Scores of Taliban recruits train at Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah Training Camp
Scores of Taliban recruits train in broad daylight at the Abu Ubaidah bin Jarrah Training Camp.
Tag Archives: Afghanistan
Taliban calls for attacks to disrupt Afghan elections
The US wants the Taliban to lay down its arms and recognize the legitimacy of the Afghan government. The State Department has even encouraged the group to “turn their bullets and bombs into ballots” and “vote.” But in a new statement, the Taliban again rejects Afghanistan’s parliamentary elections, saying it is a “demand of our faith” that they be “prevented from taking place.”
Badness personified
Jalaluddin Haqqani is dead. The terror network he created lives on.
Uzbek group shows spoils from Afghan base
Katibat Imam al Bukhari released two sets of photos this month showing captured weapons from overran Afghan military posts.
Taliban claims to shoot down Afghan military helicopter
The Afghan military was either unable or unwilling to secure the crash site and recover the bodies of its soldiers at least 10 hours after the helicopter went down.
Taliban overruns military base in Zabul
The Taliban has released yet another video showing their fighters gathering in the open after overrunning a military base without fear of reprisal from NATO or Afghan warplanes.
Al Qaeda is very much alive, and widely misunderstood
AL Qaeda’s operatives are fighting in more countries around the world today than was the case on 9/11. And its leaders still want to target the United States and its interest and allies. The war they started is far from over.
Taliban threatens Sar-i-Pul City, captures district in Jawzjan
The Taliban overran the Kham Ab district center in Jawzjan province in the last 24 hours as the group continues to pressure Afghan forces in the north.
Mapping Taliban controlled and contested districts in Afghanistan: LWJ vs US military assessments
The New York Times map compares assessments from the US military and FDD’s Long War Journal on Taliban controlled and contested districts in Afghanistan.
Taliban announces death of Jalaluddin Haqqani
Jalaluddin fought the Soviets, served as the Minister of Frontiers during the Taliban rule of Afghanistan from 1996-2001, was a member of the Taliban’s Quetta Shura, or governing body, and father of Sirajuddin Haqqani, one of the Taliban’s two deputy emirs and overall military commander.
US confirms death of emir of Islamic State Khorasan
The press release that announced Orakzai’s death said that he “is the third Islamic State – Khorasan chief killed in 25 months.” However, that is incorrect. The US military has announced the death of four Khorasan province emirs since July 2016.
Faryab capital under Taliban threat as Afghan troops desert bases
Afghan military officers said there are no problems in Faryab and that the abandonment of the bases was all part of plan.
Analysis: Losing a War
The Trump administration is desperately trying to negotiate with the Taliban’s senior leadership. The Obama administration did as well, with the effort ending in a diplomatic fiasco.
Afghan forces cede Faryab district to the Taliban
The Afghan military continues to struggle to hold onto districts in remote areas of the country. The fall of Ghormach was all but certain after the Taliban overran a large base in the district on Aug. 11 and killed and captured nearly 100 Afghan soldiers.
Islamic State’s emir for its Khorasan province reported killed
Bajauri’s death is likely to be touted as a strategic blow to Khorasan province. However, the US military has killed the three previous leaders in the span of 25 months, and yet the group has expanded its operations.
Taliban video shows fighters on captured Afghan base in Baghlan
Like many other similar Taliban videos that show the aftermath of successful assaults on military bases and outposts, the Taliban fighters are seen walking throughout the base in broad daylight, without fear of being targeted by Afghan or Resolute Support aircraft.
Analysis: Gen. Nicholson says US strategy in Afghanistan ‘is working,’ despite the facts
At a Pentagon press conference, General Nicholson again gave a Pollyannish assessment of the state of Afghanistan. He claimed the peace process is working and the Taliban’s offensive is failing, and took credit for a Taliban victory over the Islamic State.
NATO touts efficacy of Afghan crisis response unit
A team of nine Islamic State jihadists launched a mortar attack in Kabul yesterday as President Ashraf Ghani was delivering a speech. NATO’s Resolute Support touts the efficacy of the Afghans’ response, but the Islamic State’s network continues to regularly launch operations in the Afghan capital.
In Afghan north, another district falls to the Taliban
The fall of the northern district of Bilchiragh in Faryab province, is part of a disturbing pattern of Afghan forces being surrounded by the Taliban and then either overwhelmed or forced to surrender.
Taliban fighters loot district center in Ghazni
In what has become an all too familiar scene in Afghanistan, Taliban fighters celebrated their victory and looted a district center in broad daylight, without fear of reprisal.
Taliban occupied Ghazni City police station as Resolute Support claimed city was under Afghan control
The Taliban occupied a police station in Ghazni City and looted the facility even as Resolute Support claimed the entire city was under Afghan government control.
Islamic State claims deadly school bombing in Kabul
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a school in the Afghan capital yesterday. The so-called caliphate’s jihadists regularly target Shiite civilians in its “suicide and complex attacks.”
Taliban overruns another base in north as it withdraws from Ghazni City
The Taliban never slowed in launching numerous attacks across the country even as it committed significant resources to the fight in Ghazni.
Al Qaeda’s alliance with the Taliban ‘remains firm,’ UN says
According to a new report published by the United Nations, al Qaeda’s “alliance with the Taliban and other terrorist groups in Afghanistan remains firm,” as al Qaeda and the Taliban are “closely allied.” Some of the UN’s Member States consider al Qaeda’s global network to be a bigger long-term threat than the Islamic State.
Resolute Support obscures status of 7 Ghazni districts as 3 more fall to Taliban
In addition to Ajristan and Khwaja Umar, the districts of Nawur, Jaghatu, and Deh Yak have fallen to the Taliban. Meanwhile, Resolute Support has intentionally misled the the public about the status of seven of Ghazni’s districts. Resolute Support claimed these districts were under government control; in reality the Taliban physically controlled the terrain while the Afghan government operated the government remotely from Ghazni City.
Video from Ghazni City shows Taliban on streets as buildings ablaze
Meanwhile, Resolute Support continues its claim Ghazni City is under Afghan control and uses Taliban body counts as a measure of success.
Taliban seizes second district in Ghazni as provincial capital remains contested
The current fighting in and around Ghazni City indicates that the Taliban has a detailed plan to tie up Afghan forces while attempting to seize the provincial capital. Additionally, the Taliban was able to mass its forces undetected; the Afghan military was clearly caught off guard and is struggling to get into the fight four days after the Taliban launched its attack.
Ghazni City remains under assault, despite RS assurances
Resolute Support initially described the attack on Ghazni City as a “failed attempt” that would be used by the press to generate sensational headlines. Two days later, Afghan forces are still battling entrenched Taliban fighters inside the city, and the vital Kabul-Kandahar remains severed. Battles such as the one in Ghazni, reveal a disturbing pattern of misinformation and deception by Resolute Support when it comes to assessing and reporting on the Taliban’s attacks on major cities as well as its assaults on district centers.
Ghazni City up for grabs after coordinated Taliban assault
Both the Afghan government (and Resolute Support) and the Taliban claim they control the city. The Afghan government and Resolute Support have proven unreliable in the past when it denied that the Taliban twice took control of Kunduz City, as well as Farah City earlier this year.
Afghan forces target al Qaeda commanders in Helmand and Nangarhar
The raids in Helmand and Nangarhar indicate that al Qaeda’s leaders are not focused on its survival. Al Mesri was focused on manufacturing IEDs to support the Taliban’s insurgency in Helmand, while Rahmatullah and his cohorts were operating in Nangarhar’s provincial capital.