BRUSSELS: Pentagon chief Jim Mattis met NATO allies Thursday to brief them on US strategy in Afghanistan, as the head of the alliance said it would bolster troop numbers to help train local forces to contain a resurgent Taliban.
Members of the 29-member NATO are looking to Mattis for fresh insight about President Donald Trump’s intentions in a war that has dragged on for nearly 16 years since 9/11, and one which even US generals concede is a “stalemate” at best.
“I’ll share with them our appreciation of the situation, assessment of the situation, and talk about what we’re doing in terms of framing the strategy and filling in any gaps left in the strategy,” Mattis told reporters as he flew to Europe.
Diplomatic sources said an increase of up to 3,000 troops from the current number of 13,500 is under consideration, while US officials have said the number might be more like 4,000.
NATO played the lead role in Afghan security from 2003 to the end of 2014, when it handed frontline duties to the Afghan military and took on its current advise-and-assist mission known as Resolute Support.
But just over two years on, NATO commanders want more troops after recent gains by the Taliban, who have inflicted catastrophic losses on the struggling Afghan security forces.
Such requests are stoking fears that NATO could get sucked back into the conflict just as it faces a host of new threats including Russia, terrorism and cyberattacks.
Stoltenberg confirmed that NATO would increase its troop numbers but these forces would not be in combat.
He said 15 countries had already pledged more contributions and he hoped for more, without giving a precise figure in either case.
“We have to understand this is about training, assistance, advice... It is not to conduct combat operations but to help the Afghans fight,” Stoltenberg said.
The extra troops could help bolster Afghan special forces, improve Kabul’s air force to provide ground support and evacuations, and step up officer training, the former Norwegian premier added.
US troop levels peaked at around 100,000 under Barack Obama, who later embarked on a steady drawdown aiming to completely end America’s combat role in the country.
British Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said London would provide nearly 100 troops, on top of 500 already in Afghanistan.
“We’re in it for the long haul,” Fallon told reporters.
Norwegian Defense Minister Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide said Norway had just prolonged its engagement in Afghanistan.
“We expect that other allies will also come around and give the same contributions and also some of the same kind of commitments,” she said.
Mattis was due to brief allies later Thursday, but Stoltenberg said he did not expect him to give specific troop numbers.
What we are “going to do is try to construct a capability that fills specific gaps, not just throws numbers against the wall,” Mattis said.
Mattis, a retired Marine general who fought in Afghanistan, has stressed that his new approach, to be presented to Trump by the middle of July, will have a broader “regional” emphasis and not be beholden to any timelines.
Trump has remained remarkably taciturn on Afghanistan, but this month gave Mattis authority to set troop numbers at whatever level he sees fit.
The US president has pushed NATO to do more to counter terror and for the allies to increase defense spending to ease the burden on Washington.
Stung into action by Russia’s intervention in Ukraine, NATO has embarked on its biggest military buildup since the end of the Cold War to face a more assertive Moscow.
Defense ministers discussed progress just as four “tripwire” battalions totalling some 4,000 troops complete their deployment in the three Baltic states and Poland.
In a statement to mark the event, the four countries and the four lead nations — Britain, Canada, Germany and the United States — said the battle groups were “ready and able to deter and, if necessary, immediately respond to any aggression.”
Stoltenberg warned on Wednesday that NATO must also step up its defenses against cyberattacks after ransomware hackers caused chaos worldwide.
The global terror threat, highlighted by the Daesh group, also figures high on the ministers’ agenda after NATO leaders agreed at a summit last month to join the US-led anti-Daesh coalition.
NATO looks to Mattis for Afghanistan plan
NATO looks to Mattis for Afghanistan plan
Russian strike on Kharkiv hardware store kills two: official
Videos posted by witnesses on social media showed a huge column of black smoke billowing into the sky from the Epitsentr store
KYIV: A Russian strike on Saturday hit a store selling building materials in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, killing at least two people, its mayor said.
“We know for sure about two dead,” Kharkiv mayor Igor Terekhov wrote on Telegram, saying that according to preliminary information the strike hit a hypermarket for construction materials in a residential area.
Kharkiv regional governor Oleg Synegubov said that “two Russian guided bombs hit a construction hypermarket” and “a fire broke out over 15,000 square meters.”
Videos posted by witnesses on social media showed a huge column of black smoke billowing into the sky from the Epitsentr store, located in an area of large stores beside a car park. The chain of hypermarkets sells household and DIY goods.
“We have a large number of people missing. There are many wounded,” Terekhov wrote on Telegram.
“Apparently, the attack was on a shopping center where there were many people — this is pure terrorism.”
The city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest, regularly comes under attack from Russian missiles.
