Donna Miles wrting for the American Forces Press Service reports on the activity in Afghanistan known as Operation Mountain Lion
The recent surge in violence in southern Afghanistan reflects the fact that Afghan security forces are extending their reach and that the Taliban, in desperation, are trying to stop them, a senior military official told Pentagon reporters today....
"My suspicion is that the Taliban ... recognize that if they don't try to do something about that now, then they may not have a chance to do something about it later," [ Army Brig. Gen. Carter F.] Ham said.
"One of the reasons I believe that there are more incidents in the south is that the Afghan forces are going more places," he said. "They are going places where they didn't go before and certainly meeting some resistance."
Bill Roggio note that violence being reported in the press is being initiated by coalition forces, not the Taliban
The news reports of a major Taliban offensive in southeastern Afghanistan are inaccurate, as Coalition offensives and Taliban attacks have been lumped together to give the impression of a coordinated Taliban assault in multiple provinces. A reading of the various reports indicates that while the Taliban has launched a major strike on a police station and government center in Helmand province and a small scale attack on a police patrol in Ghazni, as well as two suicide attacks against U.S. contractors in Herat and an Afghan army base in Ghazni, the fighting in Kandahar was initiated by Afghan and Coalition security forces during planned operations. Over 100 have been reported killed during the fighting, with 87 being Taliban. Well over half of those killed were killed during the Coalition offensives in Kandahar.
There were two separate major engagements in Kandahar province, and both were initiated by the Coalition. Coalition forces conducted a raid and subsequent air strikes against a Taliban safe haven in the village of Azizi. As many as 27 Taliban are believed to have been killed during the operation. A joint Canadian and Afghan security force conducted a sweep in the Panjwai district of Kandahar, and killed 18 Taliban and captured 26 in the process. One Canadian officer was killed and three Afghan police were wounded during the operation.
He also notes a Taliban offensive that didn't go well for the enemy
The fighting in Musa Qala in Helmand province is a bonafide major Taliban attack. The Associated Press reports an "estimated 300-400 militants with assault rifles and machine guns attacked a police and government headquarters" in Musa Qala. The Afghan police provided reinforcements to the beleaguered police station, fought off the Taliban force, reestablished control over the region, and killed 40 Taliban and took thirteen casualties of their own. Two police patrols were ambushed in Ghazni, and resulted in the death of two policemen. There is no evidence the attacks were coordinated. And they certainly weren't coordinated to occur in conjunction with Coalition operations.
More recently, Bill reports that Mountain Lion is pressing to the Pakistan border in the area known as Uruzgan
The latest fighting in Uruzgan continues a string of engagements over the past week, with an estimated 300 Taliban killed during a series of engagements. The large majority of the recent engagements were initiated by Afghan and Coalition patrols and combat operations. Afghan and Coalition forces are pushing into regions previously untouched, sparking resistance from Taliban, some of whom are filtering in from Pakistan. Another Afghan politician has accused Pakistan of fueling the Taliban, "“Pakistani authorities and agencies are involved in the ongoing war and lawlessness in areas on both sides of the Durand Line.”
And
Afghan and Coalition forces have gone on the offensive in the Pech River Valley of Kunar starting late April during Operation Mountain Lion. Pakistan's Bajaur district is the location of several Coalition and Pakistani air strikes, including the Predator drone attack on a meeting of al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders, where Ayman al-Zawahiri was thought to be in attendance. Five senior commanders, including Abu Khabab al-Masri, the head of al-Qaeda WMD committee are believed to have been killed in the strike. Bajaur appears to be a command and control center for al-Qaeda and the Taliban, as well as a staging area into the northeastern provinces of Afghanistan.
General Ham summarizes the operation's objectives
Operation Mountain Lion, which began in mid-April, has made solid strides toward disrupting insurgent activities, denying them sanctuary, and preventing their ability to restock. The ultimate goal is to extend the reach of the Afghan government so it can serve the Afghan people.
The offensive, which Ham said has now moved into the "stability and reconstruction phase," is designed to extend the reach of the Afghan security forces and, ultimately, the Afghan government.
Since the operation began with air and ground assaults in the Pech River Valley, an area notorious for terrorist activity, U.S. and Afghan security forces have conducted more than 650 patrols and discovered 12 major weapons and ammunition caches, Ham reported. He said it's "very good news" that many of those discoveries resulted from tips by local Afghans.
In addition, coalition forces met with local and district leaders throughout the region to explain the operations' goal and solicit their support for the Afghan security forces.
Coalition medical teams treated more than 8,000 Afghan men, women and children while operating in their districts and distributed more than 13,000 radios so people who never had them before can "receive news and stay connected with their central government," Ham said.
