KABUL, Afghanistan
The Taliban in Afghanistan announced the launch of their spring offensives Wednesday in a year that is seen as a decisive test for the war-torn country’s nascent security forces.
Dubbed "Azm," which means determination, the offensives are aimed to continue until the "complete departure of the foreign troops from Afghanistan," said a statement issued Wednesday by Taliban spokesman Zabih Ullah Mujahid.
"Taliban have already won the 13-year long battle in Afghanistan and have forced foreign troops to withdraw from the country," he claimed.
Since their fall from power some 14 years ago, the Afghan Taliban have been announcing such offensives at the beginning of almost every spring, which also marks the start of the new year in Afghanistan.
In response, the NATO-led Resolute Support (RS) mission released its own statement calling the Taliban’s announcement "empty rhetoric."
The latest statement from the Taliban came amid somewhat longstanding efforts to engage them for peace talks. President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani has sought the help of neighboring Pakistan, China and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in persuading Taliban to join the negotiations table.
However, reports about factions of militants breaking away from the Taliban and declaring their allegiance to Daesh have been increasing lately.
Afghan forces assumed full security responsibilities in the country after the withdrawal from NATO-led troops.
The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force ended its 13-year combat mission in Afghanistan on Dec. 31 2014.
From Jan. 1, 2015, the mission evolved into training and advising the nascent Afghan security forces. The 13,000 foreign troops for the Resolute Support Mission will come from 28 NATO allies and 14 other partner nations.
