Afghan forces uncover clandestine 'military uniform-making factory'

Afghan National Security forces secure the corpse of a Taliban fighter dressed in a US military uniform following simultaneous insurgent attacks against US bases in Khost province, Aug. 28, 2010. Many of the attackers were dressed in US military uniforms. Photo: Reuters.

An amazing discovery by Afghan officials and security forces of a small factory in Kabul that literally was creating Afghan army uniforms along with housing all of the "accessories" to go along with said uniforms. This helps explain a lot regarding many of the latest attacks by the Taliban that have seen amazing infiltration.

From the report at The Long War Journal:

On Aug. 1, Afghan authorities led by members of the National Police Force uncovered "a large military uniform-making factory in the Parwane Du area of Kabul," the Ministry of Interior told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesman Ghulam Seddiq Sadiqi said Afghan police arrested two individuals working at the location and confiscated 222 magazine holsters, garments and materials used in making military uniforms, eight sewing machines, and other production materials. Alarmingly, the Ministry spokesman said those operating the clandestine clothing workshop "might have links to anti-government fighters." The investigation is ongoing.

Insurgents aligned with the Taliban and the Haqqani Network (and the Kabul Attack Network) have repeatedly used authentic and bootleg copies of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police uniforms to conduct complex assaults against urban targets. On April 18, insurgents wearing Afghan National Army (ANA) uniforms stormed the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Kabul, killing two soldiers and injuring scores of others. As previously reported by The Long War Journal, the suicide bomber, who was wearing an Afghan Army uniform and carried military identification papers, was able to get past several layers of security and enter the main building of the Ministry of Defense in the Afghan capital. According to reports, the bodyguard to the defense minister, and the secretary of the Army Chief of Staff were among the seven people wounded in the attack.

On June 18, three Taliban suicide bombers dressed in ANA uniforms launched an attack against the police station in the 1st nahiya (district) in Kabul, near the Finance Ministry, killing nine people.

Earlier this year, in what may be the most savage attack attributed to Taliban militants disguised as Afghan national security forces, militants from the Haqqani Network dressed in Afghan Border Police uniforms overran the Kabul Bank location in the eastern city of Jalalabad on February 19, killing at least 42 people, nearly all of them civilians. Most of the victims were executed at point-blank range as they were corralled inside the bank building by the gunmen. Over 70 others were injured in the ensuing gun fight and suicide-bomb detonations.

As you can see from the article, it doesn't look like it was just army uniforms that were being constructed at this factory- there probably were police and border police uniforms as well. I'm not certain of the origin of this technique in the history of war and of terror but we saw an Iranian influence of this technique in the War in Iraq - there was one infamous terror plot where some of the most sophisticated copies of uniforms was done and it was discovered that it was all linked to Iranian Qods forces being behind it.

Afghan forces uncover clandestine 'military uniform-making factory'


On Aug. 1, Afghan authorities led by members of the National Police Force uncovered "a large military uniform-making factory in the Parwane Du area of Kabul," the Ministry of Interior told reporters at a press conference on Tuesday.

Ministry spokesman Ghulam Seddiq Sadiqi said Afghan police arrested two individuals working at the location and confiscated 222 magazine holsters, garments and materials used in making military uniforms, eight sewing machines, and other production materials. Alarmingly, the Ministry spokesman said those operating the clandestine clothing workshop "might have links to anti-government fighters." The investigation is ongoing.

Insurgents aligned with the Taliban and the Haqqani Network (and the Kabul Attack Network) have repeatedly used authentic and bootleg copies of Afghan National Army and Afghan National Police uniforms to conduct complex assaults against urban targets. On April 18, insurgents wearing Afghan National Army (ANA) uniforms stormed the Ministry of Defense headquarters in Kabul, killing two soldiers and injuring scores of others. As previously reported by The Long War Journal, the suicide bomber, who was wearing an Afghan Army uniform and carried military identification papers, was able to get past several layers of security and enter the main building of the Ministry of Defense in the Afghan capital. According to reports, the bodyguard to the defense minister, and the secretary of the Army Chief of Staff were among the seven people wounded in the attack.

On June 18, three Taliban suicide bombers dressed in ANA uniforms launched an attack against the police station in the 1st nahiya (district) in Kabul, near the Finance Ministry, killing nine people.

