Afghanistan News & Discussion

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SSridhar
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

deejay wrote:
SSridhar wrote:Apparently, there is an on-going suicide bomb attack at the Kabul airport.
SS ji, how strong do you see the connect with India Mi 25s to Afghan AF and

> Pathankot attack
> Mazarr -e- Sharif consulate attack
> This Kabul airport attack
and / or

> First 02 options
> All 03 options
deejay, I would like to link the first two, not the third though the masterminds between the first two and the third could be the same, namely ISI. However, it is too early to say if this is linked to Mi-25 transfers. But, we have to keep this as a likelihood at this point.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

I was trying to find out where our gifted Mi 25s are based in Afghanistan but so far have not found it. I think confirmation of first deliveries were made on 22nd Dec 15, just 03 days before PM Modi's visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

http://www.janes.com/article/56847/afgh ... mi-25-helo

In the same link I realised we had previously gifted 03 Cheetal helicopters to Afghanistan
As of October, the AAF has a total of 109 aircraft: six Cessna T-182 trainers; four Lockheed Martin C-130 airlifters; 25 Cessna C-208 Grand Caravans (one of which crashed on 12 October); 56 Mil Mi-17 transport and assault helicopters; five Mi-35s (one serviceable); 10 MDHI MD 530F training and light attack helicopters; and three Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Cheetal (Alouette) light utility helicopters (also gifted by India). The first of 20 Embraer-Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) A-29 Super Tucano light attack aircraft are due to arrive in-country in January.
As a side note the Afghan AF is not happy with their MD 350F.

If the Mi 25s are based are Kabul airport presently, then the chances of this attack being related is high.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

deejay
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

So, its not over yet. 02 Taliban dead and 02 holed up in an abandoned building close to the Indian Consulate. All Indian Consulate staff safe.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

Kabul airport suicide attack today:
Haidar Sumeri ‏@IraqiSecurity now7 minutes ago
Suicide car bomber blew himself up near a police checkpoint near Kabul airport, #Afghanistan. No casualties but him.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Ashokk »

Afghan provincial governor wields gun to save Indian mission
Image
Ata Mohammad Noor, governor of Afghanistan’s Balkh province wielded gun to protect the Indian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif when it was attacked by militants.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_23370 »

Lot of useless attacks and fulminations by ISI. I think they are getting very very desperate. Hopefully GoI and Afghan govt are already working on a reply that unlike their useless attempts will yield good results. I agree with ramana we need to gift them a few more Mi-25/35 (enough for 1 squardon) once the Apache and LCH come online and also 105 mm LFG's. Very useful in mountainous regions.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

ITBP commandos save the day in Afghanistan - Vijaita Singh, The Hindu

The ITBP men have provided exemplary security in various Indian offices in Afghanistan, no doubt.
Two alert constables of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) force thwarted an attempt by terrorists to storm the Indian Consulate building at Mazar-i-Sharif in Northern Afghanistan, which came under attack on Sunday night, a senior government official said.

The two terrorists were either injured or killed by the ITBP commandos as the jawans saw the bodies being dragged away by other members of the group.

Three bodies were recovered outside the consulate on Monday, though an unknown number of terrorists engaged in a fierce gun battle with the Afghan forces till late on Monday night. “The role of the ITBP was to secure the premises when it was attacked during the night. Our men performed that duty quite well. Their morale is high and it is because of their alertness, the attack could be averted,” said Krishna Chowdhury, DG, ITBP.

Though the Ministry of External Affairs initially said the consulate building could not have been the target, ground reports and analysis of the grenade fired from the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) launcher establish that the terrorists wanted to attack the building. The RPG burst missed the consulate but hit another building behind, which led the MEA to believe initially that they were not the target {I am puzzled by the MEA analysis. We *MUST* always assume that *WE* are the target. We have been attacked so many times before and it must be natural for us to assume we are targets. It is well and good if proven otherwise later. These are simple things and yet we make mistakes in them?} , a senior government official explained.

The first attempt to storm the consulate was made at 9.15 p.m. on Sunday, when the terrorists fired thrice from the RPG. This alerted the ITBP commandos who stopped them at least 150 metres away from the main entrance.

