Alwaght- US government’s top watchdog on Afghanistan said on Tuesday the number of Afghan security forces decreased by nearly 11 percent in the past year, indicating deteriorating security condition in the war-torn country despite US-led NATO's military presence.
In a report, the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, said the number of forces in the Afghan National Defense and Security forces (ANDSF), which includes the army, air force and police, totaled an estimated 296,400 personnel as of January, Reuters reported.
That was a drop of 10.6 percent compared to the same month in 2017. The authorized strength of the ANDSF is 334,000 personnel.
US-led forces invaded Afghanistan and toppled a ruling Taliban regime some 17 years ago. That ongoing war has failed to bring stability to the country despite the presence of thousands of foreign forces.
In the most recent incident, twin blasts hit the Afghan capital Kabul on Monday and killed at least 26 people, including nine journalists who had arrived to report on the first explosion and were apparently targeted by a suicide bomber.
The attacks, a week after 60 people were killed as they waited at a voter registration center in the city, underlined mounting insecurity despite repeated government pledges to tighten defenses.
The attacks in rapid succession were a grim reminder of the strength of both the Taliban and ISIS emerging Afghanistan branch to wreak violence.
Reuters cited unnamed US intelligence officials as saying that said that despite US so-called training and support, the vast majority of Afghan forces are incapable of preventing the Taliban from capturing territories.
Assessments of the size of Taliban territorial control vary but the Pentagon estimates that 56 percent of the country is under government control, while a BBC survey this year estimated the insurgents were active in 70 percent of Afghanistan.
According to the United Nations figures released earlier this year, more than 10,000 Afghan civilians were killed or wounded in the Afghan conflict last year. While the main cause of civilian deaths was said to be militant bombings, the report said US airstrikes as well as government forces had also caused casualties.
