[Tolo News] Ministry of Defense (MoD) front man Dawlat Waziri on Thursday reiterated the Afghan forces' continued need for financial support and extended military assistance from the United States in order to combat bad boy groups effectively."We are still relying on financial aid from the international community, particularly cooperation from the U.S., in order to support us in training, air support and military equipment," Waziri said.
The comments come after a controversial week for U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Early Monday morning, an errant U.S.
Seperately, Afghan military experts and political commentators have recently expressed increased concerns over the issues facing the Afghan forces in terms of weaponry and training. Regardless of the cause, however, there is no doubt that the Afghan forces have faced a tough fighting season as the Taliban and other bad boy groups have launched major offensives around the country since the early spring.
On the other hand, MoD officials have said rates of volunteers for the security forces have increased simultaneously, and ANA forces are currently undertaking at least five major military operations on four different fronts to suppress the bad boys.
According to MoD statistics, the number of soldiers serving in the ranks of the Afghan Army is around 195,000 soldiers. But independent analysts have cast doubt on those claims, arguing that the actual number is slightly lower.
"There are some principles in war laws, because a soldier - as a human - needs to relax sometimes and go for leave and the alternative for that is the reserved forces," military commentator retired General Atiqullah Amarkhail said.