DefenceTalkUS Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned of “another tough year” in Afghanistan as he arrived on an unannounced visit Monday, hours after his Afghan counterpart resigned over a deadly Taliban attack that triggered anger and left the embattled army in disarray. Paying his first visit to Afghanistan as Pentagon chief, Mattis met with President Ashraf […]https://www.defencetalk.com/pentagon-chief-warns-of-tough-year-for-afghanistan-69812/

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/

DefenceTalkUS forces conceded Saturday that its air strikes “very likely” resulted in civilian casualties in Afghanistan’s volatile Kunduz province, pledging a full investigation into the incident which triggered angry protests. The strikes early Thursday killed at least 30 people, many of them children, after a Taliban assault left two American soldiers and three Afghan special […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-forces-say-airstrikes-very-likely-caused-afghan-casualties-68543/

DefenceTalkExplosions echoed across Kunduz as Afghan commandos drove back a Taliban assault on Monday, forcing residents to shelter in their homes, a year after militants briefly seized the strategic provincial capital. Government helicopters were targeting gunmen from the air in a bid to repel the attack, which came a day before President Ashraf Ghani was […]https://www.defencetalk.com/afghan-forces-repel-taliban-assault-on-kunduz-city-68286/

DefenceTalkFierce fighting in Helmand has sent thousands of Afghans fleeing to the capital of the southern opium-rich province, sparking a humanitarian crisis as Taliban insurgents besiege the city despite intensified US airstrikes. The Taliban advance on Lashkar Gah has compounded fears that the city was on the brink of falling into insurgent hands, even as […]https://www.defencetalk.com/thousands-flee-fierce-fighting-in-afghanistans-helmand-67975/

DefenceTalkA Pakistani Taliban militant wanted for his role in a school massacre has died in a US drone strike in Afghanistan, Pakistani and American military officials said Wednesday. Omar Narai, also known as Omar Khalifa and Khalid Khurasani, died in Nangarhar province over the weekend, security officials from both countries said. Narai “was killed along […]https://www.defencetalk.com/us-drone-strike-kills-pakistan-militant-behind-school-attack-67824/

DefenceTalkThe Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) have begun their third year in the lead for security in Afghanistan and the second year in which they have full security responsibility with limited U.S. or coalition support on the battlefield. During the December 1, 2015, to May 31, 2016, reporting period, the ANDSF addressed key […]https://www.defencetalk.com/dod-releases-report-on-enhancing-security-and-stability-in-afghanistan-67694/

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/

DefenceTalkChief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif, speaking at the Peace and Prosperity seminar on Tuesday, said Indian intelligence agency RAW is actively involved in destabilizing Pakistan. “Hostile intelligence agencies are averse to China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC),” said the chief of army staff. Let me make it clear that we will not allow anyone to […]https://www.defencetalk.com/indias-raw-involved-in-destabilizing-pakistan-says-general-raheel-67225/