A U.S. drone attack on a house in northwestern Pakistan killed two militants from the Afghan Taliban-allied Haqqani network, two Pakistani security officials said to reuters.com.

Two missiles hit a house and killed militants Ahsan Khorai and Nasir Mehmood in the village of Dapa Mamozai in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), according to a police officer and an intelligence official.

“Two militants from Haqqani network were killed in the drone attack,” the intelligence official based in the area said.

There has been a slight uptick in U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan in the mountainous border regions bordering Afghanistan since U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January 2017, though they are a long way off their peak in 2010.

Earlier this month, one man was severely wounded in a suspected drone attack in FATA, while another Haqqani militant was killed on Dec. 26 in a suspected U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan.

Trump has taken a hardline stance on Pakistan, which he says provides safe haven to high-level commanders from the Haqqani network, a group which often conducts deadly attacks in Afghanistan.

Relations between Washington and Islamabad have frayed over the past month in the wake of Trump’s angry tweet on Jan. 1 about Pakistan’s “lies and deceit” over its alleged support for the Afghan Taliban and their allies. The United States this month also suspended military assistance worth about $2 billion.

Islamabad denies sheltering militants and accuses Washington of not respecting Pakistan’s vast sacrifices in the war on militancy.

Over the past decade, almost all U.S. drone strikes inside Pakistan have taken place within FATA, but some Pakistani officials fear the United States under Trump will begin carrying out strikes outside the tribal areas.

Islamist insurgents looted cash, gold and jewellery worth tens of millions of dollars when they occupied a southern Philippines town last year, treasure one of their leaders has used to recruit around 250 fighters for fresh attacks, like reported by reuters.com.

The military said Humam Abdul Najib escaped from Marawi City, which the militants had hoped to establish as a stronghold for Islamic State in Southeast Asia, before it was recaptured by the military in October after five months of ferocious battles and aerial bombardment.

Since then, Najib, also known as Abu Dar, has used the booty looted from bank vaults, shops and homes in Marawi to win over boys and young men in the impoverished southern province of Lanao del Sur, military officers in the area said. Hardened mercenaries are also joining, lured by the promise of money.

As a result, Islamic State followers remain a potent threat in Southeast Asia even though hundreds of militants were killed in the battle for Marawi, the officers said.

“Definitely they haven’t abandoned their intent to create a caliphate in Southeast Asia,” Colonel Romeo Brawner, the deputy commander of Joint Task Force Marawi, told Reuters.

“That’s the overall objective, but in the meantime while they are still trying to recover and build up again – fighters and weapons – our estimate is they are going to launch terrorist attacks.”

On Saturday, militants wounded eight soldiers in two attacks in Lanao del Sur, Brawner said, the first such violence since the recapture of Marawi.

In the early days of the occupation of Marawi last May, as black-clad fighters burned churches, released prisoners and cut the power supply, other militants targeted banks and the homes of wealthy citizens, commandeering hostages to help with the plunder.

“It was in the first week. They divided us into three groups with seven people each,” said J.R. Montesa, a Christian construction worker who was captured by the militants.

Using explosives, the militants blew open the vaults of the city’s three main banks, Landbank, the Philippine National Bank and the Al Amanah Islamic Bank, Montesa told Reuters in a town near Marawi. They trucked away the booty, easily slipping out of Marawi because a security cordon was not fully in place.

They also raided jewellery stores, pawnshops and businesses.

Landbank and Al Amanah did not respond to requests for comment. Philippine National said recovering losses because of the Marawi fighting was a concern, but did not give details.

The Islamic celebration of Ramadan was looming at the time the militants struck and banks, businesses and homes had more money than usual, said Marawi City police chief Ebra Moxsir. The Maranaos, the ethnic group that dominates the area around Marawi, are mostly Muslims.

“There was a lot of money inside the battle area,” he told Reuters. “Maranaos keep millions of pesos in safety vaults in their homes. Gold, also. It is a tradition of the Maranao to give gifts of money (during Ramadan).”

