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{{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} [[Taliban]]: ''' 40,000–60,000''' <br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21685515-resurgent-taliban-winning-territory-all-not-lost-bloody-year-transition|title=A bloody year of transition|publisher=The Economist|date=January 9, 2016}}</ref>
{{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} [[Taliban]]: ''' 40,000–60,000''' <br><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.economist.com/news/asia/21685515-resurgent-taliban-winning-territory-all-not-lost-bloody-year-transition|title=A bloody year of transition|publisher=The Economist|date=January 9, 2016}}</ref>
*[[Haqqani network]]: '''4,000–15,000'''<ref name='rassler'>{{cite web |title=The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qaida|work=Harmony Program|date=14 July 2011|first=Don|last=Rassler|author2=Vahid Brown |publisher=[[Combating Terrorism Center]]|url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CTC-Haqqani-Report_Rassler-Brown-Final_Web.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Reuters |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/259314/sirajuddin-haqqani-dares-us-to-attack-n-waziristan/ |title=Sirajuddin Haqqani dares US to attack N Waziristan, by Reuters, Published: September 24, 2011 |work=Tribune |accessdate=10 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="nytimes 15haqqani">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/world/asia/15haqqani.html |title=Rebuffing U.S., Pakistan Balks at Crackdown|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 December 2009|first=Jane|last=Perlez}}</ref>
*[[Haqqani network]]: '''4,000–15,000'''<ref name='rassler'>{{cite web |title=The Haqqani Nexus and the Evolution of al-Qaida|work=Harmony Program|date=14 July 2011|first=Don|last=Rassler|author2=Vahid Brown |publisher=[[Combating Terrorism Center]]|url=http://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/CTC-Haqqani-Report_Rassler-Brown-Final_Web.pdf|format=PDF|accessdate=2 August 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Reuters |url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/259314/sirajuddin-haqqani-dares-us-to-attack-n-waziristan/ |title=Sirajuddin Haqqani dares US to attack N Waziristan, by Reuters, Published: September 24, 2011 |work=Tribune |accessdate=10 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="nytimes 15haqqani">{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/15/world/asia/15haqqani.html |title=Rebuffing U.S., Pakistan Balks at Crackdown|newspaper=The New York Times|date=14 December 2009|first=Jane|last=Perlez}}</ref>
{{Flagicon image|Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg}} [[Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin|HIG]]: '''1,500 - 2,000+'''<ref>{{cite web| title =Afghanistan after the Western Drawdown| url =https://books.google.com.au/books?id=DOk1CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=Hezb-e+Islami+Gulbuddin+strength&source=bl&ots=PUhSbDba20&sig=CFzJjEIqTGeUcDV5fzVyZK8hG5I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE0Q6AEwB2oVChMI-oibnZOmxwIVJ1CmCh0wvg2H#v=onepage&q=Hezb-e%20Islami%20Gulbuddin%20strength&f=false| website = Google books | date = January 16, 2015| accessdate = 13 August 2015}}</ref><br />[[File:Flag of al-Qaeda.svg|24px]] [[al-Qaeda]]: '''50–160'''<ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Roggio|url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/04/how_many_al_qaeda_operatives_a.php |title=How many al Qaeda operatives are now left in Afghanistan? – Threat Matrix |publisher=Longwarjournal.org |date=26 April 2011 |accessdate=10 April 2014}}{{Dead link|date=July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/21/al-qaeda-afghanistan-comeback_n_1997994.html |title=Al Qaeda in Afghanistan Is Attempting A Comeback |work=The Huffington Post |date=21 October 2012|accessdate=10 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="the Washington post"/>
{{Flagicon image|Flag of Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin.svg}} [[Hezbi Islami Gulbuddin|HIG]]: '''1,500 - 2,000+'''<ref>{{cite web| title =Afghanistan after the Western Drawdown| url =https://books.google.com.au/books?id=DOk1CgAAQBAJ&pg=PA214&lpg=PA214&dq=Hezb-e+Islami+Gulbuddin+strength&source=bl&ots=PUhSbDba20&sig=CFzJjEIqTGeUcDV5fzVyZK8hG5I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CE0Q6AEwB2oVChMI-oibnZOmxwIVJ1CmCh0wvg2H#v=onepage&q=Hezb-e%20Islami%20Gulbuddin%20strength&f=false| website = Google books | date = January 16, 2015| accessdate = 13 August 2015}}</ref><br />[[File:Flag of al-Qaeda.svg|24px]] [[al-Qaeda]]: '''50–160'''<ref>{{cite web|author=Bill Roggio |url=http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/04/how_many_al_qaeda_operatives_a.php |title=How many al Qaeda operatives are now left in Afghanistan? – Threat Matrix |publisher=Longwarjournal.org |date=26 April 2011 |accessdate=10 April 2014 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/20140706151045/http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2011/04/how_many_al_qaeda_operatives_a.php |archivedate=July 6, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/21/al-qaeda-afghanistan-comeback_n_1997994.html |title=Al Qaeda in Afghanistan Is Attempting A Comeback |work=The Huffington Post |date=21 October 2012|accessdate=10 April 2014}}</ref><ref name="the Washington post"/>


