Yeah you are right.
Afghanistan
- Thread starter Sherzad
- Start date
I know a little about Behsood. For me, it's one of the "windsocks" for the next year or two.
Edit: Nevermind, I was thinking of Bati Kot.
Edit: Nevermind, I was thinking of Bati Kot.
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The fallout from recent Jalalabad bombing is one to watch. Ghani blames Islamic State (highly unlikely). I'm going with rogue Taliban or someone foreign like Lashkar-e Tayiba. One way or another, it's a departure from the norm.
If it was the Taliban it raises command and control issues--including the role of the Quetta and Peshawar Shuras.
Pakistani military operations in the Northwest Frontier Provinces has pushed some Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan guys across. Hard to tell with those TTP baddies at the moment. They don't do succession well, and haven't settled into an identity in the power vaccum after some successful high-level targeting.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0ND20V20150422
If it was the Taliban it raises command and control issues--including the role of the Quetta and Peshawar Shuras.
Pakistani military operations in the Northwest Frontier Provinces has pushed some Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan guys across. Hard to tell with those TTP baddies at the moment. They don't do succession well, and haven't settled into an identity in the power vaccum after some successful high-level targeting.
http://mobile.reuters.com/article/idUSKBN0ND20V20150422
IS are actually active in Afghanistan now. Its more a situation where insurgents are switching allegiance to them from the Talian since they are now the new kid, more feared kid on the terrorist block.
"Active" may be a bit of a stretch. Like the Reuters article points out, Islamic State isn't in position to help out any Afghan militias pledging nominal allegiance yet.
The militias are declaring allegiance usually out of fatigue with the Taliban's wait to inherit Afghanistan or typical Pashtun feuding with other Taliban commanders. The closest to a commander that mattered to have switched to Islamic State was dead within about a week of declaring--killed by other Helmand and Taliban. The inroads just aren't there yet, but worth watching out for.
There are a good number of Afghans fighting in Syria, so I'm not surprised this is happening.
Of course. Jihadi homecomings always make for at least a little flux. I'd be curious to see how big of a niche they could carve out. Groups like Hebz-i Islamiya Gulbidin are on the wane, but there are other new players to take their places--even Taliban malitias drifting away from their government in exile.
Pashtun nationalism is a big,big part of the Taliban's mandate. A foreign caliph may be a little to much of it came down to it, but maybe the young jihadis returning from Syria/Iraq could be vicious enough to carve out and keep a small emirate. US drones and spec ops targeting would surely be brought down on that. Residual US air power would make swarming and expansion hard. I wonder if the appeal would stick if they were likewise forced to sit and wait to inherit.
I'm looking for some new sources for Syria and Iraq. Any you've found helpful?
Nick Paton Walsh of CNN has been doing some pretty good reporting on ISIS recruiting in Afghanistan.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/03/23/middleeast/afghanistan-isis-recruits/
I've seen some tweets lately showing that there are Hazara Shi'a fighting on the other side in Syria.
Interesting. Who are the tweets by ?
Them hazaras are in syria.
Probably displaced Afghan Hazara out of Iran. Has MoIS or Revolutionary Guard Force written all over it, I imagine.
Just search for 'Hazara Syria' on Twitter, there's loads of stuff there. Here's a video claiming to show captured Hazara fighters:
More on Afghan Shi'a fighting in Syria:
Iranian doc follows Afghan fighters in Syria
Iranian doc follows Afghan fighters in Syria
Kunduz, the capitol of the northern province, is under attack by Taliban fighters allegedly backed by Islamic State-trained fighters.
The attackers are in control of a bordering district. The Afghan government claims to have has asked for air support only to have repeatedly denied.
People are going to jump on the Islamic State element, but the biggest take away is the the attack on the provincial capitol city. It's not a raid. There're attempting to take it over. Rather they can hold it or not, it's a major step up for the insurgency--especially, especially the "little 't' Taliban" up there. There are a lot of sustainability questions yet to be answered, but it's anice important change.
The alleged Islamic State fighters is also significant. They bring new dynamics to the fight. Some--like Chechens--shift it more than others. One way or another, they're probably guys with ties to groups like IMU before linking up with IS.
