Afghan forces on new ISIS offensive

After two years of heavy casualties, the Afghan military is trying to retake the initiative in the war against militants with a new offensive against Islamic State group loyalists, an assault that will see American troops back on the battlefield working more closely with Afghan soldiers.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani recently announced a major assault against fighters loyal to the Islamic State group, who over the past year captured positions along Afghanistan’s eastern border with Pakistan, mainly in Nangarhar province.

That goal to uproot ISIS from Afghanistan has taken on new urgency in the wake of a deadly suicide bombing of a protest march Saturday in Kabul that killed at least 80 people.

The Islamic State group’s Aamaq online news agency quickly claimed responsibility for the attack, the first ISIS attack in the Afghan capital and one of the deadliest ever to hit Kabul. The inexperienced Afghan forces have largely stalled in the fight against Islamic militants ever since most international combat troops withdrew in 2014.

American forces that remained shifted to a supporting role and US airstrikes diminished, letting the Afghan military take the lead in carrying out the war.

Taliban forces have dominated the battlefield and the Islamic State group has been building a foothold — and that has meant mounting losses among Afghan troops.

So far in 2016, Afghan troop deaths are 20 per cent higher than the same point last year. Casualty numbers are not officially released, but according to figures provided by military officials, at least 5,000 troops were killed in 2014, rising to more than 6,000 last year.

So far in 2016, Afghan troop deaths are 20 per cent higher than the same point last year.

In an acknowledgement of the deteriorating security situation, President Barack Obama in June gave a green light to a more assertive role for US troops, though still short of direct combat.

With that boost, Afghans are shifting back on the offensive. The upcoming anti-ISIS operation will see the head of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan, Gen. John Nicholson, implementing an aggressive new strategy.