Afganistan

[John Hilly]

US confirms Mansour killed, vows no change in combat strategy

Vehicle said to be carrying Taliban emir Mullah Mansour when he was killed in a drone strike on May 21 in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan. (Associated Press photo)

The White House confirmed the death of Taliban emir Mullah Mansour today, two days after the US said it targeted the group’s leader in an unprecedented airstrike in southwestern Pakistan’s Baluchistan province.

President Obama called Mansour’s death an “important milestone” in a statement from Vietnam, adding that the Taliban should “seize the opportunity” and join peace talks with Afghanistan.

But the likely successor to Mansour, Sirajuddin Haqqani – of the al Qaeda-linked Haqqani Network – is even more unlikely than his predecessor to negotiate a peace agreement.

“Mansour rejected efforts by the Afghan government to seriously engage in peace talks and end the violence that has taken the lives of countless innocent Afghan men, women and children,” President Obama said in the statement. “The Taliban should seize the opportunity to pursue the only real path for ending this long conflict – joining the Afghan government in a reconciliation process that leads to lasting peace and stability.”

President Obama later vowed in a press conference with reporters in Vietnam that the US is “not re-entering the day-to-day combat missions that are currently being conducted by Afghanistan forces.”

“This does not represent a shift in our approach,” President Obama said, according to The Los Angeles Times.

The Taliban has yet to officially confirm Mansour’s death. However the Quetta Shura, the Taliban’s executive decision making council, is said to be meeting to choose his successor. According to Reuters, Siraj Haqqani and Mullah Yacoub, a son of Mullah Omar, are believed to be the front runners to replace Mansour.

Yesterday, the National Directorate of Intelligence, Afghanistan’s intelligence service, said that it confirmed that Mansour was indeed killed in an airstrike in Baluchistan in Pakistan.

The May 21 drone strike which killed Mansour was the first by the US in the Pakistani province of Baluchistan, where the Taliban’s top leadership had been known to setup shop in Quetta. Previously, the US military almost exclusively limited drone strikes to Pakistan’s tribal agencies. According to data compiled by The Long War Journal, May 21 marked the first of 391 drone strikes conducted outside of North or South Waziristan.

Since Mansour was believed to be operating under the auspices and protection of Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, the attack raises questions whether the US was operating in conjunction or on a tip from Pakistani intelligence, or without Pakistani permission. The US has conducted multiple airstrikes against al Qaeda, the Taliban, and a host of allied jihadist groups inside Pakistan, many without the permission of the Pakistani government. The Pakistani government has evenissued formal condemnations of airstrikes that have killed senior jihadists via its Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a formal statement protesting the strike that targeted Mansour while acknowledging that the US informed Pakistan’s prime minister and top military leader after the attack took place.

“This information was shared with the Prime Minister and the Chief of Army Staff after the drone strike,” according to a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Pakistan wishes to once again state that the drone attack was a violation of its sovereignty, an issue which has been raised with the United States in the past as well,” the statement said.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))

 

[John Hilly]

USA:n ulkoministeriöllä vaikeuksia tunnustaa, että Mansour tapettiin Pakistanin alueella.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...mullah-mansour-was-killed-inside-pakistan.php

State Department refuses to admit that Mullah Mansour was killed inside Pakistan

In a State Department press briefing that took place yesterday, spokesman Mark Toner refused to admit that the drone strike that killed Taliban emir Mullah Mansour actually took place in Pakistan. Toner originally suggested that he had no idea where the strike took place. Instead, he said that he doesn’t “have any more clarity of where the actual strike took place,” and maintained that it was “in that border region. I just can’t say on which side of the border it was.”

The full text of the exchange between Toner and the reporter is reproduced below. Kudos to the reporter who doggedly followed up the answers and exposed just how silly Toner’s statement was by asking if State Department knew where the strike occurred.

“So you don’t know where you targeted him? You just guessed? I mean, how could you fire something out of the sky and blow something up and kill people and not know what country it’s in? Come on,” the reporter asked.

“You check these things before you fire, usually, right?,” the reporter responded to Toner’s obvious attempt to deflect the question.

Of course the US military and State Department know the exact geographical location of the strike. Toner also knows this as well (it is why he changes his tune and later states “what we’re willing to share is that it was in — the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region”).

Fifteen years after 9/11, the US government refuses to tackle the Pakistan problem head on, and insists on dancing around the issue of Taliban sanctuaries, training camps, and madrassa inside Pakistan (with Pakistani military and Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate support), despite the fact that thousands of US and NATO soldiers have been killed by the very same Taliban in Afghanistan. So what we get is absurd attempts by State Department to obfuscate the Pakistan problem.

The exchange from Mark Toner’s press briefing:

QUESTION: One more. You said that – when he mentioned Pakistan’s complaints about violation of sovereignty, you said it happened in the Af-Pak border region.

MR TONER: Yeah.

QUESTION: Are you denying that it happened on Pakistani territory?

MR TONER: I don’t have any more clarity of where the actual strike took place. What I can say was in that border region. I just can’t say on which side of the border it was.

QUESTION: So you don’t know if – so are you doubting the claim from Pakistan that it was in their territory?

MR TONER: I’m not going to speak – I mean, the Pakistani Government is able to speak on behalf of itself. I’m not going to doubt its claim. I’m just saying the information that we have right – are able to share.

QUESTION: But this was a – this is a —

QUESTION: So you don’t know where you targeted him? You just guessed? I mean, how could you fire something out of the sky and blow something up and kill people and not know what country it’s in? Come on.

MR TONER: I understand what – your question, Brad. All I’m saying is what we’re able – I said what we’re willing to share is that it was in —

QUESTION: You check these things before you fire, usually, right?

MR TONER: — the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. We certainly do.

 

[miheikki]

Maassa maan tavalla.

ULKOMAAT 08:34 Päivitetty: 08:37 http://www.ess.fi/uutiset/ulkomaat/art2279294
Taleban lähettää poikia seksiorjiksi tappaakseen Afganistanin poliiseja
Etelä-Afganistanissa Taleban-kapinalliset käyttävät nuoria poikia Troijan hevosina lähettämällä heitä seksiorjiksi Afganistanin poliiseille.

