A Taliban attack has killed seven policemen in western Farah province, a local official said, according to ariananews.af.

Dadullah Qani, a member of Farah Provincial Council, said the attack took place early in the morning on Friday, targeting a highway security checkpoint in the province’s Bala Buluk district.

According to Mr. Qani, seven policemen were killed during the attack while two others have surrendered to the insurgents.

The official further said that Taliban insurgents have seized all weapons and ammunitions of the checkpoint.

He also confirmed that the insurgents have suffered causalities, but said the exact number is unknown yet.

However, provincial security officials say that three policemen have lost their lives in the attack.

A police official said the insurgents are equipped with modern weapons; therefore, they have intensified their attacks in the province.

“They have bought the weapons because they have money. The neighboring countries have helped them too. [Taliban’s] access to modern weapons is the main reason of wars in Farah province,” said Gulbahar Mujahid, provincial deputy police chief.

Meanwhile, in a separate incident, the Afghan security forces have killed three Taliban militants in Qala i Kah district of Farah province.

China worries that Chinese Uighurs among the terrorists’ ranks can cross into Chinese territory through Afghanistan

Gen. Dawlat Waziri, a spokesman for the Afghan Defense Ministry, told the Fergana News Agency (FNA) that China is funding the base somewhere in the northeastern province of Badakhshan, which contains the 47-mile long mountainous border between the two countries.

Waziri added that Beijing would handle all material and technical expenses: weapons and uniforms, military equipment, infrastructure and everything else. The exact location of the base has yet to be determined, but FNA added that it would be the beginning of what was intended to be significant security and counterterror cooperation between Afghanistan and China in the former nation’s northern regions.

The decision to build the base was made during a meeting between Chinese Defense Minister Chang Wanquan and his Afghan counterpart, Tariq Shah Bahrami, in December.

Xu Qiliang, the vice chairman of China’s Central Military Commission, who also attended the meeting, told China Military Online that Beijing would build the base sometime in 2018 to “strengthen pragmatic cooperation in areas of military exchange and anti-terrorism and safeguard the security of the two countries and the region, making contributions to the development of China-Afghanistan strategic partnership of cooperation”.

Badakhshan has increasingly become the home for Uighur militants who have used the Wakhjir Pass, the only crossing between the two countries, to move between Badakhshan and China’s restive province of Xinjiang.

“China worries that Chinese Uighurs among the terrorists’ ranks can cross into Chinese territory through Afghanistan and become a headache for the Chinese authorities,” an anonymous Afghan security official told FNA.

At least twenty one militants including foreign nationals were killed in the latest airstrikes conducted in western Farah province of Afghanistan, like reported by khaama.com.

The Ministry of Defense of Afghanistan in a statement said the new airstrikes were carried out in the vicinity of Khak-e-Safid district.

The statement further added that seven Pakistani nationals were among those killed and at least three vehicles and several weapons were also destroyed.

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

Farah is among the relatively restive provinces in West of Afghanistan where the anti-government armed militant groups including the Taliban insurgents are actively operating in some of its districts.

A senior Taliban leader who was in charge of the Red Unit command of the group for western Farah province was killed during a counter-terrorism operation in the same district late last year.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) spokesman Gen. Dawlat Waziri said the Taliban leader Daud Muzamil was initially injured in an airstrike conducted in Khak-e-Safid district and subsequently died of his wounds.

Gen. Waziri further added that Muzamil was in charge of the Red Unit command of the Taliban besides he was appointed as the military commission chief of the group for Farah.

He said at least eight people were killed in the airstrike and eight others including commander Muzamil were wounded.

According to Gen. Waziri, commander Muzamil died of the wounds he had sustained during the airstrike.

Ahead of the Republic Day celebrations, intelligence agencies have sounded high alert in New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir, CNN-News18 reported on Tuesday. The alert has been sounded four days after a CRPF vehicle with a Jammu and Kashmir number plate was stolen from Delhi’s RK Puram area, like reported by firstpost.com.

The RK Puram Police has still not been able to trace the stolen Tata Sumo vehicle.

According to intelligence agency sources, militants can use the vehicle for carrying out explosions in New Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir.

The CNN-News18 report quoting intelligence sources added that militants can sue cars with police vehicles to enter high security zones and carry out attacks.

CNN-News18 reported that intelligence agencies fear that militants may attack these areas at a time when Heads of State of 10 ASEAN countries are set to attend the celebrations this year.

Fearing an attack by Zakir Musa-led militants , senior police officials have been deployed across Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir as a result of the high alert, the report said.

As noted by this July 2017 Firstpost report, Musa, the former commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, was made the head of Al-Qaeda’s Kashmir-based operations.

