun, looking tired and depressed.
- Sita! - Bruno was delighted and got up.
- Frau Ahmadzai! Otto perked up. - By the way! Do you have a separate room where the three of us can retire for a while?
Bruno was somewhat discouraged by the strange request. Sita became thoughtful and soon remembered the senior nurse's room. While she went to get the keys, Otto asked Bruno to take his video camera, and they walked through a narrow passage of a hospital corridor filled with many beds with injured children from Daftani and their relatives. As they walked along the corridor, they noticed a young Afghan woman with a blue veil thrown back, standing at the door to the operating room. A European doctor came to her and, removing the mask, through the translation of the nurse to Dari, said that her son had died. The silence in the corridor was broken by the cry of an unhappy mother, which turned into heart-rending sobs. When Otto and Bruno approached the head nurse's room, Sita pulled herself up. She opened the room and turned on the light. Noticing that Sita was about to leave, Otto asked:
“Sita, please stay a little longer. - And he invited her to sit down.
Sita chose not to sit down and, glancing at her watch, warned:
- Well, just a little.
Otto took the video camera from Bruno's hands, put it on the table and turned it on. On a small screen with the shooting date continuously flashing in the lower corner, the village of Daftani appeared: the facade of the local mosque damaged by the explosion, the rickety structure of a festive tent with a torn off roof, a blood-soaked playground with a large number of pairs of children's shoes left in place after the tragedy of the previous day, and small fragments human bodies. This footage was followed by interviews with local residents gathered at the mosque, parents who were sitting at the bodies of their dead children. Otto did not comment on anything. Bruno stared at the screen, not looking away. Sita stood leaning against the wall and silently wiped away her tears.
- Bruno! Otto said. - The ISAF coalition prefers to hide this inhuman crime - everything is clear with them. What do you personally think about this cynical airstrike ?! Do you also think that such crimes are permissible in the 21st century? How do they differ from the Nazis of the Third Reich, who wiped out thousands of cities and villages in your homeland, the USSR, exterminating twenty-six million people who branded the German people with curses and eternal guilt before mankind ?!
Bruno was silent. The footage of children's shoes and the farewell of parents to their children shocked him. He no longer thought that he would report to Oberst Jung.
- Otto, how long do you plan to stay in Kunduz? - Bruno asked angrily, intuitively feeling the threat to his life. - You should seriously think about personal safety. With your journalistic activities, you have become objectionable not only to ISAF, but also to the Afghan government. Eliminating you with the hands of ISAF specialists or bribed Taliban is an easy task.
“I have to finish collecting material about the presence of the Soviet troops,” Otto explained. “I suppose it will take another month.
Bruno took note of this, but he strongly doubted Otto's readiness to leave Afghanistan ...
.... The disposition of Oberst Georg Jung's son, Alfred, kidnapped by the Taliban, was unknown. Because of this, the Oberst fell in despair. He spent the whole night in his office, not closing his eyes, waiting for at least some news about his son. After the morning divorce, Bruno knocked on the Oberst's office:
- Allow me to enter, Mr. Oberst ?!
“Come in, oberleutenant,” Jung replied summarily.
- Do you remember the scandalous article about the airstrike on Daftani in Der Spiegel, which caused an international public outcry? - Immediately went to the case of Bruno.
“I can’t not to remember,” replied the oberst to Bruno's untimely question, which he thought was bothering him.
- So, - continued Bruno, - I think it would have been impossible for its author - correspondent Otto Greenberg to collect material without the help of the Taliban. I am more than confident that Greenberg has contacts with the Taliban.
- Sounds reasonable, oberleutenant, - the Oberst cheered up, - this card in the deck came in handy for us.
- May I go to MSF hospital and persuade him to use his contacts to find your son? - Bruno addressed.
- Of course, oberleutenant! Jung agreed. - I will be sincerely grateful to you!
Dressed in civilian clothes, Bruno was in the MSF hospital. He did not find Otto in the ward and, at the tip of the nurse on duty, found him in the hospital cafeteria.
- Otto! - Bruno asked, sitting down at the table during his meal. - Yesterday in Kunduz the Taliban shot two of our special forces and captured the son of Oberst Jung - Alfred.
“I heard about it,” Otto said sympathetically, “an unpleasant story.
- After the air strike on the village of Daftani, you went to the place and made a voluminous report ?! - continued Bruno.
- I am a journalist, this is my job! - Otto answered with pathos. - So what?!
“After all, this could not have been done without the assistance of the Taliban, right ?! - Bruno interrogated and, moving close to eating hot Otto, began to speak in silence. - Who, if not the Taliban, took you to the village, ensured your personal safety and provided you with the opportunity to shoot everything? - Bruno reasonably stated.
- Well, let's say, - Otto did not refuse.
“Please, Otto,” Bruno said, “raise your contacts, find out about the location of the younger Jung and the conditions for his release.
