The Afghan War:Taliban Still Raiding Provincial Capitals

Fifteen years after they were toppled from power in Afghanistan by US troops and their tribal allies,the Taliban militants,who facilitated the 9-11 attacks by harbouring al-Qaida terrorists, began an assault on Lashkar Gah,capital of Helmand Province in the country's south,early Monday morning with a car bombing that killed ten policemen and wounded four others.Afghan National Defence and Security Forces repulsed the raid,the Defence Ministry said,but more than 300 ANDSF commandos had to be deployed from Kabul and neighbouring provinces to mount a clearance operation in the oft-contested city where more than 100 US troops were specially deployed themselves in August to help prevent,or at least reverse,just such an occurrence.*
US enablers are in the area and will support as needed,a NATO spokesman said.Yesterday there were two airstrikes in Helmand.Both of those were in support of ANDSF.*
We have enough forces on the ground now,added Defence Ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish.Afghan Air Force and NATO's air support is also helping our forces.*
The Taliban have spent the current fighting season attacking a number of provincial capitals besides Lashkar Gah:Kunduz and Baghlan in the north;and Farah in the west as well.When finally driven out of a city,the Islamist extremists typically counterattack.In Kunduz,for example,the Taliban briefly controlled the city last year,but were driven away by ANDSF and NATO,only to lay siege to the city again-and again be forced out-a year later.On Tuesday,they also counterattacked in Farah and heavy clashes erupted.*
A number of Taliban raids have been focused on Lashkar Gah in the lead-up to Monday's foray.Roads from neighbouring districts have been heavily mined by the militants,who have full or at least effective control of nearly all of Helmand's 14 districts.*
Besides the Taliban,other Islamist extremists such as al-Qaida remnants and even the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,or ISIL,have to be combatted from time to time in the mountainous nation.

NATO Plans Steady Course in Afghanistan

The NATO Defence Ministers have decided to fund the Alliance's Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan until at least 2020.They will also maintain troops across Afghanistan,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg of Norway said.*
At the same time,the US is reviewing its plans to nearly cut its troop strength in half next year,in light of the Alliance's strong support for the Mission.*
Before the Defence Ministers' meeting,President Barack Obama has ordered greater use of US airpower against the Taliban militants,including close air support for the Afghan National Defence and Security forces.This is because the Taliban Islamist extremists have increased attacks of late mostly in the southern provinces of Helmand,Kandahar and Uruzgan;while also increasing their strikes in the northern city of Kunduz.*
The NATO combat mission in Afghanistan ended on 31 December 2014.Today its Resolute Support Mission includes counterterrorist operations by US troops;and training Afghan soldiers and police by both the US and its NATO Allies and partners,NATO said.The US share of Resolute Support is called Operation Freedom's Sentinel.*
Besides the Taliban,the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant has become a significant threat to Afghan security.On Saturday,ISIL militants stormed a police base in Eastern Afghanistan,killing at least six.Among those killed in Haska Mina District in Nangarhar Province were District police chief Shah Mahmood,as well as five policemen and 11 ISIL militants.

ISIL Threat To Afghanistan Grows

General John F. Campbell,US Army,commander of NATO and US forces in Afghanistan,is beginning to consider what his best military advice to the US Government will be with regard to US troop levels in Afghanistan.The current fighting season is halfway over,and the American military contingent of about 9800 personnel will be maintained through its remainder.US forces serve in both the NATO Operation Resolute Support train,advise and assist mission and the Operation Freedom's Sentinel counter-terrorism mission.*
Speaking to reporters during Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey's recent visit to Afghanistan and Iraq,General Campbell said we're taking a look at the state of the Afghan National Unity Government and the state of the Afghan Security Forces;also considering the set and basing of US forces and the state of the insurgency.
General Campbell voiced concern about the presence of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Afghanistan,describing it as a wrinkle in his deliberations.Late last year,he said,we first starting hearing about ISIL,and in the last six or seven months,there is a drumbeat that started to grow-particularly in Nangahar,Farah and Northern Helmand Provinces.ISIL and Taliban militants are contesting control of Nangahar.
We said the ISIL threat was nascent,the general reflected,but now I would say it is probably emergent.Afghan President Ashraf Ghani knows ISIL has the ability to move very quickly,and he wants to make sure he's putting systems and processes in place to build his capability.
Thirty to forty percent of the Taliban are not reconcilable,including the Haqqani Network.So what happens if the Taliban starts reconciling?Do these other guys go over to ISIL?That's an issue.Neither the Taliban nor ISIL are an existential threat to Afghanistan at this point.Could they become that down the road?I don't know,General John Campbell admitted to the journalists.*
President Ghani has expressed his wish that Afghanistan become the hub of a regional counter-terrorist network to Generals Dempsey and Campbell.