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Last month, American Gen. John Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in Afghanistan, said the coalition needs a few thousand more troops to help with training and advising the Afghan troops.

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Afghan Foreign Minister Salahuddin Rabbani said on Sunday that additional troops would help Afghanistan combat the serious security threat posed by the activities of terrorist groups in the country, report Pakistani and Turkish news outlets.

Rabbani left for the U.S. Sunday to participate in a Meeting of the Ministers of the Global Coalition to CounterDaesh [Islamic State].

The most potent terror organization in the country remains the Taliban, which continues to wreak havoc more than 15 years after U.S. troops entered the country to defeat them and their ally al-Qaeda.Both groups remain active.

Gen. Nicholson noted late last year that the Afghanistan-Pakistan region is home to the largest concentration of U.S. and United Nations-designated terrorist groups seven in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan.

Currently, there are an estimated 13,300 foreign troops in Afghanistan, including about 8,400 Americans.

Despite the ongoing threat posed by the Taliban, U.S. troops reportedly lost their ability to offensively target the terrorist group when former President Barack Obama ended the combat mission in Afghanistan at the end of 2014.

Since then, the American troops have only been able to shoot at the Taliban when they attack first or when the Afghan forces request it.

There was a steady withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan under Obama, who failed to keep his promise to end the war in the country.

Terrorists, mainly the Taliban, have killed at least 2,247 U.S. troops in Afghanistan since the war started in October 2001 and wounded another 20,203.

The majority of casualties during the conflict took place under Obamas watch.

Afghan Foreign Minister Rabbanis comments endorsing the U.S. call for more foreign troops in Afghanistan come a day after the U.N. Security Council extended the intergovernmental organizations mission in Afghanistan for another year.

The U.N. acknowledged the ongoing threat posed by the Taliban, Al Qaeda, and their alleged mutual rival the Islamic State (ISIS/ISIL) wing in the country, known as the Khorasan Province (IS-KP/ISIL-K).

Before he left to the U.S. Sunday, the Afghan foreign minister noted that Kabul needs international assistance to push ISIS out of Afghanistan.

The U.S. military has identified the ISIS stronghold in the region as Afghanistans opium-rich Nangarhar province, which borders Pakistan.

Afghanistans neighbor Pakistan is considered a terrorist sanctuary by the U.S. and Afghanistan.

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Kabul Supports US Call for More Foreign Troops in Afghanistan - Breitbart News

BBC News

Afghanistan: Horror at Kabul's military hospital BBC News In the Afghan capital, Kabul, there's still widespread shock and anger at the brutal militant attack last week on the city's main military hospital. The authorities have acted swiftly, sacking the deputy interior minister and arresting 24 hospital and ... Russia To Host Talks On Afghan ConflictRadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty UN asks Afghanistan to tackle threats posed by terror groupsEconomic Times Continued threat from AfghanistanPakistan Observer Pajhwok Afghan News (subscription) (blog) -Washington Examiner -The News International all 57 news articles »

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Afghanistan: Horror at Kabul's military hospital - BBC News

SCHLADMING, AUSTRIA -- The parade of athletes at Saturday's opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Winter Games will be short two delegations, as the teams from Ghana and Afghanistan were denied visas to travel to Austria to compete in the event.

"We are deeply saddened that the delegations from Special Olympics Afghanistan and Special Olympics Ghana were not able to obtain visas to travel to participate and compete [in the] Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria," according to a statement released Saturday by Special Olympics International. "Special Olympics is a movement of welcome, opportunity and inclusion, and for these athletes to miss this chance to represent their country on a global stage of acceptance is frustrating and profoundly disappointing. The nine athletes and five Unified partners who will not be with us will be in our hearts as the nearly 2,600 athletes and Unified partners from 105 nations unite the world through sport this week."

Three athletes from Afghanistan were slated to compete in the snowshoeing races being held in Ramsau am Dachstein. And the team from Ghana -- six athletes with intellectual disabilities and their Unified partners -- were slated to participate in the Unified floorball competition in Graz beginning March 19.

"We got word last night that two of our teams, from Ghana and Afghanistan, would not be traveling to Austria for the Games because of visa problems," said Tim Shriver, chairman of the board of Special Olympics International (SOI), during a press conference today. "You hear numbers -- 2,500 athletes -- but there were five athletes on their way back to Kabul last night who were hoping and dreaming of competing here. It's heartbreaking. It's a reminder that, bureaucracy notwithstanding, we have a lot of work to do and a short time to do it."

