Ghani Says Afghan Troops To Go On The Offensive After Deadly Attacks

5/12/20
KABUL -- President Ashraf Ghani says Afghanistan's security forces will go on the offensive against the Taliban and other militant groups, following a violent day in which gunmen stormed a maternity hospital in Kabul and a suicide bomber targeted a funeral in the eastern province of Nangarhar. The IS claimed responsibility for the attack that targeted the funeral, saying in a statement on the Telegram messaging app quoted by AFP that the bomber exploding a suicide belt, “killing and wounding 100 nonbelievers.” The SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online jihadist activity, said the attack on the funeral was claimed by the Islamic State Khorasan, the Afghan affiliate of the IS. IS made no mention of the attack against the maternity hospital. The Taliban denied involvement in either attack.

Ghani said in a televised address he was "ordering Afghan security forces to switch from an active defense mode to an offensive one and to start their operations against the enemies." He said a resumption of operations was necessary "to defend the country, safeguard our countrymen and infrastructure, and to repel attacks and threats by the Taliban and all other terrorist groups." The Taliban signed a landmark deal with the United States in Qatar in February meant to pave the way for direct talks between the militant group and the Western-backed government in Kabul after more than 18 years of war. But the Taliban has ramped up attacks in recent weeks despite a pledge to reduce violence, while IS militants also continued targeting Afghan security forces and civilians.

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5/15/20
The initial U.S. drawdown from Afghanistan, to roughly 8,600, will proceed as scheduled, despite an upswing in violence in the country and an announcement by the Afghan government that it will resume offensive operations against the Taliban, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said. “We expect to meet that in the timeline,” Jonathan Hoffman told Pentagon reporters on Friday. Hoffman said he did not know how many troops the United States currently has in Afghanistan. The U.S.-Taliban deal, signed in March, envisioned an immediate American drawdown to 8,600 troops and a complete U.S. withdrawal within 14 months. The initial drawdown has been underway even as Taliban attacks on Afghan forces raged, with Pentagon officials insisting that it would take place no matter what.

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Rogue Valley said:

The Afghan military is going on the offensive. Attacks by the Taliban on civilians and the Afghan military have never ceased since the terrorist group signed a peace deal with the US in February. Adding to the mayhem is Islamic State Khorasan (IS-K) based in Khorasan Province and operating in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan. Trump still wants to pull US forces out of Afghanistan even with an Islamic State presence in-country, which the administration previously said it wouldn't tolerate.

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