News Story: Officials Speak Of Daesh Presence In Zabul, Nangarhar

Officials in Zabul and Nangarhar said on Wednesday that Daesh insurgents are still active in parts of the two provinces and that the insurgent group is trying to extend its presence to other areas but has so far failed.

Khak Afghan district in Zabul was reportedly Daesh's first base in the province but local officials said the group has extended its territory to other parts of the province.

"Arghandab, Daichopan, Mizan and Nawbahar districts are witnessing a huge presence of foreign Taliban. Two years ago they raised the Daesh flag but have now pledged their allegiance to al-Qaeda, but they are the same people," said Attaullah Haq Bayan, head of Zabul provincial council.

Read the full story at TOLOnews

Think Tank: Rapid Fire (31-Mar-2015)

Sarah Hately

In this week’s Rapid Fire we update on Boko Haram, Yemen, the Tikrit campaign, US troops in Afghanistan, chemical weapons in Syria, and the ‘Warlord Problem’ in Ukraine.

Trouble continues in Nigeria as the presidential election commences. Troops from Chad and Niger claim that without a sustained Nigerian presence they have to ‘take certain towns twice’ which has significant ‘human and material cost’. Chadian President Idriss Déby has also been fiercely critical of how uncooperative the Nigerian military has been, saying that without support the Chadian army is ‘wasting time.’

The increased tension comes days after reports surfaced that at least 400 women and children were kidnapped by Boko Haram as they made their retreat from the Nigerian town of Damasak. An article from Reuters quotes residents of the town who claim to have seen the kidnappings occur. A spokesperson from the Nigerian military however has refuted the claims, stating that ‘there was no kidnapping… the people have been rescued and moved.’

News Story: Pakistan To Aid Saudi Coalition in Yemen

By Usman Ansari

ISLAMABAD — Analysts are unsure how Pakistan will contribute to the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen now that it appears to have committed itself. They say the Army and Air Force are preoccupied at home fighting the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), but its relationship with Riyadh left it with little choice but to fall into line.

Though having been reported as being a member of the coalition, Pakistan had hitherto only pledged to defend Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity, not become involved in military action in Yemen.

There seems to be little domestic appetite for the Yemeni operation in Pakistan due to fears of blowback from a wider sectarian conflict.

Former Australian defense attache to Islamabad Brian Cloughley says there is also little support for the mission within Pakistan's military, but he notes that the military leadership can be overruled by the prime minister.

According to Maj Gen Asif Bajwa, the head of the military's inter services media relation's branch, the Army already has nearly 300 personnel in Saudi Arabia. They have been taking part in Samsun 5, the latest in a series of annual bilateral military exercises, but any link with the ongoing situation has been denied.

However, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Monday was reported to have agreed to fully support the operation, and that it has been the source of bilateral discussions for a number of months.

Read the full story at DefenseNews

USA: Carter Engages With Indonesian, Regional Leaders

US Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter

By Cheryl Pellerin

American Forces Press Service

JAKARTA, Indonesia, March 20, 2013 – On the last leg of his week long trip to Asia, Deputy Defense Secretary Ash Carter spent two days here visiting defense and government officials, delivering remarks at an international conference, and holding bilateral talks with leaders from nations in the region.

This was Carter’s second trip to Asia since January 2012, when President Barack Obama announced details of the new U.S. defense strategy.

A main element of the strategy was a rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region for U.S. military forces after a decade-long focus on the Middle East made necessary by a war in Iraq that ended in December 2011 and a war in Afghanistan that will end in December 2014.

Carter arrived in Jakarta on March 18 after visits this week with leaders in Japan, South Korea and the Philippines. Today, he spoke on the opening day the third Jakarta International Defense Dialogue, called the JIDD.

Carter spoke today during the event's first session, an international panel, reaffirming the strategic importance of the U.S. rebalance to the Asia-Pacific region and outlining how the United States is implementing the rebalance from a defense perspective.