Showing posts with label Uruzgan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Uruzgan. Show all posts

Sunday, November 13, 2016

Afghan Security News Update

Uruzgan Governor Pleads for Australian Help. The province where the Australian training and reconstruction effort in Afghanistan was centered is in a dire situation. The Taliban are steadily making progress and have the Afghan government security forces on the defensive. Of late, the provincial capital - Tarin Kot - has been threatened by the insurgents. Deaths and desertions have taken their toll on the ANP and ANA. The provincial governor is urging the Australians to return to the province with combat troops and helicopters. Read more in "Afghan Governor pleads for Australian help as soldiers defect to Taliban", ABC News, November 7, 2016.

UN Investigating Airstrikes. The United Nations says it is investigating U.S. airstrikes that killed over 30 civilians. The United States is conducting its own investigation. The airstrikes were targeting senior members of the Taliban. Afghan security authorities say the civilians were most likely family members of the slain Taliban leaders. Read more in "U.N. says investigating Afghanistan air strike deaths", Reuters, November 6, 2016.

COMRS Visits Georgia. The country of Georgia has been a staunch ally of the United States and the many other nations participating in the Resolute Support mission in Afghanistan. The Resolute Support commander - General John Nicholson - recently visited Georgia to discuss issues pertaining to the country's engagement in the RS mission. Read more in "US Commander of NATO Resolute Support Mission Visits Georgia", Georgia Today, November 7, 2016.

RS Senior Enlisted visits Bagram Units. Command Sergeant Major (CSM) David Clark visited units based at Bagram Air Field. (DVIDS, Nov 6, 2016).

C-RAM Units Exchange Responsibility. One Air Defense Artillery unit is headed home while another has taken its place at Bagram Air Field. The Counter Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) mission provides critical early warning and takes steps to defeat the insurgent's rockets, artillery, and mortars that fire onto the air field and base. Read "Air Defense Artillery Transfer of Authority Ceremony", DVIDS, November 5, 2016.

Paper - Islamic State in Afghanistan. Casey Garret Johnson, writing for the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has penned a 16-page report that details the structure, composition, and growth of the Islamic State's so-called Khorasan province.The report is the result of more than sixty interviews with residents of Nangarhar - and provincial and national Afghan security officials. Read The Rise and Stall of the Islamic State in Afghanistan, USIP, November 3, 2016.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Uruzgan Province Under Attack

One of the embattled regions in Afghanistan is the central province of Uruzgan. The Taliban have been focusing on this province for a good part of the summer fighting season. The Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have lost several bases in the province. One of these bases was a compound for a battalion of the Afghan National Civil Order Police (ANCOP) - a SWAT-like unit of the Ministry of Interior (MoI). Over 70 ANCOP members surrendered their base to the Taliban. In one week three Afghan Army posts have surrendered to the Taliban. Over twenty police outposts have been abandoned and some Afghan police have joined the Taliban.

The Afghan Army has suffered from heavy casualties, decreased recruitment and problems with retention. The Taliban have focused on Uruzgan province over the past few months; while also going on the offensive in Helmand and Kunduz provinces.

News stories of the fighting in Uruzgan province:
"Taliban Gain Ground in Afghanistan as Soldiers Surrender Their Posts", by Taimoor Shah and Rod Nordland, The New York Times, October 30, 2016.



Sunday, October 9, 2016

Afghanistan: The Australian Story - A Documentary

Afghanistan: The Australian Story was commissioned by the Australian War Memorial. The film tells the story of the Australian men and women who served in the long fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The documentary features interviews with engineers, medics, Special Forces, and relatives affected by the combat and by the war. Australian SAS and conventional troops have been deployed in Afghanistan for many years. One specific area of Afghanitan was Uruzgan province where the Australians suffered many casualties. Read more in "Afghanistan: The Australian Story documentary gives insight into military involvement", ABC News (Australia), October 2, 2016.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Last Combat Troops from Australia Leave Afghanistan

The Australians have provided combat troops to the Coalition in Afghanistan since early in the war starting in 2001. Although Australia will leave some advisors (about 400) in place it has withdrawn the last of its combat troops. Much of the Australian effort was in the Uruzgan province in south central Afghanistan. Read more about the Australian withdrawal in this news report from BBC.

Friday, October 29, 2010

The Australians and Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is responsible for the Uruzgan Province, Afghanistan.  To that end the Australians have deployed special forces troops and other units as well. They are advising the Afghan National Army (ANA) 4th Brigade, assisting in reconstruction, and providing training to some of the local police units.  They face some problems - mostly corruption on the part of the Afghans, tribal difficulties, and lack of an effective Afghan government to work with the population - and of course, the Taliban.  A professor at the Macquarie University's Centre for Policing, Intelligence and Counter Terrorism provides more info on the Australian efforts in Uruzgan Province.  See "Wishful thinking in Afghanistan", Australian Broadcasting Corporation, October 27, 2010.