Hasan was born in Uruzgan Province in about 1963 and raised in poverty. He belonged to the Achakzai Pashtun tribe.[1] He attended a madrasa (Islamic seminary) in Quetta, Pakistan.[3] Hasan fought as a mujahideen during the Soviet–Afghan War. He lost one of his legs to a landmine[1] during a raid on a Soviet base[citation needed] in 1989 and had a wooden pegleg after that.[1][4]