For me, that's secondary because I don't see this being replicated in the Taliban heartland. Kunduz is very different than anything that falls more directly under Taliban's regional shuras in exile. Add in the fact groups get on in some places and fight in others, I'd be really hesitant to say we are seeing a new MO.
The attackers are in control of a bordering district. The Afghan government claims to have has asked for air support only to have repeatedly denied.
People are going to jump on the Islamic State element, but the biggest take away is the the attack on the provincial capitol city. It's not a raid. There're attempting to take it over. Rather they can hold it or not, it's a major step up for the insurgency--especially, especially the "little 't' Taliban" up there. There are a lot of sustainability questions yet to be answered, but it's anice important change.
The alleged Islamic State fighters is also significant. They bring new dynamics to the fight. Some--like Chechens--shift it more than others. One way or another, they're probably guys with ties to groups like IMU before linking up with IS.
For me, that's secondary because I don't see this being replicated in the Taliban heartland. Kunduz is very different than anything that falls more directly under Taliban's regional shuras in exile. Add in the fact groups get on in some places and fight in others, I'd be really hesitant to say we are seeing a new MO.
I refuse to believe that Taliban and IS are fighting alongside each other. One calls Mullah Omar as Ameer and others follow Baghdadi which in itself is quite a big difference ideologically. Infact I can see both of this group clashing with each other in near future on the basis of this very ideology.
The Quetta Shura types are going to be facing some problems keeping their foot soldiers in line when IS come calling. As you said, they are Mullah Omar people and it would be a massive headache for them if Afghan insurgents begin randomly peeling off for the sexier, more international IS project. That said, its likely Baghdadi will die very soon and IS will lose land in both Iraq and Syria. The worst case scenario is if the Taliban and IS were to suddenly announce they are cooperating, which isn't likely since the Taliban are still chummy with Zawahiri, who is at odds with IS.
Keep in mind the differences between Quetta and Pershawar...even Miram Shah. To an extent, Islamic State is a little different for each of them. Likewise, they have different relationships with their subordinates.
Taliban attack Afghanistan's parliament, seize second district in north
The pressure is still on in Kunduz. Taliban, heavy weapons and foreign fighters alleged.
Khaama Press has since reported Chahar Darah District was retake by the Afghan National Army. If they can retake Dasht-e-Archi also, this would be a real confidence boost for them.
Taliban attack Afghanistan's parliament, seize second district in north
By Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL | Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:31pm EDT
By Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide bomber and six gunmen attacked the Afghan parliament on Monday as lawmakers met to consider a new defense minister, and another district in the volatile north fell to the militants as they intensified a summer offensive.
The brazen assault on the symbolic center of power, along with territorial gains elsewhere, highlight how NATO-trained Afghan security forces are struggling to cope with worsening militant violence.
Fighting has spiraled since the departure of most foreign forces from Afghanistan at the end of last year. The insurgents are pushing to take territory more than 13 years after U.S.-led military intervention toppled them from power.
Monday's attack began as lawmakers met with the new acting defense minister, Masoom Stanikzai. He is the third candidate so far for the key security post, and his appointment must be confirmed by parliament.
A Taliban fighter detonated a car loaded with explosives outside parliament gates, said Ebadullah Karimi, spokesman for Kabul police, raising questions about how the driver got through several security checkpoints.
Six gunmen took up positions in a building near parliament, he said, but never breached the compound's gates.
Essa Khan, a soldier inside the parliamentary compound when the attack took place, said he shot dead three militants as they tried to storm inside before killing the rest in a prolonged gunbattle that also involved other troops.
"Everywhere there was smoke and dust," Khan told Reuters.
"I knew that it was the Taliban from the first moment. I grabbed this gun and shot three of them dead," added the 28-year-old, whose actions have played prominently on Afghan media in a rare PR success for the beleaguered armed forces.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said all lawmakers were safe. TV pictures showed the speaker sitting calmly and legislators leaving the building, engulfed in dust and smoke, without panicking.
A woman was killed and around 30 civilians were wounded in the attack, according to Rahimi.
He said the assailants were armed with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. Some lawmakers' bodyguards fired sporadically during the attack, hampering the response by Afghan forces, he added.
Police will investigate how the attackers got so close to parliament.
