Taliban targets weak spots as troops withdraw

KABUL, Afghanistan — The Taliban has carried out a string of attacks near vulnerable provincial capitals across Afghanistan since May 1, a marked escalation in violence that officials say is a sign the group is testing for defensive weak points and assessing the government’s capacity to provide air support as U.S. and NATO forces withdraw.

The attacks are largely focused on towns in provinces where the Taliban has had a strong presence for years. In Helmand, Zabul, Ghazni and Logar, the Taliban hold much of the rural territory, with urban centers as islands of government control. Recent militant attacks have allowed the fighters to encroach closer to those capitals, overtaking perimeter outposts and villages.

Unlike other Taliban offensives in recent months, these have not triggered a barrage of heavy U.S. air support, according to eight local officials in those four provinces and others.

U.S. Central Command declined to answer questions about the lack of air support and referred to statements made by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin at a news conference Thursday. He said the withdrawal is the primary focus of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The Pentagon has not said when or if U.S. air support for Afghan ground forces would halt completely.

Afghan and U.S. officials anticipated an uptick in violence following the withdrawal, and an intense diplomatic effort was initiated earlier this year to avoid such a scenario. The United States pressured the two sides to agree to a deal that included a cease-fire and a powersharing arrangement, but it was unsuccessful. Talks are ongoing to reach a similar agreement before the withdrawal is complete.

Afghan forces have relied heavily on U.S. airstrikes for the past two decades to push back Taliban attacks, and they credit the foreign air power for allowing government troops to retake districts overrun by the militants. The United States has spent more than $88 billion on training and equipping Afghanistan’s security forces, but its troops still struggle to hold territory and repel Taliban assaults unassisted.

The Taliban’s political office in Doha said the group has not issued any new military orders.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the political office, said the reports of Taliban attacks are untrue and “politically motivated.”

While some believe the Taliban attacks are laying the ground work for an eventual military takeover of the country, other Afghan officials say they believe the moves are aimed at gaining more leverage at the negotiating table with the Afghan government.

“They are just trying to show the people, the media and the world that they are powerful,” said Zabul police chief Mohammad Wais Samimi.

In western Afghanistan, Humayun Shaheedzada, a member of parliament from Farah, described a much more dire situation. “Without air support, honestly I don’t know how long our local forces can last.”