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.
Tag Archives: Afghanistan
Uzbek group shows ambush in northern Afghanistan
The video does not make clear where the ambush took place, but Katibat Imam al Bukhari has advertised its role fighting in the northern Afghan province of Faryab in the past.
Islamic State attacks Save the Children charity in eastern Afghanistan
The attack forced the charity to temporarily shut down its offices across the country.
Pakistan ‘condemns drone strike’ that killed Haqqani Network commander
The Pakistan government often criticizes US airstrikes that kill members of the Afghan Taliban, including Haqqani Network leaders.
Afghan and Coalition forces prepare for 2018 offensive against the Taliban
Afghan forces will be on the offensive in the coming year, but have significant challenges ahead.
Taliban terrorists lay siege to Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul
The Taliban quickly claimed credit for an assault on the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan. The jihadists’ siege lasted more than half a day before it was finally ended by Afghan security forces.
Analysis: US seeks extradition of Bin Laden loyalist imprisoned in France
The US is seeking the extradition of Christian Ganczarski from France, where he has been imprisoned since 2003. A French court convicted Ganczarski on terror-related charges for his role in the Apr. 11, 2002 suicide bombing at a synagogue in Djerba, Tunisia. The bomber called Ganczarski beforehand to receive his “blessing.” A newly-released indictment focuses on Ganczarski’s other ties to al Qaeda, including a plot targeting American interests in Australia.
US drone strike inside Pakistan targets ‘Afghan extremist’
The last five US counterterrorism strikes have all taken place inside Pakistan’s Kurram tribal agency. The Afghan Taliban, including the Haqqani Network, is known to operate inside Kurram and use it as a base to attack Afghanistan.
Pakistan pits CENTCOM commander against Trump administration
In a conversation with Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, the Pakistani military claimed CENTCOM commander General Joseph Votel said the idea that the Taliban uses Pakistan as a safe haven is “undermining … Pakistan’s contributions in war against terrorism” in Washington.
Pakistan frees jihadist leader behind deadly uprising
Sufi Mohammed was responsible for the Taliban uprising in Swat and the peace agreement that put jihadists in control of a significant area of Pakistan from 2007 to 2009.
Trump blasts Pakistan for its ‘lies & deceit’
If Trump is serious about hitting back at Pakistan, expect the US to ramp up drone strikes against jihadists, and not just in Pakistan’s tribal areas.
Islamic State’s Khorasan ‘province’ claims responsibility for attack on cultural center in Kabul
Dozens of civilians were killed during a bombing at the Tabayan cultural center in Kabul, Afghanistan earlier today. The Islamic State’s Khorasan “province,” which regularly targets Shiite civilians and places of worship in Afghanistan, quickly claimed responsibility.
US kills Afghan Taliban commander in drone strike inside Pakistan
Jamiuddin, was a “trusted man” within the Haqqani Network, a subgroup of the Afghan Taliban, who helped fighters move from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
Taliban features its ‘Umari Martyrdom Battalion’
The video is the latest in a series of propaganda that promotes Taliban units and the network of training camps.
US targets Taliban drug facilities in Helmand
F/A-18 Super Hornets, flown from a US Navy aircraft carrier, targeted and destroyed the Taliban drug labs in Helmand province.
US killed commander of Taliban’s ‘Red Unit’
Mullah Shah Wali, the leader of the Red Unit’s forces in Helmand , was killed in a US airstrike in the Taliban-controlled district of Musa Qala. The Red Unit has served as the Taliban’s shock troops and special forces.
Afghan official ‘happy’ Taliban controls 219 schools in Herat
“We are very happy with this work of the Taliban,” Herat’s director of education said after noting that 219 of the province’s 969 schools are controlled by the Taliban. He admitted that five districts are off limits to education officials.
Pakistan laughingly says its fight against terrorists is ‘unmatched in the world’
“Pakistan’s resolve, actions and successes in the fight against terrorism, terrorist violence and terrorists is unmatched in the world,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the day after Lashkar-e-Taiba leader Hafiz Saeed was freed from house arrest.
Taliban promotes gains in remote Kandahar district
The video is similar to others produced by the Taliban that highlights the group’s battlefield gains against overstretched Afghan forces.
Coalition attacks Taliban command center and drug labs
The US military and Afghan Air Force hit a Taliban command and control center and seven “drug labs” in what was described as “previously un-targeted safe havens in the South and Southwest” Afghanistan.
Understanding al Qaeda through the massive trove of Osama bin Laden’s files
On Nov. 17, The Foundation for Defense of Democracies and FDD’s Long War Journal held an event to discuss the findings from the recently released documents from Osama bin Laden’s compound.
Taliban video shows fighters entering valley after Afghan forces retreat
The Taliban released video of its forces entering the Fanduqistan Valley in Afghanistan’s central province of Parwan after Afghan forces retreated.
Islamic State eulogizes former Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan figure killed in Iraq
Abdul Hakim al Tatari, a Russian Tatar member of the former Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, joined the Islamic State’s Wilayat Khurasan before migrating to Syria. He was later killed in the battles around Baiji, Iraq, just days after arriving to Islamic State-held territory.
Taliban touts “Special Forces Unit”
While the Taliban’s “Special Forces Unit” certainly isn’t trained to the same standards and proficiency as US special operations forces, it has proven to be effective on the battlefield against its Afghan adversaries.
SIGAR: ‘Afghan government district control deteriorated’
The Afghan government’s ability to control its territory has “deteriorated” as the Taliban has gained control of additional districts, according to SIGAR. This tracks with an analysis of Afghanistan’s districts conducted by FDD’s Long War Journal, which tracks Taliban controlled and contested districts.
Islamic Jihad Union showcases ‘special forces’ training camp
The IJU joins a list of jihadist groups that have publicized its training camps inside Afghanistan, including the Taliban, the Turkistan Islamic Party, and the Imam Bukhari Jamaat.
training camp joins similar training camps in Afghanistan advertised by the Taliban, the Turkistan Islamic Party, Imam Bukhari Jamaat, Harakat-ul-Mujahideen and others.
Taliban fighters mass in western Afghan province
Hundreds of Taliban fighters in the western province of Farah paraded their vehicles and then stood in formation for a lengthy period of time, without fear of being targeted by Afghan or Coalition forces, to listen to an official give a speech recently.
SIGAR: Alarming rate of Afghan trainees in the US are going AWOL
Afghan forces account for just one percent of the total number of foreign military personnel trained in the US since 2005, but account for nearly 50 percent of the AWOL cases in the same time frame.
Leader of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar emerges after reports of his death
Omar Khalid Khurasani, who was reported to have died on Oct. 19 after a US drone strike, is alive. However, he confirmed the death of Khalifa Umar Mansour, the group’s military leader who was killed in a US airstrike back in Afghanistan in July 2016.
Taliban suicide bomber kills 15 Afghan army cadets
Resolute Support, NATO’s mission in Afghanistan, claimed that today’s bombing in Kabul “shows the insurgents are desperate and cannot win.” However the Taliban has sustained offensive operations in all areas of the country and has had battlefield successes against a struggling Afghan military.