To the Mountains: My Life in Jihad, from Algeria to Afghanistan
Abdullah Anas and Tam Hussein, Hurst, £15.99

ALGERIAN Boudjema Bounoua, who adopted the nom de guerre Abdullah Anas, recounts his experiences fighting against the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s alongside fellow Mujaheddin. Anas’s account is written in English with support from investigative journalist Tam Hussein. 

Born in the late 1950s, during the Algerian war of independence, Anas relates how the experiences of his family and fellow compatriots, alongside a religious education, fashioned him into both an anti-colonialist and a devout Muslim. Later as a young man Anas answered the call of Jihad after a group of Islamic scholars issued a fatwa calling upon Muslims to expel the Soviets from Afghanistan. 

During his time as a mujahid throughout the 1980s Anas rubbed shoulders with numerous fighters and commanders who would later shape Aghanistan’s future or become infamous on the global stage. These included the elusive Che Guevara-like guerilla fighter and future Afghan Defence Minister Ahmad Shah Massoud, future Afghan Prime Minister Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, as well Osama bin Laden and other individuals who would later form al-Qaida.