Truest statement of the week II

At least 100 US Special Forces engaged in clashes with Taliban insurgents near the northern Afghan city of Kunduz on Wednesday. The US commandos were part of a larger force of US-NATO and Afghan troops attempting to retake the strategic northern city, which was partially captured by a small Taliban invasion force on Monday morning.
US military aircraft launched at least eight strikes against targets in Kunduz this week in support of the Western-led ground operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. As of Friday morning, Afghan commandos and Western “advisers” were still engaged in fighting on the outskirts of the city, according to Al Jazeera.

The US-led combat operations come fully nine months after the official “end” of the US war in Afghanistan, announced with great fanfare by US President Barack Obama at the end of December 2014. Obama vowed at the time that US involvement in combat would cease during 2015, and the US military presence would be progressively reduced to a mere “residue force” by the end of 2016.

-- Thomas Gaist, "US Special Forces fight Taliban militants in Kunduz, Afghanistan" (WSWS).