
A man clears debris after Taliban militants burned a market in Ghazni. Photograph: Zakeria Hashimi/AFP/Getty Images
Governor Nimati said that disaster in the Baghlan-e-Markazi district was averted last week only after the American military sent Special Forces troops to fight alongside Afghan commandos, backed up by airstrikes. But as soon as the Americans and the commandos left, he said, Taliban forces immediately began filtering back in, and by the weekend the bases in the district were again in Taliban hands.
(Rod Nordland, “The Death Toll for Afghan Forces Is Secret. Here’s Why,” NYTimes, 9-21-18)
[Copyright (c) 2018 James Mansfield Nichols. All rights reserved.]