Afghanistan sees significant increase in enemy-initiated attacks

Fighting has intensified in Afghanistan in recent months, with US Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A) describing the number of enemy-initiated attacks (EIAs) registered between 1 July and 30 September as “above seasonal norms”, according to a report by US Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko.

Released on 5 November, the SIGAR’s latest quarterly report cited USFOR-A as saying that “average daily enemy-initiated attacks in Afghanistan were 50% higher this quarter (July–September) than last quarter (April–June)”, but provided no further details, given that the NATO-led ‘Resolute Support’ (’RS’) mission has been “restricting from public release” data on EIAs and effective enemy-initiated attacks (EEIAs) since the beginning of the year.

The SIGAR quoted the US Department of Defense (DoD) as saying that the Taliban, who have been engaging in peace talks with the Afghan government since 12 September, are “calibrating” their use of violence to “harass and undermine” both the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) and the government in Kabul.

At the same time the violence remains at a level the Taliban perceive is “within the bounds of the [29 February US-Taliban conditions-based] agreement, probably to encourage a US troop withdrawal and set favorable conditions for a post-withdrawal Afghanistan”, according to the Pentagon.