- I will not take it! - without thinking he rejected Otto's request. - Oberst Jung is responsible for the deaths of more than a hundred peaceful Afghans, I'm not even talking about the Taliban.
Bruno leaned back in his chair and, turning half-turned, looked desperately out of the window.
“By the way, the operation to free you in Halazai was carried out under the command of Oberst Jung, in which he lost two of his subordinates,” Bruno summed up emotively.
There was a pause.
 - Okay! Otto agreed reluctantly. - I'll try. But I warn you right away: I promise nothing!
- Thank you, Otto! - Bruno was heartily delighted, I was sure that you will not remain indifferent. While you are getting ready, I will run a short run to Sita and in 15 minutes I will be waiting for you at the exit.
In euphoria, Bruno left the dining room and went to look for Sita. During this time, Otto changed his clothes, called a taxi and, having called the translator Yahya Mukhadi, asked him to come to the teahouse of Yakub Khan. They moved together with Bruno there. The travel time flew by quickly. The taxi stopped on the opposite side of the road opposite the teahouse. Yakub Khan, as usual, stood at the entrance. Seeing Otto and a friend getting out of the taxi, he waved his hand in joy. They missed the signaling traffic and crossed the road. Yahya Muhadi also came to this minute.
- To Assalam Aleikum! Otto greeted.
In response, Yakub Khan nodded his head with a smile and put his hand to his heart. After Otto Greenberg's article in the world's largest publication with genuine coverage of the tragedy in Daftani, he became a man of his word for the Taliban and Yakub Khan. Yakub Khan also remembered the personal monetary reward from Otto for his connection with the Taliban. He accompanied the guests to the usual Otto trestle bed and, calling his son Zalmai, took their order.
- Yakub Khan! - turned to the owner of the teahouse, Otto, who was standing by the trestle bed. - You probably know that the Bundeswehr armored personnel carrier was attacked the other day in Kunduz? Two soldiers were killed and the son of Commander Jung from TF-47, a young man of 20 years old, was kidnapped ?!
Yahya Muhadi translated Otto's words. Yakub Khan nodded his head sympathetically. Otto continued:
- I have a request to you: contact Shamsutdin's people, they probably know who did it. We will transfer their terms to TF-47, - Otto nodded at the hitherto unknown Bruno, - I believe that the parties will be able to find a compromise.
“I can't promise anything,” Yakub Khan said cheerfully, “I propose to meet tomorrow at the same time. Perhaps I can clarify something.
The conversation was interrupted by the agile Zalmay, who brought the ordered dishes to the guests: a large cauldron of pilaf, lamb shashlik and hot cakes. They postponed the discussion and began their meal. Upon its completion, Otto called on Yahya Mukhadi to come to the teahouse at the specified time, and he himself, taking a taxi on the Kunduz circle, together with Bruno moved to the MSF hospital. Arriving at the place, he landed, and Bruno moved on. Bruno returned to the TF-47 base in the evening. First of all, he went to Oberst Jung and reported on the past and upcoming meeting with the Taliban representative. The next day, at the appointed hour, Otto, Bruno and Yahya Muhadi again arrived at the teahouse. At the entrance they were met by the eternally friendly Yakub Khan. They went into the hall and climbed onto the familiar trestle bed. Outraged, they saw how an old acquaintance of Otto and Yakhi Muhadi, the Taliban emissary Halfutdin, approached Yakub Khan. Yakub Khan accompanied him to the trestle-bed where the guests were sitting. Seeing an unfamiliar European, Halfutdin asked without polices:
- Who is it?!
Yakub Khan looked inquiringly at Otto, and he, through Muhadi's translation, explained:
“This is a Bundeswehr officer, Oberst Jung's commissioner.
Halfutdin looked at Bruno unkindly and demanded:
- Let him wait while we talk.
Muhadi translated the insistence, and Otto heeded him. In order to build a constructive conversation, he asked Bruno to wait over tea while he and Yahya talked with Halfutdin. At the suggestion of Yakub Khan, the four of them retired to the office. Bruno remained on the trestle bed and contemplated with curiosity the bustle of the street. “Once upon a time the streets of Kunduz amazed my Father with their archaism,” thought Bruno. Zalmai appeared worn out and deftly brought a teapot of green tea. Bruno poured it twice from the bowl back into the kettle and, half full, took a sip. While he was waiting for the end of the conversation between Otto and Halfutdin, a typical dark-skinned Afghan in a white turban and beige Peruhan came down from the trestle bed opposite. He came closer and, standing sideways, without taking his eyes off the door to the office, said in good Russian:
- I advise you to avoid personal involvement in the exchange of Jung's son for Taliban leaders. And one more thing: the Taliban know about your close relationship with Shamsuddin's niece, doctor at the MSF Doctors Without Borders hospital, Sita Ahmadzai. This is dangerous!
