«IN THE CIRCLE OF KUNDUZ» Page #4

Oberst Jung pushed a folder of documents towards Bruno. Bruno did not hesitate to start reading.

BRUNO:

"I, Moulawi Shamsutdin, the leader of the Taliban movement in Kunduz province, order the detachments under my control to attack the columns of German trucks in order to seize large-capacity trucks. We will stuff them with explosives and, by means of a suicide driver who will break through the security cordons, we will send them inside the Bundeswehr garrison in Kunduz, to the places of concentration of the German military, their living quarters. We'll blow them up there! The attack on the garrison will be continued by small arms and grenade launcher fire of our mobile groups that invaded after them."

22. NAT. KUNDUZ–BAGHLAN HIGHWAY — DAY.

TITLE:
KUNDUZ–BAGHLAN HIGHWAY, ALIABAD DISTRICT.

On the highway near Kunduz, from both sides of the road, the Taliban launch an armed attack on the Bundeswehr convoy. Grenade launchers were the first to hit the head and tail of the column, igniting the first and last cars of escort. Intense shooting can be heard.

Bruno and his group on armored personnel carriers are cut off from other vehicles by heavy fire. The special forces dismount and engage in battle.

One of the commandos is wounded in the neck, blood is gushing from the wound.

Bruno, under fire, quickly crawls up to the commando, grabs his ammunition and hurriedly drags him to shelter.

Bruno gives the commando an injection of the painkiller promedol, bandages the wound.

The Taliban capture two large-tonnage 50-ton tankers filled to capacity with diesel fuel. The Taliban shoot the drivers of the tankers and dump their bodies in a ditch. The Taliban hijack tankers from a busy highway to a country road in the direction of the nearest village.

23. INT. OBERST JUNG'S OFFICE — NATURAL LIGHTING.

TITLE:
TF-47 HEADQUARTERS. OBERST JUNG'S OFFICE

Bruno, in a dusty military uniform, with a dirty face, enters the office of Oberst Jung.

BRUNO:

(to Oberst Jung)

Mr. Oberst, the Taliban attacked our convoy on the Kunduz-Baghlan highway. Part of the equipment was burned; the drivers were killed and there are wounded. Two large-capacity trucks full of fuel were stolen in an unknown direction. The attack confirmed the authenticity of the intelligence information. A wounded Taliban who took part in the attack on the convoy was detained in hot pursuit. According to his testimony, the organizers of the attack were identified, and they were taken into operational investigation.

OBERST JUNG:

(to Bruno)

Ober-lieutenant! Urgently send a request to the headquarters of the North group in Mazar-I-Sharif for aerial photography of the area. It is necessary to establish the location of the stolen equipment!

BRUNO:

(in a statutory tone)

Yes, Mr. Oberst!

24. NAT. KUNDUZ–BAGHLAN HIGHWAY — DAY.

When crossing the rapidly flowing narrow river Kunduz-dara, the tankers get stuck in the gravel-sand soil. The Taliban brought two Soviet tractors "Belarus" with cables from the nearest village of Omar Kheyl to pull out the tankers.

The Taliban want to empty the tanks and invited local residents to replenish their personal supplies of diesel fuel. A long queue of local farmers with cans and other containers has accumulated near the tanks.

25. INT. OBERST JUNG'S OFFICE — NATURAL LIGHTING.

Bruno, in his field uniform, knocks on Oberst Jung's office.

BRUNO:

May I come in, Mr. Oberst?

OBERST JUNG:

Come in, Ober-lieutenant!

What news?!

BRUNO:

(briskly)

We have received pictures from the location of the tankers. They got stuck in the sandy soil of the mouth of the Kunduz-dara River near the village of Omar Kheyl in Chahar-dara county.

(passes the pictures)

See, here they are. The equipment is surrounded by a crowd of civilians.

OBERST JUNG:

(in a commanding tone)

Urgently send this to the aviation support headquarters, let them immediately strike at their location!

Bruno is slightly taken aback.

BRUNO:

But there are civilians there, Herr Oberst! There will be great sacrifices!

OBERST JUNG:

(dissatisfied, in a strict tone)

What kind of sentimentality

Ober-lieutenant! There's a war here!

(pause)

You seem to have forgotten what happened to your father?!

(disgustedly)

Bruno takes the photographs and leaves Oberst Jung's office.

26. NAT. MOUNTAIN VILLAGE — DAY.

TITLE:
HOST-VA-FERENG, AFGHANISTAN.

A small adobe house on the outskirts of an Afghan village, three people are sitting on a carpet in the courtyard in front of the entrance to the dwelling, recording interviews. The interviewee is a former mujahid of the Afghan War (1979-1989), one—armed ISMATULLAH.

The interviewer, reporter OTTO Greenberg, holds a voice recorder and microphone in different hands and asks Ismatullah questions.

An Afghan translator from Dari and Pashto, SULTAN MUHADI, translates Otto's questions to Ismatullah and simultaneously records the interview on a video camera.

ISMATULLAH:

(with importance)

I fought in the detachment of the field commander Kazi Kabir Marzban, an associate of Ahmad Shah Massoud.

(pause)

I will tell you the story of a dramatic battle in the mountain range of Mugulan, Cholbahir and Tali Gobang in June 1986. Our detachment inflicted significant damage to Soviet landing groups landed by helicopters at the heights closest to our positions. It so happened that our firing points were above the Shuravi landing site. This gave us a significant advantage in battle. For several hours we methodically hit them with fire. Despite their difficult situation, the Shuravi fought stoutly. At the place where the Shuravi stacked their dead and wounded, under boulders, I found this.

Ismatulla hands Otto a notebook stained with dried blood and two photographs enclosed in it.

ISMATULLAH:

They belonged to a Soviet soldier.

Otto opened a brown leather notebook with sticky pages, took out two photographs. On one, a beautiful girl, on the other – against the background of a Soviet combat helicopter, six comrades were standing in an embrace. Both photos are signed in Russian.

27. NAT. YAKUB KHAN'S TEAHOUSE — DAY.

TITLE:
KUNDUZ. YAKUB KHAN'S TEAHOUSE.

Otto takes a taxi to the teahouse on the "Kunduz circle", the central square of Kunduz with a lot of shops, doucans, eateries and service points.

YAKUB KHAN sees Otto at the entrance, breaks into a smile, fervently puts his palm to his heart, offers to enter with a wave of his hand.

28. INT. YAKUB KHAN'S TEAHOUSE — DAY.

Otto, entering the teahouse, loudly greets the visitors sitting inside — AsSalamu alaikum!

Otto makes an order to Yakub Khan on the move, follows him to the back of the hall. There he chooses a corner couch under the cooling air conditioner, takes off his shoes, climbs onto the couch covered with a felt mat, stretches his legs. Otto is very tired.

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