Earlier this year, in what may be the most savage attack attributed to Taliban militants disguised as Afghan national security forces, militants from the Haqqani Network dressed in Afghan Border Police uniforms overran the Kabul Bank location in the eastern city of Jalalabad on February 19, killing at least 42 people, nearly all of them civilians. Most of the victims were executed at point-blank range as they were corralled inside the bank building by the gunmen. Over 70 others were injured in the ensuing gun fight and suicide-bomb detonations.

Previously, members of the Taliban and Haqqani Network have used this tactic to raid a series of government buildings in Khost City and Gardez, and have targeted NATO bases at Bagram and in Jalalabad. Yesterday's seizure of the clandestine military uniform production facility is the latest operation conducted by the Ministry of the Interior against the terror cells active in Kabul City. Afghan authorities have broken up three planned terror assaults against military and civilian infrastructure inside Kabul since last month, nearly all of which included militants to be dressed as Afghan National Army officers.

The replication, manufacture, sale, and possession of Afghan National Army fatigues is illegal in Afghanistan.

Afghan Army Battalion Has Their Asses Handed To Them By Taliban and Al Qaeda Force Along Pakistan Border

This is not good, but it certainly is an indicator of what would happen if U.S. and NATO forces were to withdraw from the Afghanistan War - please be aware that in this failed operation by Afghan forces along the Pakistani border, NO U.S. troops or NATO troops were involved at all.

To understand just what happened, let's look at what The Long War Journal had to say about it:

The fighting began on Aug. 4, when about 300 men from a battalion of the First Brigade, 201st Afghan Army Corps launched an offensive in Badpakh in Laghman. The attack took place in an area bordering Kunar province, a known safe haven for al Qaeda an the Taliban.

The Afghan Army did not rely on US or Coalition forces to support its battalion-sized assault, which included an element air assaulting behind Taliban lines. According to The New York Times, the Taliban had information on the operation and laid in ambush for the main battalion force. The Taliban inflicted heavy casualties on the main force while the air assault team was cut off due to the Afghan Air Force helicopters being grounded due to weather. At one point in the battle, the Afghan Army Corps headquarters lost communications with the battalion.

One Afghan company is said to have been hit hard, with 13 soldiers killed and more than 20 missing, according to reports from Pajhwok Afghan News and The New York Times. Two policemen were also reported killed and four more are said to be missing.

The Taliban claimed to have killed 27 Afghan soldiers and captured 25 more. The Taliban is said to have lost 20 fighters during the clashes. Casualties on both sides could not be confirmed as the fighting is ongoing. Both sides, as well as tribal elders, have appeals for the Red Cross and the Red Crescent to intervene to help remove bodies from the battlefield. US and French forces have been called in to aid the beleaguered Afghan Army battalion.

The Taliban also captured and destroyed dozens of Army and police pickup trucks. A Taliban commander named Mullah Qahir is said to be driving one of the police pickup trucks.

There's one more disturbing aspect of this battle that has to be pointed out:

The Taliban in Laghman who repelled the Afghan Army assault are thought to have been aided by the Lashkar al Zil, or the Shadow Army, the military arm of al Qaeda which is made up of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, as well as Arabs, and Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. The Lashkar al Zil is also known at the Jaish al Usrah, or the Army of the Protective Shield. The Lashkar al Zil operates six brigades in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, including Brigade 055, al Qaeda's original military formation, which was created during the rule of the Taliban in the 1990s.

Now, this situation of utter failure by a significant Afghan army force gives me the opportunity to point out just why I have continued to claim that the Taliban and al Qaeda would take back control of Afghanistan in about one year if U.S. and NATO troops were to leave.

Look at this operation under a microscope - look at the horseshit planning...the Afgans literally picked a day for the operation where weather was going to be a huge detriment to the use of attack helicopters so they literally lost not only their eyes in the sky but any kind of rescue effort from air support. Then, the whole operation was compromised - whether it was from spies inside the battalion or from Taliban scouting the battalion, the fact of the matter is the Afghans walked into a trap. And finally, this all points out how the Afghans are tooling around in vulnerable pickup trucks while facing such weapons as RPG's - and many of these vehicles were being commanded by basic Afghan police.