Strikes on the city killed at least seven people on Thursday, local authorities said.
Russia launched a ground offensive in the northeastern Kharkiv region on May 10, but Ukraine said Friday that it had managed to halt its progress.
British man charged after allegedly joining Syrian terror group
LONDON: A British man who allegedly travelled to Syria to fight for the Jaish Al-Fatah group has been charged with terrorism offences, the Metropolitan Police said on Saturday.
Isa Giga was arrested after arriving in London aboard a flight from Turkey on Thursday.
He was due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Saturday. He is suspected of traveling to commit acts of terrorism.
“We have been clear for some time now that should anyone return to the UK whom we suspect of being involved in any terrorist-related activity overseas, then they can expect to be thoroughly investigated,” Commander Dominic Murphy, head of the force’s Counter Terrorism Command told the BBC.
“We work very closely with other partners and agencies here in the UK and overseas in order to do this and help keep the public safe.”
A mob in Pakistan burns down a house and beats a Christian over alleged desecration of Qur’an
- The incident occurred Saturday in the Mujahid Colony residential area in Sargodha
- Police quickly responded and saved the lives of the two men
LAHORE: Hundreds of Muslims in eastern Pakistan went on a rampage over allegations that a Christian man had desecrated the pages of Islam’s holy book, ransacking and burning his house and beating him before police officers rescued the man and his father, officials said.
The incident occurred Saturday in the Mujahid Colony residential area in Sargodha, a city in Punjab province, said district police chief Ijaz Malhi. He said police quickly responded and saved the lives of the two men.
Malhi said the situation was under control and officers were investigating the allegations.
The incident brought back memories of one of the worst attacks on Christians in Pakistan in August 2023, when angry mobs burned churches and attacked dozens in Jaranwala, a district in Punjab province. Muslim residents claimed they saw a Christian and his friend tearing out pages from a Qur’an and throwing them on the ground. No one was killed. In 2009, six Christians were killed and some 60 homes burned down in the district of Gojra in Punjab following allegations of insults to Islam.
Malhi said police on Saturday dispersed the crowds and were also seeking help from religious scholars to defuse tensions. The Punjab government condemned the attack.
The man’s small shoemaking factory was also burned down, Malhi said.
Blasphemy accusations are common in Pakistan.
Under the country’s blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death. While no one has been executed for blasphemy, often just an accusation can cause riots and incite mobs to violence, lynching and killings.
More than 10,000 people reach UK on small boats since January
- The latest numbers on a government website showed 10,170 arrived between January and May 25
- The plan has been bogged down by legal obstacles for more than two years
LONDON: More than 10,000 asylum seekers have arrived in Britain in small boats so far this year, updated government data showed on Saturday, underlining a key challenge facing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of a July 4 national election.
The number of people landing on England’s southern beaches after making the dangerous Channel crossing fell by a third in 2023, but the latest numbers on a government website showed 10,170 arrived between January and May 25, up from 7,395 over the same period last year.
Sunak, who announced the election date on Wednesday, said later this week that asylum seekers who come to Britain illegally would not be deported to Rwanda before the vote — casting doubt on one of his Conservative Party’s flagship policies.
The plan has been bogged down by legal obstacles for more than two years, and the opposition Labour Party, which is about 20 points ahead in opinion polls and seen on track to end 14 years of Conservative rule, has promised to scrap the policy if it wins the election.
Labour’s shadow immigration minister Stephen Kinnock said Sunak’s government had not done enough to tackle the issue.
“Because all the government’s efforts are now focused on getting a few hundred people flown to Rwanda, they have lost sight of the thousands more who are crossing the Channel every month,” Kinnock said in a statement.
Labour has said if elected it would create a Border Security Command that would bring together staff from the police, the domestic intelligence agency and prosecutors to work with international agencies to stop people smuggling.
Supporters, opponents of Tehran clash in London
- Event to mark death of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi descends into violence
- 4 injured, 1 arrested: Metropolitan Police
LONDON: Clashes in London between supporters and opponents of Iran’s government on Friday left four people with injuries, Sky News reported on Saturday.
One person was arrested on suspicion of violent disorder following the clashes.
Metropolitan Police officers were called to the scene at about 6 p.m. following reports of violence.
Pro-Tehran demonstrators had held an event to mark the death of President Ebrahim Raisi, who died in a helicopter crash last week.
Outside the venue, anti-Tehran protesters held a counter-demonstration, and clashes broke out between the two sides.
A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said four people were treated by paramedics for injuries. “Their injuries are not believed to be either life threatening or life changing,” the spokesperson added.
“Further inquiries will now follow to establish what further offences took place and to identify those involved.”
