 The Soviet military began building an airfield near the village of Shindand in 1961 and made heavy use of the base during the 1980s Soviet–Afghan War.Control of the base was taken over from President Mohammad Najibullah by forces of the Islamic State of Afghanistan.They were forced to abandon the base in 1997 after the Taliban took over the country, and the runway sustained massive damage during bombing when coalition forces initially entered Afghanistan in 2002.