{{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} [[Fidai Mahaz]]: '''8,000'''<ref name="newsweek.com"/>|casualties1=
{{flagicon|Afghanistan|Taliban}} [[Fidai Mahaz]]: '''8,000'''<ref name="newsweek.com"/>|casualties1=
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===Kabul Parliament attack===
===Kabul Parliament attack===
{{main|2015 Kabul Parliament attack}}
{{main|2015 Kabul Parliament attack}}
On June 22, 2015, the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside the [[National Assembly (Afghanistan)|National Assembly]] in [[Kabul]], and Taliban fighters attacked the building with assault rifles and [[Rocket-propelled grenade|RPG]]s.<ref name="CNN June2015">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/asia/afghanistan-kabul-parliament-attack/|title=Taliban attempt attack on Afghan Parliament in Kabul - CNN.com|author=Masoud Popalzai and Jethro Mullen, CNN|date=22 June 2015|work=CNN|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Reuters June2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/22/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKBN0P20FM20150622|title=Taliban launch brazen attack on Afghan parliament, seize second district in north|work=Reuters|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref> A Taliban fighter driving a car loaded with explosives managed to get though security checkpoints before detonating the vehicle outside the parliament's gates. Six Taliban insurgents with [[AK-47]] rifles and [[Rocket-propelled grenade|RPG]]s took up positions in a construction site nearby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/taliban-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-afghanistan-parliament/6564588|title=Afghanistan explosion: Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack parliament building in Kabul killing two, wounding at least 30|work=ABC News|date=23 June 2015}}</ref> Members of Parliament were evacuated to safety, while security forces battled the insurgents in a two-hour gun battle. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said all seven attackers were killed by police and no MPs were wounded.<ref name="AP June2015">{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b7decd5403fa4789ae980e242fe861ac/afghan-official-taliban-capture-another-northern-district|title=Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack Afghan parliament|last1= RAHIM |first1= FAIEZ |last2= AMIR |first2= SHAH |work=The Big Story|accessdate=22 June 2015}}{{dead link|date=November 2015}}</ref> The UN mission in Afghanistan said a woman and a child were killed in the attack, and forty civilians were injured.<ref name="Guardian June2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jun/22/afghanistan-parliament-attack-live-updates|title=Afghanistan parliament attacked by Taliban suicide bomber and gunmen – rolling updates|author=Matthew Weaver|work=the Guardian|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref>
On June 22, 2015, the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside the [[National Assembly (Afghanistan)|National Assembly]] in [[Kabul]], and Taliban fighters attacked the building with assault rifles and [[Rocket-propelled grenade|RPG]]s.<ref name="CNN June2015">{{cite web|url=http://edition.cnn.com/2015/06/22/asia/afghanistan-kabul-parliament-attack/|title=Taliban attempt attack on Afghan Parliament in Kabul - CNN.com|author=Masoud Popalzai and Jethro Mullen, CNN|date=22 June 2015|work=CNN|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref><ref name="Reuters June2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/22/us-afghanistan-blast-idUSKBN0P20FM20150622|title=Taliban launch brazen attack on Afghan parliament, seize second district in north|work=Reuters|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref> A Taliban fighter driving a car loaded with explosives managed to get though security checkpoints before detonating the vehicle outside the parliament's gates. Six Taliban insurgents with [[AK-47]] rifles and [[Rocket-propelled grenade|RPG]]s took up positions in a construction site nearby.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-06-22/taliban-suicide-bomber-gunmen-attack-afghanistan-parliament/6564588|title=Afghanistan explosion: Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack parliament building in Kabul killing two, wounding at least 30|work=ABC News|date=23 June 2015}}</ref> Members of Parliament were evacuated to safety, while security forces battled the insurgents in a two-hour gun battle. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said all seven attackers were killed by police and no MPs were wounded.<ref name="AP June2015">{{cite web|url=http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b7decd5403fa4789ae980e242fe861ac/afghan-official-taliban-capture-another-northern-district |title=Taliban suicide bomber, gunmen attack Afghan parliament |last1=RAHIM |first1=FAIEZ |last2=AMIR |first2=SHAH |work=The Big Story |accessdate=22 June 2015 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20150622132707/http://bigstory.ap.org/article/b7decd5403fa4789ae980e242fe861ac/afghan-official-taliban-capture-another-northern-district |archivedate=June 22, 2015 }}</ref> The UN mission in Afghanistan said a woman and a child were killed in the attack, and forty civilians were injured.<ref name="Guardian June2015">{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2015/jun/22/afghanistan-parliament-attack-live-updates|title=Afghanistan parliament attacked by Taliban suicide bomber and gunmen – rolling updates|author=Matthew Weaver|work=the Guardian|accessdate=22 June 2015}}</ref>


