Afghan security forces have launched large-scale operations against the Taliban to retake the districts that had earlier fallen to the Taliban, said the country’s National Security Advisor Hamidullah Mohib. The Taliban militia has taken control of over 100 districts in the past weeks. 

In a press conference on Tuesday in Kabul, Mohib said the government forces in recent days retaken control of at least 13 districts. The defense and interior ministries, he said, are implementing a new plan to deal with the situation. 

The remark came after morale among Afghan forces plummeted to its all-time low, with several hundred troops having surrendered to the Taliban recently and while others taking refuge in neighboring countries. 

Also, operations to retake districts are mostly undertaken by Afghan special forces commandos. However, given the increased fighting across the country, these special forces often move around the country. Concern about the ability of regular units of the Afghan National Army and the Afghan Police Force to hold on to districts is also growing. 

A recent report by the Afghanistan Analytics Network, which analyzed the recent Taliban offensive, showed that many districts which had been recaptured by Afghan special forces slipped back to the Taliban as the Afghan army and soldiers failed to defend them.

Mohib on Tuesday also said that the United States will provide seven Blackhawk helicopters this week, and more will come in the coming weeks. These helicopters, he says, will help provide effective air support to ground troops battling the Taliban. 

Significantly, Mohib has recently returned from Russia where he held discussions with Russian NSA Nikolai Petrisov on the prevailing security situation. Both leaders agreed to increase cooperation as the present situation poses danger to the stability of Central Asian republics, a region Russia considers sensitive from its security point of view. 

(SAM)