US Marines to return to Afghanistan´s Helmand province

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/nato-says-sta...dly-attack-hits-kabul-military-hospital-02355

The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission In Afghanistan reaffirmed support to the Afghan security institutions following a deadly attack on a military hospital in capital Kabul earlier today.

“We are aware of the report of Kabul hospital attack & are monitoring the situation. We stand ready to assist Afghan security services,” the alliance said in a Twiiter post.


The alliance went on to say “Once again insurgents show complete disrespect for humanity by attacking a hospital. We stand with Afghan people against terrorism.”

“The attack on the Charsad Bester Military hospital is reprehensible and we condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms,” the alliance added.

A group of insurgents launched a coordinated attack on the main military hospital, the Sardar Mohammad Daud Khan Hospital, in Wazir Mohammad Akbar Khan diplomatic part of the city earlier today.

The attack was launched after an explosion took place near the entrance gate of the hospital, allowing the insurgents to penetrate inside the hospital and start clash with the security forces.

There are no reports available regarding the exact number of casualties so far.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/20-taliban-militants-killed-in-foreign-forces-airstrike-in-kandahar-02358

At least twenty Taliban militants were killed in an airstrike conducted by the foreign forces in southern Kandahar province of Afghanistan.

According to the local security officials, the militants were targeted as they were planning to launch a coordinated attack on Nish district.

Provincial police spokesman Zia Durani said the airstrike was carried out in Lam area located between Nish and Khakriz districts.

He said the airstrike was conducted amid ongoing operations by the Afghan forces to clear Nish district of militants.

In the meantime, the Ministry of Defense (MoD), said the Afghan forces also conducted an airstrike in the vicinity of Nish district.

MoD said at least four militants were killed in the airstrike and another militant was wounded.

The security situation had improved considerably during the recent years but the anti-government armed militants have resumed their insurgency as they attempt to boost insurgency in key southern provinces.

The Taliban group has launched numerous attacks on the neighboring Helmand province last year and earlier this year as the local officials are saying the group attempted to establish a part of its leadership council in this province.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/no-lasting-ac...itary-against-haqqani-network-gen-votel-02365

The commander of the United States Central Command General Joseph L. Votel has said the Pakistani military and security services have not taken lasting actions against the notorious Haqqani terrorist network inside its soil so far.

In his statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Votel said “Pakistan remains a critical partner in the counter-terrorism fight. Twenty U.S-designated terrorist organizations operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan sub-region; seven of the 20 organizations are in Pakistan.”

Gen. Votel further added “So long as these groups maintain safe haven inside of Pakistan they will threaten long-term stability in Afghanistan. Of particular concern to us is the Haqqani Network (HQN) which poses the greatest threat to coalition forces operating in Afghanistan.”

“To date, the Pakistan military and security services have not taken lasting actions against HQN. We have consistently called upon the Pakistanis to take the necessary actions to deny terrorists safe haven and improve security in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region,” he added.

However, he said “We have seen some promising coordination between the Pakistan and Afghanistan militaries aimed at addressing instability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. The Pakistan military in particular continues to conduct counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the FATA and facilitate, via ground and air lines of communication, the sustainment of coalition operations in Afghanistan.”

Haqqani network was formed in the late 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The group is allied with al-Qaida and the Afghan Taliban and cooperates with other terrorist organizations in the region.

The US Department of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 7, 2012.

 

[Hindustani78]

The U.S. is mulling additional forces in Afghanistan to break a “stalemate” between the Kabul government it backs and Taliban fighters, according to Washington’s top general for the region.

"We are developing a strategy and we are in discussions with the secretary and the department right now," Central Command Commander Gen. Joseph Votel said during testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee.

"I do believe it will involve additional forces to ensure that we can make the advise and assist mission more effective," he said of the NATO-led mission.

The U.S. currently has just shy of 8,500 troops assisting Kabul's effort against the Taliban, but the general leading the U.S. effort said last month that he needs "a few thousand" more troops to meet his objectives.

Saying he agrees with Gen. John Nicholson's "approach", Votel said the additional forces would be used to improve U.S. support for Afghanistan's Air Force and "special operations capability.

