The Long War Journal (Site-Wide)

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• Foreign fighters involved in assault on Ghazni, Afghan defense minister says
• Video from Ghazni City shows Taliban on streets as buildings ablaze
• State designates Iran-based Bahraini militant as terrorist
• Taliban seizes second district in Ghazni as provincial capital remains contested

Foreign fighters involved in assault on Ghazni, Afghan defense minister says Posted: 13 Aug 2018 12:38 PM PDT Al Qaeda has long operated in Ghazni province, the site of a large-scale Taliban offensive in recent days. In 2010, Osama bin Laden ordered his men to relocate from northern Pakistan into Ghazni and other Afghan provinces. Bin Laden's lieutenant also wrote in mid-2010 that al Qaeda had "very strong military activity" in at least eight Afghan provinces, including Ghazni. More recently, American and Afghan forces have targeted al Qaeda operatives in the province.

Video from Ghazni City shows Taliban on streets as buildings ablaze Posted: 13 Aug 2018 08:45 AM PDT Meanwhile, Resolute Support continues its claim Ghazni City is under Afghan control and uses Taliban body counts as a measure of success.

State designates Iran-based Bahraini militant as terrorist Posted: 13 Aug 2018 08:35 AM PDT This now makes two Iranian-based leaders of Bahraini militant group Saraya al Ashtar, or the Al Ashtar Brigades, to be designated as global terrorists by the US State Department.

Taliban seizes second district in Ghazni as provincial capital remains contested Posted: 13 Aug 2018 08:04 AM PDT The current fighting in and around Ghazni City indicates that the Taliban has a detailed plan to tie up Afghan forces while attempting to seize the provincial capital. Additionally, the Taliban was able to mass its forces undetected; the Afghan military was clearly caught off guard and is struggling to get into the fight four days after the Taliban launched its attack.