Pojat pääsevät tarkastuspisteiden läpi ja tappavat poliiseja esimerkiksi myrkyttämällä.

Poikia on käytetty noin kahden vuoden ajan iskuissa, jotka ovat alueen turvallisuusviranomaisten mukaan tappaneet satoja poliiseja.

Nuorien poikien värvääminen poliisien seksiorjiksi on ollut tapana Afganistanin eteläosissa jo pitkään.

 

[Bushmaster]

Maassa maan tavalla.

"Afgan style honey trap...little young boy" kertoo muuten paljon siitä kulttuurista ja se miksi "kotoutuminen" tuottaa ongelmia...

 

[Coffee Man]

Yhdysvaltain viranomaiset kertoivat perjantaina, että poliisien ampumisesta epäilty mies oli nimeltään Micah Xavier Johnson. 25-vuotias Johnson asui Mesquitessa Dallasin alueella äitinsä kanssa. Hänellä ei tiedetty olleen rikostaustaa tai yhteyksiä terroristiryhmiin.

http://www.iltasanomat.fi/ulkomaat/art-2000001216440.html

Yhdysvaltain armeija vahvisti, että Johnsonilla oli sotilaskoulutus. Hän oli palvellut korpraalina Yhdysvaltain armeijan reservijoukoissa huhtikuuhun 2015 saakka. Johnson oli myös ollut komennuksella Afganistanin sodassa marraskuusta 2013 heinäkuuhun 2014.

 

[John Hilly]

US kills Pakistani Taliban commander behind attacks on schools

Khalifa Umar Mansour, who leads the Tariq Gidar Group (TGG), as seen in Taliban propaganda. Image from Dawn.The US killed Khalifa Umar Mansour, the commander of the Tariq Gidar Group (TGG) who was responsible for attacks on Pakistani schools, in an airstrike in Afghanistan. The US listed the Tariq Gidar Group as a terrorist organization less than two months ago.

News of Mansour’s death was released by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Public Relations directorate, or ISPR.

“Commander Resolute support Mission called #COAS [Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Raheel Sharif], confirmed death of terrorist Umar Narai alias Khalifa Umar, also alias Khalid Khurasani through drone strike in Afghanistan,” the ISPR posted on its official website. General Asim Bajwa, the head of the ISPR, tweeted a similar statement on his official Twitter account.

The exact date and location of the airstrike that killed Mansour was not disclosed. He is thought to have operated in the eastern Afghan provinces of Nangarhar and Kunar.

Pakistan often accuses Afghanistan of sheltering commanders from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan (TTP). The US has killed several TTP leaders in airstrikes inside Afghanistan. However, the TTP operates in areas that are out of the control of the Afghan government.

Mansour led the TTP’s forces in the districts of Peshawar and Darra Adam Khel. He is responsible for numerous deadly assaults in Pakistan’s northwest.

He is best known for two brutal attacks on schools in northwestern Pakistan: the December 2014 attackon a military high school in Peshawar that killed more than 141 people, mostly students; and the January 2016 suicide assault on a university in Charsadda that killed more than 20 students and faculty.

Mansour gloated about the 2014 Peshawar assault in a videotape released by the TTP. The attack galvanized the Pakistani military to ferret out the TTP in Pakistan’s lawless tribal agency of North Waziristan. While the military targeted the TTP and other groups that attack the state, it left groups such as the Haqqani Network and the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group unscathed. These groups do not advocate attacks against the Pakistani state, but still provide shelter and support for the TTP and groups such as al Qaeda.

He also is responsible for the September 2015 suicide assault on the Pakistani Air Force camp in Badabair.

Mansour’s Tariq Gidar Group was listed by the US State Department as a terrorist organization on May 23, 2016.

According to State, the TGG was responsible for “the 2008 kidnapping and beheading of Polish geologist Piotr Stanczak in Attock, Pakistan.” According to reports, a Taliban commander known as Zakir Mehsud was responsible for kidnapping Stanczak. Fighters loyal to Qari Hussain Mehsud, the former head of the TTP’s suicide teams, beheaded Stanczak.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))

 

[miheikki]

Taitaa jenkkien Spray and pray jäädä toiseksi.

Sampo Kyyrö

• 21.7. klo 19:41 http://www.tekniikkatalous.fi/talou...ttavat-aseet-tyhjaksi-lisatienistiksi-6568102

Sotilaat ja poliisit vaihtavat hylsyjä rahaksi – Tulittavat aseet tyhjäksi lisätienistiksi

Romumetallikauppias Zahir Jan maksaa käytettyjen ammusten hylsyistä noin 2,3 euroa kilolta.

Afganistanin Helmandin maakunnassa toimivalla Janilla ei ole puutetta hylsyistä huonopalkkaisten poliisien ja sotilaiden etsiessä lisätuloja.

Jan kertoo, että mikäli hylsyjä myymään tulleilla henkilöillä ei ole mukanaan tarpeeksi hylsyjä, ovat he valmiita ampumaan aseillaan 5-10 minuutin ajan tarvittavan määrän tuottamiseksi.


Janin mukaan liiketoiminta luistaa ja romumetallin ostajia odottaa eri alueilla.

Nimettömänä pysyttelevä vanhempi afganistanilaisupseeri kertoo, että Helmandin ja Qunduzin alueiden joukot ampuivat pelkästään toukokuussa 7 000 tykistökranaattia.

Upseerin mukaan ammuttujen kranaattien määrään suhteessa pieneen uhrilukuun osoittaa, että tykistö ampuu kranaatteja päämäärättömästi ja kerää tämän jälkeen hylsyt myytäväksi.

Niin ikään nimettömänä pysyttelevä, Helmandiin kuusi kuukautta saapunut komentaja taas arvioi, että 80 prosenttia sotilaista myy hylsyjä eteenpäin. Hän kertoi syyn johtuvan sotilaiden huonosta palkasta sekä siitä, ettei armeijalla ole kunnollista logistiikkajärjestelmää.

