General Nicholson commander of the Central Command had said that his aim is to finish the ISIS in Afghanistan by the end of 2017. It is ominous that the general did not say anything about the Taliban which are the real danger in Afghanistan. The terror outfit has again struck and claimed responsibility for a Car Bombing in Kabul that killed 24 and injured many more. An Interior Ministry spokesman of the Afghan government Najib Danish told CNN that the attack took place in the evening and a car-bomb was the vehicle for its execution.
The attack
The attack comes close on the heels of a number of attacks by the Taliban including the capture of two districts in northern and central Afghanistan a week before.
The Taliban have taken responsibility for the attack and their spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid in a statement has claimed that the target was a bus carrying Afghan police staff, but this news was rubbished by the government which claims that all the victims were civilians.The statement also claimed that women and children were among the victims.
The top executive of the Afghan government President Ashraf Ghani has condemned the attack. Perhaps this is the best he can do at the moment. CNN International reported this news.
US and increase in troop level
The increase in violence comes even as US President Donald trump mulls sending more troops to Afghanistan to help the Ghani government that is coming under increasing pressure from a resurgent Taliban.
The US maintains a force level of 8400 troops in the country whose primary mission is fighting ISIS.
Afghanistan is riven by violence and hundreds have been killed this year. The numbers this year are a record in terms of people killed. As the Ghani government is increasingly unable to handle the violence unleashed by the Taliban, General Mattis has been given a clear brief to decide on the troop deployment in Afghanistan.
There appears no option but to increase the troop levels, as resurgent Taliban have started attacking the government controlled areas all over Afghanistan.
Pakistan
One of the reasons for this success is the support the Taliban received from Pakistan, where the erstwhile leader Mullah Omar was given sanctuary. The US has been treating Pakistan with kid gloves but one wonders whether Trump has realized that victory in Afghanistan can only come in case the ability of Pakistan to foment trouble by supporting a faction of the Taliban is degraded.
