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US to deploy hundred of additional troops to Helmand

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(Last Updated On: October 25, 2022)

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Hundreds of additional US troops are slated to deploy to a volatile province inAfghanistan to bolster the local military against a resurgent Taliban, according to the Guardian News Agency.

The Guardian writes that by month’s end, a force described as battalion-strength, consisting of mostly army soldiers, will arrive in Helmand province where US and UK forces have struggled in battles for over a decade to drive out the Taliban.

In keeping with Barack Obama’s formal declaration that the US is not engaged in combat, despite elite forces recently participating in an hours-long battle in Helmand, defense officials said the additional troops would not take part in combat. But they will help the existing Helmand force defend itself against Taliban attacks, officials said.

US military officials declined to offer many specifics about an upcoming reinforcement, but they described the mission as primarily aimed at bolstering the performance of the embattled 215th Corps of the Afghan military, through training.

The 215th Corps has recently had its commander replaced amid performance and corruption concerns, and has endured “unusually high operating tempo for long periods of time”, outgoing US commander General John Campbell testified to Congress last week. It is among four Afghan corps that still have US military advisers embedded within it, despite a recent pullback to advise at higher levels.

“Our mission remains the same,” said Colonel Michael Lawhorn, a spokesman for the US command in Kabul, “to train, advise, and assist our Afghan counterparts, and not to participate in combat operations.”

The Guardian understands the additional forces in Helmand will not increase the current total troop numbers in Afghanistan, which currently stand at 9,800, but will instead be deployed from troops already in the country. Batallion strengths vary, but can constitute a force of up to 800 troops.

While new advisers make up a significant component of the additional forces, Lawhorn said that another mission of the reinforcement will be to “bolster force protection for the current staff of advisers”, suggesting a concern for the safety of the existing Helmand force amid major recent Taliban gains.

The US military has sounded warnings of a deteriorating situation in Afghanistan, in Helmand and beyond, that have prompted significant revisions in Obama’s war plans.

Already Obama has agreed to leave 5,500 troops in Afghanistan past the end of his presidency, but his newly confirmed commander, General John “Mick” Nicholson, told a Senate panel recently that increased insurgent violence will prompt him to re-evaluate troop requests, and left the door open to bolstering a force Obama has sought to draw down.

In January, a US special forces soldier died and two others were wounded as they assisted the Afghan military in repelling a Taliban assault in the province that lasted hours.

While the Pentagon initially resisted categorizing the battle as “combat”, press secretary Peter Cook called it a “combat situation, but [US troops] are not in the lead intentionally”, illustrating how the difference between combat and advisory missions can blur in practice.

Opium-rich Helmand has emerged as a Taliban priority, as most of its 2015 attacks focused on the province. Unlike earlier eras of the war, the Taliban have declined to take a winter break and have fought in the province all year.

The Taliban have come close to overrunning a district center in Helmand, Sangin, where more than 100 UK troops died during a war that has entered its 15th year, despite US airstrikes in late December. Kabul is said to control only three of Helmand’s 14 districts, including the provincial capital of Lashkar Gah.

Outgoing commander Campbell, testifying to Congress last week, said that while current rules of engagement prevented US troops who are not engaged in counter-terrorism raids from initiating fights with the Taliban, “I have no restrictions on providing force protection” for troops that train Afghans.

Lawhorn described the reinforcement as a “planned deployment of additional personnel”, but at least one congressional official contacted by the Guardian was unaware of the plan.

 

Source: The Guardian

 

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Group of Afghans living abroad in Kabul for talks with Kabir

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(Last Updated On: April 16, 2024)

Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, the political deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA), met with a number of representatives and elders of the Union of Afghans living in Europe who are in Kabul at the moment.

The group, representing the Union of Afghans living in Germany, UK, Belgium, Sweden, Austria, Turkey, Norway as well as the United Arab Emirates, shared suggestions and ideas of Afghans abroad with Kabir.

One of the delegation members, Dr. Khushal Rohi, said that they have unions abroad and represent a large number of Afghans.

He said the Islamic Emirate has made considerable progress and achievements in the last three years, which Afghans and the international community are satisfied with.

According to him, the current system is the result of many sacrifices and no one should be allowed to undermine and destroy it.

He added that Afghans living abroad have great scientific and economic abilities that the Islamic Emirate can use for the development of the country.

Rohi appreciated the economic and financial policy of Afghanistan and said that Afghanistan has been saved from islands of power, corruption, insecurity and extortion. According to him, no one in the region and the world is in favor of war.

He added that the Islamic Emirate should remove its cabinet from the caretaker mode and establish a permanent government. He also called for girls and women to be allowed an education and to work.

Delegation members said that the conditions and situation of Afghanistan is very different from what is reported in the media and said they will convey the true picture of Afghanistan to the community of Afghans living in Europe.

They added that there is a need to include other strata in the government and strengthen its framework.

Zargai Maliar, a member of the delegation, also spoke and said that he is happy to be in Afghanistan and observe the progress being made.

He said that the current opportunities for the settlement and strengthening of the Afghan system has historical value and there is a need to strengthen Afghanistan’s relations with Afghans and the international community.