Montesa said vans they loaded with the spoils of the raids were “overflowing”, with money, gold and other valuables stuffed into every crevice of the vehicles.

“They were saying it was a gift from Allah. They would say ‘Allahu Akbar’ (God is greatest) while we were stealing.”

DANGEROUS REGROUPING

The military and police have also been accused by rights groups and by Marawi residents of looting during the conflict.

Brawner said a small number of soldiers had been disciplined for looting but the practice was not widespread.

However, the centre of Marawi – home to its major banks, main market and grandest residences – was under the control of militants for months.

Brawner said authorities were unclear exactly how much was taken by the militants.

“It’s hard for us to say. We have heard about 2 billion pesos (£28.25 million) but that’s just an estimate.”

“In the first days, when we were not able to establish that security cordon around the main battle area, that was the time when they were able to slip out with their war booty.”

The government also said the regrouping of militants in Mindanao, the southern region of the Philippines that has been marred by Islamic and Communist uprisings for decades, was dangerous.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque told Reuters: “There is always the danger of these groups regaining strength enough to mount another Marawi-like operation.”

Najib is believed to have fled Marawi early in the battle. There are conflicting reports about whether he had a dispute with other leaders or left as part of a preconceived plan.

He attempted to return in August with 50-100 more fighters to reinforce the militants, who by then were losing ground, but he was prevented by an improved security cordon, said Brawner.

“According to reports, they were able to recruit another 100 to 150. So the estimate is 250 all in all, and this includes children,” Brawner said. “They are trying to recruit orphans, relatives of the fighters who died and sympathisers.”

Parents of children are offered as much as 70,000 pesos plus a monthly salary of as much as 30,000 pesos ($590) to hand over their sons to the group, according to security sources and community leaders briefed on the recruitment.

The average family income in the Philippines is 22,000 pesos per month, according to a 2015 government survey. It was about half that in the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao, where Marawi and surrounding areas lie.

Brawner said local residents had told the military that the militant group was also offering bonuses of up to 10,000 pesos ($200) for killing a soldier.

Rommel Banlaoi, a Manila-based security expert, said more experienced fighters had also been recruited. These were “mercenaries” attracted by the payouts, he said, but Najib has also tapped into disaffection among Maranao angered by the destruction of large parts of Marawi by the Philippine military’s bombing campaign.

“That kind of narrative is being used by ISIS to lure people to continue the fight,” Banlaoi said, using an acronym for Islamic State.

NEXT EMIR?

With the looted funds and a loyal following, Najib, could become the new “emir” of Islamic State in Southeast Asia following the death of Isnilon Hapilon in the battle for Marawi, security analysts say.

Najib is a hardened fighter and cleric who studied in the Middle East and reportedly trained with militants in Afghanistan, they say.

He co-founded Khalifa Islamiyah Mindanao, an insurgent group formed in about 2012 that launched a series of bombings in Mindanao.

“He is a very, very important person because he has been there from the start,” said Banlaoi.

Najib had links to Al Qaeda, which earned him the nickname “al Zarqawi of the Philippines”, a reference to the slain leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), Abu Musab al Zarqawi. AQI morphed into Islamic State, to which Najib pledged allegiance in 2014.

According to Banlaoi, Najib worked closely with Mahmud Ahmad, a Malaysian militant believed to have died in Marawi who was the key conduit between the Philippines fighters and the Islamic State leadership in Syria and Iraq.

Banlaoi said the recruitment effort by the pro-Islamic State remnants led by Najib was “massive and systematic”.

“If you are well funded, you can do a lot of things.”

A squadron of A-10C “Warthog” Thunderbolt IIs deployed to this sprawling airfield in southern Afghanistan last week and has already started flying missions as part of a U.S. and Afghan air campaign targeting Taliban drug facilities, like reported by stripes.com.

The $19 million aircraft, beloved by ground troops and so far spared from Air Force efforts to ground them for budgetary reasons, will also support counterterrorism efforts.

