Pentagon Takes Credit For Defeating The Islamic State In Afghanistan When It Was The Taliban Who Defeated Them

Bill Roggio, Long War Journal: US military continues to spin a Taliban victory against Islamic State as its own

In the Department of Defense’s latest quarterly report on Afghanistan, the US military claimed the Taliban’s victory against the Islamic State Khorasan Province in Jawzjan over the summer as its own. The US military’s claim highlights just how desperate it is to report success in Afghanistan, and how infrequent those successes are in reality.

At the end of July 2018, the Taliban massed its forces and targeted a large cadre of Islamic State fighters that were based in Darzab district in Jawzjan. The Taliban operation was decisive; the Islamic State was routed. More than 150 of the 600 Islamic State operatives based in the district were killed and an estimated 100 more were wounded. Another 134 were captured by the Taliban. [See FDD’s Long War Journal report, Taliban says Islamic State has been ‘completely defeated’ in Jawzjan.]

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WNU Editor: The U.S. military message on Afghanistan is all over the place. On the one hand the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan wantse talks with the Taliban to end the war .... ‘This is not going to be won militarily’: Top US commander in Afghanistan reveals pessimism (Military Times). On the other hand, the same commander talks about launching a new military offensive .... New U.S. commander in Afghanistan says we're going on offense against the Taliban (NBC). On a positive note, the Taliban appear to be just as screwed up .... Taliban vs. Taliban clash in Afghanistan’s west leaves 40 dead (Stars and Stripes).