Monet afganistanilaissotilaat palvelevat useita kuukausia tai jopa vuosia ilman lomia ja tienaavat noin 180 euroa kuussa. Päällystön on myös kerrottu varastaneen sotilaiden palkkarahoja tai vaatineen maksua vapaalle pääsystä.

Yhdysvallat käytti viime vuonna Afghanistan Security Forces Fund -rahastostaan yli 300 miljoonaa dollaria eli yli 270 miljoonaa euroa ammusten hankkimiseen Afganistanin poliisin ja armeijan käyttöön.

 

[John Hilly]

Taliban seizes district in northern Afghanistan
By Bill Roggio | July 21, 2016 | [email protected] | @billroggio
The Taliban took control of the district of Qala-i-Zal in Kunduz province after an operation the put Afghan forces under siege, Afghan officials and the Taliban confirmed. The district is the latest to fall under Taliban control.

Asadullah Omarkhil, the governor of the northern province of Kunduz, said that the security forces lost the district to the Taliban on July 20.

“Most parts of Qala-i-Zal are in the hands of the Taliban but our military operations continue there to re-take control of the district,” Omarkhil told TOLONews.

The Taliban touted the operation to retake Qala-i-Zal on its official website, Voice of Jihad. “Officials reporting from northern Kunduz province say that Qala Zal district which was under the tight siege of Mujahideen for the past 3 days has now (late afternoon hours) completely fallen under the control of Islamic Emirate,” the Taliban reported on July 20.

“The latest round of clashes in which the district administration building, police HQ, municipality and all the remaining check posts fell to the Mujahideen has left 8 hirelings dead and 15 others wounded,” it continued. The Taliban also claimed it captured “a sizable amount of arms and military equipment” as well as vehicles during the operation.

Kunduz province has been the scene of heavy fighting during the past year, and all seven of the districts in Kunduz are either controlled or contested by the Taliban. In September 2015, the Taliban overran Kunduz City and held it for two weeks before US-led Afghan forces regained control of the provincial capital.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/07/taliban-seizes-district-in-northern-afghanistan.php

 

[John Hilly]

Taliban kiistää ehdottomasti osuutensa

Islamic State claims suicide bombings at Kabul protest
BY BILL ROGGIO | July 23, 2016 | [email protected] | @billroggio

The Islamic State claimed credit for a double suicide attack today in Kabul that killed more than 60 people, wounded at least 200 more and caused much of the city to be shut down.

The Islamic State’s suicide bombers detonated their explosives as Afghan Hazara, an ethnic Shia minority, gathered to protest in the capital. The Hazara were demonstrating to influence the government to allow an electric power line project to pass through Bamayan province.

The Islamic State claimed credit for the deadly Kabul bombings on its semi-official Amaq News Agency. According to Amaq, two “fighters of the Islamic State” executed the attack on the protesters.

The Taliban, via one of its official spokesmen, Zabihullah Mujahid, quickly denied any involvement for the Kabul bombings.

“The Mujaheedin [Taliban] does not have anything to do with today’s attack in Kabul,” Mujahid said on his Twitter account immediately after the bombings. He claimed the “enemies of Afghanistan” were responsible, likely a reference to the Islamic State. The Taliban and the Islamic State have been at odds since the latter group established its “Khorasan province” in 2014. The group is comprised of disaffected commanders from the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban.

While the Islamic State has experienced difficulty establishing a significant presence in Afghanistan – and has lost ground in areas such as Helmand, Zabul, and Farah – it still has a foothold in the eastern province of Nangarhar, where it fights both the Taliban and Afghan forces. The Islamic State likely is using this position of strength in Nangarhar to launch attacks into the capital. Additionally, the group may be leveraging legacy networks from the greatly weakened Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, a portion of which defected to the Islamic State.

The Islamic State has not shied away from directly targeting Hazaras. In February 2015, it kidnapped 30 Hazara men in Zabul. Later that year, seven Hazara, including children, were beheaded by the Islamic State.

The rise of the Islamic State as well as the resurgence of the Taliban has led to the rise of militias in the Afghan north. Hazara make up a component of the “Marg,” or Death Militia in northern Afghanistan. [See LWJ report, Afghan ‘Death’ militia emerges, vows to fight Islamic State, Taliban.]

While the Islamic State has used its suicide bombers in the capital to hit soft targets such as political demonstrations, the Taliban has targeted Afghan security personnel and foreign workers. The Taliban’s last major attack in Kabul, on June 30, targeted a convoy of police cadets and killed more than two dozen police and first responders. On June 20, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked a bus carrying individuals who worked at the Canadian embassy, and killed 23 people, including 14 Nepali security guards. A suicide assault team also struck a security headquarters in the heart of the city on April 19, killing at least 60 people and wounding more than 300.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))

 

[John Hilly]

Video iskusta linkissä

http://www.jerusalemonline.com/news...ne&utm_campaign=EveningNewsletter+-+Recurring

ISIS terrorists hit Kabul, Afghanistan: 61 murdered, 207 injured
Two ISIS terrorists blew themselves up during a protest conducted by the Hazara minority in Kabul, Afghanistan, murdering 61 people and injuring at least 207 more. The Afghan government claimed that it warned the demonstration organizers about a terror threat prior to the march.

 

[VanhaPate]

Elämysmatkailijoita vai jotain ihan muuta kuin turisteja?

Tourists injured in Afghanistan rocket attack
By Euan McKirdy and Masoud Popalzai, CNN

Updated 0953 GMT (1753 HKT) August 4, 2016

(CNN) Six tourists traveling in Herat province in the west of Afghanistan were injured Thursday when a rocket struck the vans they were traveling in, according to Afghan Army spokesman Najibullah Najibi. An Afghan driver was also wounded in the attack.

Jilani Farhad, a spokesman for the governor of western Herat province, added that the tourists were from the United States, Britain and Germany.

The injured were among a party of 11 tourists riding in two vans when the rocket struck. They were traveling through Herat's Chest-e-Sharif district, district chief Farhad Khademi told CNN. The convoy was accompanied by Afghan Security Force vehicles, he added.

The group was around 25 km (16 miles) from the province's administrative center.

