kandahar, afghanistan ( ap ) — abdul malik and his fellow afghan troopers were driving across the arid and volatile south when their armored personnel carrier struck a roadside bomb. malik found himself outside the vehicle, dazed however mindful of his 3 comrades nearby. one enjoyed a serious head wound.
help came quickly : u. s. helicopters swooped in and took them into the afghan military hospital in kandahar, the largest within the whole region. malik lost his leg below the knee. while not the quick rescue, he would doubtless have lost his life. his 3 buddies all died.
i may see his brains inside the ground close to me, malik aforesaid.
as a part of preparations for the ultimate withdrawal of international combat troops from the finish of 2014, afghanistans security forces are being pressed into service — alone. this years fighting season is that the initial in 12 years of war that afghan troops are chargeable for security in ninety p.c as to the country.
however the afghans are still heavily dependent on international air support out to ferry the wounded out to hospitals as well as for gunships out to defend troops who will be isolated and under attack.
with nato and therefore the u. s. military providing solely recommendation and assistance on request, the afghans battlefield performance this year can decide what quantity equipment and coaching they actually still would like.
after 2014 the u. s. is predicted out to leave behind a residual force of 8, 000 out to 10, 000 troops, mostly as mentors and trainers. nato has been asked out to contribute many thousand and even, however to this point solely germany has promised 800 troops.
a few within the whole u. s. military see a steep learning curve ahead regarding the 350, 000 afghan service personnel.
in eastern nangarhar province wherein the u. s. 1st brigade combat team, 101st airborne division, is advising the afghan national army, lt. col. matthew stader aforesaid afghan troops would like advisory groups for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations. they actually lack the drones used heavily by u. s. forces.
still, stader aforesaid afghan troops are going to do their own personal patrols, clearing routes and removing roadside bombs.
i feel they actually are going to do well, however it simply appearance except the americans, aforesaid stader, of annapolis, maryland.
afghan forces will resupply themselves with food and fuel and water however are still struggling with planning, logistics, equipment maintenance and contracting, stader aforesaid, adding that the brigade he's presently mentoring in eastern afghanistan desires at the very least another year of advising before can be'>it is going to be able out to operate independently.
for years weve created afghan helplessness, thus we as advisers have out to reset that, he aforesaid, referring out to the years that nato and therefore the u. s. took the high marks in fighting and logistics, relegating their afghan allies out to a support role.
nonetheless afghans are optimistic.
sitting behind his outsized desk because we are part of a fortress-like compound surrounded by reinforced concrete blast walls and protected by four separate security gates, gen. abdul raziq, southern kandahar provinces police chief, has one in each of afghanistans most dangerous jobs. even thus, he says he's trying forward out to the withdrawal of international forces.
natos leaving may be a positive issue as a result of now we've got our land and our authority back, he aforesaid, reflecting the sensitive and commonly sophisticated relationship between afghan troops and the coalition partners. with frustrating regularity president hamid karzai has outraged the u. s. military by referring out to international troops as occupiers or suggesting they actually were colluding when using the taliban so that you can justify staying longer within the whole country
relations between afghan security forces and international troops are equally tumultuous. the quantity of attacks by afghan police and troopers opening fire on foreign troopers has sharply increased. fearful that one with only their work on it can conduct the same, afghan commanders have banned foreign trainers from afghan firing ranges where live bullets are applied to target apply.
however raziq says his confidence comes a higher cut of recruit coming into the police and army, government-imposed controls that have grabbed absolute power — that they actually usually abused — away from the hands as to the security forces, along with what he says is waning support regarding the taliban movement among afghans, notably majority ethnic pashtuns.
within the whole last 5 years afghanistans premier police coaching academy within the whole afghan capital has restarted its four-year coaching program for officers. courses like human rights and ethics are introduced directly into curriculum. new police recruits now have out to have a few education, unlike in previously when most were illiterate.
before 2007, 2008, our structure was incomplete. police had no controls. they actually may do something. they actually thought that they'd unlimited power, raziq aforesaid. however now there will be constraints, restrictions. they actually have solely the facility out to arrest. the education level of recruits is likewise improving. in 2010 they actually were far better than in 2007, and in 2013 they actually are even higher.
raziq conjointly aforementioned the taliban are a special sort of enemy nowadays, relying heavily on roadside bombs and suicide attackers, rather in comparison to the less deadly rocket launchers and short vary missiles.
regarding the afghan troops the battlefield is a harsh taskmaster to date this year. as of might 15, according to actually statistics compiled via the associated press, 441 security forces have died violently. thats more often doubly the quantity of security personnel killed throughout the exact era last year. hundreds additional are wounded, losing limbs to actually bombs and suffering debilitating injuries.
by distinction the quantity of u. s. and alternative foreign troops killed in action between jan. a regular and may possibly 15 this year has dropped dramatically to actually 58, compared with 153 in the exact era last year
since the new year now we have had too several casualties, says gen. aforementioned asim, commander with the afghan military hospital in southern kandahar.
asim aforementioned his 400-bed hospital treats all casualties of war, together with civilians and even suspected taliban.
he stopped for a area only from the emergency ward where 19-year-old hamidullah, a suspected taliban fighter, was handcuffed in the steel frame of his bed.
shot within the whole abdomen, arms and legs, hamidullah, who like several afghans uses just one name, aforementioned he was in fields in girisk district of volatile helmand province each time a battle started between taliban while a joint force of afghan and american troopers.
i dont recognize who shot me. there was firing all around, he aforementioned. in the event the shooting stopped, his uncle brought him to actually kandahars main mirwais hospital. he was transferred initial in the u. s. -led coalition hospital and later in the afghan military hospital.
hamidullah played with his wisp of facial hair as he told of how his family has collected letters from district officers vouching as a result of his identity just like a farmer and not really a taliban fighter.
to date nobody has questioned me. i dont recognize who was fighting however i have one compound of foreigners close to our farm, he aforementioned showing a 15-centimeter ( 6-inch ) scar that ran the length of his abdomen where afghan doctors with the military hospital had removed the bullet.
raziq, the police chief, aforementioned talking in the taliban is the ultimate procedure to finish the war.
now we have to actually talk in the taliban. they're our folks and lots of feel these don't have any alternative as a result of once you've got raised your gun it's troublesome to actually lay it back down and therefore these keep fighting, he aforementioned.
however a few troopers within the whole military hospital were confused by the idea of fighting whereas talking.
i'm slightly disheartened at why we are talking and still fighting, aforementioned malik, the soldier who lost his leg. we shouldn't be participating with one another such as that.
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associated press writer kristin hall, who was in eastern afghanistan when using the u. s 1st brigade combat team, 101st airborne division, contributed to actually this report. kathy gannon is ap special regional correspondent for afghanistan and pakistan and could be followed on www. twitter. com/kathygannon
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