- Who you are?! - Bruno was amazed at the Russian speech.
The stranger missed the question and hurriedly went to Zalmay, who replaced father at the entrance, and, thrusting a bill into him on the way, disappeared into the stream of passers-by. Meanwhile, in a conversation in the office, Halfutdin reported:
- The son of Commander Jung is with Shamsutdin. The raid and abduction of an armored vehicle was the answer for the deaths of children in the village of Daftani. The young man is treated normally - they give him water and food.
- What are Shamsutdin's plans for him ?! Otto asked.
“He does not rule out the option of an exchange,” Halfutdin admitted borrowingly.
- Whom does he want in return ?! Otto asked.
- Shamsutdin is ready to exchange the son of Commander Jung for Mullah Abdul Rahman, captured in the Gundai village and five Taliban leaders from Kunduz, Baglan, Takhar and Badakhshan, arrested by TF-47! - brought the proposal of Shamsutdin Halfutdin. - The list of names is written here!
He handed Otto a folded sheet of paper and continued:
- The date and place where the exchange should be carried out is also indicated there.
Otto opened the crumpled sheet and saw the text in clumsy type in German. After the list of surnames and names of the Taliban, the date, time and place were written: a week later, at 6.00 am at the exit from the Kunduz-Baghlan highway in the wasteland of the outskirts of the city of Aliabad.
- The security of the exchange, - continued Halfutdin, - at the request of Shamsutdin must be guaranteed by your life and someone from Oberst Jung's close associates. You and someone else from Commander Jung will be taken hostage during the exchange. This is dictated by the fact that the exchange request came from you. In conclusion, I am instructed to convey that there is no need to take any steps to find the younger Jung! His life entirely depends on the will of Shamsutdin.
The conversation ended there. The four of them went out into the hall, Yakub Khan went to escort Halfutdin to the exit, and Otto and Yahya Mukhadi joined Bruno, and after retelling the conversation they began to drink tea.
- These are the conditions, Bruno! - summed up Otto, describing the demands of the Taliban.
- I think it is wrong to involve you in this business! - expressed the opinion of Bruno. - I and the officer from TF-47.
“The conditions in this case are set by the Taliban,” Otto recalled.
Bruno could not object to this. When he returned to the TF-47 location, he immediately went into Oberst Jung's office and recounted the conversation with Halfutdin in detail, giving him a sheet of paper with a list of Taliban, place and time of exchange. From there Bruno went to his cabin and, to distract himself a little, took out the book "The Great Game in Afghanistan" from the nightstand and began to read: .....

EXCHANGE ALFRED JUNG

It was early foggy morning. At the agreed time a taxi drove up to a vacant lot on the outskirts of the county center Aliabad, located south of Kunduz, from which Bruno Thevs and Otto Grinberg got off. They were immediately approached by three armed Taliban in accordance with the terms of exchange established by Shamsutdin. They tied their hands and eyes behind their backs and led them behind the nearest adobe buildings. Soon a column of five German armored vehicles appeared on the horizon: four ATF DINGO-2 armored cars with special forces groups, an armored MUNGO truck was driving in the middle. In his back was Mullah Abdul Rahman, with him five leaders of the Taliban movement and the guard of TF-47. The column gracefully left the track and stood waiting for Alfred Jung's approach. Oberst Georg Jung and two officers from the TF-47 high command dismounted from the head armored car. Special forces surrounded their commanders. The fog had already cleared by that time. Oberst Jung was tense. After a short time, three Afghans with radio stations drove up to the meeting place on two motorcycles. Their task was to identify the captured Taliban and report this to the commander.
Oberst Jung made a gesture to lower the awning on the MUNGO body so that the motorcyclists could be sure of the prisoners. They exchanged a few phrases among themselves and, reporting to their superiors by radio that everything was in order, they left. After a short period of time, Halfutdin came out to the wasteland because of the adobe building, where Bruno and Otto had been taken. Again, according to Shamsutdin's terms, he took Abdul Rahman and five prisoners of the Taliban with him. They disappeared behind the building, from where Alfred Jung immediately appeared. He was dressed in traditional Afghan clothing - brown Peruhan and beige pakol. He saw his father and, beaming with a smile, walked quickly towards him. Bruno and Otto walked sedately behind him, lagging behind. Suddenly, EC-665 Tiger HAP attack helicopters appeared in the sky and began to hit the buildings, behind which the Taliban had barely disappeared. Retaliatory fire from the buildings opened at helicopters and, at the same time, at Bruno and Otto. They bent down and started running, trying to leave the firing zone as soon as possible. But a long burst of machine-gun fire from the Taliban struck Otto in the back. His legs buckled and he fell. When Bruno ran up, Otto was still alive. He gathered his last strength and said with difficulty:
- You couldn't trust Jung!
Bruno called a special forces medic, but it was too late.