To say I'm shocked that the Afghans would actually even attempt this on their own is an understatement, but like I say, it points out just out ill prepard the Afghan army is to defend that country.

I may have to revise my estimate to read that the Taliban and al Qaeda can take back Afghanistan in as little as SIX months.

Taliban, al Qaeda force repel Afghan Army assault in eastern Afghanistan


The Taliban and al Qaeda repelled an assault by a battalion of the Afghan Army along the Pakistani border in the eastern province of Laghman, and inflicted heavy casualties on the Afghan unit.

The fighting began on Aug. 4, when about 300 men from a battalion of the First Brigade, 201st Afghan Army Corps launched an offensive in Badpakh in Laghman. The attack took place in an area bordering Kunar province, a known safe haven for al Qaeda an the Taliban.

The Afghan Army did not rely on US or Coalition forces to support its battalion-sized assault, which included an element air assaulting behind Taliban lines. According to The New York Times, the Taliban had information on the operation and laid in ambush for the main battalion force. The Taliban inflicted heavy casualties on the main force while the air assault team was cut off due to the Afghan Air Force helicopters being grounded due to weather. At one point in the battle, the Afghan Army Corps headquarters lost communications with the battalion.

One Afghan company is said to have been hit hard, with 13 soldiers killed and more than 20 missing, according to reports from Pajhwok Afghan News and The New York Times. Two policemen were also reported killed and four more are said to be missing.

The Taliban claimed to have killed 27 Afghan soldiers and captured 25 more. The Taliban is said to have lost 20 fighters during the clashes. Casualties on both sides could not be confirmed as the fighting is ongoing. Both sides, as well as tribal elders, have appeals for the Red Cross and the Red Crescent to intervene to help remove bodies from the battlefield. US and French forces have been called in to aid the beleaguered Afghan Army battalion.

The Taliban also captured and destroyed dozens of Army and police pickup trucks. A Taliban commander named Mullah Qahir is said to be driving one of the police pickup trucks.

Al Qaeda's Shadow Army involved in fighting

The Taliban in Laghman who repelled the Afghan Army assault are thought to have been aided by the Lashkar al Zil, or the Shadow Army, the military arm of al Qaeda which is made up of the Afghan and Pakistani Taliban, as well as Arabs, and Pakistani and Central Asian jihadist groups, a senior US military intelligence official told The Long War Journal. The Lashkar al Zil is also known at the Jaish al Usrah, or the Army of the Protective Shield. The Lashkar al Zil operates six brigades in the Afghan-Pakistan border region, including Brigade 055, al Qaeda's original military formation, which was created during the rule of the Taliban in the 1990s. Units have also been established in Yemen and Somalia.

"The ability to defeat a battalion of organized forces, even the Afghan Army, in the manner which happened in Laghman, is no small task," the official told The Long War Journal. "The Taliban force stood toe-to-toe with an army battalion, and routed them."

Evidence of foreign involvement was reported in the Afghan press. One Arab and One Chechen were killed in the fighting in Laghman over the past 24 hours, according to Khost Radio News. A spokesman for the provincial governor claimed four foreign fighters were captured, but he did not disclose their nationality.

The Lashkar al Zil has been involved in some of the more high-profile, complex assaults in Afghanistan over the past several years, including an assault on a US outpost in Wanat in Nuristan in July 2008, the deadly ambush of a French battalion in Kabul province in August 2008, assaults on two combat outposts in Kamdesh in Nuristan in October 2009, and most recently, a sustained assault in the district of Barg-e-Matal in Nuristan in July 2010.

The Taliban and al Qaeda have been stepping up efforts in eastern Afghanistan as ISAF and Afghan forces focus on tamping down the insurgency in Kandahar and Helmand in the south, according to General Mohammad Zaman Mamozai, the commander of the Afghan Border Police in the east. The Afghan Taliban "are being supported by other terrorist networks including Al Qaeda, Tajikistani, Chechen, and Pakistani Taliban," as well as Taliban fighters from Waziristan, Mamozai told Larawbar and BBC Urdu. According to Mamozai, the Taliban and al Qaeda fighters stage agross the border in Pakistan's tribal agency of Bajaur. The top commanders are Arab, Pakistan, Chechen, or Tajiks, Mamozai said.