MoI warns of intense winter offensive against Taliban to continue

Afghanistan Ministry of Interior (MoI) warns that an intense offensive with Taliban will continue in the winter season.

Yet, the wind is shifting dramatically in Afghanistan, spokesman of interior ministry says that vulnerable areas have been identified in the winter season and increasing combat operations are among the security forces’ plans in the cold season.

The ministry of interior affairs believes that the Taliban insurgents will launch their attacks from the beginning of snowing time in several parts of the country but they will not be safe from the barrage of attacks by Afghan security forces.

“The Interior Ministry considers preparing and training of Afghan troops for the next fighting season as one of its priorities,” said Sidiq Sidiqi, MoI spokesman.

Military analyst emphasized that the threat of a winter offensive must be taken seriously.

This comes as a top Taliban commander has pledged in a recorded interview to launch an intense winter campaign against NATO soldiers in Afghanistan.

Whatever, the Taliban’s recent spate of attacks suggests the traditional “summer offensive” has given way to an unprecedented “winter offensive”. The “summer offensive” of 2015 seems likely to be even more violent.

Since their resurgence earlier this year the Taliban have made steady progress towards Kabul from their heartland in the south-east around Kandahar, establishing a presence in Kundoz province.

They do not expect to capture the capital but aim to continue destabilizing the increasingly fragile Ashraf Ghani’s government.

A winter offensive breaks with tradition. ‘Usually all Afghans do in the winter is try and stay warm,’ said a Western military intelligence specialist in Kabul.

‘The coming months are likely to see intense fighting, suicide bombings and unmanned roadside bombs. That is a measure of how much the Taliban have changed.’

The Taliban remain a local phenomenon and are not believed to be in close liaison with the Egyptian-born associate Ayman al-Zawahiri.

Reported by Fawad Naseri