DefenceTalkAfghan Special Security Forces, advised by U.S. Army Special Forces Soldiers assigned to NATO Special Operations Component Command-Afghanistan, captured a major Islamic State-Khorasan (ISIS-K) stronghold in eastern Afghanistan in June 2018, effectively depriving the terror group of its local capital in one of the largest joint operations ever conducted between U.S. and Afghan special operations […]https://www.defencetalk.com/special-forces-soldiers-help-afghan-forces-defeat-isis-in-eastern-afghanistan-71799/

DefenceTalkDefence Ministers agreed today (9 November 2017) to increase the size of NATO’s Resolute Support training mission in Afghanistan from around 13,000 to roughly 16,000 personnel. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg made the announcement at the end of a two-day meeting of the alliance’s Defence Ministers in Brussels. Mr Stoltenberg welcomed the fact that “Afghan […]https://www.defencetalk.com/nato-ministers-agree-to-adapt-command-structure-boost-afghanistan-troop-levels-70772/

DefenceTalkDefense Secretary Jim Mattis says the U.S. is sending another 3,000 troops to Afghanistan, an increase of over 25 percent in the number of American forces there. Mattis told reporters Monday at the Pentagon that the boost in U.S. troop strength would be “over 3,000,” but he declined to name a specific number. “Frankly, I […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-sending-3000-more-troops-to-afghanistan-70498/

DefenceTalkAn Afghan commando who opened fire on American troops killed three of them and wounded another, US and Afghan officials said, in an insider attack that was claimed by the Taliban. The so-called “green-on-blue” attack on Saturday is the latest in a line of incidents where Afghan soldiers have turned their weapons on international forces […]https://www.defencetalk.com/three-us-soldiers-killed-in-afghan-insider-attack-70157/

DefenceTalkNo decisions on whether to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan have been made yet, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff told reporters in Israel Tuesday. Marine Corps Gen. Joe Dunford said national security leaders have not gone to President Donald J. Trump yet with Afghanistan troop recommendations for 2017 and beyond. “One of […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-officials-studying-force-size-in-afghanistan-dunford-says-69951/

DefenceTalkRussia on Friday denied allegations by the commander of NATO that Moscow may be assisting the Taliban as the insurgents fight US and NATO forces in Afghanistan. “These claims are absolutely false,” Zamir Kabulov, head of the Russian foreign ministry’s department responsible for Afghanistan and the Kremlin’s special envoy in the country, told RIA Novosti […]https://www.defencetalk.com/russia-denies-supplying-taliban-after-nato-claim-69609/

DefenceTalkAfghanistan on Saturday welcomed the Pentagon’s decision to deploy some 300 US Marines to the volatile province of Helmand, where American forces engaged in heated combat until their mission ended in 2014. The Marines will head to the poppy-growing southern province this spring to assist a NATO-led mission to train Afghan forces, in the latest […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghanistan-welcomes-return-of-us-marines-to-helmand-68767/

DefenceTalkThe dwindling US troop presence in Afghanistan is hampering the Pentagon’s ability to train and monitor local security forces, a government watchdog report warned Friday. Since local Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) assumed responsibility for their country’s security, taking over from NATO forces at the start of 2015, US troop numbers have dropped […]https://www.defencetalk.com/shrinking-us-presence-in-afghanistan-creates-security-concerns-report-67378/

DefenceTalkA year after officially taking over the fight against Taliban and other insurgent forces in Afghanistan, local security troops have scored only “mixed results,” a US general said Tuesday. Despite billions of dollars in training, donated equipment and assistance over more than a decade, Afghan troops still are having trouble in many situations, said Brigadier […]https://www.defencetalk.com/after-year-leading-fight-afghan-forces-see-mixed-results-66443/

DefenceTalkKabul: A US soldier was killed and two wounded in an ongoing battle in Afghanistan’s Helmand province, where Afghan troops are pushing back Taliban insurgents, the Pentagon said. The troops had come under fire on Tuesday while conducting a mission with Afghan special forces in Marjah, Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook said. “This is an […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghan-battle-ongoing-as-us-soldier-killed-pentagon-66269/