Protesters killed in anti-government protest in Kabul, Afghanistan

(June 2)Protesters in the Afghan capital Kabul demanded the resignation of the president Ashraf Ghani's government after the recent devastating truck-bomb attack in the capital.

There were deadly clashes with the riot police. Four protesters were killed as police fired live ammunition to break up the demonstration. Health Ministry spokesperson Waheed Majrooh said; “In today’s protest four people died and eight others were wounded." The protests and no doubt the casualties added pressure on Ghani's weak and divided government that has been powerless to prevent attacks that have killed hundreds of civilians.

Ghani condemned what he called the cowardly truck-bomb attack that ripped through the diplomatic district supposedly the most secure area of Kabul. The attack killed at least 90 people and wounded hundreds more.

In the Kabul protests more than 1,000 demonstrators with many carrying pictures of bomb victims rallied in the morning near the site of the blast. They hold Ghani and Chief Executive Abdullah Abdullah responsible for the blast due to lax security. The two share power. Niloofar Nilgoon, one of many women in the protest said: "The international community has to put pressure on them and force them to resign. They're not capable of leading the country." As the standoff lasted longer the situation grew more tense and regular gunfire bursts were heard. Police in riot gear used water cannon and tear gas to stop protesters from access to the road that leads to the presidential palace. Among those killed according to Afghan media reports was the son of a prominent politician.

The protesters are angry at the Western-backed government which has failed to provide security even in the capital, 3 years after most foreign troops have left. One banner read: "Ghani! Abdullah! Resign! Resign!" Given the weak government and unstable political situation the U.S. may find its plan to possibly send 3,000 to 5,000 more troops to break the stalemate with the Taliban even more problematic than it already is. The Taliban control about 40 percent of the country. Even before the truck attack 715 civilians had been killed in the first three months of 2017. In 2016 nearly 3,500 civilians were killed the worst year for civilian deaths on record.

Kabul has been on edge ever since the devastating bombing as it showed militants could strike arguably the most secure district in the city which is home not only to foreign embassies surrounded by concrete blast walls but also the presidential palace. Rahila Jafari, a social activist said: “Our brothers and sisters were martyred in the bloody attack and our leaders are doing nothing to stop this carnage. We want justice, we want the perpetrators of the attack to be hanged to death.” Another demonstrator claimed that until the two rulers resigned the demonstrations would continue: “Day after day, innocent civilians are being killed by terrorists. If our leaders cannot restore security they should step down.” The enclosed video claims that even more were killed in the protests, seven.

Taliban mounting strong attacks in Afghanistan but Islamic State recruiting

The Afghan Taliban are able to mount serious attacks in Afghanistan. Most recently they carried out deadly attacks on the Afghan parliament and in the northern city of Kunduz.

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As the appended video shows, the attack on parliament shattered windows and filled the parliamentary chamber with smoke disrupting the confirmation of the new defense minister Masoom Stanikzai.

The parliament is supposed to be the most secure building in the country. The Taliban want to show both the Kabul government and their competitors the Islamic State just how powerful they are. They also have captured areas in the northern province of Kunduz and attacked Kunduz city. The Taliban has warned the Islamic State to stay out of Afghanistan. .

The Kunduz Police Chief Gen. Nasrati said Char Darah was just one of many districts lost in the last few days. Although reinforcements had arrived Kabul was unable to stop the violence he said. General Wahid Taqat, a former member of Afghan intelligence said that the government had simply lost control of many areas and hasnt the power to strike back. Afghan military expert, Jawed Kohistani, said:"The lack of coordination within the military, the central government's failure in the provinces and the cooperation with terrorist networks are the main reasons for the current volatile security situation."He also criticized the government for trying to make deals with Pakistani intelligence. To add to this unstable situation the Islamic State appears to be actively recruiting in Afghanistan and attempting to gain a foothold in the country.

Some time ago, General John F. Campbell the commander of the international forces in Afghanistan said that IS was using a sophisticated social media campaign to attract Taliban fighters not only in Afghanistan but Pakistan as well. The group points to the lack of success so far of the Taliban to overthrow the Kabul government after many years of battle. They point to their own success in seizing huge swaths of territory in Syria and Iraq.

The situation has progressed to the point where there are even reports of some militants fighting each other in the east of Afghanistan. One report from two anonymous commanders of the Taliban claims that the group is splintering into three parts. One group remains loyal to the original Taliban such as those who attacked the parliament and Kunduz recently. There are also a group who want to make peace with the Kabul government and lay down their arms. A third group has joined the Islamic State and is aiming at upping the pace of fighting against Kabul. While these splits might seem to give the advantage to Kabul over a divided opposition, it seems to have made the situation worse as two of the groups compete with each other to see who can fight best against Kabul. There are other divisions with those opposed to Kabul including separate Taliban groups based in Pakistan.

A senior Afghan intelligence officer told reporters:"The cracks in the ranks of Taliban began late last year with the emergence of Daesh in the region. The first big defection [from Taliban] to Daesh was senior Taliban commander Abdul Rauf Khadin ... who was killed in a joint operation with U.S. forces a few months ago."Even back in January the group announced the creation of a council for Khorasan a historic name for territory that includes present day Pakistan and Afghanistan. While Kabul has stepped up the pace of peace talks with one group of Taliban, the talks seem doomed given that other groups not only refuse to join the process but step up their attacks and take over more territory.

