Taliban Kill More Than 200 Afghan Defenders on 4 Fronts: ‘a Catastrophe’
Rod Nordland, Fahim Abed in addition to Mujib Mashal
New York Times,
August 12, 2018
KABUL, Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan — Afghan regime forces lost to a greater extent than than 200 officers in addition to soldiers inwards fighting over the past times 3 days every bit Taliban insurgents launched sustained attacks on 4 unlike fronts.
The hardest-hit expanse was the southeastern metropolis of Ghazni, where to a greater extent than than 100 law officers in addition to soldiers had been killed past times Sunday, a infirmary official said, in addition to the insurgents appeared to live on inwards control of most of the strategic metropolis aside from a few of import regime facilities.
Ninety miles west, inwards Ghazni Province, the Taliban seized command of the Ajristan District. The elite the world forces commando unit of measurement that had been defending the district disappeared for 2 days, in addition to their superiors were uncertain of their fate. When they found out on Sunday, estimates of the dead ranged from twoscore to 100. Twenty-two survivors were carried to security on donkeys past times rescuers who found them lost inwards the mountains.
In Faryab Province, 250 miles to the northwest, an isolated Afghan National Army base of operations of 100 soldiers lost to a greater extent than than one-half of its men inwards a Taliban railroad train on that ended early on Dominicus morning. The defenders said they did non aspect to concluding some other night.
And 275 miles due east of the Faryab base, inwards northern Baghlan Province, at a base of operations at Jangal Bagh on the strategic highway betwixt Pul-i-Kumri in addition to Kunduz, insurgents killed vii policemen in addition to nine soldiers in addition to captured 3 other soldiers on Saturday.
With the tempo of the Afghan conflict steadily increasing, it was a bad few days for the Afghan government. The fighting has demonstrated that the insurgents receive got a capacity for carrying out ambitious operations on multiple fronts, piece the regime has struggled to respond on a unmarried front end inwards Ghazni.
Baz Mohammad Hemat, the managing director of the Ghazni Hospital, said past times telephone that 113 bodies had been taken to the hospital, along amongst 142 people who had been wounded, most of them inwards uniform.
“We’re running out of infirmary rooms; nosotros are using corridors in addition to available infinite everywhere,” Mr. Hemat said. “Fighting is quite closed to the hospital. The province of affairs is actually bad here. We’re receiving to a greater extent than in addition to to a greater extent than wounded in addition to dead every hour.”
The decease cost appeared sure enough to rise, amongst numerous reports of bodies left unrecovered to a greater extent than or less the city. The autumn of Ghazni, if it happens, would live on the Taliban’s most of import victory yet, every bit the metropolis is on the main north-south highway, in addition to its capture would effectively cutting off the capital, Kabul, in addition to the due north from the insurgents’ Pashtun homeland inwards the south.
“Heavy fighting is ongoing to a greater extent than or less the governor’s office, the Police Headquarters in addition to the chemical compound of the intelligence agency,” said Nasir Ahmad Faqiri, a fellow member of the provincial council. “The forces inwards Ghazni receive got resisted well, but naturally they receive got fought in addition to then long. The reinforcements receive got non done anything effective. All they receive got done is constitute a base of operations for themselves.”
He added, “Bodies are lying around, they receive got decomposed, in addition to no i is doing anything to evacuate them.”
The Afghan government minister of populace health, Ferozuddin Feroz, said he had asked the International Committee of the Red Cross for “urgent help” inwards transporting the wounded in addition to dead out of Ghazni.
Taliban fighters inwards Ghazni continued to accept over guard posts that the law had abandoned. At one, an insurgent shot a dark domestic dog 3 times amongst his AK-47. Asked why, he answered that it was a law guard domestic dog that had alerted officers when the Taliban approached inwards the night.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 senior Afghan official said that the authorities’ response to the Taliban onset on Ghazni had been chaotic. Police officers who had been besieged inwards Ghazni Prison for 2 days were almost out of ammunition when the Afghan National Army reached them amongst supplies. It turned out, however, that the the world forces uses American ammunition, piece the law purpose Russian ammunition. The official spoke on the status of anonymity because he was non authorized to liberate the information.
Col. Farid Ahmad Mashal, Ghazni’s law chief, said past times telephone that reinforcements, including American troops, were kickoff to clear the Taliban from the city. He said that to a greater extent than than 1,000 insurgents had attacked Ghazni in addition to that 500 had been killed.
“They dreamed of repeating the autumn of Kunduz here, in addition to nosotros sent them to their graves amongst those dreams,” Colonel Mashal said, referring to the northern metropolis overrun briefly past times the Taliban inwards 2015 and 2016.