At least three militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were blown up by own explosives in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, like reported by khaama.com.

The local security officials said the incident took place late on Sunday in the vicinity of the restive Achin district.

The officials further added that the militants were looking to plant an Improvised Explosive Device in Ghani Khel area when the incident took place, leaving three of them dead.

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

The anti-government armed militant groups frequently use explosives materials for the roadside bombings and car bombings to target the government staff and security personnel.

However, in majority of such incidents the ordinary civilians are targeted besides such bombings incur casualties to the security personnel and in some cases the Taliban militants themselves are killed or wounded.

Earlier, a senior leader of the Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), was killed in an explosion triggered by own explosives in eastern Kunar province of Afghanistan.

The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan Army said the Taliban leader Jan Wali who was also famous as Ahmad Sheena was killed in Shaltan district late in December.

There was an increase in the presence of Islamic State (IS) in Pakistan in 2017, an Islamabad-based think-tank report said, like reported by aninews.in.

Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS) has said in its Pakistan Security Report 2017 that over 150 people were killed in around six terrorist attacks claimed by the IS in the last year, Geo news reported.

According to the report, some new challenges such as emergence of self-radicalised individuals and small terrorist cells have raised their heads in the country.

Also, incidence of religious extremism including on educational campuses, and increasing footprints of the IS in parts of the country have also become a problem for Pakistan.

The report, which has been compiled after taking data from multiple sources, coupled with interviews and articles by subject experts, revealed that Daesh and its local affiliates and supporters claimed six major terrorist attacks in Pakistan, killing 153 people.

Among the major attacks claimed by the IS was deadliest suicide bombing that took place inside the Shrine of Lal Shahbaz Qalandar in Sehwan, in which at least 90 people were killed and more than 300 injured.

In Balochistan, the Daesh carried out a suicide attack on the convoy of Senate Deputy Chairman Maulana Abdul Ghafoor Haideri in Mastung, besides abducting Chinese nationals from Quetta and killing them later, the report said.

At first, the Pakistan government was in denial mode regarding the presence of the IS in the country, but lately authorities have confessed that the group does have a tangible presence in Pakistan and is an imminent threat.

Aftab Sultan, the director general of the Intelligence Bureau, had earlier in a briefing to the Senate Standing Committee on Interior, reportedly said the “Islamic State group was emerging as a threat in the country because several militant groups had a soft corner for it”.

The report further noted that at least 815 people were killed and more than 1,500 were injured in a total of 370 terrorist attacks in 64 districts of Pakistan in 2017 by militant, nationalist/insurgent and violent sectarian groups.

At least 15 Daesh insurgents were killed in ongoing clashes in eastern Kunar province, local officials confirmed to tolonews.com.

In addition, 20 other insurgents were wounded.

The clashes started on Sunday evening after Daesh insurgents attacked security check posts in Chawki district of the province, officials said, adding that “three policemen were also killed in the clashes and 13 others were wounded.”

They said that the clashes are still ongoing.

However, the officials did not provide further details about the clashes.

A series of airstrikes have been carried out on ISIS targets including a training camp of the terror group in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan, leaving several militants dead, like reported by khaama.com.

The provincial government media office in a statement said at least six ISIS militants were killed in an airstrike conducted in Gorgori area of Haka Mina district during the counter-terrorism operations by the ground forces.

Teh statement further added that airstrikes were also carried out on ISIS training camp in Esta Karan and Gorgori areas, leaving ten ISIS militants as they were receiving training.

According to the governor’s office, airstrikes were also carried out on two ISIS compounds in Shabe area of the district, leaving at least five militants dead.

The security forces and the local residents did not suffer any casualties during the airstrikes which were carried out in the past 48 hours, the statement added.

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

Nangarhar is among the relatively calm provinces in East of Afghanistan but the security situation of the province has started to deteriorate during the recent years.

The United Kingdom plans to ramp up its military presence in Afghanistan to about 600 personnel, reports the Forces Network according to pajhwok.com.

The additional British military personnel would join NATO’s Resolute Support Mission training and mentoring Afghan forces.

Britain has repeatedly been urged by NATO and the United States to send more troops and step up assistance to Afghanistan.

“The next tranche of UK troops come from 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, their first visit to Afghanistan since 2012.”

According to the website, Britain has promised deploying an additional 85 personnel to join the mission this year.

The top American commander for the Middle East wants a more aggressive Afghan military pressuring Taliban and other insurgents over the normally quieter months of Afghanistan’s winter, and then quickly going on the offensive in the spring. It’s all part of a plan the United States hopes will change the course of a war now entering its 17th year, like reported by time.com.