The incident happened around 11 a.m. local time (2.30 a.m. ET).

The tourists began their journey in central Bamyan province and traveled through Ghor province, before entering Herat.
Many countries, including the U.S. and UK, have longstanding travel advisories warning against all but essential travel to Afghanistan due to the security situation throughout the country.

In 2014, two foreign aid workers working for the International Assistance Mission were killed in the city of Herat.

http://edition.cnn.com/2016/08/04/middleeast/tourists-injured-afghanistan/index.html

 

[VanhaPate]

Taisivat sittenkin olla oikeita turisteja.

Guardianin mukaan ryhmän matkanjärjestäjä on brittiläinen Hinterland Travel, joka on erikoistunut Afganistanin- ja Irakin-matkoihin.

http://www.ksml.fi/ulkomaat/Hyökkäy.../812098?pwbi=02d63ced0cd9673b78a67a2e00c40e21

Welcome to the Hinterland World of Adventure and Overland Travel
Adventure Travel principally in Afghanistan and Iraq, also in Pakistan and India (Kashmir)

Hinterland Travel is a specialist adventure holiday and travel company, founded on over 40 years of overland adventure travel experiences by Geoff Hann, its owner and managing director. We provide tours in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, India (notably Kashmir).

http://www.hinterlandtravel.com

 

[John Hilly]

US military confirms air strike killed Islamic State’s emir for Khorasan province

The US military announced yesterday that it killed Hafiz Saeed Khan, the Islamic State’s emir for Khorasan province, in an airstrike in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar three weeks ago. The announcement confirms a report earlier this week by the commander for Afghan Army forces in Nangarhar, who stated that Khan was killed during an operation in Nangarhar’s Achin district.

The US military press release noted that Khan was killed in an airstrike in Nangarhar on July 26. The strike was part of a joint operation by “US and Afghan Special Operations Forces” which specifically targeted the Islamic State Khorasan province during the month of July.

Khan led the Islamic State’s Khorasan province, which is comprised of fighters from Afghanistan and Pakistan, since the group was officially formed in January 2015. Before defecting to the Islamic State in 2014, Khan served as a mid-level commander in the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan for the Arakzai tribal agency. He and a number of disaffected Pakistani and Afghan Taliban commanders formed Khorasan province and swore allegiance to Islamic State emir Abu Bakr al Baghdadi. [See LWJ report,Discord dissolves Pakistani Taliban coalition.]

“Khan was known to directly participate in attacks against US and coalition forces, and the actions of his network terrorized Afghans, especially in Nangarhar,” the US military stated in its press release announcing his death.

Khan and his followers were so violent in Nangarhar that he even alienated Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost, a former Guantanamo Bay detainee who served as an unofficial spokesman for Khorasan province. Dost, who enthusiastically joined the Islamic State, later abandoned the group after accusing Khorasan province of conducting acts of wanton violence against civilians in his home province of Nangarhar.

The US military described Nangarhar province as “a hotbed for ISIL-Khorasan activity since the summer of 2015.” They claimed that Khan’s death and the operation in Nangarhar will hurt the group’s operations in Afghanistan.

“ISIL-K uses the area to train, equip, disseminate and control fighter pipelines, providing ISIL-K commanders throughout Afghanistan with a continuous supply of enemy fighters from this province,” the military said. “Khan’s death affects ISIL-K recruiting efforts and will disrupt ISIL-K’s operations in Afghanistan and the region.”

Since the US military began targeting the Islamic State’s leadership in Afghanistan in 2014, it has killed its emir, deputy emir (Mullah Abdul Rauf Khadim), mufti or senior religious scholar (Jalaluddin), and spokesman (Shahidullah Shahid).

However, it appears unlikely the removal of key leadership has impacted the Islamic State’s operations.

If the Khorasan province becomes isolated and weakened in Afghanistan and Pakistan, it will be more likely due to the fact that the group alienates other jihadist organizations. Since it was founded, Khorasan province declared war on the Afghan Taliban, and was defeated in Farah, Helmand, and Nangarhar. Even the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan, which shares some of the Islamic State’s more radical views on the use of violence against civilians, has denounced the Islamic State’s “false caliphate.” The Turkistan Islamic Party, another al Qaeda and Taliban ally, have also criticized the Islamic State’s “illegitimate” caliphate.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archi...alSiteWide+(The+Long+War+Journal+(Site-Wide))

 

[John Hilly]

Taliban hyökkää eri puolella Afganistania

Taliban presses offensive in multiple provinces

The Taliban is sustaining offensive operations throughout Afghanistan as Afghan security forces, backed by US airpower and special forces, continue to struggle with containing the jihadist group.

As the Taliban continues to press Afghan forces in the southern province of Helmand and has effectively laid siege to its capital, Lashkar Gah, the group is assaulting districts in the Afghan north. One district in Baghlan has fell under Taliban control, and another in Nuristan has changed hands several several times

The Taliban claimed yesterday that Dahana-i-Ghuri district in Baghlan province fell “after a three-day long siege,” according to a statement released on Voice of Jihad. “Mujahideen have seized a large number of the combat posts and 4 bases, leaving dozens of the enemy soldiers dead and wounded over the last three days. Similarly, 33 puppets including soldiers of ANA [Afghan National Army], Arbakis [local militias] and police have been taken prisoner through this period of time.”

In the same statement, the Taliban also claimed to seize “control of the district of Want Waygal and 11 combat posts” in Nuristan province.

A member of the provincial capital of Baghlan confirmed that Dahana-i-Ghuri is under Taliban control, Khaama Press reported. Afghan officials claimed to have repelled the Taliban attack, which was supported by “Arabs, and other foreign insurgents,” Pajhwok Afghan News reported. The “Arabs” and “other foreign insurgents” is likely a reference to al Qaeda and Taliban fighters from Pakistan. The Haqqani Network, which is closely allied to al Qaeda, operates in Jani Khel and Paktia.

In addition to the fighting in the north, the district of Jani Khel in Paktia province in eastern Afghanistan is “on the verge of collapse,” TOLONews reported. “The clashes are still ongoing two kilometers from the center of Janikhel. If supporting troops are not sent into Janikhel as soon as possible, the district will fall into the hands of the Taliban,” the district governor told the Afghan news agency on Aug. 10.