"That's certainly a discussion we're having with the secretary right now. I won't presage a decision here," he said.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/3-us-soldiers-wounded-in-an-explosion-in-east-of-afghanistan-02392
At least three American soldiers were wounded in an explosion in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The NATO-led Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan said “A US mine-resistant vehicle struck an IED near Jalalabad on 13 Mar. 3 US soldiers received minor injuries and are receiving treatment.”

The anti-government armed militant groups frequently use Improvised Explosive Device (IED) as the weapon of their choice to target the Afghan and foreign forces based in Afghanistan.

However, the Afghan officials are saying in majority of such incidents the ordinary civilians are targeted.

In the meantime, the latest attack on US forces in Nangarahr comes as counter-terrorism operations are underway in this province which are jointly being conducted by the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDS) and the air support of the US forces.

The US forces in Afghanistan resumed their counter-terrorism operations mainly involving airstrikes last year under a broader role granted by the Obama administration earlier last year.

The current counter-terrorism operations being conducted under the name of Shaheen-25 to eliminate the militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

http://www.khaama.com/deadly-airstr...ka-29-including-2-senior-leaders-killed-02393

A deadly airstrike targeted a gathering of the Taliban insurgents in southeastern Paktika province of Afghanistan.

According to the local government officials, the airstrike was carried out by the foreign in Zeruk district.

Provincial governor’s spokesman Mohammad Rahman Ayaz said at least twenty insurgents including three commanders of the group were killed in the airstrike.

He said two of the commanders killed in the airstrike have been identified as Afghan Waziristani and Hazifa.

Ayaz further added that the Taliban gathering was targeted by the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle as they had participated in the funeral of another Taliban leader Kerat Khan.

The local officials are saying that Keramat Khan was a notorious Taliban who had a major role in insurgency activities in this province.

Paktika is among the relatively calm provinces but the anti-government armed militant groups including Taliban insurgents and militants of the notorious Haqqani terrorist network are actively operating in some of its districts.

The latest airstrike on Taliban in Paktika comes as the US forces based in Afghanistan have stepped up airstrikes against the insurgent groups under a broader role granted to them earlier last year.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/us-soldiers-wounded-afghanistan-helmand


WASHINGTON — Three U.S soldiers were shot Sunday in an apparent insider attack at an Afghan military base in Helmand province, raising to at least 15 the number of American personnel wounded in Afghanistan so far this year.

The Americans are being treated for their injuries, said Navy Capt. William Salvin, a spokesman for U.S. Forces Afghanistan in Kabul. He had no further details about their medical condition.

It's not immediately clear to which unit the Americans are assigned.

The attack happened around 1:30 p.m. at Camp Antonik, Salvin said. The facility is located near the larger Camp Shorabak complex and houses both U.S. and Afghan commando units.

The base is named for Staff Sgt. Christoper Antonik, a Marine Corps Raider who was killed in Helmand in July 2010. In 2015, it was the site of an insider attack that resulted in the deaths of two American special tactics airmen.

The gunman, whom Salvin identified as an Afghan soldier, was shot and killed by coalition security forces after he opened fire on the Americans. Officials have not disclosed the Afghan's identity nor have they said to which unit he was assigned.

A spokesman for the Afghan military told The Associated Press the shooting was an unintentional "mistake."

At least six U.S. troops have been wounded in Afghanistan so far in March, just one shy of February's total, according to casualty statistics maintained by the Defense Department. Year to date, all 15 wounded-in-action reports involve Army personnel.

There were at least 70 Americans wounded in action for all of 2016, and nine deaths were classified as hostile. No Americans have been reported killed in action in Afghanistan so far this year.

Approximately 8,000 U.S. troops are deployed there as part of two separate operations. The larger operation of the two, known as Resolute Support, is focused on advising and assisting Afghan security forces, with the goal of enabling them to independently protect the country's populace from a resilient Taliban. The other is a counter-terrorism mission called Freedom's Sentinel. It comprises mostly elite special operations troops and remains focused on targeting the many al-Qaida affiliates present in Afghanistan.

Both operations require American personnel to embed with their Afghan counterparts.

