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.
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.
An American soldier was killed while fighting the Islamic State’s jihadists in eastern Afghanistan. While the Wilayah Khorasan (or Khorasan province) has suffered significant losses since early 2016, it still maintains a significant operational capacity and can mount high-profile attacks.
While the report may be seen as a propaganda designed to bolster its claims of controlling territory, it does not inflate the Taliban’s control of districts centers and contested areas throughout the country. The Taliban also admits that there are large areas in Afghanistan where it has only a minimal presence.
The US military said Qari Yasin was responsible for the deaths of two US Marines in the Sept. 2008 suicide assault on the Islamabad Marriott Hotel, and confirmed he was killed in Paktika province.
Afghan forces withdrew from Sangin’s district center, then bombs government buildings, military bases, and the police headquarters. Seven of Helmand’s 14 districts are now under Taliban control.
Commander Yusuf Wazir, the slain Taliban leader, also lost a father and a brother in previous US drone strikes, according to the Movement of the Taliban in Pakistan. Three Taliban commanders are reported to have been killed in US drone strikes along the Afghan-Pakistani border since the beginning of March.
The death of Qari Muhammad Yasin, an experienced Pakistani jihadist, has not been confirmed by the US or jihadists operating in the region. He was targeted in an area of Afghanistan known to serve as an al Qaeda safe haven.
One of the training facilities is in a contested district in Faryab province. The Taliban has publicized 12 camps since late 2014.
The shooting, which took place as US troops were training their Afghan counterparts on a base in Helmand province, is the first recorded insider attack since Oct. 2016.
Al Qaeda has released a eulogy for Abu al Khayr al Masri, who was killed in a US airstrike in Idlib, Syria in late February. The eulogy emphasizes his close relationship with Osama bin Laden and his role as al Qaeda’s “representative” in meetings with the Taliban. Once in Syria, Masri was “honored” to oversee “combat operations” in the insurgents’ “management and planning rooms.”
The US killed al Qaeda veteran Abu al Khayr al Masri in a drone strike in Idlib, Syria in late February. Masri was identified as al Qaeda’s “general deputy” in July 2016. He worked to unite Syrian rebel groups under a common banner.
When US leaders plead with the Taliban to make peace, they provide it with all of the fodder it needs to score a propaganda victory.
The security situation in Afghanistan continues to deteriorate. The Afghan press has confirmed that the Tala Wa Barfak district in Baghlan province is now under the Taliban’s control.
The Taliban claimed credit for complex suicide assaults in Kabul earlier today. The jihadists hit military, police, and intelligence buildings in the Afghan capital.
The commander of US Forces in Afghanistan used Mullah Abdul Salam’s death to encourage the Taliban to reconcile with the Afghan government, but the Taliban has no desire for peace.
As shadow governor for Kunduz, Salam has succeeded in making the province one of the most unstable in all of Afghanistan. His forces overran the provincial capital in 2015 and then again in 2016.
The Afghan Ministry of Defense claimed the helicopter made an emergency landing due to a technical issue. In the past, the Afghan military has been less than forthcoming about attacks on its aviation assets and has even attempted to cover up the loss of its helicopters.
The Imam Bukhari Jamaat and the Islamic Jihad Union have claimed attacks in eastern and northern Afghanistan. Members of these two groups are also known to have operated in Syria.
The Taliban claims it now controls four of Kandahar’s 18 districts, and that others are contested. Shorabak was the location of an al Qaeda camp that was described by a US general in 2015 as “probably the largest training camp-type facility that we have seen in 14 years of war.”