So far, attempts to reach the Austrian government have been unsuccessful. However, Mohammad Younus Popalzai, secretary general of the Afghan Olympic Committee, said, "As a nation we take all necessary measures and steps to make sure of our participation and representation in all sports events around the world. It's up to the host nation to facilitate our requests and allocate the necessary paperwork or visas so we can represent our nation. It's sad to hear at the last minute that we couldn't get visas to represent our nation in the Special Olympics event in Austria. I hope things like this won't happen in the future."

Earlier in the week, the team from Ghana received word that their entry visas had been denied by the Netherlands Embassy, which represents the Austrian government in Ghana, on the grounds that the athletes would not return to Ghana after the competition.

On Wednesday, March 15, the team held an emotional press conference at the Dzorwulu Special School in Accra, where team captain Isaac Okyere described the decision by the Dutch embassy as "discriminatory, insensitive and inhumane."

"The embassy might have arrived at their decision because to them we are intellectually disabled, so we are not capable of doing anything good for Ghana," Okyere said. "Two years ago, we participated in the Los Angeles Special Olympics World Summer Games and won four silver medals for Ghana. So in spite of our disability, we are determined to develop our potential in sports and also to get well integrated into society.

"It is sad and disheartening that the embassy, without proper checks, will harshly deny athletes who have been to [the] United States for similar games because they are intellectually disabled."

According to reports, a representative from the team then traveled to Nigeria to make a final attempt at the Austrian embassy in Abuja. Meanwhile, the team members remained in Ghana, hoping for a last-minute intervention. Afghanistan's visa troubles went under the radar until Saturday morning, when SOI learned the delegation would not be traveling to Austria.

"We have been in constant communication with both teams, and in both cases, what we heard from the embassies is that they brought the wrong papers, had only copies of their passports," said Markus Pichler, CEO of the Special Olympics World Winter Games 2017. "We were told the athletes from Afghanistan had no experience traveling outside of their country. The situation in these two countries is really difficult. The athletes and programs in these countries are not built up like other countries. There is no great organization. They don't have a lot of experience."

He said both SOI and the Austrian government tried to intervene on both teams' behalf. "We tried to do everything, but we always got the answer 'No, they have the wrong documents,'" said Pichler.

Ghana has been dealing with this situation for more than three weeks. It is unclear how long the team from Afghanistan has had these issues. SOI got word last night that neither team would be traveling to Austria.

"Tim [Shriver] said it best," said Pichler. "For us, it might be a number. On paper, six athletes of more than 2,500 did not attend the 2017 World Games. But for those six, it is a nightmare."

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Ghana, Afghanistan denied visas to enter Austria - ESPN

HomeThe World13 ISIS militants killed in airstrikes in East of Afghanistan

March 19, 2017 Cholo Brooks The World

At least thirty militants affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group were killed in separate airstrikes in eastern Nangarhar province of Afghanistan.

The 201st Silab Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA) forces in East of Afghanistan said the militants were killed in Achin district and Deh Bala area.

The source further added that three of the militants were killed in Achin district while the remaining ten were killed in Deh Bala.

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Source: News Now/ Khaama Press/Afghan News Agency

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Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL), including several other international organizations of journalists.

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13 ISIS militants killed in airstrikes in East of Afghanistan - Global News Network

According to the UN, illicit proceeds of trafficked Afghan opiates total some $28B

home > world, asia - pacific 18.03.2017

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By Shadi Khan Saif

KABUL, Afghanistan

Illegal poppy cultivation in Afghanistan has surged by 10 percent, the countrys Counter-Narcotics Ministry said Saturday.

Ministry spokesman Mohammad Hanif told reporters in Kabul that besides the traditional areas of poppy cultivation in the countrys south and southwest, the northern province of Badghes has fueled much of this years surge in illegal poppy cultivation.

The fall in poppy cultivation that we ensured in a number of provinces last year was negatively influenced by up to 17,000 hectares of poppy cultivation in Badghes this year, he said.

Traditionally, the restive southern belt including the Helmand, Kandahar, Farah, and Nimroz provinces contributed immensely to the stockpiles of poppies cultivated in Afghanistan, but with northern Afghanistan growing ever more insecure, large poppy farms are also emerging there in areas under the influence of militants.

Last year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) said poppy was cultivated on around 201,000 hectares of land across Afghanistan. According to the office, the illicit proceeds of trafficked Afghan opiates total some $28 billion.

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Afghanistan: Illegal poppy cultivation surging 10 pct - Anadolu Agency