===Taliban negotiations===
===Taliban negotiations===

Revision as of 19:30, 26 February 2016

This redirect is about the war in Afghanistan from 2015 to the present. For the U.S.-led phase of the conflict, see War in Afghanistan (2001–14). For other phases of the conflict, see War in Afghanistan (1978–present).
War in Afghanistan
Part of the war in Afghanistan (1978–present),
the NATO-led war in Afghanistan

Current military situation, as of 21 February 2016
  Under control of the Afghan Government, NATO, and Allies
  Under control of the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and Allies
(For a more detailed map of the current military situation, see here.)
Date1 January 2015 – present (9 years, 10 months, 1 week and 6 days)
Location
Afghanistan
Status
  • Security and control of Afghanistan taken over by Afghan security forces
  • NATO implements a support mission
  • Continued counter-terror operations being conducted by NATO forces
  • ISIL establishes presence in eastern and southern Afghanistan and begins to recruit fighters[14]
  • Failed 2015 Taliban resurgence attempt in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan[16]
  • U.S. halts withdrawal and prolongs presence in Afghanistan[17]
  • The Taliban controls or contests over 70 districts in Afghanistan.[18][19]
  • The Taliban splits into two rival groups[20]
Belligerents

Afghanistan Islamic Republic of Afghanistan

Allied militias

Coalition:

RS[3] (2015–present)

Afghanistan Taliban
(Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)

Supported by:
 Pakistan[5][6]

 Iran[8][9] (Disputed)[10]
Allied groups

Afghanistan Taliban splinter faction
(High Council of Afghanistan Islamic Emirate

Allied groups

Supported by:

 Iran[13] (Suspected)

Islamic State Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant[14]

