Synopsis
Afghan security forces have made a significant discovery of weapons and ammunition in Ghazni province, reflecting ongoing efforts to stabilize the region. This follows a prolonged conflict involving various factions and foreign interventions.Key Takeaways
- Significant cache of weapons found.
- Efforts to stabilize security ongoing.
- War in Afghanistan lasted two decades.
- U.S. led coalition initiated operations in 2001.
- Taliban re-established control in 2021.
Kabul, Jan 19 (NationPress) Afghan security forces have uncovered a significant cache of arms and ammunition in the eastern Ghazni province, as reported by the Ministry of Interior Affairs on Sunday.
This contraband, which encompassed a variety of weapons, a substantial number of cartridges and bullets, along with other illegally stored military equipment, has been confiscated during operations across different districts of the province over the past nine months, the statement indicated, according to Xinhua news agency.
The Afghan caretaker government has seized thousands of firearms and a large volume of ammunition as part of efforts to enhance the security situation across the war-torn nation.
The War in Afghanistan was a lengthy conflict that lasted from 2001 to 2021. It commenced with the invasion by a U.S.-led coalition under the banner of Operation Enduring Freedom in direct response to the September 11 attacks, leading to the toppling of the Taliban-led Islamic Emirate and the establishment of the Islamic Republic three years later.
The Taliban and its affiliates were expelled from major urban areas by U.S.-backed forces supporting the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance; Osama bin Laden, however, moved to neighboring Pakistan. The conflict officially concluded with the 2021 Taliban offensive, which overthrew the Islamic Republic and re-established the Islamic Emirate, marking it as the longest conflict in U.S. military history, surpassing the Vietnam War (1955–1975) by approximately six months.
Following the September 11 attacks, President George W. Bush demanded the Taliban promptly extradite al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden to the U.S.; the Taliban denied this request without evidence of Bin Laden's involvement. After the expulsion of the Taliban and its allies, the U.S.-led coalition remained in Afghanistan, forming a security mission (ISAF)—sanctioned by the United Nations—with the aim of establishing a new democratic authority to prevent the Taliban's return to power. A new Afghan Interim Administration was set up, and international reconstruction efforts commenced.
By 2003, the Taliban had regrouped under their founder, Mullah Omar, and initiated a widespread insurgency against the new Afghan government and coalition forces. Insurgents from the Taliban and other Islamist factions engaged in asymmetric warfare, employing guerrilla tactics in rural areas, suicide bombings in cities, and reprisals against perceived Afghan collaborators. By 2007, large swathes of Afghanistan had fallen back under Taliban control.
In response, the coalition deployed a significant number of troops for counter-insurgency operations, adopting a 'clear and hold' strategy for villages and towns; this troop surge peaked in 2011, with approximately 140,000 foreign soldiers operating under ISAF command throughout Afghanistan.
