Publication

This backgrounder 1) provides a detailed threat map that depicts Taliban and ISIS control/support zones across Afghanistan as of 23 February 2016; and 2) clarifies the status of districts that have been attacked by Taliban militants in 2015 and 2016. The data basically tells us that the security situation vis-à-vis the Taliban continues to deteriorate, primarily because Afghanistan National Security Forces (ANSF) are overextended and US-NATO forces are absent. As a result, the Taliban is both expanding and consolidating its hold over Helmand Province and elsewhere. In the case of ISIS, however, the ANSF recently made substantial gains against the group in Eastern Afghanistan, as explained in the text.