One of the most dangerous Taliban leaders in Afghanistan has been killed by British forces in a helicopter attack, the British Ministry of Defense says. Mullah Mansur is believed to be behind a number of suicide bombings that have claimed British lives in and around Lashkar Gah in Helmand Province. Mansur and several accomplices died in a "precision strike", commanders say. Task Force Helmand spokesman Lt Col Nick Richardson said Mansur - who created and supplied improvised explosives - was one of the most dangerous men in Helmand.
In Pakistan, at least nine people were killed in a series of bomb attacks in the city of Peshawar on May 28th. Five were killed and about 70 injured when two bombs exploded at a busy market, police said. Shortly after, a suicide bomber attacked a military checkpoint on the city outskirts, killing at least four police officers. The attacks came hours after Pakistani Taliban warned of further violence following a gun and bomb attack in Lahore which killed at least 24 people. In Lahore, a group of men shot at police officers before detonating a powerful car bomb, damaging buildings belonging to the police and the ISI intelligence agency.
Officials said the Taliban carried out the Lahore attack in revenge for a military offensive against them in Swat valley. Lahore, in Punjab province near the Indian border, is known as Pakistan's cultural capital and is far from the Swat valley. The army is claiming sweeping victories against Taliban insurgents in the tribal areas near the Afghan border - saying more than 1,000 militants have been killed in the past month. Militants had threatened revenge attacks in Pakistan's cities after the military stepped up its operations in the Swat valley.
The Last month the UN appealed for a total of $543 million in humanitarian aid to help more than 1.6 million people displaced by fighting in north-west Pakistan. The UN said the "extraordinary" exodus had caused "incredible suffering". Tens of thousands of people are being housed in camps south of the main fighting zone in the Swat valley.
On May 19th, the U.S. announced it is sending $110 million in aid to Pakistan to help cope with the refugee crisis in the north-west. Details of the package were revealed by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a White House news conference. She said the U.S. wanted to do more to help the people who have fled fighting between the Pakistani government and Taliban.
Secretary Clinton conceded American policy toward Pakistan over the past three decades had been "incoherent". She praised the current Pakistani military offensive against the Taliban, and said she was encouraged by a "national mood change" on the part of the Pakistani people.
A map produced by the BBC earlier in May suggests only 38% of Pakistan's North West Frontier Province (NWFP) and surrounding areas is under full government control. The map, compiled by the BBC's Urdu language service, was based on local research and correspondent reports as well as conversations with officials.
It shows the Taliban strengthening their hold across the north-west. Pakistan is currently engaged in a military offensive aimed at regaining part of the region from the Taliban. There was an international outcry recently when the militants moved into Buner district, just 67 miles from the capital Islamabad.
The top US military commander, Adm Michael Mullen, has warned that the U.S. troop build-up in Afghanistan could push Taliban fighters deeper into Pakistan, further destabilizing it. However, Adm Mullen said U.S. and Pakistani forces were planning measures to prevent this, without giving further details.
In Afghanistan, local media recently characterized the replacement of U.S. Commander General David McKiernan as a consequence of a failure of policy on the part of the United States. Specifically, they have linked the change to the high rate of civilian casualties in anti-insurgency operations.
General McKiernan was replaced on May 11th by General Stanley McChrystal. Announcing the decision, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said the fight against the Taliban needed "new thinking". The change also comes as the U.S. is seeking to increase troop numbers in Afghanistan.
Anger over civilian casualties features prominently in the Afghan media from across the political spectrum. The latest incident, in which more than 100 people were reported killed in a May 6th air strike in Bala Boluk district, western Farah Province, led to demonstrations and media outrage.
The World's Matthew Bell on U.S. strategy in Afghanistan (May 12)
Afghanistan has been declared the primary focus of American military operations. The U.S. is sending 21,000 additional troops to the country, to join an existing force of 38,000.
On May 6th, President Barack Obama vowed to "defeat al-Qaeda" and its allies in Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was speaking after talks in Washington with Afghan President Hamid Karzai and Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari.