Allied groups

Commanders and leaders

Afghanistan Ashraf Ghani
(President of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan Abdullah Abdullah
(CEO of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan Abdul Rashid Dostum
(Vice-President of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan Mohammad Mohaqiq
(Deputy CEO of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan Atta Muhammad Nur
(Governor of Balkh Province)
Afghanistan Bismillah Khan Mohammadi
(Defense Minister of Afghanistan)
Afghanistan Sher Mohammad Karimi
(Chief of Army Staff)
Coalition:

RS[3] (2015–present)

Afghanistan Akhtar Mansoor
(Supreme Commander)
[21]
Afghanistan Sirajuddin Haqqani
(Deputy of the Taliban)
[22]
Afghanistan Haibatullah Akhunzada
(Deputy of the Taliban)
[4]
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar
(Leader of HIG)

Ayman al-Zawahiri
(Emir of al-Qaeda)

Afghanistan Muhammad Rasul
(Emir of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan)[20]
Afghanistan Mansoor Dadullah
(Deputy Emir)[20]

Afghanistan Haji Najibullah
(Commander of Fidai Mahaz)[23]

Islamic State Hafiz Saeed Khan (ISIL Emir of Wilayat Khorasan)[24]
Islamic State Mullah Abdul Rauf †
(Deputy Emir)[25][26][27] Islamic State Abdul Rahim Muslim Dost
(Top Wilayat Khorasan commander)[28][29]

Usman Ghazi[30][15]
Strength

Afghanistan ANSF: 352,000[31]

RSM: 13,000+[32]

Afghanistan Taliban: 40,000–60,000
[33]

HIG: 1,500 - 2,000+[37]
al-Qaeda: 50–160[38][39][11]

Afghanistan Fidai Mahaz: 8,000[23]		  ISIL: 1,000-3,000[40][41]
Casualties and losses

Afghan security forces:
7,000 killed, 12,000 wounded[42]
Coalition:

27 killed (22 US), 86 wounded (US)[43][44]

Taliban: 5,600 killed[45]

Al Qaeda: 160 killed[11]		 ISIL: 268 killed[45]
IMU: 100 killed[46]
Civilians killed: 3,545 (2015)[47]

The War in Afghanistan (2015–present) refers to the period of the war in Afghanistan following the 2001–2014 phase led by the United States. The U.S.-led war followed the September 11 attacks, aiming to dismantle al-Qaeda and deny it a safe-haven in Afghanistan by removing the Taliban from power.[48][49] After 2001, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) became increasingly involved, eventually running combat operations, under the direction of a U.S. commander. On 28 December 2014, NATO formally ended combat operations in Afghanistan and transferred full security responsibility to the Afghan government via a ceremony in Kabul, marking the beginning of the new phase of the conflict.[50][51]

The planned partial withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan, as well as NATO troops, and the transfer of many combat roles from NATO forces to the Afghan security forces occurred between 2011 and 2014. A bilateral security agreement was signed between the US and Afghanistan that would allow NATO troops to remain after the withdrawal date in an advisory and counter-terrorism capacity.[52] The NATO troop presence would amount to approximately 13,000 troops including 9,800 Americans.[53]

Background

Further information: Withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan
ISAF troops changing mission and beginning the Resolute Support Mission

As early as November 2012, the U.S. was considering the precise configuration of their post-2014 presence in Afghanistan.[54][55] On 27 May 2014, President Barack Obama announced that U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan would end in December 2014. A residual force of 9,800 troops would remain in the country, training Afghan security forces and supporting counterterrorism operations against remnants of al-Qaeda. This force would be halved by the end of 2015, and consolidated at Bagram Air Base and in Kabul. Obama also announced all U.S. forces, with the exception of a "normal embassy presence," would be removed from Afghanistan by the end of 2016.[56] These plans were confirmed with the signing of the Bilateral Security Agreement between the United States and Afghanistan on 30 September 2014.[57]

The Special Operations Joint Task Force – Afghanistan, the remnant U.S./NATO special forces organisation, includes a counter-terrorism task force. In the words of the U.S. Special Operations Command Factbook for 2015, this task force '..[c]onducts offensive operations in Afghanistan to degrade the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and the Haqqani Networks in order to prevent them from establishing operationally significant safe havens which threaten the stability and sovereignty of Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the United States.'[58] This task force is similar to previous forces such as Task Force 373.

