For the U.S. and NATO, Afghanistan is about withdrawing troops and ending their role in the fighting. For the Taliban, it is a different story with Reuters reporting that:
Taliban fighters killed at least five Afghan soldiers in a three-day offensive in a region near Pakistan, officials said on Tuesday, as fighting heats up on both sides of the border during the withdrawal of most foreign troops from Afghanistan.Fighters from both Pakistan and Afghanistan mounted the attack aimed at taking control of Kunar province’s remote Dangam district, which is on the border, provincial governor Shuja-ul Mulk Jalala told Reuters.
“The fighting is intense and we have asked for additional forces but they haven’t arrived yet,” the governor said, adding that five Afghan soldiers and 18 Taliban fighters had been killed so far. An army officer said 40 Taliban had been killed.
“The fighting is intense and we have asked for additional forces but they haven’t arrived yet,” the governor said, adding that five Afghan soldiers and 18 Taliban fighters had been killed so far. An army officer said 40 Taliban had been killed.
And while:
Strongholds of the Taliban and other Islamist militants are under pressure from the Pakistani and Afghan armies as well as U.S. drone strikes, coinciding with the withdrawal of all but 12,500 foreign forces from Afghanistan by the end of the year … the militants have struck back, unleashing waves of suicide bombers and commando style attacks in Kabul and across Afghanistan, making 2014 the bloodiest year since the war started 13 years earlier.
