Eleven Afghan soldiers and fifty-four militants have been killed in clashes and operations by Afghan security forces in different parts of Afghanistan.
US President Donald Trump is considering sending thousands more troops to break the stalemate against the resurgent militants.
At least 10 Afghan soldiers were killed when Taliban militants stormed their army base in the southern province of Kandahar, officials said today, in the latest attack on Western-backed forces.
This comes as the Afghan intelligence operatives foiled plans by the Taliban group to carry out a series of attacks in capital Kabul.
In February, the commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Gen John Nicholson told a Senate committee there was a shortfall military fighter.
A local security source was, however, cited in Afghan press reports as saying that 11 soldiers had lost their lives in the Monday night attack.
Pentagon officials are drawing up plans to add 3,000 to 5,000 personnel to the US -led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation training mission, arguing that the extra troops could work more closely with Afghan soldiers and police, who are suffering heavy casualties, and force the Taliban to the negotiating table. Their short-term goal would be to improve the combat ability of Afghanistan’s 352,000-member security forces; the long-term aim would be to make them self-sufficient by 2020, a timetable set by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani. President Barack Obama increased the USA troop presence to almost 100,000 before beginning a phased withdrawal in 2012.
“Such episodes could be repeated, because in terms of quantity, the army units exist everywhere across Afghanistan, in such situation, there is a possibility that negligence could lead to a major loss to the structure of the government”, said military analyst Mirza Mohammad Yarmand.
According to Jafari, some foreign countries have launched their proxy wars in Afghanistan in order to take advantage of the chaos and deplete the war-torn country of its natural resources.
“We are not expanding the military footprint, we are thickening it”, Salvin said, referring to plans to have more trainers and advisers working directly with Afghan troops and officers in lower-level units, rather than being limited to dealing with senior officers.
He said top officials continue to enrich themselves with logistical contracts and appoint the relatives of former warlords to key positions, bypassing career professionals.
On Sunday, authorities confirmed Taliban fighters killed at least 20 Afghan troops and wounded 15 others in the southern Zabul province.
Shabeer Ahmad Ibrahimi, a university lecturer in Islamic law, said the war can be resolved only by Afghans, not worldwide forces. He said government forces beat back the offensive shortly after reinforcements arrived in the area.
Secretary General of Afghanistan’s National Welfare Party Mohammad Hassan Jafari says Iran is the only country that wants peace and stability in Afghanistan.
