US Special Forces Deployed to Farah near the Afghanistan-Iran border

The Afghan Ministry of Defense has confirmed that US Special Forces have been deployed to the western province of Farah near the Iranian border.

The deployment comes despite President Donald Trump’s election campaign promises to end US military intervention in Afghanistan.

Since Trump took office, the number of troops has nearly doubled in Afghanistan – from 8,500 in early 2017 to 14,000 earlier this year.

The USA invaded Afghanistan with the express aim of defeating Taliban, but the freedom fighters are openly active in 70% of the country, a study revealed by the BBC.

The remote and sparsely-populated province of Farah has become a higher-profile target for the Taliban as the government plans to build a multi-billion-dollar pipeline in the province that also involves Turkmenistan, Pakistan, and India.

The Farah province has been the scene of several major attacks in the recent past. This weekend, three Czech soldiers who were on a NATO foot patrol in eastern Afghanistan were killed in an attack claimed by the Taliban, which said it had killed 8 “US invaders.”

“The hostile invaders had to send in three helicopter ambulances to help protect their forces,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in statement.

Afghanistan exports 98% of the world opium production, while it also holds many more lucrative minerals to be explored and extracted.

BBC / ABC Flash Point NATO News 2018.