In western Afghanistan, the Taliban laid siege to Pusht Rod district in Farah province, according to reports from Afghanistan.

To the south in Helmand, the Taliban took control of large areas of Nawa-I-Barakzayi district, which borders the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah, over the past week and assaulted the district center. Heavy fighting has also been reported in Garmsir district to the south. The Taliban briefly took control of the bazaar in Garmsir but were later repelled by Afghan forces, according to TOLONews.

The Taliban currently controls or contests at least 84 of Afghanistan’s 400 plus districts, according to a study by The Long War Journal: with 40 estimated to be Taliban controlled and 44 contested. The number of controlled and contested districts is likely to be higher as reports from some districts known to be Taliban strongholds are unavailable. The Long War Journal only tallies districts that can be confirmed with independent reporting.

As the Taliban presses its nationwide offensive, it continues to reconcile with wayward groups that broke away after the controversy surrounding the death of Mullah Omar. Last week, leaders from the Mullah Dadullah Front as well as Mullah Baz Mohammad have returned to the Taliban fold, further strengthening the group and its ability to sustain its offensive.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/08/taliban-presses-offensive-in-multiple-provinces.php

 

[John Hilly]

Yksi amerikkalainen kaatunut ja toinen vakavasti haavoittunut Helmlandin taisteluissa

US takes casualties in Helmand fighting
By Bill Roggio | August 23rd, 2016 | [email protected] | @billroggio
As the Taliban continues to press its offensive in Helmand, the US military announced that it has deployed more than 100 troops to Lashkar Gah, the capital of the southern Afghan province that has been under siege for months. The US troops are installed under the guise of Resolute Support’s “Train, Advise, Assist” mission to support Afghan troops, however these troops are often in direct combat with the Taliban. Today, US Forces Afghanistan (USFOR-A) announced that one soldier was killed and another was wounded in an IED attack while patrolling in the province. From the USFOR-A press release:

One US service member died as a result of wounds sustained during operations near Lashkar Gar in Helmand Province today.

Another US member was wounded and is currently in stable condition. Additionally, six Afghan soldiers were wounded.

“On behalf of all of US Forces – Afghanistan, as well as Resolute Support, our deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends of those involved,” said General John W. Nicholson, commander of USFOR-A and Resolute Support, “We are deeply saddened by this loss, but remain committed to helping our Afghan partners provide a brighter future for themselves and their children.”

The service member was killed conducting Train, Advise, Assist activities with Afghan counterparts under NATO authorities when their patrol triggered an Improvised Explosive Device. An investigation is being conducted to determine the exact circumstances of the event.

US Department of Defense Policy is to withhold the identity of the service member pending next-of-kin notification. We will release additional information as appropriate.

The US has deployed troops in Helmand as part of an effort to prevent the Taliban from taking Lashkar Gah. Despite the positioning of US ground forces and increased airstrikes, the Taliban are known to currently control five of Helmand 14 districts, and contest seven more. [See Threat Matrix report, Helmand capital ‘practically besieged’ by the Taliban.]

Afghan officials paint a bleak picture of Helmand, and have stated the government is painting a rosy picture of the situation in Helmand. From The Associated Press:

The head of Helmand’s provincial council, Kareem Atal, told The Associated Press that battles were underway “on several fronts” in the province, closing off roads and highways.

“Around 80% of the province is under the control of the insurgents,” he said. “There are a number of districts that the government claims are under their control, but the government is only present in the district administrative center and all around are under the control of the insurgents.”

The security problems in Afghanistan are not the least bit isolated in Helmand province. The Taliban has also pressed offensives in the north, west, and east, and the Afghan military is struggling to contain it, despite limited US military support. Kunduz, which fell to the Taliban for two weeks in September 2015, is again threatened. If the Taliban continues to accumulate wins on multiple fronts over the next year, the Afghan military is going to be forced to abandon one or more regions so it can attempt to defend the areas it deems most important.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/08/us-takes-casualties-in-helmand-fighting.php

 

[John Hilly]

Taliban etenee edelleen

Taliban storms district in eastern Afghanistan
By Bill Roggio | August 27, 2016 | [email protected] | @billroggio
The Taliban took control of the district of Jani Khel in the eastern Afghan province of Paktia yesterday after laying siege to the district center for more than two weeks.

Both Afghan officials and the Taliban confirmed that Jani Khel fell to the Taliban late last night. On Voice of Jihad, the Taliban’s official website, the group claimed that it “stormed the enemy installations in Jani Khel district of Paktia province including district headquarters, police station and all its security and combat posts.”

“Mujahideen took over the district and overran 10 combat posts as well as police checkpoints, raising Islamic Emirate’s white flag,” the Taliban continued. Additionally, it claimed it killed “48 enemy personnel consisting of Arbakis [local militia], police and soldiers of ANA,” or Afghan National Army, and seized “15 armored tanks and 16 armored fighting vehicles,” and destroyed an additional six armored personnel carriers. The Taliban’s claims cannot be confirmed; the group routinely exaggerates the number of casualties inflicted on Afghan forces.

The governor of Jani Khel confirmed the Taliban’s claim that it did overrun the district.

“Our district was surrounded by Taliban for almost five days,” governor Abdul Rahman Solamal told Reuters. “Hundreds of them attacked our check posts overnight. If we do not retake it soon then Taliban can easily move from one province to another and can undermine security in at least three provinces.”

Solamal warned on Aug. 10 that the district was in danger of falling to the Taliban.

“The clashes are still ongoing two kilometers from the center of Janikhel,” he told TOLONews. “If supporting troops are not sent into Janikhel as soon as possible, the district will fall into the hands of the Taliban.”

Solamal’s plea for reinforcements and the failure of the Afghan government and military to provide support to districts under the threat of Taliban assaults has become all too common. The Taliban is sustaining offensive operations throughout Afghanistan as Afghan security forces, backed by US airpower and special forces, continue to struggle containing the jihadist group. Reports from Afghanistan indicate that the provincial capitals of Kunduz and Helmand are also in danger of falling to the Taliban.