In addition to the Afghan commandos based at Camp Antonik, the Afghan army's 215th Corps is based in Helmand along with the 505th National Police Zone. The U.S. Army unit embedded there is called Task Force Forge and composed mostly of soldiers from the Indiana National Guard.

Task Force Forge will be replaced in the coming weeks by a contingent of 300 U.S. Marines from Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. They will be called Task Force Southwest.

Late last week, U.S. and Afghan military officials indicated they are bracing for more violence throughout the region. As a result, U.S. officials intend to increase their presence in major population centers, including in Nad Ali and Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Nicholson, told Congress last month that the 15-year war had reached a stalemate, and that an unspecified number of additional American military personnel would be required to beat back the Taliban and regain an advantage. The head of U.S. Central Command, Army Gen. Joseph Votel, said this month that he supports such a move. The White House has not indicated publicly how it intends to proceed.

U.S. soldiers arrive at the site of an attack in Kabul, Afghanistan May 17, 2015. A car bomb rammed a convoy of foreign troops near the main airport in Afghanistan's capital on Sunday, killing at least three civilians in the latest attack in the city, police and a witness said. Reuters/Mohammad Ismail

Last May two Romanian soldiers were killed and a third wounded after two members of a local Afghan police unit they were training shot them.

Camp Shorab in Helmand, previously known as Camp Bastion, is a major former U.S. and British base now run by the Afghan army.

Helmand has been one of the most fiercely contested regions of the country, with nearly 1,000 coalition troops killed there since the U.S.-led military intervention in 2001.

The U.S. said in January that about 300 Marines would be sent to Helmand to assist Afghan forces battling the Islamist insurgents in intelligence and logistics matters.

 

[Hindustani78]

 

[maximuswarrior]

What happened to the Afghanistani troops?

Afghan troops are busy smoking some of that stuff they produce.

http://www.khaama.com/no-lasting-ac...itary-against-haqqani-network-gen-votel-02365

The commander of the United States Central Command General Joseph L. Votel has said the Pakistani military and security services have not taken lasting actions against the notorious Haqqani terrorist network inside its soil so far.

In his statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Gen. Votel said “Pakistan remains a critical partner in the counter-terrorism fight. Twenty U.S-designated terrorist organizations operate in the Afghanistan-Pakistan sub-region; seven of the 20 organizations are in Pakistan.”

Gen. Votel further added “So long as these groups maintain safe haven inside of Pakistan they will threaten long-term stability in Afghanistan. Of particular concern to us is the Haqqani Network (HQN) which poses the greatest threat to coalition forces operating in Afghanistan.”

“To date, the Pakistan military and security services have not taken lasting actions against HQN. We have consistently called upon the Pakistanis to take the necessary actions to deny terrorists safe haven and improve security in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region,” he added.

However, he said “We have seen some promising coordination between the Pakistan and Afghanistan militaries aimed at addressing instability in the Afghanistan-Pakistan border region. The Pakistan military in particular continues to conduct counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency operations in the FATA and facilitate, via ground and air lines of communication, the sustainment of coalition operations in Afghanistan.”

Haqqani network was formed in the late 1970s by Jalaluddin Haqqani. The group is allied with al-Qaida and the Afghan Taliban and cooperates with other terrorist organizations in the region.

The US Department of State designated the HQN as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on September 7, 2012.

LOL These Americans are in for a terribly rude awakening in Afghanistan. Afghanistan belongs to Russia and China. Not the US. Pakistan is partner of Russian and Chinese nexus in Afghanistan. Not the American failed nexus. No one cares about a failed American venture in opiumland.

 

[Hindustani78]

https://www.armytimes.com/articles/...-killed-in-non-combat-incident-in-afghanistan

The Defense Department on Monday released the name of a soldier who died in a non-combat related incident in Afghanistan.

Sgt. 1st Class Robert Boniface, 34, died Sunday in Logar province. The incident is under investigation, officials said.

Boniface, who was from San Luis Obispo, California, was deployed in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel.

He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group, which is based at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

No additional information was available late Monday about Boniface or the incident.