He said women should see themselves in the Islamic system and women should be allowed to work and study.

He also said they are happy to be a bridge between Afghanistan and the European Union and will work for the country’s recognition.

This delegation also promised to convey the position of the Islamic Emirate to Afghans living in Europe and will encourage them to visit their country and observe its progress closely.

Meanwhile, Kabir welcomed the delegation and said that he hoped they were able to see the positive achievements made by the IEA.

He said that after the regain of power, a paralyzed Afghanistan was left to the Islamic Emirate and the Islamic Emirate started “to settle the country and activate and strengthen the system from scratch”.

He said that the majority of officials had been expelled or were in the process of being expelled when the IEA’s Supreme Leader announced a general amnesty and all the departments resumed their activities.

The political deputy said that the Islamic Emirate has changed the ranks of security and the leadership of the departments and the majority of security forces of the former government have left. However, a number of them have remained and now serve in the ranks of the police and the army, he said.

“The nation never wishes for the corrupt authorities of the past to come back to power and does not want Afghanistan to become an island of power and a center of usurpation, corruption and drugs,” said Kabir.

He said that after the announcement of the general amnesty, “the Islamic Emirate set its priority on economic development and infrastructure affairs, and in the past two years, Afghanistan has been moving in a good direction in the fields of economic and commercial strengthening”.

According to him, Afghanistan had been affected by occupation, war and violence for two decades, “seeds of disunity were planted in our country, brothers and sisters were encouraged to enmity for personal interests, and people were divided in the name of ethnicity, position and language”. He added that with the arrival of the Islamic Emirate, “this hypocrisy has disappeared.”

Kabir said that now Afghanistan is a single Afghan nation with an Islamic system, and sinister plans and efforts to divide it have failed.

He clarified that now is a good time to strengthen national unity, and for the Islamic system to stand on its own feet.

He added that the protection of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, national participation, independence and freedom are guaranteed and Afghanistan is taking fast steps to move towards a better future.

Kabir said that the priority of the Islamic Emirate in Afghanistan is to provide a permanent policy and economic stability, to consolidate national unity and to invest in it, and it is taking steps according to the lessons of the past.

He added that the Islamic Emirate believes that Afghanistan is the connecting point of the region and implementation of major regional projects is impossible without the presence of Afghanistan, and they want these projects to be implemented.

According to him, dozens of companies have invested in Afghanistan and there are discussions with many other companies.

He said that the Islamic Emirate wants order and stability in the region and the world. “Our position is that we respect the independence and territorial integrity of countries and our independence should be respected as well. The Islamic Emirate will never allow threats to be made against anyone from Afghanistan.”

He told the delegation that today security is ensured throughout Afghanistan, you can travel anywhere in Afghanistan without fear and encourage Afghans living in Europe to return to their homeland.

He welcomed the proposal of the mentioned delegation that they mediate between the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and European countries.

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US identifies Kabul airport suicide bomber

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(Last Updated On: April 15, 2024)

The U.S. military has for the first time publicly named the suicide bomber behind the deadly attack at Kabul airport during the chaotic final days of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021.

The identification was part of findings from a supplemental review ordered by U.S. Central Command to build on the military’s initial investigation by taking into account information and claims that have since surfaced.

The review also found that members of a Marine scout sniper platoon at the airport who believed they had the bomber in their crosshairs were mistaken, and they would not have been able to prevent the attack, ABC News reported.

In a recent briefing with reporters about the review, U.S. officials identified Abdul Rahman al-Logari as the perpetrator of the attack that killed 13 American service members and some 170 Afghans on Aug. 26, 2021.

Al-Logari had been a member of Daesh-Khorasan since 2016, according to a member of the review team from the US army.

At one point he was detained by coalition forces and held in custody, according to the review official.

Daesh claimed responsibility for the attack at Abbey Gate shortly after the bombing, praising al-Logari for committing the attack.

Republican Congress members have repeatedly raised the possibility the bombing could have been prevented in their attacks on the Biden administration’s handling of the withdrawal, largely based on testimony from former Marine Sgt. Tyler Vargas-Andrews, a member of one of the sniper teams providing overwatch near Abbey Gate.

In a March 2023 House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, Vargas-Andrews claimed his team had a suspicious man matching a description of the suspected Abbey Gate suicide bomber in his sights before the deadly explosion on Aug. 26. He said they were denied permission to fire and prevent the blast, which claimed two of his own limbs.

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Tehran says it won’t allow anti-IEA political activities to take place in Iran

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(Last Updated On: April 15, 2024)

Iran’s deputy ambassador in Kabul, Sayed Hasan Murtazawi, said on Monday that the opponents of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) live in his country as ordinary refugees and they are not allowed to engage in political activities.

Murtazawi made the remarks as he met Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, political deputy of the prime minister, in Kabul on Monday.

The official said that his country is seeking to facilitate positive engagement between the regional countries and the Islamic Emirate, and expand the relations between Kabul and Tehran.

In the meeting, Mawlawi Abdul Kabir considered Iran’s attack on Israel as Tehran’s legitimate right and added that Afghanistan wants to have good relations with all its neighbors.

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