"We have appointed a delegation to find the weak point or points and report it back to us," Rahimi said.
"BIG FAILURE"
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility.
"We have launched an attack on parliament as there was an important gathering to introduce the country's defense minister," he said by phone, referring to Stanikzai.
Farhad Sediqi was one of several lawmakers who criticized security agencies for not preventing the attack.
"It shows a big failure in the intelligence and security departments of the government," he said.
In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that despite the assault, Afghanistan's security forces were improving.
"Although the insurgents have executed a number of violent attacks since the announcement of the 2015 fighting season, including the attack on parliament, the (Afghan security forces) have demonstrated their growing capability to provide security," the spokesman said.
At the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. envoy to Kabul, Nicholas Haysom, said Afghanistan's security forces were "undeniably stretched" but resilient amid a push by insurgents for more territory and concerns that Islamic State militants were also seeking a foothold in the country.
Monday's attack fits a pattern of high-profile assaults on heavily fortified buildings in the capital. Last month, car bombs targeted the Ministry of Justice, and attackers stormed two guesthouses used by foreigners.
In 2013 the presidential palace was hit, and the U.S. embassy has been attacked several times, notably in 2011 when nine people were killed and 27 wounded in coordinated strikes on the embassy and other targets.
This year, the withdrawal of foreign forces and a reduction in U.S. air strikes have allowed Taliban fighters, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, to launch several major attacks in important provinces.
A district in the northern province of Kunduz fell to the Taliban on Monday, the second such loss in two days. Officials said the militants were able to take over when urgently needed reinforcements failed to arrive.
The Taliban captured Dasht-e-Archi district a day after hundreds of militants fought their way to the center of the adjacent district of Chardara.
"The Taliban managed to take it over this morning as the area has been surrounded for days," Nasruddin Saeedi, the district governor who escaped to the provincial capital, Kunduz city, told Reuters by telephone.
"There are many foreign fighters with heavy machine guns. We have asked for reinforcements, but none arrived."
Afghan soldiers were preparing a counterattack to retake both districts, another local official said.
Monday's heavy fighting was just three km (two miles) from the provincial governor's compound.
(Additional reporting by Feroz Sultani in Kunduz, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mike Collett-White, Nick Macfie and Dean Yates)
By Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL | Mon Jun 22, 2015 9:31pm EDT
By Hamid Shalizi and Mirwais Harooni
KABUL (Reuters) - A Taliban suicide bomber and six gunmen attacked the Afghan parliament on Monday as lawmakers met to consider a new defense minister, and another district in the volatile north fell to the militants as they intensified a summer offensive.
The brazen assault on the symbolic center of power, along with territorial gains elsewhere, highlight how NATO-trained Afghan security forces are struggling to cope with worsening militant violence.
Fighting has spiraled since the departure of most foreign forces from Afghanistan at the end of last year. The insurgents are pushing to take territory more than 13 years after U.S.-led military intervention toppled them from power.
Monday's attack began as lawmakers met with the new acting defense minister, Masoom Stanikzai. He is the third candidate so far for the key security post, and his appointment must be confirmed by parliament.
A Taliban fighter detonated a car loaded with explosives outside parliament gates, said Ebadullah Karimi, spokesman for Kabul police, raising questions about how the driver got through several security checkpoints.
Six gunmen took up positions in a building near parliament, he said, but never breached the compound's gates.
Essa Khan, a soldier inside the parliamentary compound when the attack took place, said he shot dead three militants as they tried to storm inside before killing the rest in a prolonged gunbattle that also involved other troops.
"Everywhere there was smoke and dust," Khan told Reuters.
"I knew that it was the Taliban from the first moment. I grabbed this gun and shot three of them dead," added the 28-year-old, whose actions have played prominently on Afghan media in a rare PR success for the beleaguered armed forces.
Kabul police chief Abdul Rahman Rahimi said all lawmakers were safe. TV pictures showed the speaker sitting calmly and legislators leaving the building, engulfed in dust and smoke, without panicking.
A woman was killed and around 30 civilians were wounded in the attack, according to Rahimi.
He said the assailants were armed with assault rifles and rocket propelled grenades. Some lawmakers' bodyguards fired sporadically during the attack, hampering the response by Afghan forces, he added.
