The 203 Mansoori Corps is one of the eight corps of the Islamic Emirate Army established in October 2021 and headquartered in Gardez. The current Chief of Staff is Maulvi Hezbollah Afghan. In December 2021, 450 soldiers after completing military training graduated from the 203 Mansoori Corps headquarters in Paktia province. The corps includes of the 2nd and 3rd Border Brigade each consists of hundreds of security personnel.
203rd Corps patch
The Islamic National Army, also referred to as the Islamic Emirate Army and the Afghan Army, is the land force branch of the Afghan Armed Forces. The roots of an army in Afghanistan can be traced back to the early 18th century when the Hotak dynasty was established in Kandahar followed by Ahmad Shah Durrani's rise to power. It was reorganized in 1880 during Emir Abdur Rahman Khan's reign. Afghanistan remained neutral during the First and Second World Wars. From the 1960s to the early 1990s, the Afghan Army was equipped by the Soviet Union.
Afghan royal soldiers of the Durrani Empire
Afghan infantry soldier in 1890
Afghan Army soldiers in the 1950s, wearing the iconic Stahlhelm
Royal Afghan Army soldier poses for the cover of a magazine in 1969