Who were the Mujaheddin?

The Mujaheddin are a tribal guerrilla army in Afghanistan best known for defeating the Russian occupation force. Mujahideen (an Arabic word) refers to any person performing Jihad. The Mujaheddin began in the 1829 when a mountainous sect fought against British control of the area. A religious man, Sayyid Ahmed Shah Brelwi, is given credit for starting the group that were originally known as Sitana Fanatics. The Russians engaged in a brutal occupation for 9 years but were forced to leave by the Mujaheddin in 1989. The U.S. aided the Mujaheddin with supplies, most notably was the Stinger (shoulder fired) Missile. The Stinger Missile proved to be a game changer as it was deadly effective against Russian attack helicopters. Osama Bin Laden got his start fighting with the Mujaheddin in Afghanistan. Later Bin Laden became the world's most notorious Islamic terrorist, and he formed the Al-Qaeda terrorist network.