USA TODAY US Edition

Afghan militants show brutal resilience

Series of terror strikes kill more than 100 people

- Jim Michaels

A series of deadly terror attacks this month in Afghanista­n’s capital, Kabul, highlights the resiliency of insurgent forces even as the U.S. military expands its support for the country’s armed forces with more advisers and airstrikes.

The latest attack, on Monday, killed at least 11 Afghan soldiers providing security at a military academy. It followed a massive suicide bombing Saturday that killed 103 people.

The increase in violence is the latest test for President Trump’s strategy to achieve victory in Afghanista­n, site of America’s longest war, in its 17th year.

Under Trump, the U.S. military sent several thousand advisers and support personnel to work with the Afghan military, bringing the total to about

14,000 Americans.

The Pentagon expanded U.S. airstrikes to support operations led by Afghan forces. The number of bombs and other munitions dropped by U.S. aircraft more than tripled from 1,337 in

2016 to 4,361 last year, U.S. military statistics show.

The increase in aid blunted gains by the Taliban, which seized territory after the withdrawal of most American combat troops ordered by President Barack Obama in 2014. Obama called for sharp cutbacks in air support for Afghan

forces and a steady withdrawal of military advisers.

The expanded airstrikes under Trump made it difficult for the Taliban to deploy large forces on the battlefiel­d, said David Sedney, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Internatio­nal Studies in Washington.

“After four years of progress, the Taliban came to a standstill,” said Sedney, a top Pentagon official under Obama. “The reason is the (U.S.) air support.”

That prompted the Taliban to shift to mass bombings, such as the attacks in Kabul. “They’ve switched priorities,” Sedney said.

Another core element of Trump’s Afghanista­n strategy is to pressure Pakistan to stop aiding the insurgents.

Many Taliban leaders enjoy sanctuary across the border in Pakistan, whose intelligen­ce service has long ties with the radical insurgents.

The Trump administra­tion announced this month that it would suspend most security aid to Pakistan, which could halt more than $1 billion in military assistance. It was a sign of U.S. frustratio­n with Pakistan’s failure to deal with militants on its side of the border.

The aid cutoff, which angered Pakistan’s government, may be linked to the increase in violence, Sedney said. Pakistani intelligen­ce officials may have given a green light for attacks by the Haqqani network, which is linked to the Taliban.

“You could read this as a message that Pakistan can’t be ignored,” Sedney said.

The U.S. military invaded Afghanista­n in 2001, when President George W. Bush ordered the overthrow of a Taliban regime that harbored the al-Qaeda leaders behind the 9/11 attacks. The war has frustrated successive administra­tions.

More recently, the Islamic State moved into Afghanista­n, complicati­ng the insurgency against the U.S.-backed government. It is often difficult to distinguis­h among insurgent groups, which shift alliances and change names.

The Islamic State claimed responsibi­lity for Monday’s attack on the military academy, and the Taliban said it was responsibl­e for Saturday’s suicide bombing.

The Taliban claimed responsibi­lity for an attack on the Interconti­nental Hotel in Kabul a week earlier that killed 22 people, including 14 foreigners.

 ??  ?? Volunteers carry a bombing victim from the scene of an attack Saturday in Kabul after an ambulance packed with explosives blew up.
WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Volunteers carry a bombing victim from the scene of an attack Saturday in Kabul after an ambulance packed with explosives blew up. WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

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