The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force which already heads security operations in the restive south, north, west and capital, Kabul, on Thursday will assume command of 12,000 U.S. troops in the east of the country where militants are trying to expand an insurgency that has consumed southern provinces all summer long.

"In two days, on October 5, NATO security assistance will be expanded to all of Afghanistan and most of the U.S. forces that are still operating on their own command right now will join the overall ISAF organization," Daan Everts, senior NATO civilian spokesman, said at a Tuesday news conference.

The shift was projected to take place later this year but was accelerated to consolidate international forces -- speared by a 21,000-strong U.S. contribution -- under the aegis of NATO to counter a Taliban comeback marked by the fiercest fighting since the hard-line movement's ouster five years ago for sheltering al-Qaida operatives.

Amid top-level calls for reinforcements, military officials say the incorporation of U.S. troops in the east will bump NATO troop levels up to about 33,000 and should improve tactical efficiency and coordination.

NATO forces tasked with routing out the Taliban in the south have engaged in pitched battles far worse than expected that have killed some 140 foreign troops since January. Government figures indicate that about 2,500 enemy fighters have died, but the Taliban claims its forces are intact and has responded with a wave of attacks in the eastern provinces along the lawless Afghan-Pakistani border.

Afghan officials insist Pakistan continues to provide sanctuary to Taliban and al-Qaida-linked militants to stage cross-border attacks, a charge accompanied by reports that jihadists with Iraq experience have offered bounties to Afghan militants to kill U.S. troops.

On Monday, two U.S. soldiers and an Afghan soldier were killed and three other American servicemen wounded in a clash in eastern Kunar province. Another NATO soldier died Tuesday in southern Kandahar province; his nationality has not been disclosed.

Insurgents have increasingly relied on "Iraqi-style" suicide and remote-controlled bombs to target coalition forces and civilians with waning faith in a weak and corrupt central government that has failed to deliver security and basic services.

Violent attacks have been recorded in all but two of the country's 34 provinces, according to the Center for Conflict and Peace Studies in Kabul, which focuses on terrorism and security analysis. CAPS figures show that 85 occurred nationwide in July, 136 in August, and about 150 for the month of September. Remote detonated technologies used in Afghanistan are now said to better those found in Iraq, allegedly thanks to training and technologies furnished by Pakistan-based foreign jihadists.

Suicide bombings, previously unheard of in Afghanistan, have surpassed 50 this year, or more than double last year's total, according to the organization. U.S. military figures show that civilians account for about 85 percent of victims, and strikes have occurred with greater frequency in security strongholds such as Kabul in what analysts say is an effort to intimidate residents into feeling that no place is safe.

A suicide bomber exploded in a crowd of pedestrians outside Afghanistan's Interior Ministry on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 50. Three weeks earlier, a suicide car bomber detonated near the U.S. Embassy, killing two U.S. soldiers and 14 Afghans. A NATO spokesman subsequently announced that a Taliban suicide terror cell was known to be operating inside the capital.

Three more ISAF troops and three civilians were injured Monday when a suicide blast shook the eastern part of the capital.

Joanna Nathan, a Kabul-based senior analyst with the International Crisis Group, said insurgents are "trying to have an impact in areas where they don't predominate." Kabul is a prime target because it is far from the hotbeds of violent activity in the south and east and has a heavy international security presence which raises the significance of an attack, she said.

NATO maintains a heavy presence in the capital, with beefed-up checkpoints, frequent patrols and the support of about 5,000 Afghan police officers. Officials say they cannot bring an end to suicide and road side bombings, but hope to combat them by enlisting the help of locals best suited to serve as eyes and ears.

Observers, meanwhile, insist the broader insurgency cannot be defeated unless reconstruction and developmental aid canvass a poverty-stricken Afghan backcountry larger than Spain and Portugal combined where natives lacking economic opportunities remain vulnerable to Taliban pressure. According to one report, about $82.5 billion has been spent on military operations since 2002, versus a mere $7.3 billion on development.

"We have to pursue reconciliation and non-military ways of accommodating Taliban and putting an end to a very misguided insurgency," NATO's Everts said, dismissing any effort to bring the Taliban into the political mainstream as a "spectacular suggestion."

"Taliban is not monolithic," he added. "There are leaders, there are cadres and there are a large number of followers who probably are not even quite aware of what they are being mobilized for."

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
News From Across The Stans
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News