Where’s a MOAB when you need one?
Taliban parades large convoy in Sangin
The Taliban paraded a large convoy of fighters into the district center of Sangin in Helmand province just one month after Resolute Support denied Afghan forces were defeated there. The Taliban force operated openly in the daylight without fear of being targeted by US or Afghan airstrikes.
The Taliban video, simply entitled “Sangin,” was released on Voice of Jihad on May 6. An English-speaking Taliban member narrated the video. When shown, his face is blotted out. According to the Taliban, the video “contains information about the strategic district of Sangin, its conquest by the Mujahideen of Islamic Emirate, barbarity by the foreign forces and the hirelings [Afghan security forces] and the reopening of the bazaar on the first day of the new blessed campaign ‘Operation Mansouri.’ ”
The video showed scores of vehicles, including several US-made Humvees, laden with Taliban fighters entering Sangin’s district center. The Taliban fighters were greeted by hundreds if not thousands of Afghans, while Taliban flags waved throughout the town. A large banner announcing Operation Mansouri, the group’s newly announced spring offensive, is hanging at the entrance to the town.
According to the Taliban, key buildings in the town, including a hospital, were destroyed during US airstrikes on March 22. The Taliban claimed it rebuilt and reopened the bazaar for the commencement of Operation Mansouri, which was announced on April 28.