More commandos joined in and they held fort for more than two-and-a-half hours till the Afghan National Police took over from them. {It took them two-and-ahalf hours to come?} Late on Monday night, the Afghan authorities declared that the gun battle had ended and all terrorists had been killed.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by ramana »

CNN was reporting some attack in Helmand region.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by Prem »

ramana wrote:CNN was reporting some attack in Helmand region.
1 US soldier killed, 2 wounded in Taliban attack in Helmand
http://www.khaama.com/afghan-and-us-for ... lmand-1926
At least one US soldier was killed and two others were wounded in Taliban attack in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan.Earlier reports indicated an unknown number of Afghan and US troops were killed or wounded in the attack.However, the US Forces in Afghanistan confirmed the incident and said one U.S. service member died as a result of wounds sustained during operations near Marja in Helmand Province today.Additionally, two U.S. service members were wounded. No further details were given regarding the identity of the deceased soldier, saying “U.S. Department of Defense Policy is to withhold the identity of the service member pending next-of-kin notification. We will release additional information as appropriate.”.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by sum »

TSP not really hiding their footprints even in Afghanistan:
www.deccanherald.com/content/521456/attack-consulate-avenge-afzal-gurus.html
The terror strike on consulate general of India at Mazar-e-Sharif in Afghanistan was aimed at avenging the execution of 2001 Indian Parliament attack conspirator Afzal Guru, the terrorists wrote on the wall of their last refuge just before they were gunned down by soldiers of the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF).

The terrorists scribbled “Afzal Guru Ka Inteqam” (Revenge for Afzal Guru) in Urdu on the wall of a room in the unoccupied building they used as base to launch the attack on the adjacent Consulate General of India.


The ANSF soldiers noticed the words written, apparently with blood, on the walls of the rooms, while searching the half-constructed building after the 25-hour-long operation to neutralise the terrorists ended, according to reports New Delhi received from Afghan government. The wall of another room in the building had written on it “Ek Shaheed, Hajar Fidayeen” (one martyr, thousand suicide attackers).

Probes by National Directorate of Security of Afghan government confirmed that the terrorists had crossed over to Afghanistan from Pakistan.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

sum wrote:TSP not really hiding their footprints even in Afghanistan:
www.deccanherald.com/content/521456/attack-consulate-avenge-afzal-gurus.html
Pakistan stopped the 'plausible deniability' route way back in c. 1993.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

Afghanistan has severe problems and none of them seem to have a solution:
Terrormonitor.org ‏@Terror_Monitor now52 seconds ago
#AFGHANISTAN
ANA Soldier Switching Sides & Joining The #Taliban In Pul-e-Khumri, #Baghlan Province- @TOLOnews Report
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by arun »

X Posted from the “Pakistani Role In Global Terrorism” thread.

Afghan media outlet Tolo News quoting Sayed Kamal Sadat, Chief of Police of Afghanistan’s Balkh Province , says that the Uniformed Jihadi’s of the Punjabi dominated military of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan were involved in the attack on the India’s Herat Consulate

The Police Chief’s comment was quoted by Tolo News as being:

"We saw with our own eyes and I can say 99 percent that those attackers were from Pakistani military and used special tactics while conducting their operation," said Sadat.

"The attackers were military personnel. They were educated and well prepared and had intelligence. They fought us and only by Allah's grace were we able to control them and eliminate them,".


See here:

Pakistani Military Officers Behind Consulate Attack : Balkh Police Chief
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

** Breaking News **
Indian consulate in Jalalabad attacked again.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by partha »

SSridhar wrote:** Breaking News **
Indian consulate in Jalalabad attacked again.
Source? TOLO reports gunfire near Pakistan consulate in Nagarhar.

Edit:

http://www.trust.org/item/20160113045623-jg454
Blast close to foreign consulates in Jalalabad in Afghanistan - witnesses
KABUL, Jan 13 (Reuters) - An explosion was heard in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on Wednesday close to foreign consulates including those of India, Pakistan and Iran, witnesses told Reuters.

There was no immediate confirmation of the cause of the blast or of any casualties or damage.

There have been several bomb blasts in Afghanistan over recent weeks at a time when efforts are underway to restart a peace process with the Taliban and ease diplomatic tension between Pakistan and India. (Reporting By Andrew MacAskill; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

partha, the source is the news ticker in Times Now.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

SSridhar wrote:partha, the source is the news ticker in Times Now.
Here is RT on the attack. It was a man standing in the Pakistani Visa line who self exploded to cause damage though the area is near the Paki, Iranian and Indian consulates.

https://www.rt.com/news/328715-afghan-b ... onsulates/
2 killed in suicide blast in eastern Afghanistan nr Iranian, Indian & Pakistani consulates
Published time: 13 Jan, 2016 05:07
Edited time: 13 Jan, 2016 06:54
At least two people have been killed and two injured after a suicide bomber blew themselves up next to a number of foreign consulates in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, authorities said. The diplomatic missions possibly affected include those of Iran, India and Pakistan.
The attacker attempted to join a line of people applying for visas to Pakistan, Reuters cited a spokesman for the regional governor as saying. When the man was prevented from entering the building, he detonated the explosive device, the official added.

