Afghan War:NATO Service Member Killed in Herat

A non-US NATO service member has been killed in Herat Province,Western Afghanistan on 22 October 2018.The person was serving in the Resolute Support Mission's Train,Advise and Assist Command-West (TAAC-West).Two other troops were wounded.No nationalities or identities were available.TAAC-West is led by Italian personnel.Also serving in TAAC-West are troops from Albania,Lithuania,Slovenia,Ukraine and the US.TAAC-West is helping the Afghan National Army's 207th Corps and the 606th Afghan National Police Zone.*
The incident was reportedly a green on blue attack,or someone disguised as an Afghan National Defence and Security Forces member attacking a Coalition service member.A Taliban spokesman claimed responsibility for the attack,saying one of their "infiltrators" was the assailant.The flare-up was the second green on blue attack in less than a week.On 18 October,the Taliban militants claimed responsibility for an attack following a security review session in Kandahar Province,Southern Afghanistan,in which two Afghan leaders were killed and two Americans were wounded.The Afghans lost were the highly admired Kandahar Province police chief GEN Abdul Raziq,and a senior Afghan intelligence officer.Those wounded in the firefight included a US general officer,BGEN Jeffrey D. Smiley,US Army,commander of TAAC-South,and a US contractor.The Taliban Islamist extremists said they had hoped to kill the new commander of US Forces Afghanistan and NATO's Resolute Support Mission,GEN Austin Scott Miller,US Army,who took command on 2 September 2018,but he escaped unscathed.
GEN Miller has a Special Operations Forces background,having recently served as commander,Joint Special Operations Command.He is a veteran of the Battle of Mogadishu,Somalia;the Iraq War;and the Afghan War.Among his decorations are the Bronze Star Medal,the Purple Heart Medal and the Legion of Merit.

Afghan War:US Service Member Killed in Action along with several Afghan troops;another US service member was wounded and eight NATO troops were wounded in a day of widespread hostilities

A spree of militant attacks killed and wounded several NATO and Afghan troops,as well as nearly a dozen Afghan journalists on 30 April 2018.The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,which has an affiliate known as the Khorasan Group in the unstable nation,claimed responsibility for the carnage in the Afghan capital Kabul,which killed at least 25 people,including nine Afghan journalists.
Meanwhile,US Forces Afghanistan said an American service member died in an attack during a combat operation in Eastern Afghanistan,which has been a hotbed of Khorasan Group activity the past three years.Another US service member was wounded in the incident and was evacuated to Bagram Airbase in stable condition.In the same attack,several Afghan troops were also killed and wounded.
In Khost Province of Eastern Afghanistan,BBC reporter Ahmad Shah,29,was shot dead,bringing the total journalist deaths for the day to ten.*
In Kandahar city of Southeast Afghanistan,eight Romanian NATO troops were reportedly wounded when a VBIED exploded,which also killed 11 children who were in a nearby religious school.*
Details are sketchy at this time until families have been notified and investigations carried out.*
*The US currently has about 14,000 troops in Afghanistan-up to 8,000 are Special Operations Forces often embedding with Afghan commandos and sent on counterror raids against the ISIL Islamist extremists in the Khorasan Group.Since the number of US troops was increased following the commencement of President Donald Trump's South Asia strategy,more US soldiers were expected to be sent to the front lines with the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces.*
At the recent Foreign Ministerial meeting in Brussels,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said many NATO members were upping their troop numbers to better assist Afghanistan.

