ConflictBarometer_2016

MIDDLE EAST AND MAGHREB
National Army (ANA) convoy with RPGs near Kunjak, Ghormach
district, Faryab. According to an ANA spokesman, ANA
forces killed 14 Taliban and wounded twelve. In an attack
targeting a National Police compound in the capital Kabul
on February 1, a Taliban suicide bomber killed 20 policemen
and wounded another 29 people, among them nine civilians.
On April 19, at least two Taliban attacked a security forces'
building in Kabul, killing 64 people and injuring at least 340.
One attacker detonated a truck bomb, thereby clearing the
entrance for a gunman. In Paktika province, Taliban temporarily
took control over Omna district after ANDSF troops
had retreated from their bases on September 4. Furthermore,
on October 7, at least 60 Afghan Border Police surrendered
to Taliban fighters in Marchaq area of Bala Murghab district,
Badghis province, following a two-day siege of the area.
Taliban repeatedly succeeded in gaining control over large
and strategically important areas. After days of fighting in
Sangin and Marja districts of Helmand province that left at
least 200 people dead and hundreds injured, the province's
police chief stated on January 10 that 40 percent of southern
Helmand districts were under Taliban control. Later this
year, on October 10, the group attacked a police station in
provincial capital Lashkargah as part of a wider offensive to
extend their strongholds in Helmand, killing 14 policemen.
Between October 11 and 27, more than 270 Taliban were
killed in counter-operations conducted by ANDSF. According
to US Forces Afghanistan, the government controlled 233 districts
by the end of November, while insurgents controlled 41
districts. 133 districts remained contested.
As in 2015, Taliban tried to capture Kunduz city in April and
October. After several days of fighting, the mid-April attack
was repelled by ANDSF, leaving at least 400 people dead,
600 injured, and about 2,000 families internally displaced.
Another major attack on Kunduz was launched on October
3. Taliban from strongholds in surrounding areas advanced
to the city center from different directions, infiltrated residential
areas, and conducted coordinated attacks using IEDs.
One day later, Afghan forces claimed to have regained control.
However, fighting in the city continued for another six
days. According to UNHCR, a total of 24,000 people were
internally displaced. In addition, Taliban temporarily seized
control over several districts in other provinces. On March 6,
ANA announced to have regained control over Dand-e-Ghori
district, Baghlan province, after 50 days of fighting. Over 330
people were killed and more than 250 wounded. However,
residents reported later in March that Taliban had returned
to the villages. In Tirinkot, capital of Uruzgan province, 180
Taliban and eleven ANDSF were killed, while 75 Taliban and
17 ANDSF were wounded during clashes between September
8 and September 10. Taliban tried to capture the city but
were pushed back by ANDSF on the ground, supported by
airstrikes.
Throughout the year, Taliban repeatedly targeted governmental
buildings and diplomatic personnel. For instance,
two security guards were injured on January 17, when a
Taliban rocket hit close to the Italian embassy's compound
in Kabul. On February 27, a Taliban suicide bomber killed
twelve people and wounded eight in an attack at the entrance
area of the Defense Ministry in the capital. In a similar
attack on September 5, a twin suicide bombing and an ensuing
shootout between Taliban and security forces killed 24
people and injured 91. On June 20, a suicide bomber killed
14 Nepalese security guards and injured nine others in the
center of Kabul. Both Taliban and ISKP claimed the attack.
On November 11, Taliban attacked the German consulate in
Mazar-i-Sharif, Balkh province. Four people, including the two
attackers, were killed in the ensuing fighting and about 120
persons injured. Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack,
stating it was in retaliation for US airstrikes on November 4.
On August 1, Taliban attacked the Northgate Hotel in Kabul,
which was mostly frequented by foreigners. The explosion of
a lorry bomb in front of the gate was followed by an hourslong
gun battle on hotel premises, which left two attackers
and one police officer dead. Three days later, Taliban attacked
a convoy of European and American tourists in Cheft-e-Sharif
district, Herat province, injuring seven. After the Taliban had
threatened to attack news outlets on 10/14/15, they carried
out a suicide attack against a minibus transporting personnel
of the media group Tolo News on January 20 in central Kabul.
The attacker killed eight people and injured at least 24. One
civilian was killed and seven injured in a mortar attack conducted
by Taliban in Mehtarlam Baba, Laghman province, on
June 14.
Taliban repeatedly kidnapped security forces and civilians,
the latter often while traveling by bus on national highways.
For instance, on March 24, three policemen were kidnapped
in Noor Gram district, Nuristan province. In another instance
on May 31, Taliban kidnapped approx. 230 passengers on a
highway near Kunduz city, killing at least ten of them.
In areas controlled by Taliban, the group continued to try
to implement its own legal system. On January 4, Taliban
hanged a man in Kori, Tagab district, Badakhshan province,
for murdering his uncle, after a Taliban court had sentenced
him to death. On June 19, Taliban executed at least six civilians
in Tagab Yari area, Herat province, for breaking Ramadan
fast. On December 18, Taliban killed a woman for marital misconduct
in Ab Kamari district, Badghis. Furthermore, Taliban
demanded taxes from residents, for example in 17 villages in
Baharak district, Badakhshan, in August.
Throughout the year, Taliban frequently attacked infrastructure.
In late January and early February, Taliban destroyed
electricity pylons in Baghlan, Faryab, and Kunduz, disrupting
power lines from the neighboring countries Uzbekistan
and Turkmenistan to Kabul. On June 26, Taliban attacked a
security post guarding a hydropower and irrigation dam in
Ahmadabad district, Paktia province. In the ensuing firefight,
ten people were killed and 15 wounded. On August 22, Taliban
destroyed the only transit bridge between Afghanistan
and Tajikistan in Kunduz province.
Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor was killed in a US
drone strike in Balochistan province, Pakistan, on May 21.
Three days later, Mullah Haibatullah Akhunzada, a conservative
hardliner and former deputy to Mansoor, was appointed
his successor. After last year's announcement of the death of
Mullah Omar, internal power struggles exacerbated in 2016.
For example, on May 8, clashes between two rival Taliban
groups in Nawar locality, Helmand, left at least 30 fighters
dead. dgl, ssd, chf, ivo, twt
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