Police will investigate how the attackers got so close to parliament.
"We have appointed a delegation to find the weak point or points and report it back to us," Rahimi said.
"BIG FAILURE"
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid claimed responsibility.
"We have launched an attack on parliament as there was an important gathering to introduce the country's defense minister," he said by phone, referring to Stanikzai.
Farhad Sediqi was one of several lawmakers who criticized security agencies for not preventing the attack.
"It shows a big failure in the intelligence and security departments of the government," he said.
In Washington, a U.S. State Department spokesman said that despite the assault, Afghanistan's security forces were improving.
"Although the insurgents have executed a number of violent attacks since the announcement of the 2015 fighting season, including the attack on parliament, the (Afghan security forces) have demonstrated their growing capability to provide security," the spokesman said.
At the U.N. Security Council, the U.N. envoy to Kabul, Nicholas Haysom, said Afghanistan's security forces were "undeniably stretched" but resilient amid a push by insurgents for more territory and concerns that Islamic State militants were also seeking a foothold in the country.
Monday's attack fits a pattern of high-profile assaults on heavily fortified buildings in the capital. Last month, car bombs targeted the Ministry of Justice, and attackers stormed two guesthouses used by foreigners.
In 2013 the presidential palace was hit, and the U.S. embassy has been attacked several times, notably in 2011 when nine people were killed and 27 wounded in coordinated strikes on the embassy and other targets.
This year, the withdrawal of foreign forces and a reduction in U.S. air strikes have allowed Taliban fighters, who ruled Afghanistan with an iron fist from 1996 to 2001, to launch several major attacks in important provinces.
A district in the northern province of Kunduz fell to the Taliban on Monday, the second such loss in two days. Officials said the militants were able to take over when urgently needed reinforcements failed to arrive.
The Taliban captured Dasht-e-Archi district a day after hundreds of militants fought their way to the center of the adjacent district of Chardara.
"The Taliban managed to take it over this morning as the area has been surrounded for days," Nasruddin Saeedi, the district governor who escaped to the provincial capital, Kunduz city, told Reuters by telephone.
"There are many foreign fighters with heavy machine guns. We have asked for reinforcements, but none arrived."
Afghan soldiers were preparing a counterattack to retake both districts, another local official said.
Monday's heavy fighting was just three km (two miles) from the provincial governor's compound.
(Additional reporting by Feroz Sultani in Kunduz, David Brunnstrom in Washington and Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Writing by Katharine Houreld; Editing by Mike Collett-White, Nick Macfie and Dean Yates)
The pressure is still on in Kunduz. Taliban, heavy weapons and foreign fighters alleged.
Khaama Press has since reported Chahar Darah District was retake by the Afghan National Army. If they can retake Dasht-e-Archi also, this would be a real confidence boost for them.
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Its going to get very interesting in Afghanistan over the coming months, especially since its fighting season again.
The Speaker of the Afghan parliament has balls of steel:
Bomb goes off in Parliament and no fecks given
Bomb goes off in Parliament and no fecks given
The Speaker of the Afghan parliament has balls of steel:
Bomb goes off in Parliament and no fecks given
Had to rewind this on the news last night as he's just so unmoved by it all. Love that he carries on speaking down the mic as well
Deserves his own meme this guy
A .gif of it made the front page of Reddit.Had to rewind this on the news last night as he's just so unmoved by it all. Love that he carries on speaking down the mic as well
Deserves his own meme this guy
he was telling everyone to calm down it's just electrical fault (the blast)
I saw plenty of sketchy electrical work in Afghanistan, but nothing that would shake a building.Well done, US intelligence! High fives all round. USA! USA!
I guess you've never been there. Tragically, this is easier to do than one would think.
Logar is an insecure province with mobile Taliban checkpoints in the countryside. Afghan National Army (ANA) uniforms are available on the black--and sometimes open--market. With a high desertion rate and defections somewhat common, equipment falls into enemy hands as well. Coordination between the ANA and foreign militaries leaves a lot to be desired.
I'd have to see more before I'd speculate as to what happened.
What I am curious about is the authorization to fire. It would have been Hellfire missiles from a distance--in all likelihood. Were the camera feeds seen by the command node or was it the pilots' and weapons officers' best description that they had to go on.
