Taliban forces take control of Sangin in Afghanistan’s Helmand province

Security has worsened across the country as the Taliban test the mettle of Afghan security forces following the end of the worldwide combat mission previous year. The UK has 450 troops in Afghanistan as part of NATO’s training mission.

Sangin district has bounced in and out of Taliban control for some years, and fighting there has produced some of the highest casualty counts among Afghan and worldwide forces in 14 years of war. During his visit, Carter met with Afghan and USA military officials at a base in the eastern province of Nangahar, where local forces are grappling with a variety of militant groups arrayed along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan.

More than 90 members of the Afghan security forces died fighting in recent days, with hundreds killed in the past six months, he said in his open letter to Ghani.

Following the invasion, the US-led coalition forces formed the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), created to hit back against the Taliban and al-Qaeda insurgents, who proved extremely strong opposition, with unique knowledge of the landscape – both socially and geographically.

Sangin has particular resonance with the British as more than 100 of their 456 fatalities in Afghanistan, after the start of the war in 2001, were in the district.

An NYPD detective is among the six USA service members killed in a suicide attack on a patrol near Bagram Air Base on Monday, according to the NYPD. Two U.S. troops and an Afghan were also wounded when the bomber rammed an explosives-laden motorcycle into a joint NATO-Afghan patrol.

Taliban death squads were accused of summary executions, rape and plundering Kunduz as NATO-backed Afghan forces struggled for two weeks to evict them.

A US military official in Afghanistan confirmed that the slain troops were all Americans.

A small contingent of British troops was sent to Helmand at the weekend to provide support to embattled Afghan forces in the province.

The deteriorating security and economic situation have not only allowed the Taliban and al-Qaeda to expand its
foothold in the region, but also resulted in ISIS fighters
making inroads in the country.

Initial reports said one rocket had landed near Masoud Square close to the entrance to the US Embassy, another hit the nearby area of Shirpur while a third landed further away near the city centre, Kabul police officials said. The intensifying battles in Helmand, as well as a series of aggressive Taliban attacks in other provinces this month, have reinforced public fears of a nationwide Taliban takeover.

Confusion over the fate of Sangin has been exacerbated by different statements coming from Helmand Governor Merza Khan Rahimi and his deputy, Mohammad Jan Rasulyar.

However, he said he does not believe more combat forces are needed – what is needed is support.

On Monday six U.S. troops were killed in a suicide attack near Bagram Airfield.

“These employees are a part of a bigger North Atlantic Treaty Organisation team, which will be providing guidance to the Afghan National Army”.

It is thought around 65 percent of Helmand province is under the control of insurgents.