Taliban hit Ghazni, US launches air raid Clash with Taliban can weaken IS: US
SIEGE ATTEMPT Militant fighters still believed to be hiding in residential areas GHAZNI
: Heavily armed Taliban fighters attacked the strategic central Afghan city of Ghazni on Friday, burning police checkpoints and seizing control of parts of the centre before being driven back by US-backed forces, officials said.
US attack helicopters and drone aircraft provided government forces with air support. But with Taliban fighters believed to be hiding in residential areas, it was unclear whether the government had full control of the city.
The attack on a city straddling the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan was a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile the security situation remains less than three months before parliamentary elections in October.
The defence ministry in Kabul said the attackers had been beaten back but were still present in one area of the city and had occupied civilian houses, from where they were still keeping up occasional fire on security forces clearing the area.
It said around 150 attackers had been killed or wounded but gave no estimate of casualties for civilians or security forces. A local health official said at least 16 people had been killed.
A statement from US military headquarters in Kabul said fighting ceased by 8.00 a.m local time and Afghan forces had held their ground and maintained control of all government centres.
“US forces responded with close-air support (US attack helicopters) and conducted one strike (drone). In addition, US aircraft conducted a show of presence,” Lt Col Martin O’Donnell, spokesman for US Forces-Afghanistan, said in an emailed statement.
Officials said clashes between security forces and the Taliban started at around 2.00 a.m., forcing the closure of the main highway linking Ghazni to Kabul, 150 km to the northeast.
“The Taliban are dropping missiles near residential and commercial areas. There has not been a single minute of silence for the last eight hours,” said a senior government official in Ghazni early in the day.
Top US generals believe the rivalry and clashes between the Taliban and Islamic State-Khorasan will help counter the growing influence in Afghanistan of the terror group led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, according to media reports.
Intensified efforts to root out IS group in Afghanistan are making progress in some areas but have failed to prevent the group from maintaining a foothold in the country, according to the latest US intelligence estimates, VOA reported. IS-Khorasan is believed to have more than 1,000 fighters, including local Afghans, Pakistanis and Uzbeks. Most of them are in southern Nangarhar province and a small number in eastern Kunar province.
Over the past few months, the US may have been able to turn the rivalry between the Taliban and IS to its advantage, the report said. “The Taliban are fighting ISIS, and we encourage that because ISIS needs to be destroyed,” said Gen John Nicholson, commander of US forces in Afghanistan.
In northern Jowzjan province, the combination of what US officials described as a series of “intensive operations” against IS-Khorasan, along with a Taliban ground campaign, appears to have paid off. The Taliban recently announced that all the northern provinces had been purged of Daesh militias.
About 250 IS-Khorasan fighters and their commander, Habib Rahman, who surrendered last week, are currently in Afghan custody. US and Afghan officials have said they will be prosecuted for their crimes “to the fullest extent of the law”.
Gen Joseph Votel, commander of the US Central Command, said on Wednesday that the military campaign against IS has been effective and it was partly responsible for last week’s surrenders.
“We have no illusions about reconciliation with ISIS-K. Our mission is to destroy this organization,” he said. HTC
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