The deployment comes as U.S. Central Command realigns its aircraft, crews and other assets in the region, as the anti-ISIS campaign in Iraq and Syria winds down and as demand for precision strikes and close air support ramps up in Afghanistan under President Donald Trump’s South Asia strategy.

In addition to the A-10s, the U.S. has deployed MQ-9 Reaper drones to provide armed overwatch and surveillance, as well as HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters for personnel recovery and search and rescue.

The A-10s are from the 303d Fighter Squadron and were sent to Afghanistan after their success in clearing out ISIS in both Iraq and Syria, Maj. Gen. James Hecker said. They arrived on Jan. 19 and flew their first missions within 24 hours, he said.

The warplanes, which are armed with a 30mm cannon and can carry a payload of 16,000 pounds of munitions, dropped thousands of precision-guided bombs there.

They joined an air campaign in Afghanistan that has taken aim at the Taliban narcotics trade since November. A series of strikes carried out by rockets four other types of aircraft and have destroyed about 30 drug facilities, which military officials say has eliminated more than $20 million in revenues from the insurgents’ war chest — roughly 10 percent of the group’s annual take from the drug trade.

Afghanistan is the global leading producer of poppies, supplying about 80 percent of the world’s opium. Despite more than $8.5 billion in U.S.-funded counternarcotics efforts in the country in more than a decade, production is on the rise. In 2017, a record of almost 10,000 pounds of opium was produced, according to a joint survey conducted by the United Nations and the Afghan government.

“The Taliban still has not felt the full brunt of American and Afghan air power,” Hecker said in a statement. He is commander of 9th Air and Space Expeditionary Task Force—Afghanistan and NATO Air Command—Afghanistan. “With the arrival new air assets and the growing capabilities of Afghan pilots, the Taliban will have a constant eye toward the sky,” he said.

Before the drawdown of U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan in 2014 — which at their peak numbered nearly 140,000 — dozens of coalition jets regularly bombed guerrilla forces throughout the country. They included U.S. A-10s and F-16s, French Mirage 2000s, and British and German Tornados.

The Afghan air force began flying A-29 Super Tucano light attack planes and MD-530 helicopters about two years ago. They have now incorporated the attack aircraft into daily operations, along with C-208 and C-130 transports and Mi-17 helicopters, officials said.

Super Tucanos, aided by their own tactical air controllers on the ground, recently conducted their first strikes against targets of opportunity in support of ground forces maneuvers last month as government troops fought to retake the district center of Marjah in Helmand province.

The U.S.-led NATO training and advising mission in the country is focused on modernizing and building the air force as part of a security forces “road map” that also calls for significantly expanding the government’s special operations forces. The air force and special operations units are the workhorses of the country’s military.

“The success of the air force is key to tipping the battlefield in favor of (government forces),” said Maj. Gen. Mohammad Shoaib, commander of the air force, in a statement. “The Afghan air force is success-fully fighting and growing, at the same time increasing attack capabilities while delivering daily blows to the Taliban.”

Last year saw a dramatic rise in airstrikes, beginning shortly after President Trump’s inauguration in January. In August, Trump announced that he would give commanders greater strike authorities as part of his strategy for the region.

Despite a pace of airstrikes more than double that of 2016 already last summer, the tempo increased even more on the months that followed Trump’s announcement, with more strikes racked up in 2017 than in the two previous years combined.

Along with the increase in airstrikes has come heavy civilian casualties, the U.N. said last month. Critics of the U.S. bombing campaign say it could lead to blowback from the increasing noncombatant death toll.

“Using more bombs and bigger bombs also creates hatred as it causes more civilian deaths,” said Haji Sakhi, a member of Afghanistan’s parliament from Kunar province.

The United States military is considering sending up to 1,000 additional troops this spring, it was reported according to 1tvnews.af.

U.S. has already increased the number of its troops in Afghanistan by thousands to the level of 14,000, following a new strategy announced by President Donald Trump in August.

