NATO:US and Romanian Troops Killed in Action in Kabul,Afghanistan - many distrust Taliban negotiators

NATO's Resolute Support Mission announced that an American and a Romanian service member were killed in action in the Afghan capital Kabul on 5 September 2019:
In accordance with NATO policy,Resolute Support will not disclose additional details.Further information will come from Romania.
The second service member was from the U.S.In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy,the name of the service member killed in action is being withheld until 24 hours after family notification is complete.*
The service members were reportedly on a mixed patrol when a minibus VBIED struck a checkpoint near Camp Resolute Support and the US Embassy in the heavily guarded Green Zone,where Afghan govermnment buildings are also located.At least ten other people died in the blast,and a second Romanian service member was severely wounded,according to official sources.The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the suicide attack "killed 12 foreign invaders".*
The attack came as heavily-criticised negotiations with the distrusted Taliban militants have reached agreement in principle.The negotiations are seen by many as being hastily pushed along by President Donald Trump to impress his supporters in the run-up to the 2020 American presidential elections.*
Camp Resolute Support opened a permanent passenger terminal and control tower for its three helicopter landing zones in July 2018.The project was in response to increasing air traffic as deteriorating security in Kabul made road travel inadvisable.*

Iraq and Syria:Operation Inherent Resolve Intensifies Effort to Disrupt Militant Plans - lines of communication

While their countrymen lay asleep,from 16-22 July 2018,Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve redoubled its campaign against Islamic State in Iraq,Syria and the Levant extremists.The international partners pulverised the takfiri terrorists with 24 strikes spread out over 40 engagements in Iraq and Syria.
Among the strikes in Syria were:
on 21 July,the Task Force engaged an ISIL tactical unit near Abu Kamal,destroying 3 vehicles and a line of communication;
on 19 July,there were 4 strikes near Abu Kamal,engaging an ISIL tactical unit and leveling 2 logistics hubs and 2 lines of communication;
On 18 July,there were again 4 strikes near Abu Kamal,engaging an ISIL tactical unit,destroying 2 vehicles and 3 lines of communication;
on 17 July,near Soor,a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit,destroying 2 motorcycles.
In Iraq:
on 20 July,the Task Force struck targets near Sulayman Bek,engaging a tactical unit and destroying 2 vehicles and a cave;
on 17 July,again near Sulaymen Bek,the Task Force engaged an ISIL tactical unit,wiping out a VBIED and 2 fighting positions;
on 16 July,near Makhmour,9 strikes destroyed 14 ISIL caves;5 tunnels;and 4 buildings.*
The strikes were carried out by fighter;bomber;rotary-wing or remotely-piloted aircraft;rocket-propelled artillery;and ground-based tactical artillery.No further details were disclosed.*
Earlier,from 24 Apil to 26 June 2018,CJTFOIR neutralised 6 ISIL leaders and planners.This campaign of kinetic strikes stifled the Islamist extremist militants' attack planning,facilitation and operations conceived against Saudi Arabia;the US;and Sweden.Killed were:
on 24 April,Munnawar al-Mutayari,a Syria-based militant plotting external attacks on Saudi Arabia;
on 2 June,Soufiane Makouh of Belgium,plotting in Syria against the US and its interests;
on 12 June,Simak,who was plotting attacks in Sweden,and his associates Abu Awf;Abu Quddamah;and Sharif al-Ragub ( killed on 26 June).
The strikes were to disrupt ISIL's ability to plan,coordinate,and carry out attacks,CJTFOIR said.*
A line of communication is a route from a supply base to an operating base for supplies or reinforcements.A military operation cannot succeed without effective lines of communication.

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.

Operation Inherent Resolve:US Marine Corps Artillery Moves into Syria-hefty reinforcements may be staged in Kuwait

About 400 US Marines of the 111th Marine Expeditionary Unit and US Army Rangers of the 75th Ranger Regiment have arrived in Syria,augmenting the 500 US troops already there on a train,advise and assist mission for the Syrian Democratic Forces,a conglomeration of militias led by the YPG Kurds.The Marines are there in a combat role with their light but powerful M777 155 mm Howitzers.This artillery has been assisting the SDF soften up Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant positions in and around Raqqa,the ISIL capital,since at least 9 March 2017.The Rangers have been patrolling around the newly liberated town of Manbij in Northern Syria in their armoured personnel carriers to stabilise the security situation and reassure skittish allies such as Turkey.
Besides the Marines and Rangers,US Army HiMARS rocket artillery is reportedly also in or headed for Syria to participate in the liberation of Raqqa,thus mirroring US on the ground activity in neighbouring Iraq.The extra firepower is part of the Trump administration's plan to accelerate the lasting military defeat of ISIL.Although the deployments are considered temporary,no end date has been set.
Additionally,the Pentagon is contemplating sending at least 1,000 more troops to Kuwait as potential reinforcements for the approximately 1,000 US forces already in Syria.Indeed,the number in Kuwait could go as high as 12,000 US troops being held in reserve for support of the momentous Battle of Raqqa,which could be intitiated within a few weeks' time.*
The M777 is a towed cannon with a range of 32 kilometers/20 miles.It has been used in the Afghan War as well.The HiMARS is already being used against ISIL in Iraq.According to US Air Force Colonel John Dorrian,spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force OIR:
We are going to prepare to liberate the city of Raqqa.This is an important task that has to be accomplished,because liberating that city is going to damage the enemy's prospects.It has a tremendous amount of symbolic importance.It's also a major command and control node for their external operations.
We have what I would describe as a pretty relentless air campaign to destroy enemy capabilities and to kill enemy fighters in that area already.That is something that we are going to continue and intensify with this new capability,COL Dorrian explained.*
On 20 March 2017,coalition military forces conducted 22 strikes consisting of 28 engagements against ISIL in Syria,including:
Near Abu Kamal,three strikes destroyed three wellheads and a pump jack;
Near Raqqa,19 strikes engaged eight ISIL tactical units;destroyed four pieces of oil lubricant equipment;three barges;three fighting positions;three headquarters;two VBIED facilities;two VBIEDs;a VBIED factory;a tunnel;a vehicle;a weapons storage facility;a command and control node;and damaged two supply nodes.*
Strikes are conducted by fighter,attack,bomber,rotary-wing or remotely piloted aircraft;rocket-propelled artillery;some ground-based tactical artillery when fired on planned targets.Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to manoeuvre roles is not classified as a strike,the CJTFOIR says.*
Those who have participated in Syria strikes include Australia;Bahrain;Canada;Denmark;France;Jordan;the Netherlands;Saudi Arabia;Turkey;the UAE;and the UK.