The regime inwards Kabul in addition to the the world forces continued to insist that they were inwards sum command of Ghazni. “The strategic locations inwards Ghazni metropolis are inwards the command of regime forces,” Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, principal of staff of the Afghan National Army, or A.N.A., said at a intelligence conference. “The governor’s office, prison, Police Headquarters in addition to A.N.A. bases are nether regime control. The Taliban are settled inwards houses in addition to shops of people within the city.”
Video posted on social media sites, however, showed insurgents strolling casually to a greater extent than or less the city. Numerous local residents confirmed that militants were commandeering homes to purpose every bit bases.
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 spokesman for the US military, Lt. Col. Martin L. O’Donnell, said that 10 American airstrikes had been carried out on Sunday, 5 on Sabbatum in addition to i on Friday. He described Ghazni every bit “relatively quiet” in addition to added, “What nosotros are seeing every bit the clearing operations piece of employment on is the Taliban attempting to harass Afghan forces in addition to using civilians, who they demo lilliputian regards toward, every bit cover.”
Colonel O’Donnell confirmed that some American troops were inwards Ghazni. “U.S. advisers are assisting the Afghan forces, who are leading the clearing operation,” he said.
Taliban insurgents said they had amassed forces from several provinces for the onset on Ghazni, the 4th fourth dimension they receive got tried to capture a provincial capital, most late inwards May, when they attacked Farah inwards western Afghanistan. Despite the large number of insurgents fighting inwards Ghazni city, the Taliban also mounted deadly attacks inwards 3 other parts of the province from Fri through Sunday.
In Ajristan, a district inwards the rugged western component subdivision of Ghazni Province close ninety miles from the city, an entire Afghan National Army commando unit of measurement disappeared for 2 days afterward the Taliban drove 2 bomb-laden vehicles into its base of operations on Friday, setting off powerful explosions that destroyed the base of operations in addition to killed an unknown number of soldiers in addition to policemen there, according to a senior Afghan security official. The official, speaking on the status of anonymity because of the delicacy of the issue, said they feared that every bit many every bit 100 of the commandos in addition to their law allies had been killed. “It was a catastrophe,” he said.
The survivors reportedly fled the base of operations into the mountainous, arid terrain, according to Zamin Ali Hedayat, the governor of the neighboring district, Malistan. Mr. Hedayat said that xxx of the survivors — commandos in addition to policemen — along amongst the local law chief, Obaidullah Khan, fled toward the Miramor District inwards the neighboring province of Daykondi. He said the Taliban ambushed them en route, beheading Mr. Khan in addition to killing all xxx of the others.
There was no independent confirmation of that. The Taliban spokesman posted a Twitter message maxim the Taliban had killed 43 inwards the Ajristan onset in addition to took “39 hireling commandos” prisoner.
When a reporter called Mr. Hedayat to inquire close the fate of the commandos, the governor said that the Afghan Ministry of Defense had only called him in addition to asked the same thing. “I told them they did non come upwardly to my district,” he said.
Instead they were on a two-day trek to attain Miramor. Abdul Qader Haidari, the governor inwards Miramor, said 22 surviving commandos in addition to policemen reached a roadless expanse inwards his district. “We went to run into them amongst donkeys in addition to motorcycles,” he said. “We receive got them hither forthwith every bit our guests.”
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 medic who treated them said they were inwards hapless condition. “All of them walked for to a greater extent than than 2 days, in addition to they didn’t know where they were going,” the medic, Nasir Akbari, said. “One of them walked barefoot all the way; others their shoes were falling apart, their uniforms were torn in addition to inwards bad shape.” The survivors told him that twoscore of their number had been killed inwards Taliban ambushes on the way, he said.
In the Faryab onset far to the north, an Afghan National Army base of operations had been nether sustained onset for 3 weeks inwards the Ghormach District when the insurgents launched a peculiarly heavy onset Sabbatum in addition to Sunday. More than one-half of the 100 defenders were either killed or wounded, according to First Lt. Shah Fahim, the platoon commander whose unit of measurement was defending the base. Lieutenant Fahim said that 21 soldiers in addition to xv edge officers had been killed in addition to that 33 soldiers had been wounded.
His society commander, Capt. Sayid Azam, was amid the dead, he said. “The base of operations is sum of wounded in addition to dead, in addition to the whole identify is covered inwards blood,” Lieutenant Fahim said. “It’s a miracle we’re alive. They attacked us amongst 1,000 militants in addition to all kinds of heavy equipment.”
Four days earlier his death, Captain Azam inwards Faryab spoke to a reporter past times cellphone, his phonation desperate in addition to angry. “Since xx days nosotros are holler for for assist in addition to no i is listening,” he said. “Every nighttime fighting, every nighttime the enemy are attacking us from 3 sides amongst rockets. We don’t know what to do.”
On Sunday, the reporter spoke past times telephone to Lieutenant Fahim, who said he expected a renewed onset Dominicus night. “The Taliban are only on the other side of the wall,” the lieutenant said, weeping. “This may live on the concluding fourth dimension nosotros speak.”
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