Taliban parades forces openly in Nimroz

A #Taliban convoy in Nimroz province, #Afghanistan. They gathered in the open for quite a long time. No fear of Coalition air power. http://pic.twitter.com/ln36SOYLwO

— Long War Journal (@LongWarJournal) October 5, 2017

In a new video released by the Taliban, the group assembled a large number of fighters and vehicles in Nimruz province in southwestern Afghanistan and paraded them in broad daylight.

As with previous propaganda videos, the Taliban demonstrated that it can organize its forces for assaults on bases and district centers and execute attacks over extended periods of time, or parade its troops in the open, without fear of being targeted from the air by Afghan or Coalition forces.

In the latest video, title Jihadic Process in Nimruz and Rehabilitation, the Taliban assembled dozens of vehicles – including US-made HUMVEEs that have been captured from Afghan forces and new Toyota Hilux pickup trucks – along with more than 100 fighters in a desert area. The Taliban then remained in the area for a significant amount of time; the group conducted three separate interviews with local leaders while the convoy sat still.

As previously noted on FDD’s Long War Journal, the Coalition and Afghan military cannot hope to roll back Taliban gains – let alone defeat it – until it takes steps to smash the Taliban’s ability to operate openly.

Bill Roggio is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Editor of FDD's Long War Journal.

Tags:Afghanistan, Taliban

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from Long War Journal – FDD's Long War Journal http://ift.tt/2xYCQR4
via Defense News