According to police, officers are currently battling gunmen in a house close to the Pakistani consulate.

...
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by sum »

^^ Interesting that the TSP consulate was targeted! :twisted:
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

^^^ IS (Daesh) have claimed the attack in Jalalabad.
iNewsroom
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[ALERT] Islamic State claims attack near Pakistan consulate in Afghan city (AFP)
Terrormonitor.org ‏@Terror_Monitor now2 hours ago
#AFGHANISTAN
#ISIS Statement Says It's 3 Militants Targeted #PakistaniConsulate In #Jalalabad, 2 Blew Themselves Up.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_29267 »

sum wrote:^^ Interesting that the TSP consulate was targeted! :twisted:
Hmm..why would ISIS target the Pakistani consulate? The Indian and Iranian consulates would have been better targets considering they were close by and would have resulted in much wider propaganda value for ISIS. Considering that ISIS are basically the bad Taliban, the attack might be a warning for Pakistan to stop supporting the good Taliban in Afghanistan. Or, coming to pure CT territory, it might be some tit-for-tat for the Indian consulate attack, assuming RAW has contacts in bad Taliban (which in itself would be far fetching and damaging).
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by JE Menon »

Or it could simply be the ISIS, as claimed. They have been very critical of the Pakistani establishment of late.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

^^^ ISIS have released statements on this in Arabic, French and Russian.

AGupta ji has posted link on STFUP thread on this news.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by JE Menon »

That's what I mean deejay. They have claimed it. Why disbelieve it and look for other theories? Have they in the past claimed things which they did not do? I don't think so.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

I agree. I was pointing it out to KrishG. I should have been specific. No one can accuse ISIS about false claims of exploding humans. :x

P.S. KrishG should get his old ID back. Use of 'Again' is a bit of a stretch. :)

Added later

ISIS has released an English language statement claiming the attack:
Terrormonitor.org ‏@Terror_Monitor now2 minutes ago
#AFGHANISTAN
#ISIS Released English Statement Claims Responsibility For Targeting #PakistanConsulate In #Jalalabad.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

Here is Pepe Escobar on the China - Afghan interests on RT. While I generally like reading his articles, I find it strange that he could write a thousand word kind of article without discussing the fact of Indian role in Afghanistan's future. And strangely despite the title of the article, even the Chinese find just a few mentions.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/328912-afgha ... s-taliban/
Just like Lazarus, there were reasons to believe the Afghan peace process might have stood a chance of being resurrected this past Monday in Islamabad, as four major players – Afghanistan, Pakistan, the US and China – sat together at the same table.
The final communiqué though was not exactly ground breaking: "The participants emphasized the immediate need for direct talks between representatives of the Government of Afghanistan and representatives from Taliban groups in a peace process that aims to preserve Afghanistan's unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity."

A week before the Islamabad meeting, while in the Persian Gulf, I had an extremely enlightening conversation with a group of Afghan Pashtuns. After the ice was broken, and it was established I was not some Sean Penn-style shadowy asset with a dodgy agenda, my Pashtun interlocutors did deliver the goods. I felt I was back in Peshawar in 2001, only a few days before 9/11.

The first ground breaker was that two Taliban officials, currently based in Qatar, are about to meet top Chinese and Pakistani envoys face to face, without interference from the US. This fits into the strategy laid out by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), led by China and Russia, according to which the Afghan puzzle must be solved as an Asian matter. And Beijing definitely wants a solution, fast; think Afghan chapter of the New Silk Roads.

The post 9/11 Afghan War has been going on for an interminable 14 years; taking a cue from Pentagonese, talk about Enduring Freedom forever. No one is winning – and the Taliban are more divided than ever after the previous peace process collapsed when the Taliban announced Mullah Omar had been dead for two years.

That good old “strategic depth”
Still, it all hinges on the complex interplay between Kabul and Islamabad.

