page_title: History of War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
section_title: 2016
hierarchical_section_title: History of War in Afghanistan (2001–present) / 2016
caption_attribution_description: English: Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter takes a walk with Bagram Airfield leadership, July 12, 2016, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. During this trip to Afghanistan, Carter discussed the United States’ role in performing both counter-terrorism operations and training, advising, and assisting Afghan military forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Justyn M. Freeman) Unit: 455th Air Expeditionary Wing DVIDS Tags: Bagram Airfield; U.S Central Command; CENTCOM; 455th Air Expeditionary Wing; Bagram; Secretary of Defense; 455th AEW; AFCENT; U.S. Air Forces Central; Afghanistan; United States Air Force; U.S. Air Force; USAF; 455 Air Expeditionary Wing; 455 AEW; United States Secretary of Defense; Freedom's Sentinel; Resolute Support; Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter
context_page_description: It currently runs through 2017.
context_section_description: In January 2016, the US government sent a directive to the Pentagon which granted new legal authority for the U.S. military to go on the offensive against Militants affiliated with the ISIL-KP (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant – Khorasan Province), after the State Department announced the designation of ISIS in Afghanistan and Pakistan as a foreign terrorists organisation. ISIS-K formed in January 2015 after it pledged its allegiance to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the number of militants started with around 60 or 70, with most of them coming over the border with Pakistan but now they range between 1,000 and 3,000 militants, mainly defectors from the Afghan and the Pakistani Taliban, and is generally confined to Nangarhar Province but also has/had a presence in Kunar province.
  For 3 weeks in that month, the U.S. military carried out at least a dozen operations, including commando raids and airstrikes, many of these raids and strikes taking place in the Tora Bora region of Nangarhar Province. American commanders in Afghanistan said they believed that between 90 and 100 Islamic State militants had been killed in these recent operations. By 11 February, ABC news reported the U.S. military had carried out 20 airstrikes on ISIS in eastern Afghanistan in the previous 3 weeks. On 21 February, the Wall Street Journal reported that, just over a week before, Afghan forces supported by U.S. airstrikes launched an operation dubbed "Eagle 18", against ISIL forces in Nangarhar province. Ground forces led by the Afghan army and backed by police and paramilitary groups pushed into Achin district, the group's main base and Dislodged Islamic State From their Stronghold, U.S. airstrikes had hit the area almost daily for weeks, killing militants affiliated with Islamic State and weakening their grip on the district. Two Afghan soldiers were wounded in the operation but ISIL militants retreated from Achin and other districts. On 6 March 2016, Afghanistan's President Ashraf Ghani announced in the Afghan parliament that the Islamic State has been defeated in the eastern parts of the country, Afghan forces claimed victory following the 21-day operation in Achin and Shinwar districts of Nangarhar province, claiming at least 200 militants killed. The operation was aided by local civilians who set up checkpoints to help maintain security in their villages and later supplemented the Afghan forces. On 15 March 2016, an official confirmed that Islamic State militants had moved into Chahar Dara district of Kunduz province and into Kunar province.
  In early April 2016, it was reported that US and Afghan forces had killed 1,979 suspected militants, 736 others wounded and 965 detained between April 2015 and March 2016, ISIS militants have also been trying to flee into Ghazni and Nuristan province, whilst a rise in defections from the group to the government and the Taliban. On 12 April 2016, the Taliban announced that they would launch an offensive called Operation Omari.
  In late June 2016, IS militants attacked police checkpoints in the Kot area of Nangarhar province, heavy fighting between Islamic State militants and government security forces has claimed dozens of lives in eastern Afghanistan, as many as 36 IS militants are reported to have been killed in the assaults, at least a dozen Afghan security forces and civilians have been killed, with another 18 wounded. The latest attacks indicate the group remains a potent threat to a government already battling an insurgency dominated by the rival Taliban.
  Afghan forces have been battling the Taliban in northeastern Kunduz as part of the Afghan forces' own spring offensive. On 14 April, hundreds of Taliban and other insurgents attempted to retake Kunduz, however Afghan forces repelled the assault, according to Kunduz provincial police chief, allegedly killing 40 and injuring between 8 and 60 Taliban, whilst Afghan forces suffered 4 killed and 6 wounded. U.S. surveillance aircraft are supporting Afghan forces as they try to push the Taliban back, there has also been fighting in at least 6 other districts, wher
caption: U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter speaks to troops at Bagram Airfield, 12 July 2016
exif: {"Image ImageDescription": "Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter takes a walk with Bagram Airfield leadership, July 12, 2016, Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan. During this trip to Afghanistan, Carter discussed the United States\u2019 role in performing both counter-terrorism operations and training, advising, and assisting Afghan military forces. (U.S. Air Force photo by Senior Airman Justyn M. Freeman)", "Image Make": "NIKON CORPORATION", "Image Model": "NIKON D810", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "300", "Image YResolution": "300", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image Artist": "Senior Airman Justyn Freeman", "Image Copyright": "Public Domain", "Image ExifOffset": "224", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "300", "Thumbnail YResolution": "300", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1030", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "4110", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/3200", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Manual", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "31", "EXIF SensitivityType": "Recommended Exposure Index", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "727741/62500", "EXIF ApertureValue": "1485427/500000", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "3", "EXIF MeteringMode": "other", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, compulsory flash mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "38", "EXIF ColorSpace": "Uncalibrated", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "6330", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "4521", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "16780511/8192", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "16780511/8192", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "3", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF CVAPattern": "[2, 0, 2, 0, 0, 1, 1, 2]", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Normal", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Manual Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "38", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF GainControl": "None", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF SubjectDistanceRange": "0", "EXIF BodySerialNumber": "3043317", "EXIF LensSpecification": "[24, 70, 14/5, 14/5]", "EXIF LensModel": "24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8"}