Taliban to Launch Spring Offensive in Afghanistan This Week

This is the first offensive in the country after NATO has withdrawn troops from Afghanistan.

The Taliban on Wednesday said that their spring offensive in Afghanistan will begin this week. This is the first time the insurgents’ annual campaign against the Afghan government will take place without NATO troops on the battlefield.

In past years, spring and the melting of snow on the mountains along the border with Pakistan marked a significant upsurge in the fighting between the Taliban and NATO forces along with their local allies. This fighting season, the insurgents will face just Afghan forces after the withdrawal of most international combat troops at the end of last year.

A Taliban statement, which was e-mailed to the media, said the offensive — dubbed “Azm” or perseverance in Dari and Arabic — will begin on Friday. It added that the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, as the Taliban call themselves, is “determined to prolong the ongoing jihad,” or holy war.

For the complete liberation of our beloved homeland from the yoke of foreign occupation and for the implementation of Islamic rule throughout the country, the Islamic Emirate is determined to prolong the ongoing jihad against the foreign invaders as well as their internal stooges.
– A Statement by the Taliban

An Afghan defence ministry spokesman dismissed the Taliban announcement, saying the armed forces were ready to battle any insurgent offensive.

Afghan officials said that under US leadership, the “crusaders” will maintain “control of our land and space” through security agreements with the Afghan government. The agreements allow NATO and the US to keep a limited number of non-combat troops in Afghanistan to train and assist Afghan forces in their fight against the insurgency.

In recent weeks, attacks in the north and east of the country have intensified in the build-up to the warm weather fighting season. The insurgents can be expected to fight until snow falls on the Hindu Kush, when the militants return to the mountains. Fighting even stops in many places for meals and prayers.

But after more than a decade of war, the Taliban appear no closer to their goal of overthrowing the Kabul government.

This has opened up an opportunity for what is perceived to be an affiliate of the Islamic State group to establish a small presence in Afghanistan.

The development has alarmed many Afghans, including influential warlord Ismail Khan, former governor of western Herat province, who called on President Ashraf Ghani to improve security and kickstart the economy to avoid a war with an Islamic State offshoot.