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Trump's New Strategy? US Drastically Ramps Up Afghanistan Airstrikes

© AP Photo / Rahmat GulAfghan security police stand guard at the destroyed house after an operation in Asad Khil near the site of a U.S. bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan
Afghan security police stand guard at the destroyed house after an operation in Asad Khil near the site of a U.S. bombing in the Achin district of Jalalabad, east of Kabul, Afghanistan - Sputnik International
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In comparison to August, September saw a 50-percent increase in the number of bombs dropped by the United States military on Afghanistan in the fight against Taliban and Daesh militants.

"This increase can be attributed to the president's strategy to more proactively target extremist groups that threaten the stability and security of the Afghan people," the US Air Forces Central Command's report said.

It mentioned a total of 751 bombs released by the US military in Afghanistan last month, in what has become the highest monthly total in the past seven years.

In this July 24, 2016 file photo, a US military personal stands guard during a graduation ceremony for Afghan troops, in Lashkargah, capital of southern Helmand province, Afghanistan. - Sputnik International
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The report also cited the recent deployment of six F-16s to Bagram Air Base, "coupled with more B-52 missions dedicated to Afghanistan," something that "offers the additional strike capacity" to fight the extremists groups there.

In August 2012, the US dropped 589 bombs on Afghanistan, while the past nine months have seen a total of 3,238 bombs released in Afghanistan by the US military, according to US Air Forces Central Command data quoted by the Press TV news agency.

During a speech on August 21, President Trump announced a new strategy of giving more freedom to US military commanders to use force in Afghanistan. He pledged to keep US forces fighting there until extremist threats to Afghanistan were resolved. 

An Afghan National Army soldier, center, takes his position, following weeks of heavy clashes to recapture the area from Taliban militants in Dand-e Ghouri district in Baghlan province, north of Kabul, Afghanistan (File) - Sputnik International
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He said that he had decided to send more US troops, but declined to announce the specific numbers.

He also said that US military commanders were ordered to focus on destroying terrorist forces and to abandon all efforts at nation-building in Afghanistan.

Right now, about 8,400 US troops alongside 5,000 more from NATO forces are deployed in Afghanistan.

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