US Launching Airstrikes In Afghanistan To Support Security Forces
By Donald Standeford, Correspondent - Follow -
Date Published: July 23rd, 2021 10:20AM UTC
Last Modified: July 23rd, 2021 10:20AM UTC
AFGHANISTAN - The U.S. Military has been launching airstrikes against Taliban forces in Afghanistan to support Afghan security forces for the last 30 days, with increasing attacks over the last few days.
The United States military has carried out a "half dozen" or more airstrikes in Afghanistan in the last 30 days. Over the last three days at least 5 Taliban fighters have been killed.
Press Secretary John Kirby commented on the airstrikes saying, "Without speaking to specifics, I can say that in the last several days, we have acted through airstrikes to support the ANDSF (Afghan National Defense and Security Forces) but I won't get into tactical details of those strikes. But we continue to be able to and we continue to, as the Secretary said yesterday, conduct airstrikes in support of the ANDSF".
Voice Of America reported that a US defense official stated that the strikes were targeting "captured military equipment that the Taliban [were] able to seize from the ANDSF. There were enemy forces, enemy personnel targeted" beside captured equipment.
CENTCOM (US Central Command) has stated that the withdrawal is now 95% complete, and would be fully completed by the end of August. 650 US troops will be staying in Afghanistan to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country.
General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff stated Wednesday that "There's a possibility of a complete Taliban takeover or a possibility of any number of other scenarios, breakdown, warlordism, all other kinds of scenarios that are out there. We're monitoring very closely, I don't think the end game is yet written".
