Taliban Step-Up Their Attacks In Afghanistan

Afghanistan On Edge As Stepped-Up Taliban Attacks Kill At Least 6 -- Washington Post

KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban insurgents struck targets across Afghanistan on Friday, killing at least six people and wounding scores more, extending a string of attacks in recent weeks that have put Afghans on edge, two months into the term of the new U.S.-backed government.

The most brazen assault began Thursday night, when five Taliban suicide bombers and a group of fighters tried to infiltrate Camp Bastion, an air base in the volatile southern province of Helmand, triggering an intense gun battle that lasted into Friday morning, said Omer Zowak, a spokesman for the provincial governor’s office. Afghan soldiers repelled the attack, killing at least five Taliban fighters. Two soldiers died and six were wounded in the battle.

The attack was the latest by the Islamist Taliban insurgency targeting figures and centers of authority and influence in recent weeks. British and American forces this year pulled out of Camp Bastion, a British base, and transferred it to the Afghan army. The assault exemplified how the Taliban is trying to seize advantage of a military landscape in which most American and international forces have stopped combat operations and are preparing to withdraw by the end of the year.

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More News On The Afghan War

Afghanistan’s heavily guarded capital no longer immune from violence -- Stars and Stripes
For Afghans, the fighting now knows no seasons -- New York Times
Afghanistan lifts night raid ban against Taliban -- Washington Times
Taliban attack former NATO base in south Afghanistan -- AFP
Taliban fighters breach Helmand base, exchange fire with Afghan troops -- Reuters
Taliban launch all-out assault on Camp Bastion barely a month after British troops pull out, killing six Afghan soldiers -- Daily Mail/AP
Afghan soldiers killed in army base assault -- Al Jazeera
Afghan Troops 'Drive Out' Taliban From Key Southern Base -- Radio Free Europe
Taliban, Afghan forces battle at base vacated by British troops last month -- CNN
Afghan interpreters who helped US forces claim they have been left to the mercy of the Taliban after being place on a blacklist that stops them from emigrating to America -- Daily Mail

My Comment: The war usually tapers off during the winter months .... but the Taliban have clearly made the decision to escalate the war and to seize territory when possible.