The Taliban began a resurgence due to several factors. At the end of 2014, the US and NATO combat mission ended and the withdrawal of most foreign forces from Afghanistan reduced the risk the Taliban faced of being bombed and raided. In June 2014, the Pakistani military's Operation Zarb-e-Azb, launched in the North Waziristan tribal area in June 2014, dislodged thousands of mainly Uzbek, Arab and Pakistani militants, who flooded into Afghanistan and swelled the Taliban's ranks. The group was further emboldened by the comparative lack of interest from the international community and the diversion of its attention to crisis in other parts of the world, such as Syria, Iraq and Ukraine. Afghan security forces also lack certain capabilities and equipment, especially air power and reconnaissance. There is also the political infighting in the central government in Kabul and the apparent weakness in governance at different levels is also exploited by the Taliban.[59]

Conflict history

2015 Timeline

Further information: 2015 in Afghanistan

On 5 January, a suicide car bomber attacked the HQ of EUPOL Afghanistan in Kabul, killing 1 person and injuring 5. The Taliban claimed responsibility.[60] On January 15, Afghan security officials arrested five men in Kabul in relation to their suspected involvement in the 2014 Peshawar school massacre in Pakistan.[61] In mid-January 2015, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant established a branch in Afghanistan called Wilayah Khorasan and began recruiting fighters[14] and clashing with the Taliban.[26][62] However, an Afghan military officer stated that he believed the Afghan military could handle any threat that the group presented in the country.[14]

American forces have increased raids against "Islamist militants", moving beyond counter-terrorism missions. This is partially due to improved relations with the United States due to the Ghani presidency. Reasoning used for these raids include protecting American forces, which has been broadly interpreted.[63] One raid, a joint raid by American and Afghan forces arrested six Taliban connected to the 2014 Peshawar school massacre.[64] American Secretary of Defense Ash Carter traveled to Afghanistan in February 2015;[65] during a period when it was discussed that the U.S. would slow down its withdrawal from Afghanistan.[66]

In February 2015, the headquarters element of the U.S. 7th Infantry Division began to deploy to Afghanistan.[67] It will serve as the Resolute Support Mission's Train Advise Assist Command - South headquarters. It will be joined by 10th Mountain Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team, and 101st Combat Aviation Brigade.[68]

On 18 March 2015, Hafiz Wahidi, ISIL's replacement deputy Emir in Afghanistan, was killed by the Afghan Armed Forces, along with 9 other ISIL militants who were accompanying him.[69]

On 19 March 2015, it was reported by Reuters that the U.S. military bases in Kandahar and Jalalabad are likely to remain open beyond the end of 2015, a senior U.S. official said, as the Federal Government of the United States considers slowing its military withdrawal to help the new government fight the Taliban. The anticipated policy reversal reflects U.S. support of Afghanistan's new and more cooperative president, Ashraf Ghani, and a desire to avoid the collapse of local security forces that occurred in Iraq after the U.S. withdrawal there.

On 25 March, the Afghan National Army killed twenty-nine insurgents and injured twenty-one others in a series of operations in the Daikundi, Ghazni, and Parwan provinces.[70] Eleven people, including one U.S. service member, died in a Taliban attack on Camp Integrity in Kabul in August.[71]

Kabul Parliament attack

Main article: 2015 Kabul Parliament attack

On June 22, 2015, the Taliban detonated a car bomb outside the National Assembly in Kabul, and Taliban fighters attacked the building with assault rifles and RPGs.[72][73] A Taliban fighter driving a car loaded with explosives managed to get though security checkpoints before detonating the vehicle outside the parliament's gates. Six Taliban insurgents with AK-47 rifles and RPGs took up positions in a construction site nearby.[74] Members of Parliament were evacuated to safety, while security forces battled the insurgents in a two-hour gun battle. Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said all seven attackers were killed by police and no MPs were wounded.[75] The UN mission in Afghanistan said a woman and a child were killed in the attack, and forty civilians were injured.[76]