Washington Post said that the plan to send 1,000 additional troops has yet to be approved by Defense Secretary Jim Mattis.

New U.S. strategy for Afghanistan was announced amid deteriorating security condition in the country following the withdrawal of most of international troops in 2014.

Unlike former U.S. administration, Trump’s administration is pushing U.S. advisory teams closer to the battle front lines.

“This is a concept that got accelerated for Afghanistan, and it has been quite a process,” the report cited an unnamed senior U.S. military official about the new deployment plan. “It has been a roller coaster”

A spokesman for top U.S. commander in Afghanistan said that U.S. Forces Afghanistan had not specifically asked for an increase in troops levels, suggesting an increase, if approved, would be considered an adjustment under the current plan rather than an increase associated with a shift in strategy.

At least two people were killed and another individual was wounded in drone strikes along the Durand Line targeting the suspected militants both inside the Afghanistan and Pakistan territories, it has been reported, according to khaama.com.

The officials in Pakistan’s tribal regions have said a suspected militant was critically wounded after he was targeted in Kurram Agency.

The officials further added that the drones targeted the militant close to a house in Badshah Kot area and the individual wounded in the airstrike has been identified as Khalid and a close relative of an Afghan militant commander.

According to the officials, the US drones also targeted the militants in Khost province of Afghanistan near the Durand Line and as a result two militants were killed.

The anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents have not commented regarding the report so far.

The latest drone strike in the tribal regions of Pakistan close to the Durand Line has been carried out nearly a month after a similar airstrike targeted the Haqqani network commander in Pakistan.

The airstrike late in December last year was carried out in the vicinity of Mata Sangar area located in Kurram Agency in the tribal regions of Pakistan.

Local officials had confirmed that two people were killed in the airstrike which targeted a vehicle as it was traveling in the area.

According to reports a commander of the notorious Haqqani terrorist network identified as Jamil-ud-Din was killed in the airstrike along with another militant.

In December, US forces in Afghanistan released footage of an operation they conducted in the Taliban-dominated district of Musa Qala, in Helmand province. The grainy, black and white video showed them targeting a compound and blowing it to smithereens, with everyone inside, like reported by atimes.com.

An accompanying press statement declared that the “Taliban’s ‘Red Unit’ commander in Helmand province, Mullah Shah Wali, aka Haji Nasir, was killed in a kinetic strike.” The statement added that “one of Wali’s deputy commanders and three other insurgents were also killed.”

Helmand and Kandahar have proven to be the key provinces in the fight against the Taliban following the first wave of withdrawals of foreign troops, in 2014. Operations are being conducted with increasing frequency via NATO’s Operation Resolute Support in those areas.

What caught the attention of stakeholders involved in the operation was the reference – the first of its kind – to the Taliban’s clandestine group of highly-trained fighters. An insurgent Special Forces unit, ‘Sira Khitta’ roughly translates from Pashto to ‘Red Group’ or ‘Red Unit.’

The first reference made to the group was perhaps a month prior to the Helmand operation, when reports emerged of Taliban using high-end equipment such as night-vision goggles to conduct a successful attack on an Afghan police post in Farah province. Despite military support, eight under-equipped policemen were killed that evening, shot with laser guns.

“The ‘Red Unit’ was formed in early 2016 and has nearly 1,200 fighters in Helmand and Kandahar alone,” an Afghan security official told Asia Times on condition of anonymity. “There are also several hundred operating in Zabul province,” he said, adding that due to the furtive nature of their activities it is very hard for Afghan forces to identify them. “(This group is) so discreet that often their own operatives don’t know each other’s identity.”

Their anonymity also makes it difficult to track the group’s leadership, or its losses in battle. However, Afghan and US forces are confident that their recent joint operations did lead to the death of the Red Unit’s top commanders, thus disabling their operations, if only temporarily. “We don’t know if the replacements have been made and who is currently leading the group,” the official said.

