KABUL - “Operation Shafaq-2” earlier postponed due to some tactical issues will be launched soon, the army chief said on Thursday.
Talking to reporters here, Gen. Qadam Shah Shahim said militants suffered huge casualties this year compared to the past nine years and so Afghan forces also suffered more casualties than the previous year.
He did not provide figures for security forces losses, but a recent report from the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) claimed Afghan forces causalities increased by nine percent in the ongoing year compared to the previous year.
SIGAR said a total of 5,523 Afghan service members were killed and an additional 9,665 wounded during the fighting season from January 1 through August 19.
In response to SIGAR report, Gen. Shahim said causalities were inevitable in fighting. “We faced multiple challenges this year, although the enemy could not keep areas they had captured.”
He said the enemy had strategic designs and wanted to capture large parts of the country and transfer their Quetta, Peshawar and Miranshah Councils to Afghanistan but the Afghan forces did not allow them to do so.
He said the challenges Afghan forces faced in the Shafaq-1 offensive would be addressed in the upcoming offensive and efforts would be made to reduce causalities among the forces. (Pajhwok)