Afghan police and soldiers, as well as American and other foreign troops belonging to the NATO-led International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF), are frequent targets of Taliban attacks. Southern Afghanistan is the main battlefront between the insurgents and Afghan and foreign forces, but there have been attacks elsewhere in the country, notably in eastern areas and also in the capital, Kabul.
In April, President Barack Obama urged better use of NATO resources in Afghanistan, saying al-Qaeda is a greater threat to Europe than to the U.S. Speaking before a NATO summit co-hosted by France and Germany, he said the U.S. wanted to see a stronger Europe. However, NATO's secretary general said members would be reluctant to send more troops if Afghanistan adopted a new law seen as violating the rights of women.
In March President Obama confirmed a fundamental rethink of U.S. strategy in Afghanistan and Pakistan to combat an "increasingly perilous" situation. He said growing radical forces in the area posed the greatest threat to the American people and the world. He said an extra 4,000 U.S. personnel would train and bolster the Afghan army and police, and he would also provide support for civilian development.
Pakistan would also be a focus, with a $7.5 billion program of "direct support". But he said this support would not come as a "blank check", and Pakistan would have to demonstrate its own commitment to rooting out al-Qaeda and associated forces.
President Obama said his "comprehensive new strategy" was an outcome of a "careful policy review" which had consulted military commanders and diplomats, regional governments, partners, NATO allies, NGOs and aid organizations. The President painted a bleak picture of the situation, with insurgents increasing their control of territory in the region and attacks rising. He said American strategy must relate directly to the threat posed to the Americans by al-Qaeda and its allies - who, he reminded his listeners, were behind the 9/11 attacks on American soil eight years ago.
On Feb 11th, the Taliban carried out coordinated attacks in Kabul - some analysts suggested that they were an attempt by the Taliban to overshadow a visit by the new American envoy for the region, Richard Holbrooke. The assault on three government buildings in the Afghan capital, Kabul, left at least 27 people, including eight of the attackers, dead. In one attack, two suicide bombers detonated explosives at an office responsible for prisons in the north of the capital. Five gunmen attacked the justice ministry and another suicide bomber targeted the education ministry. The Taliban said they carried out the attacks. A spokesman said they were in response to the treatment of Taliban prisoners in Afghan jails.
On Dec 8th, 2008 a new report by the International Council on Security and Development said the Taliban had a permanent presence in nearly 75% of Afghanistan. The international think-tank said the insurgents could now infiltrate Kabul at will, although the Afghan government rejected the findings. Taliban leader Mullah Omar has warned violence in Afghanistan will rise and has urged foreign forces to withdraw.
On June 13th, 2008 about 350 Taliban fighters escaped with many other inmates from a jail in Kandahar. Only a handful of prisoners have been recaptured. The jail raid was a major coup for the Taliban, which draws much of its support from the south of the country.
The Taliban claim to have influence across most of the country and have extended their area of control from their traditional heartland in the south. They have a significant presence around Kandahar from where they carry out suicide attacks and roadside bomb blasts. The militants are even able to operate freely in Wardak province, neighboring the capital Kabul.
Most of the fighting in the volatile southern provinces is being done by troops from the US, UK, Canada and the Netherlands. Many U.S. allies, including Germany, France, Spain, Turkey and Italy, have refused to send significant numbers of combat forces there.
Key insurgent attacks in recent years:
Feb 11, 2009: Taliban fighters attack 3 buildings in Kabul, killing at least 19 people
Aug 19, 2008: Taliban fighters kill ten French soldiers in ambush
Jul 7, 2008: suicide bomber kills 41 at Indian embassy in Kabul
Jun 13, 2008: Mass prison break in Kandahar
Apr 27, 2008: Taliban attack on a parade in Kabul attended by President Karzai
Feb 17, 2008: More than 100 people die in a suicide attack in Kandahar
Jan 14, 2008: at least 8 people die in Kabul hotel attack
Dec 29, 2007: At least 16 policemen are killed by the Taliban in Kandahar province.
