In the 1979 Soviet Operation Storm-333, the Soviet special force Spetnaz stormed the Tajbeg Palace and killed PDPA general secretary Hafizullah Amin. The death of Amin led to Babrak Karmal becoming the new Afghan leader and General Secretary of the PDPA. The Soviet-Afghan War followed the death of Amin, and Karmal was exiled to Prague in Czechoslovakia, where he assumed the role of Afghan ambassador.