KABUL ATTACK GIVES IMPETUS TO OFFENSIVE

Afghan plans for a military offensive in coordination with U.S. troops this month against the Islamic State have become more urgent as the country marked a national day of mourning Sunday for 80 people killed and 231 injured in the worst attack on Kabul in 15 years.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently announced a major assault in the Nangarhar province along the country’s eastern border with Pakistan.

The effort, nicknamed Shafaq, or “dawn” in Pashto, would be the largest since most international combat troops withdrew in 2014. President Obama issued a directive in June allowing the U.S. mil- itary to work with Afghan forces on non-combat missions. About 9,800 U.S. troops are in Afghanistan. Obama pledged this month to keep at least 8,400 troops in the country through 2017, which delayed plans to drop the number to 5,500 by the end of this year.

The Islamic State’s online news agency, Aamaq, claimed responsibility for Saturday’s suicide bombing, the first Islamic State attack in the Afghan capital, the Associated Press reported.

— Bart Jansen