Taliban negotiations

Chinese officials have declared that Afghan stability affects separatist movements in the region, including in China's West[77] as well as the security of the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.[78] China and Pakistan have been involved in negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.[77][79][80][81][82]

The bombing of the Kabul parliament has highlighted fractures within the Taliban in their approach to peace talks.[83][84]

Kunduz Offensive

Main article: Battle of Kunduz

Heavy fighting has occurred in the Kunduz province,[85][86] which was the site of clashes from 2009 onwards. In May, flights into the Northern city of Kunduz were suspended due to weeks of clashes between the Afghan security forces and the Taliban outside the city.[87] The intensifying conflict in the Northern Char Dara District within the Kunduz province led the Afghan government to enlist local militia fighters to bolster opposition to the Taliban insurgency.[88] In June, the Taliban intensified attacks around the Northern city of Kunduz as part of a major offensive in an attempt to capture the city.[89][90][91] Tens of thousands of inhabitants have been displaced internally in Afghanistan by the fighting. The government recaptured the Char Dara district after roughly a month of fighting.[92]

In late September, Taliban forces launched an attack on Kunduz, seizing several outlying villages and entering the city. The Taliban stormed the regional hospital and clashed with security forces at the nearby university. The fighting saw the Taliban attack from four different districts: Chardara to the west, Aliabad to the south-west, Khanabad to the east and Imam Saheb to the north.[93][94] According to the Guardian the Taliban had taken the Zakhel and Ali Khel villages on the highway leading south, which connects the city to Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif through Aliabad district. The Taliban reportedly made their largest gains in the south-west of Kunduz, where some local communities had picked up weapons and supported the Taliban.[93] Taliban fighters had allegedly blocked the route to the Airport to prevent civilians fleeing the city.[95] One witness reported that the headquarters of the National Directorate of Security was set on fire.[96]

Taliban infighting

On 11 November 2015 it was reported that infighting had broken out between different Taliban factions in Zabul province. Fighters loyal to the new Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor fought a Pro-ISIS splinter faction led by Mullah Mansoor Dadullah. Even though Dadullah's faction enjoyed the support of foreign ISIS fighters including Uzbeks and Chechens it was reported that Mansoor's Taliban loyalists had the upper hand. According to Ghulam Jilani Farahi, provincial director of security in Zabul, more than 100 militants from both sides were killed since the fighting broke out.[97]

Taliban offensive in Helmand Province

In 2015 the Taliban began an offensive in Helmand Province, taking over parts of the Province. By June 2015, they had seized control of Dishu and Bagharm killing 5,588 Afghan government security forces (3,720 of them were police officers).[98] By the end of July, the Taliban had overrun Nawzad District[99] and on August 26, the Taliban took control of Musa Qala.[100] the status of the remaining districts, by December 18, 2015, is that Taliban and Afghan security forces are contesting Nahr-i-Sarraj, Sangin, Kajaki, Nad Ali and Khanashin (Afghan security forces claim to have previously "ejected" the Taliban from the Khanashin district center, with 42 Taliban fighters were killed) whilst Garmsir, Washir, and Nawa-i-Barak are believed to be contested.[101]

In October 2015, Taliban forces had attempted to take Lashkar Gah; the capital of Helmand province, the Afghan's 215th Corps and special operations forces launched a counteroffensive against the Taliban in November,[102] Whilst the assault was repelled, Taliban forces remained dug into the city's suburbs as of December 2015.[103] December 2015 saw a renewed Taliban offensive in Helmand focused on the town of Sangin, Sangin district fell to the Taliban on December 21, after fierce clashes that killed more than 90 soldiers in two days.[104] It was reported that 30 members of the SAS alongside 60 US special forces operators joined the Afghan Army in the Battle to retake parts of Sangin from Taliban insurgents,[105] in addition, about 300 U.S. troops in Helmand are advising Afghan commanders at the Corps level.[106]

