Afghanistan Security Situation Deteriorated In 2015

A new Pentagon report says the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated during this year’s fighting season, with more Taliban attacks and higher casualties among Afghan forces. The report also says ISIS is becoming a greater threat in that country.

NPR’s Tom Bowman reports for the Newscast unit:

“This was the first year that Afghan forces led the fight against the Taliban. And the insurgent group, the Pentagon report says, remains resilient.

“Attacks in Kabul increased 27 percent this year over 2014. And the Taliban continues to make gains in rural areas. Still, the report says, the Taliban were unable to accomplish major operational or strategic victories during the past year.

“The casualty rate among Afghan forces rose more than 25 percent, the report found. Meanwhile, ISIS is making inroads in eastern Afghanistan, and for the first time has started mounting attacks.”

The report also reiterates the reasoning behind Obama’s October decision to delay the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan. The report says the decision to leave the current number of troops — 9,800 — in the country through 2016 gives U.S. forces the ability to both assist Afghan forces and support “counterterrorism operations against the remnants of al Qaeda and its associates.”

Meanwhile, the Pentagon report also says that The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria’s (ISIS) presence in Afghanistan grew stronger in the second half of 2015.

“The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province has progressed from its initial exploratory phase to a point where they are openly fighting the Taliban for the establishment of a safe haven and are becoming more operationally active,” the report says, using an alternate name for the group.

The report to Congress, called “Enhancing Security and Stability in Afghanistan,” also details how the Taliban remains a formidable threat and the difficulties the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) face securing the country.

ISIS is mainly recruiting from disaffected Taliban and Taliban-aligned fighters, according to the report.

The latter half of 2015 also saw an increase of Taliban attacks. Fighting has been continuous since February and includes some unexpected parts of the country, such as Kunduz.