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Afghan Taliban parades forces after capturing district in Ghazni
The Afghan Taliban paraded its forces in the daylight without fear of being targeted after overrunning the district center of Waghaz in the southeaster province of Ghazni last month.
The Afghan Taliban paraded its forces in the daylight without fear of being targeted after overrunning the district center of Waghaz in the southeaster province of Ghazni last month.
A Taliban video shows an Afghan military helicopter blowing up just after it lands on a remote outpost on the top of a mountain. The Taliban has infiltrated military outposts in the past and conducted similar attacks.
An official Taliban spokesman described jihad as “obligatory worship” and said that there would be no cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
The Pakistani Taliban said it retaliated against the Pakistani military for a US drone strike that killed Abdullah, a “master in electronics.” The US has launched at least three drone strikes in Pakistan so far this year.
The Taliban continues its offensive in Kandahar. Afghan officials report that at least 18 soldiers were killed and four more were captured during another Taliban assault on a military base in Shah Wali Kot.
Taliban fighters overran a large military base earlier this week, and launched attacks on other installations throughout the province. The fighting in Kandahar takes place as the Taliban remains on the offensive on several fronts throughout the country as part of Operation Mansouri.
The operation took place just days after the US Treasury Department listed two tribal leaders from Marib as global terrorists for supporting al Qaeda.
The Taliban detonated explosives inside the governor’s compound in Ghazni City before being pushed back by Afghan forces. The group claims it now controls Waghaz district.
Seven years after the US withdrawal from Kunar, the Taliban and allied jihadist groups continue to wield significant influence in the province.
Jamaat ul Dawa al Quran is an excellent example of the complex and evolving network of jihadist groups that operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region. The three designated leaders have been tied to al Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the Islamic State.
The $10 million reward makes Julani one of the top five most wanted jihadist leaders in the world.
The Taliban video shows that more than a month after Afghan forces lost Sangin, and despite the relocation of the “new” district center just kilometers away, the Taliban can flaunt a large force with little fear of reprisal.
The Taliban took Qala-i-Zal district and is threatening to seize Khanabad in its latest push to control the northern province of Kunduz.
Five weeks ago, the Trump administration loosened the rules to give the US military a freer hand in conducting operations against Shabaab.
Shawal is one of several areas in North Waziristan that the Pakistani military claimed it cleared after it launched an operation in 2014. However the fact that the TTP can organize 120 fighters and assault a base there indicates the area is all but cleared.
An “important” al Qaeda figure, Abdul Raheem, was reportedly killed in a drone strike in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan late last month. Al Qaeda and allied groups have sheltered in Datta Khel in the past. The Pakistani military claimed the area was cleared in Sept. 2014, but jihadists continue to operate there.
Both the Taliban and the Afghan government have slightly increased the number of Afghan districts under their control over the past three months, but the security situation remains virtually unchanged.
Yesterday’s strike is just the second reported in Pakistan this year, and the second since the US killed Afghan Taliban emir Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour in an attack in Baluchistan province in May 2016.
The US military has invested significant resources in battling the Islamic State in Afghanistan, despite the fact that the group controls areas in just four districts in Nangarhar.
This year’s “spring offensive” is named after Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, the previous emir who was killed by the US in a drone strike in Pakistan in May 2016. As in previous years, the Taliban said the main focus of its operation is the targeting of both foreign and local forces.
Bill Roggio testifies before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation, and Trade on terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the threat posed to the United States and its allies.
Usama Ibrahim was a member of al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent’s top leadership body and the chief of Al Sahab Media, al Qaeda’s official media production arm. Tariq Bhai was AQIS’ “head of Bangladeshi Affairs.”
The Taliban claimed the attack was a suicide assault, however this has not been confirmed. Camp Chapman is used by the CIA to hunt al Qaeda in the region.
Afghanistan’s defense minister and the Army chief of staff have resigned, and President Ashraf Ghani has fired four Army corps commanders as US Secretary of Defense James Mattis is visiting the country.
“4 of these martyrdom seekers were infiltrated Mujahideen that were performing their duties in headquarter as soldiers for a long period of time in order to conduct this type of attack,” the Taliban claimed.
The suicide assault was carried out by 10 Taliban fighters dressed as Afghan policemen. It may be the most effective raid on a military installation in Afghanistan since the September 2012 attack on Camp Bastion.
The Taliban has launched several major attacks against high-profile targets in Balkh in the past.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar said that Ehsanullan Ehsan was captured on Mar. 7 by Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate along with three others and subsequently turned over to the Pakistani military. The group’s claim contradicts the Pakistani military’s version of events. Earlier this week, Pakistani officials said Ehsan had voluntarily turned himself in.
Mullah Fazlullahsaid that his group’s ultimate goal is “to implement the law of Allah on the Earth” and called on Muslims to unite and wage jihad to achieve that end. Fazlullah also said that attempts made by Pakistan’s military intelligence service have largely failed and the TTP has reorganized following a tumultuous period.
US and Afghan forces have been attempting to clear the Islamic State’s so-called Khorasan province from Achin and several other districts in eastern Afghanistan for nearly two years.