 

[Hindustani78]

Remains of 1st Class Robert Boniface, 34 at Dover Air base, died Sunday in Logar province

The Afghan government has welcomed a call by the top US commander in Afghanistan to increase the number of US forces in the country.

Gen. John Nicholson who is also in the command of the NATO-led Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan made the call during his speech to the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

Gen. Nichholson had said that the United States and its NATO allies are facing a “stalemate,” and that he needed a few thousand additional troops to more effectively train and advise Afghan soldiers.

Gen. Nicholson further added “We have a shortfall of a few thousand.”

The Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabban meanwhile said and we stand confident that the new Administration, under President Trump, will remain strategically engaged and continue its support within the framework of the Strategic Partnership and Bilateral Security Agreements.

“To this end, we also welcome the call for an increase in the number of US forces in Afghanistan, by General John Nicholson,” he said in his address in the Atlantic Council in United States.

He also added “We consider it to be an appropriate decision, considering the prevailing security challenges still facing us.”

 

[Hindustani78]

Soldiers with the 82nd Airborne Division fire 155mm rounds using an M-777 Howitzer on Forward Operating Base Bostick, Afghanistan. The Soldiers were registering targets so they would have a more accurate and faster response time while providing fire support.Spc. Evan D. Marcy/US Army

US Army soldiers from the 2nd Infantry Division fire an M-777 Howitzer at Forward Operating Base Al Masaak, southern Afghanistan.Lt. Col. Daniel F. Bohmer/US Army

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/taliban-milit...han-and-us-soldiers-arrested-in-germany-02462

A Taliban fighter suspected in a deadly attack on Afghan and US forces has reportedly been arrested by the authorities in Germany.

According to the local media reports, the militant identified as Abdullah was arrested from Bavaria last week.

The 30-year-old Abdullah is believed to be behind the attack on Afghan and US forces convoy that left at least sixteen people dead.

The prosecutors in a statement have said preliminary reports indicate Abdullah had joined the group in 2002 and apparently took the command of the local fighters from his father in 2004.

They also added that Abdullah was involved in “countless” missions against foreign and Afghan soldiers, including the convoy attack.

Abdullah had reportedly left the group in 2008 and fled to Pakistan 2009 from where he eventually made it to Germany, the prosecutors have added.

This comes as hundreds of thousands immigrants fled to the European countries during the recent years amid deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.

Although numerous criminal incidents involving the Afghan immigrants have been reported from the European countries but this is apparently the first time a prominent Taliban insurgent has been arrested by the authorities.

 

[Hindustani78]

http://www.khaama.com/natos-work-in-afghanistan-remains-critical-us-secretary-of-state-02479

The US Secretary of State Rex Tiller has said the work of the alliance in Afghanistan remains critical as he insists continued support to the Afghan forces to enable them fight terrorist groups and prevent the country from becoming the safe haven of the terrorist groups.

“NATO’s work in Afghanistan remains critical. The United States is committed to the Resolute Support Mission and to our support for Afghan forces,” he said in his intervention remarks at the NATO Foreign Ministerial.

Mr. Tiller further added “NATO’s “Train, Advise, And Assist” mission is essential to our shared goal of ensuring that Afghanistan develops the capability to contribute to regional stability and prevail over terrorist threats, including al-Qaeda and ISIS.”

He said “The ongoing commitment of NATO Allies and partners to peace in Afghanistan, including to an eventual settlement between the Afghan government and the Taliban, protects this Alliance’s interests, and, when successful, ensures that Afghanistan never again becomes a safe haven for terrorists.”

This comes as the menace terror being faced by Afghanistan is on the rise with the insurgency led by a resurgent Taliban and other terrorist networks operating in the country, including the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group and Al-Qaeda militants.

The Afghan forces are expecting to launch a major operation against the terrorist groups as the new fighting season is getting close with the US forces based in Afghanistan have already stepped up their fight against terrorism under a broader role granted to them earlier last year.

 

[jessysingh]

The return of failure part 2 . [/UOTE. someone very happy because terrorists Taliban wining, oh sory that are good Taliban, that is why Afghan people hates you

 

[Riz]

we hate you more then they hate us ...do u falls from your bed ? lol nothing going to be change if you hates me or we hates u buddy