On or around 23 December, approximately 200 Afghan Police and Army forces were besieged inside the towns police headquarters, with ammunition, military equipment and food having to be airdropped to their positions, with the rest of Sangin being under Taliban control, and an attempted relief mission failing.[103][107][108][109][110] As of 27 December 2015, the Taliban control the districts of Musa Qala, Nawzad, Baghran, and Disho and districts of Sangin, Marja, Khanishin, Nad Ali, and Kajaki have also experienced sustained fighting according to Mohammad Karim Attal, the chief of the Helmand Provincial council.[111]

Senior American commanders said that the Afghan troops in the province have lacked effective leaders as well as the necessary weapons and ammunition to hold off persistent Taliban attacks. Some Afghan soldiers in Helmand have been fighting in tough conditions for years without a break to see their family, leading to poor morale and high desertion rates.[106] In early February 2016, Taliban insurgents renewed their assault on Sangin, after previously being repulsed in December 2015, launching a string of ferocious attacks on Afghan government forces earlier in the month. As a result, the United States decided to send hundreds of American troops from 2nd battalion 87th Infantry Regiment, 10th Mountain Division, in order to prop up Afghan army's 215th Corps in Helmand province, particularly around Sangin, joining US special operations forces already in the area.[112][113][114][115]

On 23 February 2016, CNN announced that Afghan troops pulled out of Nawzad and Musa Qala districts in Helmand Province on February 20 and 21 in what a senior military official said was a "tactical" move. Head of the local provincial council Mohammad Karim Atal told CNN "Afghan soldiers had paid a heavy price and had recaptured some of the areas in those districts by shedding their blood only few months back, but now because of mismanagement, lack of coordination and weak leadership they left them in the hands of enemies".[116]

2016 Timeline

Further information: 2016 in Afghanistan

In January 2016, the the US government sent a directive to the Pentagon which granted new legal authority for the U.S. military to go on the offensive against Militants affiliated with the ISIS-K (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province), after the State Department announced the designation of ISIS in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a foreign terrorists organisation. ISIS-K formed in January 2015 after it pledged its allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi,[117] the number of militants started with around 60 or 70, with most of them coming over the border with Pakistan but now they range between 1,000 and 3,000 militants,[118] mainly defectors from the Afghan and the Pakistani Taliban, and is generally confined to Nangarhar Province but also has/had a presence in Kunar province.[119][118]

For 3 weeks in that month, the U.S. military carried out at least a dozen operations, including commando raids and airstrikes, many of these raids and strikes taking place in the Tora Bora region of Nangarhar Province. American commanders in Afghanistan said they believed that between 90 and 100 Islamic State militants had been killed in these recent operations.[120] On February 1, 2016, U.S. airstrikes in Nangarhar province killed 29 ISIS fighters and struck the terrorist group's FM radio station.[121] By February 11, ABC news reported the U.S. military had carried out 20 airstrikes on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan in the previous 3 weeks.[122]

On February 21, the Wall Street Journal reported that, just over a week before, Afghan forces supported by U.S. airstrikes launched an operation dubbed “Eagle 18,” against ISIL forces in Nangarhar province. Ground forces led by the Afghan army and backed by police and paramilitary groups pushed into Achin district, the group’s main base and Dislodged Islamic State From their Stronghold, U.S. airstrikes had hit the area almost daily for weeks, killing militants affiliated with Islamic State and weakening their grip on the district. Two Afghan soldiers were wounded in the operation but ISIL militants are now retreating from Achin and other districts, the operation is currently ongoing.[123] Since February 22, Afghan security forces killed 18 Islamic State militants, whilst a further 25 ISIS militants were killed in a drone strike in the Pekha Khwar area of Achin district, Nangarhar province, they were gathering to attack Afghan security posts. Additionally, a large quantity of weapons and ammunition belonging to the terrorist group was destroyed.[124][125]