The Taliban currently control or contest more than 80 of Afghanistan’s 400 plus districts, according to a study by The Long War Journal. That number may be higher as reports from some districts known to be Taliban strongholds are unavailable.

The Obama administration’s response to the deteriorating security situation has been to slow the withdrawal of US forces from the country, leaving 8,400 troops in Afghanistan instead of the 5,400 originally planned. Still, nearly 1,400 US troops will be withdrawn by the end of the year despite the fact that President Barack Obama described the security environment in Afghanistan as “precarious.” We have yet to hear an explanation as to how fewer troops will help the worsening security situation.

The US military continues to downplay Taliban gains and exaggerate the performance of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces. On Aug. 25, Brigadier General Charles Cleveland, deputy chief of staff for communications for Resolute Support, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, said that Afghan forces “are generally on a positive trajectory.”

“But overall, as we look at the country holistically, and as we compare and add into that the progress that we’ve seen at the ministry of defense and the ministry of interior from an institutional level, overall we still do believe that the ANDSF is performing better this year than they performed last year. We think that they are still generally on track with their offensive campaign plan, Operation Shafaq. And then finally, we still believe that they are generally on a positive trajectory.”

Cleveland made the statement despite the fact that that Taliban has regenerated its forces since the US withdrew the bulk of its combat forces, is threatening provincial capitals and seizing district centers, and operating openly as a military forces in multiple regions throughout Afghanistan. Additionally, Al Qaeda has become so emboldened by the success of the Taliban that it has established training camps in the country.

http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2016/08/taliban-storms-district-in-eastern-afghanistan.php

 

[miheikki]

Selviä kuvauksia Neuvostoliiton käyttämästä taktiikasta sissejä vastaan.

Jukka Kulomaa

PUNAISEN AFGANISTANIN PUOLESTA

1979-1989
Neuvostoliiton interventio - sota - sotataito
Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun Sotahistorian laitos, 2011

http://www.doria.fi/bitstream/handle/10024/124038/Punaisen Afganistanin puolesta (net1).pdf?sequence=2

Punaisen Afganistanin puolesta 1979-1989 Neuvostoliiton interventio - sota - sotataito Uusimpiin tutkimuksiin ja julkaistuihin alkuperäisasiakirjoihin perustuva kokonaisesitys,joka tarkastelee neuvostojoukkojen sodankäyntiäAfganistanissa ja asettaa sodan myös laajempaan historialliseen ja poliittiseen kontekstiin. Mitkä olivat ne syyt, jotka veivät Neuvostoliiton intervention tielle? Minkälaisia joukkoja käytettiin? Miten suursotaa ja ennen kaikkea Euroopan sotanäyttämöitä varten laaditut sotaopit soveltuivat yhteenottoon, jonka toisena osapuolena oli sissitaktiikkaa käyttävä islamilainen vastarintaliike? Miten operaatiotaitoa, taktiikkaajajoukkojen organisaatioita kehitettiin? MitenAfganistanin oman armeijan kehittämisessä onnistuttiin? Miten intervention kokonaisuutta on arvioitava suhteessa asetettuihin tavoitteisiin? Miksi vastarintaliikettä ei onnistuttu kukistamaan? Kirjan aihe on edelleen ajankohtainen, sillä sotaAfganistanissa on - vaihtelevin muodoin -jatkunut nykypäiviin saakka. Jukka Kulomaa on Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulun sotahistorian dosentti. Hän on tutkimus- ja opetustyössään keskittynyt erityisesti Neuvostoliiton sotataitoon.

Tukikohdan toimintaa...

Komentamani 3. moottoroitu j alkaväkipataljoona, jota oli vahvistettu panssarivaunukomppanialla ja kahdella tykistöpatterilla, vastasi helmikuussa 1986 102 kilometrin pituisesta osuudesta tiellä Pul-e Kharki — Jalalabad sekä Naghlun voimalaitospadon suojaamisesta. Käytettävissäni oli 11 panssarivaunua, 42 BMP:tä, 12 panssarihaupitsia, 27 82 mm:n kranaatinheitintä, yhdeksän kaksiputkista ilmatorjuntatykkiä ja 23 AGS-17-kranaattikonekivääriä. Päätin jakaa alueen kolmeen osaan. 7. komppanialla oli 32 kilometrin, 8. komppanialla 40 kilometrin ja 9. komppanialla 30 kilometrin pituinen osuus. Määrittelin kunkin osuuden pituuden maaston, avainpaikkojen, vihollisen aktiivisuuden ja yksikköjeni vahvuuden perusteella. -- Suojaus perustui vartiotukikohtien ketjuun, joka kattoi koko tieosuuden. Tukikohdan miehityksenä oli tavallisesti moottoroitu jalkaväkijoukkue, yksi tai kaksi AGS-17-kranaattikone- .kivääriä, yksi tai kaksi raskasta "Utes" tai DShK -konekivääriä, yksi tai kaksi 82 mm:n kranaatinheitintä ja panssarivaunu. Vartiotukikohdat toimivat kellon ympäri. Päivisin yksi mies ryhmästä tai panssärivaunusta oli vartiossa ja kahden miehen partio kiersi alueella. Öisin jokainen tukikohta sijoitti ulkopuolelleen yhden tai kaksi vartiopaikkaa. Nämä nelimiehiset vartiopaikat sijaitsivat 500-800 metrin päässä tukikohdasta ja niistä oli sinne lankaja näköyhteys. Tukikohta saattoi suojata vartiopaikkoja tulellaan. Jokainen tukikohta oli ympäripuolustettava, ja se saattoi torjua sissien hyökkäyksen mistä tahansa suunnasta. Jokaisella joukkueella oli varsinaiset ja vaihtoehtoiset tulialueet, jotka liittyivät naapuritukikohtien tulialueisiin. Ryhmäaseille oli vaihtoasemat ja vaihtoehtoiset tulialueet. Tykistön tulisuunnitelma oli tehty huolellisesti. Tykistö oli tavallisesti sijoitettu tukikohtiin yhdessä moottoroidun jalkaväen kanssa ja niin, että se pystyi tukemaan tehokkaasti kaikkia tukikohtia. Tykistö oli valmistautunut tulittamaan kaikkia mujahideenien todennäköisiä liikesuuntia. Maalit oli rekisteröity ja numeroitu. Maalit ja niiden koordinaatit olivat tiedossa tukikohdissa, tykkimiehistöillä ja pataljoonan esikunnassa. Tulta voitiin korjata etukäteen määritetyistä maaleista tukikohdan päällikön toimesta tai, jos hänellä ei ollut suoraa yhteyttä tykistöyksikköön, pataljoonan komentajan kautta. Tulenavaukseen sissiryhmää vastaan kului normaalisti vain kahdesta neljään minuuttia. Valitsimme tukikohtien paikat huolellisesti ja linnoitimme ne perusteellisesti. Kasasimme maata ja kiviä tehdäksemme asianmukaiset juoksuhaudat, bunkkerit sekä ampumatarvike, elintarvike ja vesipisteet. Jokainen tukikohta ympäröitiin kahdella piikkilankaesterivillä ja rivien välinen alue miinoitettiin jalkaväkimiinoilla. Kauempana oleville kulkureiteille ja tukikohtien lähestymisurille laitoimme valohälyttimiä ja sensoreita. Tukikohdan tulo- ja poistumistie oli öisin suljettu ja miinoitettu. - - Jokaisessa tukikohdassa oli viisi tuliannosta ampumatarvikkeita, kymmenen päivän muona, vesi ja polttoaine. Yökäyttöä varten oli pimeänäkölaitteita, "Blik"-kiikareita, pimeätähtäimiä, laskuvarjosoihtuja ja valojuova-ammuksia. - - Tärkeimpänä viestivälineenä oli radio. Kaikissa alayksiköissä, panssaroiduissa ajoneuvoissa ja ohi kulkevissa saattueissa kuunneltiin yhteistä kanavaa 224223 Varennikov, glava III; The Soviet-Afghan War, s. 237. 137