Afghan War:Ongoing Need For Counter-Terrorism Requires Indefinite US,NATO Involvement

I will not allow Afghanistan to be used as a safe haven to attack Americans,said President Barack Obama,his closely cropped hair looking grayer than ever,at a White House briefing announcing that US troops-and very likely NATO forces-will remain in that nation at least into 2017 and the next presidency.For Mr.Obama,the altered course was nothing less than letting go of his cherished and long-stated goal of bringing all but 1,000 US troops home from the 14-year-long conflict by the end of 2016.Now,the current number of 9800 must stay on for most of next year,and 5500 on into 2017,so long as conditions on the ground permit the drawdown to continue.These troops will be posted to three bases:Bagram Air Base in Kabul;Jalalabad in the East (which ISIL desires to make its capital);and Kandahar.These bases will give us presence and reach,and are a key piece of the counter-terrorist strategy.The troops will have the same twofold mission:training and assisting Afghan forces;and supporting the counter-terrorist mission against al-Qaida remnants.*
Note:it's being reported that special forces have just carried out a big raid on an al-Qaida training camp inside Afghanistan.*
Afghan forces have continued to step up.They are fighting bravely and tenaciously.They continue to hold most urban areas;at the same time,they are still not as strong as they need to be in such areas as intelligence,logistics,aviation and command and control.*
This year,25 Americans,both military and civilian,have been killed in the war,the President noted.We understood the Taliban would try to exploit our withdrawal.More al-Qaida have come in,and we're beginning to see ISIL.As your Commander-in-Chief,I believe this mission is vital to our national security interests in preventing terrorist attacks against the US and our people.Given what's at stake,I am firmly convinced we should make this extra effort.After so many years of war,Afghnistan will not be a perfect place.There will continue to be contested areas.If we were to fail,it would endanger the security of us all.This modest but meaningful extension of our presence can make a difference.This is not the first time those adjustments have been made;it probably won't be the last,the President admitted.*
Al-Qaida networks or other networks that might harm us;force protection;the ability of our embassy to operate effectively:those things all factor into this decision.We're going to continue to make adjustments;and we will continue to evaluate this-and so will the next president.We're going to be a steady partner for them,President Barack Obama promised.*
Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said he has already started contacting US allies to encourage their participation in the new plan.For his part,NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg praised President Obama for deciding to extend a substantial US military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2016.
Update:German Chancellor Angela Merkel has strongly welcomed President Barack Obama's decision to keep a significant number of US troops in Afghanistan beyond 2016,hailing it as a strong signal by the United States.The German Defence Ministry in turn announced that Germany would also keep the same number of troops in Afghanistan for the time being,saying the understanding always was that the Allies would leave Afghanistan together.

Afghan War Casualty Report:Navy SEAL Killed

According to the Pentagon,as of November 12,2143 had died in the Afghan War,including 3 Department of Defense civilians and several killed in connection with the war in far flung locations from Guantanamo Bay,Cuba, to Yemen.Of the total,1701 died in hostile actions;442 died in non-hostile actions.
Killed in a hostile action on November 1 was Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew G. Kantor,22,of Gillette,New Jersey.He was a member of a Naval Special Warfare unit based in Virginia Beach,Virginia,and was killed in Zabul Province,Afghanistan.
The following US Army soldiers were also killed in hostile actions in Afghanistan this month:
Spec.Brett E. Gornewicz,27,of Alden,New York.
Spec.Ryan P. Jayne,29,of Campbell,New York.
Staff Sgt, Dain T. Venne,29,of Port Henry,New York.
They were members of 178th Engineer Battalion,412th Theater Engineer Command,based in Oswego,New York,and were killed in Paktia Province on November 3.
Also killed in Paktia Province was Sgt.Matthew H. Stiltz,26,of Spokane,Washington.He was a member of 1st Battalion,28th Infantry Regiment,4th Brigade Commbat Team,1st Infantry Division,based at Fort Riley,Kansas and was killed in a hostile action on November 12.
The following US Army soldiers also were killed in hostile actions from November 5-10:
Pfc.Brandon L. Buttry,19,of Shenandoah,Iowa,in Kandahar Province.
Capt.James D. Nehl,37,of Gardner,Oregon,in Ghazni Province.
Staff Sgt.Kenneth W. Bennett,26,of Glendora,California,in Kandahar Province.
Spec.Daniel L. Carlson,21,of Running Springs,California,died of non-combat injuries.
Your grateful nation remembers.