Gen. Joseph Votel of U.S. Central Command said an influx of new American trainers can help escalate the fight. They’ll be operating with Afghan units, closer to the front lines and at greater risk, but Votel said U.S. commanders will ensure American and allied forces have adequate protection.

The goal is to get the Afghan military moving on its military campaign sooner, rather than later.

The United States wants the “focus on offensive operations and we’ll look for a major effort to gain the initiative very quickly as we enter into the fighting season,” Votel said in a recent interview with The Associated Press.

Afghan forces must “keep the pressure on all the time and work to gain the upper hand as quickly as we can. So that as we get into this next fighting season we can build on the initiative,” he said.

The Trump administration’s Afghanistan strategy gives the U.S. military greater authority to launch offensive attacks against a resilient Taliban and an emerging Islamic State affiliate. The plan, announced in August, was designed to reverse a stalemate in America’s longest war. It specifically eliminates the Obama administration’s scheduled plan to withdraw U.S. forces, but includes no dramatic changes in an approach that has failed to stabilize the country or snuff out extremist groups operating from Afghan territory.

As 2018 begins, Afghanistan appears to be high on President Donald Trump’s agenda. On New Year’s Day, he slammed Afghanistan’s neighbor Pakistan in a tweet for “lies & deceit,” accusing the country of playing U.S. leaders for “fools” by not crushing militants in its territory. A major focus of Trump’s Afghanistan strategy is to persuade Pakistan to eliminate havens for the Taliban and other fighters.

Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador and Islamic groups held rallies in major Pakistani cities in response.

“Pakistan has played a double game for years,” Nikki Haley, Trump’s U.N. envoy, said Tuesday, explaining that Washington was withholding $255 million in aid to Islamabad. “They work with us at times and they also harbor the terrorists that attack our troops in Afghanistan. That game is not acceptable.”

Pakistan’s Ambassador to the U.N. Maleeha Lodhi responded, “We have contributed and sacrificed the most in fighting international terrorism and carried out the largest counter terrorism operation anywhere in the world.”

Lodhi said the U.S. “should not shift the blame for their own mistakes and failures onto others. We can review our cooperation if it is not appreciated.”

On the Afghan side of the border, Washington is trying to build a tougher national military.

Votel said as the coalition builds up the Afghan Air Force and trains more security forces, the Afghans will become better fighters. “By the time they get to the next fight,” he said, “they will be able to really present a significant offensive capability.”

But it’s hardly the first time the American military has vowed to shape up the U.S.-backed army into a force that can defeat the Taliban, al-Qaida, IS and others. Nor does Trump’s approach represent the first time a frustrated president has pumped troops into the country to turn the situation around. There are now as many as 16,000 U.S. forces in the country — roughly double what Trump inherited — and a special training unit is scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan early this year.

When then-President Barack Obama took office in 2009, he authorized a surge of U.S. forces to Afghanistan that took the total there to about 100,000. The goal was to tamp down a resurgent Taliban and train and expand Afghan security forces. The plan centered on forcing the Taliban to the peace table and ending the war by the time Obama left office.

The plan never worked, despite the mission meeting several celebrated benchmarks: Obama ended combat operations in 2014, curtailed offensive strikes and set deadlines for a full U.S. troop withdrawal. And as the U.S. and NATO forces pulled back, the Taliban stepped up attacks and regained ground, while an IS faction carved out its own foothold. Obama ended his presidency leaving more than 8,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan.

Beyond boosting troop numbers, Trump has granted his generals’ wishes for fewer combat restrictions, greater authority for commanders and no withdrawal deadline.

Next year will be the first test of the policy. The Taliban currently controls as much as half of the country.

James Stavridis, a retired Navy admiral who served as the top U.S. commander for NATO from 2009 until 2013, said the ultimate goal in Afghanistan remains the same: Pushing the Taliban into seeking peace negotiations.

“There is a slightly better than even chance that there are some new factors which move us toward the possibility of a successful outcome,” said Stavridis, now dean of The Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Those changes, he said, include the elimination of troop withdrawal timelines and Taliban fatigue.

“I think they’re tired, too. This is also a 17 year war for them,” Stavridis said, but suggested any settlement will require compromise. “Is this going to be a sweeping victory? No. But I think the odds are much higher of getting them to the negotiating table.”

Votel, too, said he believes efforts are trending in the right direction, as Afghanistan’s military replaces older commanders with younger officers. Recruitment is being maintained at a rapid pace.

But as winter arrives, Votel said the Afghan army must stay on the offense and prepare for greater fighting when the weather improves.

“We frequently talk about these fighting seasons, but as you know the fighting never actually ends,” Votel said.