Take the see-saw movements of Afghan CEO (yes, that’s his title) Dr. Abdullah Abdullah. He juggles between Tehran – where he emphasizes terrorism is a threat both to Iran and Afghanistan – and Islamabad, where he discusses peace process arcana with Pakistani officials.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, for his part, never skips a beat renewing his commitment towards peace and economic development in Afghanistan.

When an attempt towards a peace process actually started – informally - in Doha, in 2012, including eight Taliban officials, the Taliban was furious that Kabul actually privileged talking to Islamabad. The official Taliban position is that they are politically – and militarily – independent from Islamabad.

As my Pashtun interlocutors emphasized, most people in Afghanistan don’t know what to make of all that Kabul-Islamabad talk, including what they regard as dangerous concessions, such as sending young Afghan military to be trained in Pakistan.

Islamabad plays a highly leveraged game. The Haqqani group – which Washington brands as terrorists - finds safe harbor inside Pakistan’s tribal areas. If the Taliban is seated at the table at any peace process that will be brokered by Pakistan – which still enjoys a lot of leverage over those Taliban clustered around the new leader, Mullah Akhtar Mansoor.

My Pashtun interlocutors are adamant; the Taliban and the ISI remain indistinguishable. Their strategic alliance is still in place. All Taliban in Doha are monitored by the ISI.

On the other hand, there seems to be a subtle shift involving the Pakistani military and the ISI (which knows everything there is to know, and is complicit on much that happens concerning the Taliban). Last month, Pakistan's army chief Gen. Raheel Sharif went to Afghanistan by himself; so that could mean the military will privilege real peace on the ground instead of manipulating Afghanistan as a “strategic depth” Pakistani pawn.

Caution: pipeline ahead
So, in principle, the Afghan talkfest will remain in effect. The Hezb-i-Islami Afghanistan (HIA), led by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar – another key player on Washington’s Top Ten Terrorist List – is also interested in the peace process. But HIA says it must be Afghan-led and Afghan-owned – meaning no Pakistani interference. Hekmatyar is clearly positioning himself for a future leading role.

The plot thickens when we turn from the Taliban to ISIS/ISIL/Daesh’s advances in Afghanistan. For circles close to former President Hamid Karzai, a.k.a. the former “mayor of Kabul” (because he controlled nothing else), Daesh is a creation of Islamabad’s foreign policy, so Pakistan may gain full access to energy-rich Central Asia, China and Russia.

That sounds a bit far-fetched when compared to what’s actually going on in Pipelineistan.

Kabul has committed to a huge 7,000-member security force to guard the $10-billion, 1,800 km long Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline within Afghanistan, assuming it will really be finished by December 2018. Optimistically, heavy work on clearing TAPI’s passage – and that includes demining - will begin in April.

Turkmenistan President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov already ordered state companies Turkmengaz and Turkmengazneftstroi to begin building the country’s 214-km section of TAPI. The pipeline will also travel 773 km in Afghanistan and 827 km in Pakistan before entering India. Whether all this frenzy will actually materialize by 2018 is open to never-ending question.

Where’s my heroin?
Meanwhile, what is the CIA up to?

Former acting CIA director Michael Morell is now spinning “the reemergence of Afghanistan as an issue”, so “the debate on how many troops we [the US] keep in Afghanistan is going to reopen.”

The Pentagon for its part is spinning the need for 10,000 boots on the ground. The top NATO commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Campbell, wants his 10,000 with a vengeance; “My intent would be to keep as much as I could, for as long as I could.” Enduring Freedom forever, indeed – as the Pentagon has been forced to admit, on the record, that the Afghan security forces are incapable of “operating entirely on their own” despite a whopping Washington investment of $60 billion-plus since 2002.

The latest Pentagon reports describe security in Afghanistan going down, down, down. Which brings us to Helmand.

Only a few days before the Islamabad meeting, US special forces shadowing Afghan troops got into a tremendous firefight with the Taliban in Helmand. Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook, in trademark newspeak, didn’t call it “combat” – but rather a “train, advise and assist” mission.

The Taliban control more territory in Afghanistan - no less than four Helmand districts - than at any time since the 2001. Civilians are caught in the crossfire. And yet Pentagon special forces and air strikes in Helmand are just qualified as sightseeing.

In the end, everything comes back to Helmand. Why Helmand? My Pashtun interlocutors loosen up and say it with a mouthful: it’s all about the involvement of the CIA in the heroin trade in Afghanistan; “The Americans simply can’t let it go.”

