U.S. reports death of service member in Afghan fighting
A U.S. service member was killed and four others were wounded Monday during an operation in a part of Afghanistan in which U.S. forces have been fighting both the Islamic State extremist group and the Taliban, U.S. military officials said Tuesday.
The fatality occurred in Nangarhar province’s Achin district, in a mountainous area along the border with Pakistan. The Islamic State in Khorasan, the militant group’s Afghan affiliate, established roots there in 2014, and the U.S. military carried out a series of raids and airstrikes there in 2017 as it stepped up its campaign against the group.
U.S. military officials acknowledged the fatality Tuesday in a news release, saying two of the wounded service members were receiving treatment at a nearby medical facility and were in stable condition. The other two wounded service members have returned to duty, the news release said.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our own,” said Army Gen. John Nicholson Jr., the senior U.S. military commander in Afghanistan. “At this very difficult time our heartfelt sympathies go out to the families and friends of our fallen and wounded brothers.”
U.S. military officials in Afghanistan could not immediately be reached for additional comment. The name of the service member killed was being withheld as family members were notified.
At least 15 U.S. service members died in Afghanistan in 2017, including 11 in hostile actions. Seven of the 11 killed in combat died in Nangarhar province. The most recent combat fatality there occurred Aug. 16, when Army Staff Sgt. Aaron Butler, 27, was killed by an improvised device. He was a member of the 19th Special Forces Group.
Separately Tuesday, the top American commander for the Middle East said he wants the Afghan military to more aggressively pressure Taliban and other insurgents over the normally quieter months of Afghanistan’s winter, then quickly go on the offensive in the spring — part of a plan the U.S. hopes will change the course of a war now entering its 17th year.
Gen. Joseph Votel of U.S. Central Command said an influx of new American trainers can help escalate the fight. They’ll be operating with Afghan units, closer to the front lines and at greater risk, but Votel said U.S. commanders will ensure American and allied forces have adequate protection.
The goal is to get the Afghan military moving on its military campaign sooner, rather than later.
The United States wants the “focus on offensive operations, and we’ll look for a major effort to gain the initiative very quickly as we enter into the fighting season,” Votel said in a recent interview.
Afghan forces must “keep the pressure on all the time and work to gain the upper hand as quickly as we can, so that as we get into this next fighting season we can build on the initiative,” he said.
The Afghanistan strategy of President Donald Trump’s administration gives the U.S. military greater authority to launch offensive attacks against a resilient Taliban and an emerging Islamic State affiliate. The plan, announced in August, was designed to reverse a stalemate in America’s longest war.
The plan specifically eliminates President Barack Obama’s scheduled plan to withdraw U.S. forces but includes no dramatic changes in an approach that has failed to stabilize the country or snuff out extremist groups operating from Afghan territory.
As 2018 begins, Afghanistan appears to be high on Trump’s agenda. On New Year’s Day, he slammed Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan in a tweet for “lies & deceit,” accusing the country of playing U.S. leaders for “fools” by not crushing militants in its territory. A major focus of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy is to persuade Pakistan to eliminate havens for the Taliban and other fighters.
Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador, and Islamic groups held rallies in major Pakistani cities in response.
“Pakistan has played a double game for years,” Nikki Haley, Trump’s U.N. envoy, said Tuesday, explaining that Washington was withholding $255 million in aid to Islamabad. “They work with us at times and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable.”