Nov 6, 2007: Suicide attack in Baghlan kills more than 70
Sep 29, 2007: Suicide attack on Kabul bus kills 30
Sep 10, 2007: At least 20 dead in two suicide bombs in Helmand
Jun 17,2007: At least 35 dead in bomb attack on police bus in Kabul
Aug 3, 2006: Car bomb kills at least 21 in Kandahar province
Jan 16, 2006: Suicide bomb kills at least 20 people in Spin Boldak
Jun 1, 2005: At least 20 people killed in attack on mosque in Kandahar
The United States has more troops in Afghanistan than the other NATO nations combined. But not all of the U.S. forces are part of the 56,420-strong NATO-led ISAF command (see map below) - a large number of U.S. troops are on separate missions to hunt down al-Qaeda fighters as part of Operation "Enduring Freedom."
Most of the casualties suffered by troops serving with NATO troops have involved just four countries: the United States, Britain, Canada, and the Netherlands. Germany, Spain, and Italy all have troops in Afghanistan but due to "national caveats" - or restrictions - they are confined to more peaceful areas.
International deployments in Afghanistan
According to NATO (Feb 2009) there are approximately 56,420 NATO-led troops operating in Afghanistan; the main troop contributors are: US (24,900), UK (8,300), Germany (3,460), Canada (2,830), France (2,780), Italy (2,350), Netherlands (1,770), Poland (1,590), Australia (1,090), Romania (900), Spain (780), Denmark (700), and Turkey (700).
NATO assumed control of all allied military operations across the whole of Afghanistan on October 5th, 2006.
The Taliban Insurgency
Seven years after losing power in the country, the Taliban are making their presence felt by launching guerrilla operations against NATO forces, killing aid workers and kidnapping foreigners involved in reconstruction work. Parts of eastern and southern Afghanistan have been rendered more and more insecure due to the increasingly daring Taliban attacks. There has been a huge increase in violent attacks in recent months, particularly in the south where NATO forces are helping the Afghan government to extend its authority. The government blames most of the violence on what it calls "enemies of Afghanistan" - shorthand for the Taliban and their al-Qaeda allies.
The Beginning
The Taliban movement was formed in southern Afghanistan in the early 1990s. It was largely comprised of radical Sunni Islamic students, many of who had attended 'madrassas' or religious schools in Pakistan. Members of the Taliban are still overwhelmingly Pashtun, the ethnic group that forms the majority of Afghanistan's diverse population. The pro-Pashtun nature of the movement meant that it attracted considerable support from Pashtun areas of neighboring Pakistan. At times the Taliban has also included many non-Afghan volunteers from the Arab world, Eurasia, and southeast Asia.
How did they come to power?
Mullah Omar
They first came to power in 1994 under the leadership of a village clergyman, Mullah Omar. After decades of fighting and instability in Afghanistan, their promise to restore order and bring in a pure and highly conservative interpretation of the Sharia or Islamic law won them support amongst certain sectors of Afghanistan's population. Their forces were also well armed and well funded. The Taliban captured Kabul in 1996 and set up the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. However their authoritarian style of governance, with strict Islamic punishments and harsh treatment of women, pushed them out of favor both at home and abroad. But it was their decision to host Osama bin Laden and his al-Qaeda organization that brought them into direct conflict with the United States, and eventually led to their downfall. Afghanistan was invaded by US-led coalition forces soon after the September 11th attacks. Within weeks the Taliban regime collapsed and its members retreated to the border region between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
How much popular support do they have now?
The Taliban regime was overwhelmingly Pashtun, the ethnic group that forms the majority of Afghanistan's diverse population and also inhabits the North-West Frontier Province and Balochistan in neighboring Pakistan. Even today, the resurgent Taliban draw considerable sympathy from fellow Pashtuns in Pakistan. Some of their fugitive leaders are able to find refuge across the long and porous border with Pakistan. Although many Afghans suffered considerably under the Taliban regime, some feel that the Taliban era brought peace and stability to their war-torn country. The movement is still believed to be led by Mullah Omar, who has successfully evaded capture despite one of the largest manhunts in the world.
