The province where the additional troops will be stationed has recently become the focus of Taliban attention, allegedly due to Kabul planning to build a pipeline through it.
More US forces have been deployed in the Afghan province of Farah to train government troops in the use of modern weapons, the Afghan news agency Khaama reported, citing Afghan Ministry of Defense spokesman Mohammad Radmanish.
While the report doesn’t provide any details as to how many troops Washington has sent to train the Afghan soldiers, they will, however, reportedly not participate in combat operations.
The Taliban have been on the offensive in the province of Farah and attempted to capture its capital in May, but failed after being repelled by Afghan security forces. The province is planned to host part of a gas pipeline crossing Turkmenistan, Pakistan and India, also known as the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, which will transport natural gas from the Galkynysh Gas Field in Turkmenistan to India.
The previous US administration had promised to withdraw from Afghanistan, but the result was only a reduction of the American military presence in the country. President Donald Trump advocated for keeping US troops in Afghanistan during his election campaign because it’s “a mess.”
This article originally appeared in Sputnik International on August 06, 2018. Original link.
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