 This motorized rifle battalion had been formed in the USSR earlier in 1979 at the specific request of the Afghan President to guard his residence as he could not rely on Afghan troops.These support troops were not issued armor or helmets, but one of them recalls that a magazine tucked inside his clothes protected him from an SMG bullet.The assault on the Tajbeg Palace, where President Amin was in residence with his family at the suggestion of his KGB security advisers, took place around 7 p.m. on 27 December 1979.