Taliban occupied Ghazni City police station as Resolute Support claimed city was under Afghan control
Video from Ghazni City, Aug. 10-14, when @ResoluteSupport told us Afghan forces were in full control. Taliban fighters are seen outside what appears to be a mosque & a fortified position, as well as inside a police station motor pool looting ammo and vehicles. From Voice of Jihad pic.twitter.com/auH5paBSru
— Bill Roggio (@billroggio) August 16, 2018
The Taliban occupied a police station in Ghazni City and looted the facility even as Resolute Support claimed the entire city was under Afghan government control.
Video posted on Aug. 15 on the Taliban’s official propaganda website, Voice of Jihad, showed Taliban fighters inside a police station motor pool as they looted the complex. One fighter was seen carrying a box of ammunition as another pickup truck was loaded with supplies gathered from the compound.
In another scene, Taliban fighters occupied what appeared to be a mosque and a large security outpost outside of it. The security outpost looked like one used by Afghan police as a security checkpoint. It is made with US-supplied HESCO barriers.
Other parts of the video showed Taliban fighters walking in the streets and stationed at what appeared to be a market. Additionally, video shot from rooftops showed buildings in Ghazni City burning in the distance.
Throughout the five day-long Taliban incursion and occupation of large areas of Ghazni City, from Aug. 10-14, Resolute Support, NATO’s command in Afghanistan, consistently maintained that the city “remains under Afghan control.” Resolute Support could not explain independent video of blocks of the city on fire and Taliban fighters calmly patrolling the streets. Nor could it explain why, if the city was under government control, Resolute support was forced to launch dozens of airstrikes while the Afghan military had to clear city and appoint the Army Chief of Staff to lead the operation.
from Long War Journal – FDD's Long War Journal https://ift.tt/2MhxJ94
via Defense News
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