AFGHANISTAN CRISIS: US BLAMES PAKISTAN. UK CONSIDERS DEPLOYING SPECIAL FORCES. TAILBAN ADVANCES ACROSS COUNTRY

“I provide my input through the chain of command,” Gen. John Nicholson said during a news conference in Kabul on Thursday. Credit Rahmat Gul/Associated Press

On August 27, Commander for US Forces and NATO in Afghanistan General John W Nicholson claimed in an interview on the Afghanistan Tolo news TV channel that Taliban leadership are hiding inside Pakistan.

“The Quetta Shura, Peshawar Shura, these shuras are identified by cities inside Pakistan, we know Afghan Taliban leaders are in these areas,” Gen. Nicholson said.

Gen. Nicholson stressed that there will be no diplomatic solution in Afghanistan without cutting off the support for terrorists.

“Support for terrorists and insurgents has to be reduced, has to be stopped,” he added.

Separately, a report of the UK-based Sunday Express newspaper said that the UK is considering redeploying the Special Air Service (SAS), special forces, to Afghanistan to aid US President Trump’s plan there.

“The special forces are clearly a key element of our military capability in this kind of operation,” a British official told the Sunday Times.

Meanwhile, the Taliban news agency Voice of Jihad announced that Delaram district police chief, Hakim, was killed with his guards in an ambush in the Wali Jan camp area.

Voice of Jihad also announced that Taliban fighters repelled an attack of the Afghani Army backed by US forces in Chahar Darah district of Kunduz province.

On August 26, Voice of Jihad claimed that a child was killed and 11 other civilians were injured in a US unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) strike in Chahar Darah district of Kunduz province. US UCAV strikes in Afghanistan played a key role in rebuilding public support for Taliban during the last few years.

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