In Helmand, Taliban dominates security situation
The Taliban currently controls seven of Helmand’s 13 districts and contests the other six, according to date compiled by LWJ.
Tag Archives: Afghanistan
Taliban forces hundreds of schools in Kunduz to close
The closure of the schools highlights the Taliban’s grip on the province, where all of the districts are currently contested.
Afghan mission releases district-level assessments
The Afghanistan watchdog was finally able to release the military’s own district-level assessment, allowing for a direct comparison with our data. The Taliban currently controls 37 districts, contests 200, and claims to control two more.
Taliban overruns Afghan district, kills governor
The district of Khwaja Omari was previously considered to be one of the more secure areas in Ghazni, which is a hotbed for the Taliban and other foreign jihadist groups such as al Qaeda.
Islamic Jihad Union conducts joint raid with the Taliban
The IJU is the second foreign jihadist group to highlight joint battlefield operations with the Afghan Taliban in recent weeks.
US military kills senior Islamic State commander in Afghan north
Hikmatullah is part of the contingent of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan that defected and joined the Islamic State after the Taliban was caught hiding the death of Mullah Omar.
Inspector General reveals DoD can’t verify where $3.1 billion was spent in Afghanistan
According to the report, insufficient US oversight and Afghan capability led to mismanagement and an overall lack of assurance as to exactly where DoD funds ended up.
Can Resolute Support possibly still not understand Taliban strategy?
Resolute Support continues to claim that the Taliban failed in its strategic goals in 2017 and discounts the importance of the Taliban’s rural insurgency.
State adds Uzbek jihadist group to terror list
Katibat Imam al Bukhari (also known as the Imam Bukhari Jamaat), an Uzbek jihadist group that operates in Syria and Afghanistan, has been formally designated as a terrorist organization by the US State Department today.
Islamic State suicide bomber strikes near shrine in Afghan capital
The Islamic State’s Khorasan branch quickly claimed responsibility for an attack near a shrine in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Sunni jihadists regularly target Shiite civilians in Afghanistan and elsewhere.
US military will not pursue Taliban into Pakistan
A US military spokesman also said that the military would be fine if the Taliban was operating on the Pakistani side of the border just as long as Afghanistan was secured.
Turkistan Islamic Party highlights joint raids with the Afghan Taliban
Turkistan Islamic Party fighters, alongside the Afghan Taliban, released a video showing the combined forces overrunning remote Afghan military outposts in mountainous terrain.
Afghan special forces hit hard in deadly Taliban ambush
The Taliban killed at least 10 Afghan commandos and several other security personnel during an ambush in Farah province last night.
US hits Pakistani Taliban training camp in eastern Afghanistan
The son of Mullah Fazlullah, the emir of the TTP, and two commanders, including the camp’s trainer of suicide bombers, are reported to have been killed.
German captured while fighting with Taliban’s Red Unit
The Afghan military said it captured a German citizen who was fighting in Helmand province and belonged to the Taliban’s Red Unit, which serves as an elite unit that spearheads attacks on Afghan forces.
US military confirms death of Pakistani Taliban commander
Rehan, a commander from the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan who also served as an al Qaeda facilitator, was killed in an airstrike in Bermal district in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Paktika. Bermal is a known jihadist hotspot.
Taliban flaunts apparent control in Kandahar district
The Taliban videotaped a nighttime assault on an Afghan base in the highly contested district of Khakrez in Kandahar province. The base was overran and the Taliban loitered there into daytime without fear of reprisal for Coalition and Afghan air forces.
As security in Farah worsens, Taliban stage deadly attack
The Taliban killed more than 20 soldiers during a nighttime raid on an Afghan military base. Security in Farah has deteriorated over the past several years and Afghan officials now say the provincial capital is again threatened by the Taliban.
Taliban still intent on ruling Afghanistan after ‘peaceful’ message to US
The Taliban has consistently stated over the past decade that it does not seek to share power with the Afghan government, and the only peace possible begins with the US abandoning the country.
Pakistani General talks tough on terrorism, but remains short on action
General Bajwa and Pakistani officials can pontificate all they like about how their country has eliminated terrorism and no longer permit terrorists to use its soil to attack another country. A look at the facts tells another story, and that is one of Pakistani duplicity.
Pakistani Taliban confirms US killed deputy emir in North Waziristan drone strike
Sajna Mehsud was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan, not in Afghanistan like some Pakistani officials have claimed. Sajna lead the group’s powerful Mehsud faction, was close to al Qaeda, and was responsible for murdering thousands of Pakistanis.
Treasury Department sanctions 3 jihadist facilitators based in Pakistan
The US Treasury Department designated three jihadist facilitators who work for Sheikh Aminullah, a key al Qaeda and Taliban facilitator based in Peshawar, Pakistan. All three have allegedly facilitated Aminullah’s travels to the Gulf, where he has presumably raised funds. Two of the newly-sanctioned jihadists have been tied to operations in Afghanistan.
US launches airstrikes on Taliban training camps
The camps were used by the East Turkistan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other terrorist groups.
At its Umar Khattab training camp, Taliban trains in the snow
The Taliban previously publicized this training facility in a video that was released in July of 2016. Since 2014, the Taliban has disclosed the existence of 17 training camps.
US military blocks release of key Afghan force development data
For the first time, US and Coalition authorities are restricting access to key indicators of Afghan security force development. The lack of transparency comes on the heels of a new strategy to enhance Afghan forces in order to supplant Coalition troops in the fight against the Taliban.
DoD releases Afghan district data, continues to withhold other key information
The district control data shows that the Taliban continues to slowly wrest control of Afghan districts from the government. SIGAR is still not authorized to released key information on district and population control as well as the Afghan security forces.
US officials estimate Taliban strength at a minimum of 60,000 fighters
The estimate has tripled from 20,000 a few years ago. However, one US official somehow remains “hopeful many fighters are not ideological and will eventually lay down their arms,” despite the fact that the Taliban has demonstrated a commitment to the fight for over 16 years.
US military halts release of data on Taliban-controlled districts
The DoD would not be suppressing information on Taliban district and population control as well as key metrics on the Afghan security forces if the fight was going well.
Designations highlight Taliban’s longstanding ties to al Qaeda
The designation of Taliban leaders on the Peshawar Shura highlights the continuity of the Taliban-al Qaeda relationship in Afghanistan and Pakistan that has endured more than 16 years of war against the US and its allies.
Newly created ‘teaching’ brigade prepares to deploy to Afghanistan
The Security Force Assist Brigade (SFAB) will be responsible for developing partner nation militaries, an area in which the United States has struggled in the past.