 

[miheikki]

http://afghanistan.liveuamap.com/

• UUTISET
• ULKOMAAT

Ulkomaat 8.9.2016 klo 12:28
Taliban hyökkää kaupunkiin Afganistanissa – taistelujen kulusta ristiriitaista tietoa
Maakunnan tiedottaja vetoaa Afganistanin hallitukseen, jotta kaupunkiin lähetettäisiin vahvistuksia nopeasti.

Kuva: Yle Uutisgrafiikka

Talibanin taistelijat ovat tunkeutuneet Uruzganin maakunnan pääkaupunkiin Tarin Kowtiin Afganistanin keskiosissa. Kaupungissa käydään kovia taisteluja, ja monien alueviranomaisten kerrotaan paenneen kaupungista.

Kapinallisten hyökkäys tuli yllätyksenä, ja maakunnan tiedottajan mukaan vain poliisin päämaja on edelleen viranomaisten hallussa. Kapinalliset ovat piirittäneet poliisiasemaa aamusta lähtien.

Kaikki kaupunkia ympäröivät tarkastusasemat on vallattu tai tuhottu, kertoo maakunnan tiedottaja Doos Mohammad Nayab. Hän vetoaa Afganistanin hallitukseen, jotta kaupunkiin lähetettäisiin vahvistuksia nopeasti.

Kaupungissa pelätään, että se joutuu kokonaan Talibanin valtaamaksi. Kaupat ovat kiinni, eikä kaduilla ole ihmisiä, kertoo heimon vanhin Karim Khademzai uutistoimisto AFP:lle.

– Mikäli kaupunkiin ei saada vahvistuksia, se joutuu Talibanin haltuun, varoittaa Kahdemzai.

Afganistanin puolustusministeriö kuitenkin vakuuttaa, että Tarin Kowtin strategiset kohteet ovat hallituksen käsissä, kertoo uutistoimisto AP. Hänen mukaansa Taliban olisi häädetty pois kaupungista muutamien tuntien taistelujen jälkeen. Muilla uutistoimistoilla ei ole tällaista tietoa.

Tarin Kowt on kolmannen maakunnan pääkaupunki, joka on joutunut Talibanin uhan alle viime aikoina. Kaksi muuta ovat Kunduz pohjoisessa ja Lashkar Gah etelässä.

Lähteet:

AP, AFP, Reuters
LUE MYÖS
Taliban valtasi tärkeän alueen Pohjois-Afganistanissa
20.8.
Afganistanin hallitus menettänyt isoja maa-alueita Talibanille
29.7.

 

[VanhaPate]

http://yle.fi/uutiset/taliban_hyokk...usta_ristiriitaista_tietoa/9152159?origin=rss 8.9.2016 klo 12:28
Taliban hyökkää kaupunkiin Afganistanissa – taistelujen kulusta ristiriitaista tietoa
Maakunnan tiedottaja vetoaa Afganistanin hallitukseen, jotta kaupunkiin lähetettäisiin vahvistuksia nopeasti.

Talibanin taistelijat ovat tunkeutuneet Uruzganin maakunnan pääkaupunkiin Tarin Kowtiin Afganistanin keskiosissa. Kaupungissa käydään kovia taisteluja, ja monien alueviranomaisten kerrotaan paenneen kaupungista.

Kapinallisten hyökkäys tuli yllätyksenä, ja maakunnan tiedottajan mukaan vain poliisin päämaja on edelleen viranomaisten hallussa. Kapinalliset ovat piirittäneet poliisiasemaa aamusta lähtien.

Kaikki kaupunkia ympäröivät tarkastusasemat on vallattu tai tuhottu, kertoo maakunnan tiedottaja Doos Mohammad Nayab. Hän vetoaa Afganistanin hallitukseen, jotta kaupunkiin lähetettäisiin vahvistuksia nopeasti.

Kaupungissa pelätään, että se joutuu kokonaan Talibanin valtaamaksi. Kaupat ovat kiinni, eikä kaduilla ole ihmisiä, kertoo heimon vanhin Karim Khademzai uutistoimisto AFP:lle.

