April 2017 will no doubt go down memory lane as the bloodiest month in Afghanistan. More than 100 Afghan soldiers perished in Mazar-e Sharif province after their base was targeted by Taliban militants. Even though the attack was not the first on security personnel, it was the ugliest since the US formally handed over security operations to the revamped Afghan army.

Militants have infiltrated security bases

According to reliable intelligence sources, Taliban militants and sympathizers have infiltrated security departments which make it easy for them to hit military barracks with ease.

In a statement released by the warring extremist group, Taliban said it had carried out the attack using suicide bombers who managed to breach security defenses. This is despite enhanced security on military installations in the war ravaged state.

Since the US led invasion into Afghanistan following the 9/11 attack, thousands of civilians and security officers have died in chilling attacks by the Taliban. Hit and scoot attacks as well as roadside bombs have claimed hundreds of military officers and youths seeking to join the army. The inability to curb the advances of Taliban has portrayed Afghanistan as a symbol of failed US led Military Intervention.

Too much bloodshed in Kabul

Even though the US forces managed to oust Mullah Mohammed and his tyrannical Taliban regime, innocent blood has splattered the streets of Kabul more than a decade later.

Millions of Afghans have been left internally displaced while the refugees’ crisis is rising at an unprecedented rate. Additionally, many essential government facilities like hospitals and school have been adversely destroyed by the ever surging warfare.

Afghans continue to bear the brunt of a war that could have been avoided had the US and her Western allies pondered on the effects of the war.

Women and children continue to live in deplorable conditions subject to rape, malnutrition and forced labor. Report on the rising numbers of other extremist groups in the region including ISIS is alarming. Last month, at least fifty people were killed after ISIS militants armed with guns, grenades and knives targeted patients and staff at a military hospital in Kabul.

US should adopt diplomacy in ending conflict

Is it time the US government realized that military intervention is not always the best option? The price of sustaining warfare is far reaching even to US tax payers. Scores of US soldiers have also died in Afghanistan while tens of thousands remain with emotional and psychological scars that hardly heal. The US should adopt diplomacy instead of readily flying Apache and drones over foreign states. Dropping the MOAB will not end terrorism but further exacerbate the situation in volatile Afghanistan.