Even the Deadliest Taliban 'Commandos' Are No Match for U.S.-Afghan Forces
The death of the Taliban’s deadly "Red Unit" leader confirms as much.
Task and Purpose [2]Jared Keller [3]
In mid-November, a group of elite Taliban commandos outfitted with U.S-made assault weapons and night-vision goggles wiped out [4] dozens of Afghan security forces in a series of brazen raids across southern and western Afghanistan. The tactics and gear utilized by the so-called Red Unit sent a wave of anxiety [5]through U.S. and Afghan defense officials already struggling to beat back the rising tide of a Taliban resurgence since the official end of NATO combat operations in 2014.
But two weeks after the Red Unit cut a bloody swath through the Afghan countryside, the Pentagon hit back with a clear message: We own the night [6]— and you’re just renting. Officials with the National Directorate of Security, the government of Afghanistan’s chief intelligence agency, told [7] Reuters on Dec. 3 that Afghan security forces had successfully killed Red Unit commander Mullah Shah Wali during a joint U.S.-Afghan Dec. 1 air operation in Helmand province.
Source URL (retrieved on December 17, 2017):
http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/even-the-deadliest-taliban-commandos-are-no-match-us-afghan-23656