General John Nicholson, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan, also hailed the slaying of the Red Unit commander as a major step forward in the long, drawn-out war in Afghanistan. “Mullah Shah Wali’s death will disrupt the Taliban network, degrade their narcotics trafficking, and hinder their ability to conduct attacks against Afghan forces,” he said, adding that more targeted attacks were planned to “disrupt their communications and deny them safe haven”.

Pakistan connections

Describing the specialized insurgent group the official added that its membership comprised both Afghans and foreign fighters. “From what we understand, they’re trained in Pakistan under the tutelage of retired Pakistani army generals and former ISI operatives,” he said.

Of major concern to regional stakeholders will be the group’s access to sophisticated resources and equipment. Depending on which reports are to be believed, the Red Unit is equipped with everything from night-vision goggles and Russian 82-millimeter rockets, to heavy machine guns and US-made M4 automatic carbines. It is suspected that they also carry themselves around in armored Humvees.

The security official confirmed that the unit is equipped with better weapons than regular Taliban fighters. “They are equipped with sophisticated weapons; that has given them an edge over some of the local forces, especially the Afghan police, who do not have the same resources.” There is no confirmed intelligence on how the insurgents access these weapons, however.

“The night-vision glasses and many of the weapons recovered from fallen insurgents were of Russian make. The Taliban has let it be known that they were purchased from black markets, but it is difficult to buy the latest version of this kind of equipment from the black markets on the other side of the Durand line,” the official said, referring to Pakistan’s famous wholesale arms market.

A Taliban spokesman has claimed the group’s weapons are among the “spoils of the war” stolen from Afghan forces. Interestingly, some of the arms recovered are of Iranian make, according to the official who spoke to Asia Times. This further complicates theories about their supply.

The Red Unit operates like a Special Forces unit, according to military sources. “They often focus on coordinated attacks and operations that are targeted at weakening the authority of provincial powers,” our official source explained, adding that “they often engage in face-to-face combat with Afghan security forces.” The Taliban is usually known for its guerrilla warfare and rarely engages in combat.

“They have not yet been successful in bringing down a whole province,” said the official, although he admits that the unit has caused severe damage to local forces. “We have faced losses in the Afghan army this year. We lost a lot of soldiers to them, but we believe they have also lost their top leadership.”

With the war in Afghanistan in its 17th year, the emergence of the Red Unit indicates the Taliban is far from beaten.

At least 17 foreigner fighters have been killed and nearly a dozen more wounded in an airstrike in northeastern Badakhshan province, an official said on Tuesday according to pajhwok.com.

The intelligence official, who wished anonymity,  said A-29 aircraft of the Ministry of Defense (MoF) pounded hideouts of the foreign terrorists in Khastak locality of the Juram district. He said the rebels had been using the house of Almas Khan as military corps headquarters.

Ahmad Javid Mujadidi, a member of the provincial council and resident of Juram district, confirmed the killing of one individual and wounding of four others in the airstrike.

Local officials said some 50 families of foreign militants have been living in Juram district.

At least 23 Taliban attackers were killed during an hours long battle with Afghan National Army (ANA) troops in southern Kandahar province, an official said Saturday according to pajhwok.com.

Four ANA troops were lost to the clash in Ghorak district, said Qudratullah Khosh Bakht, the governor’s spokesman.

He told Pajhwok Afghan News dozens of rebels attacked on the ANA and police posts in the district late on Friday night at around 1:00am.

The ensuing clash left 23 assailants and four ANA personnel dead. Some bodies of the rebels remained at the scene.

Provincial police spokesman Zia Durani confirmed the incident and the Taliban casualties, adding only two policemen suffered wounds in the attack.

Reinforcements had reached the area and the situation was no under control, he concluded.

The Taliban have not yet commented about the incident.

Separately, security forces killed two Taliban militants in Maleed locality of the Takhtapul district during an operation, the police spokesman said.

Durrani said civilians suffered no casualties in the operation that also resulted in confiscation of one rocket, one Kalashnikov and two motorbikes belonging to the rebels.