American analysts say that Islamic State in Afghanistan is just starting to get organized in Afghanistan. However, there is one area in the north where their presence is already being felt. As in other countries such as Libya, Islamic State is introducing foreign fighters into local areas. In a northern area in Afghanistan, local villagers and officials say that the militants are much more brutal and vicious than the Taliban. The fighters come from Pakistan, Uzbekistan, and Tajikstan. Mullah Abdul Rasheed said that a village elder was shot dead by militants while he was praying in a mosque and two of his cousins were killed in a gun battle with the militants. He said that he fled his village with others leaving everything behind. He said that the fighters had killed a person in a neighbouring village and dragged the body behind a motorcycle. In some villages they have already raised the black flag of Daesh (Islamic State) he said.

Three US contractors killed in Afghan insider attack

Kabul - An Afghan air force official said that three American contractors were killed in an apparent attack by an insider in the Afghan capital Kabul. The international force in Afghanistan confirmed the shooting that took place on Thursday morning.

The anonymous Afghan air force official said: "It is unclear yet why he shot these advisers and no one else was there to tell us the reason. An investigation has been opened." The attack victims were employed to help train Afghan air force personnel under a contract with the US Defense Department. The Afghan portion of operation Enduring Freedom ended at the end of 2014 and also the NATO International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). However, under a Status of Forces agreement signed last September by President Ghani along with a Bilateral Security Agreement with the US approximately 12,000 NATO troops will remain in Afghanistan, with about10,600 being Americans.

The new operation is called Resolute Support. While the main mission will be to train and support Afghan troops and security force there will also be a counter-insurgency operation as set out in the Bilateral Security Agreement: The Parties acknowledge that U.S. military operations to defeat al Qaida and its affiliates may be appropriate in the common fight against terrorism. Some reports such as here and here do not mention the fact that there will still be combat missions as part of the Global War on Terror or Overseas Contingency Operations as the new politically correct naming protocol would have it. There will also be numerous private contractors at work in Afghanistan as well.

 A Wikipedia article lists deaths of private contractors by the year and incidents in Afghanistan up to December 2014. There are 218 foreign private contractor deaths listed. 49 of those were private military contractors. The largest number, 65, were Americans, with the next largest being 19 from Nepal. There were 16 from the UK and even 13 Canadians and the same number from the Philippines. These are only a small number of the total which is estimated at 1481 as of December 31, 2013. The Taliban have launched a number of violent attacks of late even though the winter usually sees a definite decline in fighting. On Thursday an attack on a funeral in Laghman province killed 16 including four police and twelve civilians. On Wednesday another eleven policemen were killed and others wounded in an attack on a checkpoint in Ghazni province.

Taliban seize key area between Kabul and Kandahar on major highway

Hundreds of Taliban attacked the Ajrestan District of Ghazni province a key link between the capital Kabul and southern areas. The Taliban have also been making advances in the south recently.

Some 700 Taliban are said to be involved in the battle which has lasted about a week already. Although fighting is still continuing, there have been over 100 killed and the Afghan forces have been pushed back giving the Taliban effective control over the area. The highway through the area links Kabul to the main southern city of Kandahar.
 Provincial officials say they have lost all contact with police in the area. NATO has attempted to allow the Afghan military to counter Taliban attacks of late with the result that the Taliban are making gains in the south and central areas of Afghanistan. Earlier, Taliban had attacked a government compound in the area containing intelligence and police offices killing at least 8 security personnel and losing 19 of their own fighters. Deputy police chief of the Ajrestan area Asadullah Safi said on Friday: "If there is no urgent help from the central government, the district will collapse". The authorities have lost contact with Safi. With no air cover to pin down the Taliban attackers the Taliban have launched many attacks against military posts. Provincial officials were able to contact an army unit late Friday. The unit reported that fighting was still raging and that Afghan army commandos from outside Ghazni province had arrived as reinforcement.
Ajrestan is a small town but surrounded by about 100 villages. Control of the mountainous Ajrestan district that is about 125 miles southwest of Kabul will provide the Taliban a base to launch attacks on two bordering provinces and along the crucial highway as well. Provincial governor Ahmadi said that he had asked repeatedly for helicopters to evacuate wounded security forces but to no avail.
 Haji Mohammad Mohaqiq, leader of the ethnic Hazara minority said: "Peace with the Taliban requires a strong government. At the moment, the Taliban think they can fight in every province and they believe they can overthrow the government, Without international support it will be hard to provide security ... The example of Ajrestan district shows that without international commitment of troops, it will be difficult to handle the Taliban."
 These attacks come just days before the new Afghan president Ashraf Ghani is to be inaugurated in a unity deal with his opponent Abdullah Abdullah. All foreign troops are set to withdraw by the end of 2014 but the new president has promised that he will sign on to a bilateral security agreement that will allow some troops to remain after that time. The control of the battle against the Taliban already seems to be mainly by the Afghan government. Afghan officials claim that the continuing loses by their forces show that a peace settlement must be negotiated with the Taliban since without a powerful NATO occupation force they will be unable to defeat the Taliban in battle.