MAK and foreign "mujahideen" volunteers, or "Afghan Arabs", did not play a major role in the war. While over 250,000 Afghan "mujahideen" fought the Soviets and the communist Afghan government, it is estimated that there were never more than 2,000 foreign "mujahideen" on the field at any one time. Nonetheless, foreign "mujahideen" volunteers came from 43 countries, and the total number that participated in the Afghan movement between 1982 and 1992 is reported to have been 35,000. Bin Laden played a central role in organizing training camps for the foreign Muslim volunteers.