- Sputnik International
Asia
Find top stories and features from Asia and the Pacific region. Keep updated on major political stories and analyses from Asia and the Pacific. All you want to know about China, Japan, North and South Korea, India and Pakistan, Southeast Asia and Oceania.

Forever War: After 14 Years of US Combat in Afghanistan, Taliban Advances

© AP Photo / Rahmat GulTaliban fighters hold their heavy and light weapons before surrendering them to Afghan authorities in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. File photo
Taliban fighters hold their heavy and light weapons before surrendering them to Afghan authorities in Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan. File photo - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The killing of six American military personnel in Afghanistan by a suicide bomber Monday underscores a Pentagon report this month that calls the security situation "fragile" and writes of the Taliban's "resilience."

Nearly 14 years after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the United States earlier this year handed over the lead role in operations to the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). While 9,800 US troops remain in the country, they are reported to be serving strictly in a train-and-assist role. 

Pakistani Taliban patrol. - Sputnik International
Double Trouble: Taliban, Daesh Posing Massive Threat to Afghan Government

Since the ANDSF took the lead, the security situation in Afghanistan has "deteriorated," according to a Pentagon report "Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan," which noted "an increase in effective insurgent attacks and higher ANDSF and Taliban casualties."

On the battlefield, the performance of Afghan forces has been uneven. They do well to clear an area of Taliban, but struggle to hold the territory once it has been recaptured.

"They remain in a primarily defensive posture that limits their agility across the country," the Pentagon report said.

The following are among recent Taliban incursions, as compiled by the Washington Times:

The September invasion and capture of Kunduz, a city of 300,000 north of Kabul and a key trade route. The Taliban captured the police and governor’s headquarters. But Afghan special forces reorganized and quickly retook the town.

In this Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2015 photo, Afghan Taliban fighters listen to Mullah Mohammed Rasool, unseen, the newly-elected leader of a breakaway faction of the Taliban, in Farah province, Afghanistan - Sputnik International
World
Foreign Troops Not to Lift Burden of Fighting Taliban From Afghan Shoulders

An attack on the airport in Kandahar, birthplace of the Taliban movement. Afghan security forces eventually repelled the invaders but took heavy losses. It showed again that the Taliban can organize and spring surprise attacks.

The Taliban now control large sections of the Sangrin district, which, along with Kandahar, falls in the all-important Helmand province in southern Afghanistan.

The Taliban also claimed responsibility for the deaths of six Americans Monday by an assassin on a motorbike rigged with an improvised explosive device.

The six were Air Force personnel on a security patrol outside Bagram Air Base. Four were agents of the Office of Special Investigations. The other two were security personnel in the Air National Guard.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала