In this picture taken on July 15, 2021, Afghan militia fighters keep a watch at an outpost against Taliban insurgents at Charkint district in Balkh Province.
(FARSHAD USYAN / AFP)
WASHINGTON – The US military in the past few days conducted airstrikes in Afghanistan to support Afghan security forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
According to media reports, Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said that "in the last several days, we have acted, through airstrikes, to support the ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces)," without providing details.
Afghanistan's military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces around the most critical areas like Kabul and other cities, border crossings and vital infrastructure
At least two of the strikes targeted military equipment that the Taliban had taken from the Afghan forces while the others hit Taliban positions, including at least one strike in the southern province of Kandahar.
These airstrikes came as the security situation in the war-torn country deteriorated and the US drawdown was almost completed.
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General Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a press briefing on Wednesday that about half of the 419 district centers in Afghanistan are under Taliban control.
"A significant amount of territory has been seized over the course of six, eight, ten months by the Taliban … strategic momentum appears to be sort of with the Taliban," Milley said.
President Joe Biden had ordered the US military to end its mission in Afghanistan by Aug 31, days ahead of his original Sept 11 deadline. US Central Command said last week over 95 percent of the withdrawal had been completed.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan's military is overhauling its war strategy against the Taliban to concentrate forces around the most critical areas like Kabul and other cities, border crossings and vital infrastructure, Afghan and US officials say.
The politically perilous strategy will inevitably cede territory to Taliban insurgents. But officials say it appears to be a military necessity as over-stretched Afghan troops try to prevent the loss of provincial capitals, which could deeply fracture the country.
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One Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the "reorientation" of troops would help Kabul hold strategic territory and defend infrastructure, including a dam built with India's assistance, and major highways.
But consolidating troops also means leaving other areas unguarded, a hard sell to Afghan communities or ethnic groups who will feel they are being abandoned to the Taliban.
With inputs from Reuters