Afghan Military casualties rise manifold against Taliban: Official report
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KABUL - The security institutions have confirmed that fatalities among the Afghan security members have significantly increased during the current fighting season compared to previous years - as the Taliban expand their military offensives on multiple fronts across the country.
On Sunday, the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said that currently security forces are tackling insurgents as part of their preplanned operations in at least 14 provinces and that additional police and commando forces have been deployed to the frontline in order to curb the increase in fatalities.
Meanwhile, lawmakers in the lower house of parliament have raised concerns over the seizing of military equipment and ammunition by the Taliban in Farah and Ghazni provinces. However, the ministry of defense has rejected such reports.
“This year the activities of the enemy has increased compared to previous years. The number of our operations also indicates that this year the number of casualties unfortunately has also increased,” said MoI spokesman Najib Danish
NATO’s Resolute Support (RS) has also said that the Taliban during the current war season are trying to takeover some strategic towns.
Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Martin O'Donnell, a spokesman for the US-led coalition in Afghanistan, said on Sunday that the Taliban are trying to takeover some strategic locations.
“They are going to try and we have seen that with the district raids, we saw that in Farah, but we also see again is that the Afghan forces are certainly capable of defending those,” he said.
He said that the Taliban do not have the capacity to keep towns and districts under their control.
But, MPs from Ghazni and Farah have claimed that the Taliban have gained access to ammunition and weapons belonging to the security forces in the two volatile provinces and are fighting government forces with the same weapons.
“Pur Chaman district is still under the control of Afghanistan’s defense forces and Afghan police. Its total propaganda like Khandaq operation propaganda,” said defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish.
Sources within the security institutions have said that currently on average 50 members of the security forces are being killed and wounded each day.