– Mikäli kaupunkiin ei saada vahvistuksia, se joutuu Talibanin haltuun, varoittaa Kahdemzai.

Afganistanin puolustusministeriö kuitenkin vakuuttaa, että Tarin Kowtin strategiset kohteet ovat hallituksen käsissä, kertoo uutistoimisto AP. Hänen mukaansa Taliban olisi häädetty pois kaupungista muutamien tuntien taistelujen jälkeen. Muilla uutistoimistoilla ei ole tällaista tietoa.

Tarin Kowt on kolmannen maakunnan pääkaupunki, joka on joutunut Talibanin uhan alle viime aikoina. Kaksi muuta ovat Kunduz pohjoisessa ja Lashkar Gah etelässä.

Lähteet: AP, AFP, Reuters

 

[Guderian]

Kabul Seals Key Peace Deal With Notorious Warlord

In-Depth Coverage

By Ayaz Gul September 22, 2016

Afghanistan's unity government, after months of troublesome negotiations, has signed a long-delayed draft peace agreement with the country's second largest insurgent group, led by a fugitive warlord with a history of war crimes and rights abuses.

The groundbreaking truce signed Thursday with the Hizb-Islami (HIG) faction comes amid hopes it might ease security challenges facing the war-torn nation and encourage other insurgent groups fighting alongside the Taliban to join the peace process.

This is the first peace agreement in the 15-year Afghan war the Taliban launched after it was ousted by a United States-led military coalition in 2001.

Hizb-Islami is led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, a longtime guerilla commander whose forces fought against the Soviet Union in the 1980s. Later, his militias battled the Taliban for control of Afghanistan during the brutal civil war of the 1990s.

Afghan National Security Advisor Hanif Atmar singed the accord with Hekmatyar's chief negotiator, Karim Amin in a nationally broadcast ceremony.

Atmarr said the peace deal with Hekmatyar demonstrates the government's sincere resolve to seek a peaceful negotiated settlement to the Afghan conflict.

"We have demonstrated our resolve and I call on the Taliban it is time for you to come to the table for peace talks if you sincerely desire it... End fighting and violence, free yourself from the influence of Pakistan, foreigners and terrorist groups, and accept the Afghan constitution," he said. "We are ready to offer you the same concessions that we have granted to the Hizeb-Islami."

Qareeburahman Saeed, a member of Hezb-i-Islami's leadership council and a former spokesman for the group, offered his apologies to those Afghan families who lost loved ones during the Afghan civil war. In an VOA interview broadcast Thursday, the spokesman formally apologized for those hurt in the fighting.

"Naturally, we apologize for those who might have been martyred, injured or financially affected," he said.

Thursday's agreement will enable the fugitive warlord, a designated "global terrorist," to return to the national politics after years in hiding, allegedly in neighboring Pakistan.

That has led to objections from human rights activists, a group of whom marched in the capital city while the ceremony was underway, carrying posters denouncing Hekmatyar as a "Butcher of Kabul."

"His return will compound the culture of impunity that the Afghan government and its foreign donors have fostered by not pursuing accountability for the many victims of forces commanded by Hekmatyar and other warlords that laid waste to much of the country in the 1990s," said Patricia Gossman, senior Afghanistan researcher at the Human Rights Watch.

She noted that Hekmatyar is one of the country's most notorious war crimes suspect and he is not alone in enjoying impunity.

"None of the Afghan warlords from the 1990s has been held accountable. That, and the failed disarmament of abusive militias, have crippled reforms needed to build effective government institutions crucial for a lasting peace."

During Thursday's ceremony, Atmar tried to allay such fears, assuring critics the agreement does not contain any provision that would undermine progress Afghanistan has made to promote human rights, particularly women's rights. He said that the insurgent group will announce a permanent cease-fire, cut ties to any terrorist group and halt its military activities.

In turn, the Afghan government, Atmar added, will be obliged to grant the group full political rights and will work for the removal of Hekmatyar's name from the U.S. and the United Nations lists of designated foreign terrorists. The national security advisor also called on the Taliban to cease hostilities and join the peace process.

"We welcome today's accord negotiated and concluded by the Government of Afghanistan and Hizb-e Islami Gulbuddin (HIG) as a step in bringing the conflict in Afghanistan to a peaceful end," the U.S. embassy in Kabul said.

It added the United States continues to support an Afghan peace process that results in armed groups ceasing violence, breaking ties with international terrorist groups, and accepting the country's constitution, including protections for women and minorities.

The peace agreement will formally come into effect after both President Ashraf Ghani and Hekmatyar sign it, but officials would not announce a timetable.

Though largely symbolic in nature, the deal with Hekmatyar is being seen a significant political boost for President Ghani whose reconciliation and peace attempts with the Taliban have failed to achieve results.

The Afghan leadership blames neighboring Pakistan where it says the Taliban and its ally the Haqqani Network continue to enjoy sanctuaries to plot attacks inside Afghanistan.

Pakistani officials last year arranged and hosted a direct meeting between Taliban and Ghani's negotiators but since then the Islamist insurgency has intensified the war and has made significant territorial gains in Afghanistan.

The spike in violence has also fueled tensions with Pakistan and both the countries are currently locked in a daily war of words over exchange of allegations and counter allegations.

The U.N. Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) said it is encouraged by the initialing in Kabul of the draft peace agreement.

Addressing the annually U.N. General Assembly in New York Wednesday, Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif reiterated that a peace dialogue between the Taliban and the Kabul government is the only way for establishing lasting peace in Afghanistan.

"Progress will be assured only when the Afghan parties themselves conclude that there is no military solution to the Afghan war, and work assiduously, through a meaningful dialogue process, for achieving reconciliation and peace at home," Sharif noted.

The Afghan Taliban has lately not indicated whether it is willing to join peace talks with Kabul. Instead its officials cite battlefield advances and unity in Taliban ranks under its new leader Mullah Hibatullah as signs of gaining strength, contradicting Afghan and U.S. assertions the Islamist group has weakened.

(VOA's Mohammad Hashem Habibzada also contributed to this report.)