Afghan Security Forces and allied militias

Further information: Afghan National Army § Current status

Afghan National Army

U.S. policy called for boosting the Afghan National Army to 134,000 soldiers by October 2010. By May 2010 the Afghan Army had accomplished this interim goal and was on track to reach its ultimate number of 171,000 by 2011.[126] This increase in Afghan troops allowed the U.S. to begin withdrawing its forces in July 2011.[127][128]

In 2010, the Afghan National Army had limited fighting capacity.[129] Even the best Afghan units lacked training, discipline and adequate reinforcements. In one new unit in Baghlan Province, soldiers had been found cowering in ditches rather than fighting.[130] Some were suspected of collaborating with the Taliban.[129] "They don't have the basics, so they lay down," said Capt. Michael Bell, who was one of a team of U.S. and Hungarian mentors tasked with training Afghan soldiers. "I ran around for an hour trying to get them to shoot, getting fired on. I couldn't get them to shoot their weapons."[129] In addition, 9 out of 10 soldiers in the Afghan National Army were illiterate.[131]

In early 2015, Philip Munch of the Afghanistan Analysts' Network wrote that '..the available evidence suggests that many senior ANSF members, in particular, use their positions to enrich themselves. Within the ANSF there are also strong external loyalties to factions who themselves compete for influence and access to resources. All this means that the ANSF may not work as they officially should. Rather it appears that the political economy of the ANSF prevents them from working like modern organisations – the very prerequisite' of the Resolute Support Mission.[132] Formal and informal income, Munch said, which can be generated through state positions, is rent-seeking – income without a corresponding investment of labour or capital. 'Reportedly, ANA appointees also often maintain clients, so that patron-client networks, structured into competing factions, can be traced within the ANA down to the lowest levels... There is evidence that Afghan officers and officials, especially in the higher echelons, appropriate large parts of the vast resource flows which are directed by international donors into the ANA.[133]

Afghan National Police

The Afghan National Police provides support to the Afghan army. Police officers in Afghanistan are also largely illiterate. Approximately 17 percent of them tested positive for illegal drugs in 2010. They were widely accused of demanding bribes.[134] Attempts to build a credible Afghan police force were faltering badly, according to NATO officials.[135] A quarter of the officers quit every year, making the Afghan government's goals of substantially building up the police force even harder to achieve.[135]

A report from the Pentagon said Afghan national defence and security forces had 27 percent more casualties from the beginning of 2015 up to mid-November compared with the same period last year.[136] On 11 February 2016 an Afgan policeman shot dead 4 of his colleagues and injured 7 more in the province of Kandahar, it is the latest in the string of insider attacks in Afghanistan. Last month a police officer in Uruzgan province shot dead 10 colleagues.[137]

Allied anti-Taliban militias

The two largest anti-Taliban militias are the mainly Tajik-led Jamiat-e Islami and the Uzbek-led Junbish-i-Milli. Jamiat-e Islami was active during the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the following civil war in Afghanistan.[138] Junbish-i-Milli was also involved in the civil war in Afghanistan. Both groups were members of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

Junbish-i-Milli is led by former General and current Vice President, Abdul Rashid Dostum. Atta Muhammad Nur, the Governor of Balkh province in Afghanistan serves as a prominent leader within Jamiat-e Islami, and has been responsible for mobilizing Jamiat forces against the Taliban in northern Afghanistan. He has been joined by Dostum to form a coalition to fight the Taliban in the north.[139][140]

Taliban and allied forces

As of mid-2015, the Taliban are "directly or indirectly" supported in Afghanistan by "about a dozen" militant groups, having "different goals and agendas" according to the BBC.[141] The groups include many headquartered elsewhere in Pakistan (Lashkar-e-Taiba and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi) or other countries (East Turkestan Islamic Movement). Among the groups are:

Opposing the Taliban and the Afghan government are

See also

References

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