After a surge of US and allied reinforcements last year, coalition and Afghan troops have made “tangible progress, arresting the insurgents' momentum in much of the country and reversing it in a number of important areas,” said the latest report. -Reuters Photo

WASHINGTON: Nato-led forces are making “tangible progress” in the Afghanistan war, with Taliban insurgents under pressure and forced out of key southern strongholds, the Pentagon said Friday.

Although the US military acknowledged battlefield gains over the past six months were tentative and “fragile,” it painted a more positive picture than the Pentagon's previous reports to Congress.

The findings come at a crucial moment in the nine-year-old war as the United States prepares to begin a drawdown in July of its 100,000-strong force and as the Afghan government plans to take over security in some districts.

The Pentagon, however, warned that the insurgents still enjoyed a crucial lifeline through safe havens in neighboring Pakistan, that the Afghan government was plagued by corruption and that a shortage of trainers for Afghan forces could hold back efforts to hand over security.

After a surge of US and allied reinforcements last year, coalition and Afghan troops have made “tangible progress, arresting the insurgents' momentum in much of the country and reversing it in a number of important areas,” said the latest report.

Coalition forces have put “unprecedented pressure on the insurgency,”disrupting their command structure, breaking supply networks and clearing safe havens, said the report, which covers the period from October 1 to March 31.

By losing control of Pashtun areas in Kandahar and Helmand provinces, the Taliban had suffered a “strategic setback” in its heartland, said a senior administration official.

“The situation on the ground is fundamentally changing,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told reporters.

The Taliban would make a concerted effort in coming months to try to reassert itself, he said.

“The pushback of the Taliban out of these key areas last year is really a strategic defeat for the Taliban. They're going to have to respond,” the official said.

The outcome of the Taliban's expected counter-offensive this summer will provide an acid test of the war strategy, and US commanders are hoping violence will soon begin to decline as the insurgency weakens.

“In the coming months at some point, the violence level may peak,” said the official, saying the turning point could come within 12 months.