KABUL: The United States must confront Russia for providing weapons to the Taliban for use against American-backed forces in Afghanistan, top US military officials said on Monday.

At a news conference with Defence Secretary Jim Mattis at his side, Gen. John Nicholson, the American commander in Afghanistan, wouldn’t provide specifics about Russia’s role in Afghanistan. But said he would “not refute” that Moscow’s involvement includes giving weapons to the Taliban.

A senior US military official told reporters in Kabul that Russia was giving machine guns and other medium-weight weapons. The Taliban are using the weapons in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to the official, who briefed journalists on intelligence information on condition of anonymity.

Afghanistan’s defence minister and army chief of staff resign after the deadliest Taliban attack on a military base

Asked about Russia’s activity in Afghanistan, where it fought a bloody war in the 1980s and withdrew in defeat, Mattis alluded to the increasing US concerns.

“We’ll engage with Russia diplomatically,” Mattis said. “We’ll do so where we can, but we’re going to have to confront Russia where what they’re doing is contrary to international law or denying the sovereignty of other countries.” “For example,” Mattis told reporters in the Afghan capital, “any weapons being funnelled here from a foreign country would be a violation of international law.” Mattis met with President Ashraf Ghani and other senior government officials just hours after the nation’s defence minister and Army chief resigned.

Haqqani network held responsible

Nicholson also said that in view of the sophisticated planning behind the attack, “it’s quite possible” that the Pakistan-based Haqqani network was responsible. The Taliban claimed it carried out the attack.

Nicholson, the top American commander in Kabul, recently told Congress that he needs a few thousand more troops to keep Afghan security forces on track to eventually handling the Taliban insurgency on their own.

Afghanistan’s army chief and defence minister resigned on Monday, following a Taliban attack over the weekend that struck a northern army base, killing more than 144 military and other personnel, officials said.President Ashraf Ghani accepted the resignations of the army chief of staff and the country’s defense minister, according to a statement from the president’s office. The official said it appears likely the attack was either carried out by or planned by a Pakistan-based Taliban faction known as the Haqqani network, which is a US government-designated terrorist organiszation.

Four security guards killed by suicide bomber Gen. Faizullah Ghyrat, a provincial police chief in Khost province, said at least four security guards were killed after a suicide bomber attacked their checkpoint in eastern Afghanistan on Monday. He said six other security guards were wounded in the attack.

Published in Dawn, April 25th, 2017