Having spent a lot of time in Nangarhar and Kunar, i can see how such a thing could happen. The terrain is insane in some of those parts and reliable Intelligence is sometimes hard to come by.
So fire missiles on the basis of unreliable intel ?
I've never been Afghanistan, but I've been places in Pakistan where farmers pray for rain as it means the US don't operate drone strikes when there is heavy rainfall. I've also spent time with many of these people who have no affiliation to any 'terrorist' organisation, and have had their homes and livestock ruined. Yes - in this instance, it wasn't a drone strike, but I know the terrain is similar (especially the NW of Pakistan is analogous with Afghan), but with all of the US' intelligence, and funding, you'd think they make sure they get their targets right before they undergo a destructive indiscriminate killing. If the 'intelligence is hard to come by' I'd advise not bloody shooting in the first place! Or wait until you can have some reliable information, otherwise it's needless bloodshed. But who cares, as long as its non American blood, amirite?
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Amazing, then they ask what motivates these extremists? Erm sorry we killed your parents and children because of our poor camera feed and unreliable intelligence.
Of course sometimes the only way you know for sure if the Intel was good or bad is after the fact. Same with whether the info is reliable or not.
Are drones producing a tangible positive effect in the war on terror? Or are they actually radicalising more people than the number of terrorists they allegedly pacifiy?
If its the latter you have to wonder what exactly is the point.
If its the latter you have to wonder what exactly is the point.
If the tangible effect you want is to perpetuate and continue this mindless cycle of violence and retribution under a false pretense, then yea, A* for drones.
This isn't a science experiment where we are testing the validity of results. These are people's lives being lost. Innocent people, with no affiliation, from rural backgrounds, largely uneducated, are being so casually and carelessly killed on a continual basis. It's exasperating and saddening. Who exactly is being held responsible here? Who is accountable? I can produce countless statistics for the amount of innocent civilians and children killed by US drones in Pakistan, Afghanistan, etc. The same thing is happening in Yemen. It's ridiculous. (And before anyone nit picks, yes in the most recent example, they are the Afghan army not civilians, I can see that, but I'm coming from a wider point).
They are easily the most effective tool in the "war on terror", since they not only take a lot of nutters off the battlefield, but are also completely debilitating from a psychological perspective in eastern Afghanistan and the tribal Pakistani areas. Terrorists are now well aware they can be eliminated irrespective of where they are. Its basically a highly effective tool to terrorise the terrorists.
A nonsense post. How can they differentiate between a terrorist and a civilian if they strike indiscriminately? They are completely debilitating for children, women, farmers, innocents in those same areas. How you can write what you've written with a straight face is beyond me. There is an immeasurable and irrefutable amount of evidence which has highlighted the needless and unnecessary destruction they have caused.
It seems you're just discovering that innocent people die in wars. Having actually been in that area, I've seen the good and the bad, so I actually have a leg to stand on here. Bottom line, drones are highly effective which is precisely why not coincidentally, our Nobel Peace Prize winning President has greatly expanded their use over his war mongering predecessor.
Oh yea, that's why I'm assuming you were all for Hiroshima, and Nagasaki. What an absolute joke. And Obama winning the Nobel prize. I'm glad he's got that on his CV. It's a real achievement, and not a load of sanctimonious bollocks. The fact that you would use Obama winning the Nobel prize as a facet of your argument is hilarious.
I didn't know that the Afghan people had signed up for war. I'm sure the relatives of the villagers who've died over the last decade can shrug their shoulders and say 'hey, it happens!' in war.
The bottom line here is that you would rather kill all, which is a pathetic stance to take. As long as it's not US blood being spilled, who cares right?
We're talking about drones not the A-Bomb. Drones are targeted to take people out in cars and physical structures whilst leaving the rest of the surroundings unharmed, which is a far cry from using atomic weapons, so in that sense your analogy is woefully flaccid.
The drones are generally used more across the border in the tribal areas and have been effective in destabilizing TTP operations and removing their leadership. If the cost benefit was too high on the cost side, they wouldn't continue. The fact that they have been effective as they are is the main reason they won't just continue, but will be increased in the future, especially as US troops wind down.