Envoy: Extremists united in offensive

Associated Press

UNITED NATIONS

A new offensive against the Afghan government and people is being compounded by “an unprecedented convergence” of Taliban insurgents, more than 7,000 foreign fighters, and violent groups including the Islamic State, Afghanistan’s U.N. ambassador said Monday.

Zahir Tanin told the U.N. Security Council that these groups not only target Afghan troops and civilians with suicide bombings, improvised explosive devices, hostage-taking and assassinations, but they seek control of districts and provinces as bases for their activities in Afghanistan as well as south and central Asia.

A Taliban suicide bomber struck the entrance to the Afghan parliament on Monday, and gunmen tried to storm the heavily guarded compound, setting off a gunbattle with police that left two people dead as lawmakers were meeting inside to vote on the appointment of a new defense minister.

Afghan security forces managed to repel the attack, killing all seven gunmen and ensuring that no members of parliament were harmed. But the audacious assault came as the Taliban captured two districts in as many days in the country’s north, displaying their ability to operate on multiple fronts.

Nicholas Haysom, the U.N. envoy for Afghanistan, said Afghan forces have been stretched, tested and faced operational challenges since taking on full security responsibilities after an end to the U.S. and NATO combat mission.

Nonetheless, he said, “Afghanistan is meeting its security challenges” in the face of an intensifying conflict across the country,

The commitment of Afghan troops “is beyond question,” Haysom added, “and they are demonstrating resilience in the face of insurgent efforts to take and hold ground.”