Kabul : The Afghan Taliban launched their “spring offensive” on Friday, heralding fresh fighting in the drawn-out conflict as embattled security forces struggle to recover from a devastating attack on a military base one week ago.
Operation Mansouri — named after the group’s former leader, who was killed in a US drone strike in May 2016 — will target foreign forces with tactics including “conventional attacks, guerrilla warfare, complex martyrdom attacks, insider attacks”, a statement from the insurgents said.
“The enemy will be targeted, harassed, killed or captured until they abandon their last posts,” it continued.
The annual spring offensive normally marks the start of the “fighting season”, though this winter the Taliban continued to battle government forces, most successfully in last week’s attack on the military base outside the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.
The assault last Friday, in which militants dressed in Afghan army uniforms and with valid passes to the installation slaughtered at least 135 young recruits, is believed to be the deadliest by the Taliban on an Afghan military target.–AFP
