180 Afghan forces, civilians killed in January

KABUL, Afghanistan

There was no respite in violence amid the harsh Afghan winter in January leaving around 120 security forces, more than 60 civilians and a lot more insurgents killed.

Figures compiled by Anadolu Agency suggest the unabated conflict raged on in high tempo despite heavy snow during the first month of 2020.

Kunduz: Flashpoint in north

Bordering Tajikistan, Afghanistan’s restive northern Kunduz province remained one of the deadliest in the country.

The last week of January proved deadliest for the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces as the Taliban stormed Kunduz and nearby Baghlan province in the north and Uruzgan provinces in the south killing more than 40 soldiers and policemen, according to the local officials.

Deputy Chairman of the Kunduz Provincial Council Safiullah Amere told Anadolu Agency insurgents stormed check posts in the restive Dasth-e-Archi district late Jan. 28.

Kunduz’s neighboring Balkh, Faryab, Baghlan and Takhar also saw no respite in violence amid the punishing winter.

Nearly 200 people, mostly Taliban insurgents, security forces and civilians were killed in September 2019 when the war season was at its peak.

These parts of Afghanistan saw most of the civilian casualties.

Hundreds of Afghans took to the streets in Balkh on Saturday against the alleged killing of at least six members of a family in an air raid.

A spokesman for the Afghan National Army in the province, Haneef Rezaey, told Anadolu Agency an operation against the Taliban was carried out in the area the previous night that killed at least 16 insurgents.

The defense ministry vowed to have launched an investigation. “A fact-finding team has been sent to the area.

This team would seriously investigate the incident, and if the findings proved that the civilians have sustained losses, serious legal actions would be taken,” it said.

Less than a week later, similar a protest was staged by civilians in Kunduz on Jan. 31 against the killing of at least seven civilians in an alleged U.S. airstrike.

Carrying bodies of the victims, protesters claimed the civilians, including two women and a child, were killed a day earlier in the Dasht-e-Archi district as they were returning from a funeral.

“We are aware of the reports of civilian casualties reported to have occurred in Dasht-e-Archi district or Imam Sahib District, Kunduz Province, on Jan. 30. We are looking into these reports and will provide more information when it becomes available,” U.S. military command in Afghanistan said in a statement.

Figures compiled by Anadolu Agency suggest the Afghan war theater in 2019 saw more than 3,000 civilians lose their lives to various sorts of assaults claimed by Taliban militants and the Daesh/ISIS terror organization as well as pro-government forces, mainly in the aerial and search operations.

The unprecedented plane ‘crash’

January’s last week also saw an unprecedented “crash” of a U.S. Bombardier E-11A aircraft amid suspicious circumstances with the Taliban claiming to “hit it down.”

Late Jan. 29, NATO forces in Afghanistan confirmed two U.S. service members were killed in the “crash” in Ghazni province. ''The force also recovered what is assessed to be the aircraft flight data recorder.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, however there are no indications the crash was caused by enemy fire," NATO said, adding the remains were found near the crash site, treated with dignity and respect by the local Afghan community, in accordance with culture.

This comes as Taliban insurgents claimed to have brought down a plane allegedly belonging to the CIA.

Zabihullah Mujahed, a Taliban spokesman, said in a statement that the plane was on a “spy mission.” “All staff and passengers, including key officers of the CIA, have been killed,” he claimed, also sharing a video on Twitter and visuals of a plane with apparent U.S. Air Combat Command markings.

As per statements issued by the Afghan government, a much higher number of Taliban insurgents were killed daily compared to casualties sustained by government forces in operations in more than 20 of 34 provinces across the country.