So here we are delving into perhaps a new chapter in a gas and poppy epic at the heart of Eurasia. The Taliban, divided or not, have come up with their ultimate red line; no talking with Kabul until they get a direct talk with Washington. From a Taliban point of view, it makes total sense. Pipelineistan? Fine, but we want our cut (that’s the same story since the first Clinton administration). CIA heroin? Fine, you can keep it, but we want our cut.

My Pashtun interlocutors, about to board a flight to Peshawar, lay out the road map. The Taliban want their Qatar office – a really nice palace – officially recognized as a representation of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan; that’s what the country was from 1996 to 2001. They want the UN – not to mention the US - to remove the Taliban from its “most wanted” list. They want all Taliban prisoners released from Afghan jails.

Will that happen? Of course not. So now it’s up to Beijing to come up with a win-win scenario.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by JE Menon »

Times Now ticker: major explosion in Kabul caused by a "rocket" attack on Italian embassy
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by UlanBatori »

ISIS using soosai bummers to get at Paki ISI aphsars, makes no sense. Why are they doing this?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by VinodTK »

India's Mi-35 helicopters ready for first battle in Afghanistan
KABUL: Afghanistan today said three of the four multirole Mi-35 helicopters that India donated to it last month have been assembled and are now fully operational to combat terrorism in the war-torn country.

According to the Defense Ministry, the helicopters will be used in the ongoing Helmand battle for the first time.

"We have always been helped by India. The helicopters donated by India to Afghanistan have been assembled and will help us fight terrorists," Tolo news agency quoted Ghulam Sakhi Ahmadzai, deputy chief of procurement of the Defense Ministry, as saying.

Thanking India for its cooperation, air force commander Abdul Wahab Wardak said help from regional and global countries was crucial for bringing peace and stability to the country.

"The [Indian) helicopters are very suitable for the climate and the location of the country and they can give further morale to the security forces in their operations against terrorists," he said.

"As we are helped by India and the US we need the same cooperation from other countries because the Taliban, Daesh and al-Qaeda are not only the enemy for Afghanistan but [the enemy of] any country in the world," Wardek said.

Meanwhile, India's Defense Attache in Kabul Sujit Narain said that he was happy that the helicopters are operational for the Afghan Air Force.

"We consider Afghanistan as our close friend and we will further help this country," Narain said.

The Three helicopters were handed over to Afghanistan during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Kabul in December last year, the fourth helicopter is expected to be delivered soon.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_29325 »

UlanBatori wrote:ISIS using soosai bummers to get at Paki ISI aphsars, makes no sense. Why are they doing this?
That is in line with the recent flyers being handed out pointing out that ISI are mushkireen and western agents who need to die, but anyone could have sent those flyers out. Maybe other groups are letting ISIS take the blame given hostility between ISI and ISIS.
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by TSJones »

Afghanistan - the new US's South Korea? :cry:
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

Amidst the helicopter news, this was missed from yesterday.
Terrormonitor.org ‏@Terror_Monitor now3 minutes ago
#AFGHANISTAN
#UPDATE
#Kabul Suicide Attack
At Least 7 Killed, Targeted To #MobyGroupMedia Or @TOLOnews Staff- Police

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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by deejay »

US troops could remain in Afghanistan for decades

https://www.rt.com/usa/330291-us-troops ... an-remain/
Thousands of US troops could remain in Afghanistan for decades to come, despite Washington's plan to pull the majority of soldiers out by early 2017, US military commanders reportedly suggest.
The revelation comes amid concerns about the Afghan government's vulnerability.

“What we’ve learned is that you can’t really leave,” a senior Pentagon official told the Washington Post on condition of anonymity. “The local forces need air support, intelligence and help with logistics. They are not going to be ready in three years or five years. You have to be there for a very long time.”

Read more
© Wakil Koshar‘Iraq & Afghan quagmires: Not what Obama promised the American people’
Senior US commanders expressed surprise at Al-Qaeda's resilience in Afghanistan, as well as the Taliban's continued seizure of large areas of contested territory.

Following the departure of most foreign forces in Afghanistan, the Taliban began to seize district centers and inflict sizable losses on government forces. In addition to the Taliban, US and Afghan forces are now fighting an aggressive branch of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

“No matter what happens in the next couple of years Afghanistan is going to have wide ungoverned spaces that violent extremist organizations can take advantage of,” said Brigadier General Wilson Shoffner, a military spokesman in Afghanistan.

