Khost or Khowst (Pashto/Persian: خوست) is a city in eastern Afghanistan. The capital of Khost Province is Matoon. Khost is a mountainous region near Pakistan's border with neighboring North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Bannu in Pakistan. The population of Khost City is about 160,000 people and the whole province has around a million. There are various tribes living in Khost. Some main tribes are Zadran, Mangal, Zazi, Tani, Gurbaz, Muqbal, Sabari etc.
During the nine-year Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s, the town was besieged from July 1983 to November 1987. Khost Airfield, with its 9,000-foot (2,700 m) runway, served as a base for helicopter operations for the Soviet military.
American forces have used the Khost Airfield since as early as at least January 2007[citation needed] during the War in Afghanistan (2001–present) that commenced in October 2001.
Khost is the home of Khost University. The inhabitants of area are Pashto-speaking ethnic Pashtuns. Khost Mosque serves as the main mosque in the city.
View in Khost, Afghanistan
Khost is located about 150 kilometres south of Kabul and 100 kilometres southeast of Gardēz, in Khost Province in eastern Afghanistan. The town of Khost is located on a plateau of minimally 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) altitude that extends to the East for about 40 kilometres (25 mi) until the Bannu Pakistan border. 30 km to the North the peaks start up to 2,500 to 3,000 metres (8,200 to 9,800 ft) right next to the frontier, while 20 kilometres (12 mi) to the South, near the border, the average is around 1,800 m. The valley of Khost is closed to the west with a long mountain chain with peaks that go over 3,000 metres (9,800 ft). Through this runs for about 90 kilometres (56 mi) the road to Gardez, which is considered extremely dangerous due to the risk of ambush. So Taliban invaded Khost in 1995.
A business centre in the town centre under construction in 2007
Khost Mosque, which is the largest mosque in the city.
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