10 killed as Taliban attack police headquarters in Afghanistan's Helmand

Published March 9, 2016
Smoke rises from a building, where Taliban insurgents hide during a fire fight with Afghan security forces, in Helmand province, south west Afghanistan.─AP
Smoke rises from a building, where Taliban insurgents hide during a fire fight with Afghan security forces, in Helmand province, south west Afghanistan.─AP
An Afghan security walks as smoke billows from a building after a Taliban attack in Gereshk district of Helmand province.─Reuters
An Afghan security walks as smoke billows from a building after a Taliban attack in Gereshk district of Helmand province.─Reuters

KABUL: The Taliban attacked a police headquarters and an intelligence agency office on Wednesday in Afghanistan's southern Helmand province, where the insurgents have been battling government forces for months.

At least three police officers were killed along with seven attackers, said Jabbar Karaman, a lawmaker appointed by President Ashraf Ghani to investigate the situation in Helmand.

Omar Zwak, a spokesman for the provincial governor, said the attack on the intelligence facility was repelled.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in Helmand, a major poppy-growing region where insurgents have been battling government forces as well as fighting among themselves over smuggling routes.

Afghan forces have struggled to combat the Taliban since the US and Nato formally concluded their combat mission at the end of 2014, and the insurgents have spread their footprint across the country.

The independent Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit, a local think tank, meanwhile said the army has suffered from the theft of assets, disloyalty among troops, as well as poor equipment and logistics.

Its report said a "culture of dependence" pervaded the army, left over from years in which international troops provided air cover and logistical support.

The weaknesses have been brutally exposed in Helmand, which has seen little of the winter lull that brings relative calm to other areas. The army is struggling to develop an offensive capacity, which it has lacked throughout the 15-year war, when US and British troops took the fight to the insurgents.

Both the United States and Britain have sent reinforcements to the region under their new training and advising mandate.

The Afghan government is hoping for a direct dialogue with the Taliban this month, with the aim of eventually holding peace talks, but the Taliban have said they will not participate.

Related: Afghan govt still willing to negotiate with Taliban‏

The peace process was derailed last summer, when Kabul revealed that the Taliban's founder and leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had been dead for more than two years.

The head of the US Central Command, Army General Lloyd Austin, told the Senate Armed Services Committee this week that Afghanistan has been a "very challenging environment" for the past year.

He cited the change of government in late 2014,the reduced international military footprint, and the death of Mullah Omar, which "caused the Taliban to fracture a bit" while giving rise to a new leader — his deputy Mullah Akhtar Mansoor — "who set out to prove himself with increased activity."

Opinion

Editorial

After the review
Updated 16 Mar, 2025

After the review

Should prepare economy for durable growth by attracting foreign private investments to boost productivity and exports.
Embracing crypto
16 Mar, 2025

Embracing crypto

IT seems a little prod was all it took for Pakistan to finally ‘embrace the future’. The Pakistan Crypto Council...
Fault lines
16 Mar, 2025

Fault lines

IT was a distressing spectacle, though a sadly predictable one. As the National Assembly took up for discussion the...
Revised solar policy
Updated 15 Mar, 2025

Revised solar policy

Criticism policy revisions misplaced as these will increase payback periods for consumers with oversized solar systems.
Toxic prejudice
15 Mar, 2025

Toxic prejudice

WITH far-right movements on the march across the world, it is no surprise that anti-Muslim bias is witnessing high...
Children in jails
15 Mar, 2025

Children in jails

PAKISTAN’S children in prison have often been treated like adult criminals. The Sindh government’s programme to...