Commanders specifically noted that troops in Helmand province have struggled to maintain control of territory taken by US forces from the Taliban in 2011 and 2012.

“There’s a real will-to-fight issue there,” said a senior military official in Kabul.

The officials told the Post that Afghan troops in Helmand have lacked effective leaders, as well as the weapons and ammunition to hold off Taliban attacks. Some soldiers have been fighting for years without a break, which has led to poor morale and high desertion rates.

Although US officials have pointed to improvements made in the region, such as the time it takes to receive medical help on the battlefield – currently an average of four hours, down from 24 hours in 2013 – Shoffner stressed that other goals will take a long time to achieve.

“How long does it take to grow a 15-year pilot? It takes about 15 years,” he said. “We’re starting a little late with the Air Force.”

...
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by habal »

they are bluffing.
as soon as NAT led by US talked of withdrawal from afg'stan they knew that the afghan troops would need air support, evac, recon facilities that they were used to when they were fighting with the coalition. How can they conceive that all these NATO support facilities be suddenly withdrawn from afghan army and still everything would be normal.

what combined coalition+US+ Afghan troops with backup of US air support, air strikes, evac for injures barely managed for so long is now left to afghan troops without any backup. How were they expected to have survived ?
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by SSridhar »

Abdullah to discuss terror, business - Suhasini Haidar, The Hindu
Fighting terror, visa liberalisation and improving India-Afghanistan business ties are on the agenda as Afghanistan Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah lands in Delhi on Sunday.

Dr. Abdullah’s visit comes a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s unannounced visit to Kabul on Christmas day, when he had also travelled to Lahore. This is the first meeting between the Indian and Afghanistan leadership since the attacks on the Pathankot airbase and the Indian Consulate in Mazar-e-Sharif, which many officials believe were synchronised.

On Tuesday, Dr. Abdullah is down to deliver the keynote address at a counter-terrorism conference in Jaipur, which he will attend along with President Pranab Mukherjee. At least three Union Ministers — Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu — are expected to be speak at the conference, in which Foreign Secretary S. Jaishankar will deliver a special lecture. National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will host a dinner. The presence of the entire Indian security establishment at the conference, organised by BJP general secretary and analyst Shaurya Doval’s private think-tank India Foundation, will be closely watched for the government’s thinking on the steps after the India-Pakistan relations came to a standstill after Pathankot.

During his talks with Mr. Modi and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Dr. Abdullah is expected to discuss leads in the attacks, cooperation on counter-terror operations, as well as the latest round of the four-nation Taliban talks that concluded this month. Officials said the two sides are expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for visa exemption on diplomatic passports. Another MoU will be signed between the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and ASSOCHAM.

To meet Doval

Dr. Abdullah is also expected to meet Mr. Doval, on the sidelines of the conference, before he leaves for Kabul on Wednesday. The Pathankot and Mazar-e-Sharif attacks will be discussed. The attacks on January 2 and 3 came barely a week after India had announced the transfer of four Mi-35 helicopters to Afghanistan.
krisna
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by krisna »

^^^^
OT-
I think Shaurya Doval is the son of NSA Ajit Doval.
member_29325
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_29325 »

habal wrote: as soon as NAT led by US talked of withdrawal from afg'stan they knew that the afghan troops would need air support, evac, recon facilities that they were used to when they were fighting with the coalition. How can they conceive that all these NATO support facilities be suddenly withdrawn from afghan army and still everything would be normal.
Even worse, the US actually roped in Pakistan as a "coalition partner for peace" and central part of the negotiations for peace in pakistan, with paki army proxies as one of the parties, and conducted a sham 2-stage election to ensure that a pro-US/pro-Paki Ghani was elected instead of a pro-karzai leadership, so that US could sign the "Bilateral Security Arrangement". The US intends to stay in Afghanistan for as long as they can with minimum boots on the ground, while pretending to get out of there every few years. In the US view, remaining in Afghanistan is probably because it a center piece when it comes to India/China/Russia trade/economic ties in the long run, and ensuring instability ensures that the region is not useful for commercial purposes.
ramana
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by ramana »

Twitter has reports of the Indian supplied Mi-17 helicopters having seen action in Afghanistan.
member_23370
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by member_23370 »

Mi-35's not Mi-17's right?
ramana
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Re: Afghanistan News & Discussion

Post by ramana »

You are right.
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