Afghan War Progress:Militants Low On Funds

Taliban militants trying to unseat the Afghan government and reinstate their radical Islamist reign are finding their funding drying up,the result of the predominant U.S. Marine and other coalition forces being active in Helmand and neighboring Kandahar Provinces.From threatening poppy growers to processing and smuggling heroin,the militants' fund-raising habits are being disrupted,forcing them to resort to unearthing stashes of old weapons and ammunition.
Mullah Omar,the Taliban leader in hiding since U.S. forces and the Afghan Northern Alliance drove him from power in 2001,issued a plea for Muslims to fund the militant cause.He spoke in a greeting on Eid-al-Adha,the major Muslim observance.
Afghan villagers and farmers are bolder in standing up to the militants with the coalition troops around.Soon,the Marines and British troops will be setting up self-defense units of 50 Afghans apiece,formalizing their independent streak.A similar tactic proved successful in Iraq,tapping anti-Al Qaida sentiment there and focusing it on dislodging that Islamic militant group.
Although neither the Taliban nor Al Qaida in Iraq are likely to disappear entirely,they are being marginalized over time,to the point where indigenous security forces can contain them.They are being pushed to outlying villages and the cover of darkness.
The NATO defense alliance plans to completely turn security over to Afghan forces by 2014.NATO emphasizes,however,that this is a goal.If conditions in certain areas do not warrant the transfer of authority,U.S. and allied troops may remain on station there.
Scholars point out that the ultimate challenge is setting up honest governments the locals can rely on,backed by competent indigenous security forces to defend them from the gruff Islamic militants.

Afghan War In Depth:Night Mission's Fiery End

Nine U.S. commandos were killed early Tuesday when their Blackhawk helicopter went down in Zabul Province,Afghanistan.Taliban militants said they shot it down,but the NATO defense alliance said there was no evidence of enemy fire in the area.Helicopter crashes are distressingly common in the dusty,mountainous country.
There is no room for pilot or maintenance crew error in the harsh conditions.
The special operations troops were reportedly on a night mission,which adds to the danger of flight.Another NATO soldier and a civilian were injured in the crash.Four U.S. Navy SEALs were among the dead;the other five were U.S. Army troops.Several SEALs have been killed on previous missions.The worst helicopter crash of the war occurred in 2005,when 16 Americans died.
Located in Southeast Afghanistan,Zabul is notoriously dry and windy,with farming limited to a few irrigated valleys.It is populated by tribes fiercely loyal to the Taliban militants.Zabul borders Pakistan to the south,and Kandahar Province to the west.
NATO and Afghan forces,including U.S. Marines,are trying to flush the militants out of the greater Kandahar area,which is the militant heartland,while intercepting militants at checkpoints that surround the city and conducting raids to capture or kill their leaders.Some success has been reported,such as increasing commerce and movement,building up the Afghan police,clearing the key Argandhab Valley and returning 85% of it to Afghan control.
On the other hand,the militants have been increasing their presence in the north of the country while NATO concentrates on the more populous south.U.S. Marines involved in the southern operations include the 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions,sustaining many casualties in Helmand Province,which borders Kandahar Province.

Marines Pacify Marjah

U.S. Marines have successfully retaken the town of Marjah in southern Afghanistan,preceding the more important Kandahar mission.Now a Marine civil affairs unit is front and center in Marjah,as the holding phase of Operation Moshtarak moves along.They are busy disbursing money to the civilians for any number of needs,asking few questions as to whether compensation is warranted.In general,the Marines are being most accommodating,abandoning or adapting bases at the villagers' request for walking or driving space.
Meanwhile,the Kandahar operation is actually already underway,according to NATO Commander General Stanley McChrystal,U.S. Army.He said the campaign will steadily build in coming months.Right now,the focus is on securing key roads and outlying districts of Kandahar.The operation will last for a significant time period.Unmanned aircraft and other assets have been deployed to search for Improvised Explosive Devices.NATO forces have made some progress in securing the roads.There will be a lot pf political activities as well,shaping relationships in and around the city.
There is concern that the Kandahar leaders are corrupt,unlike the provincial governor in Marjah.Kandahar is the heartland of the Taliban militants in Afghanistan.