Afghanistan War News Updates -- April 30, 2017

Reuters: U.S. Marines back in Helmand as Afghanistan 'stalemate' continues

The U.S. Marine Corps has returned to Helmand, the restive province in southern Afghanistan where it fought years of bloody battles with the Taliban, to help train Afghan forces struggling to contain the insurgency.

Many of the 300 Marines coming to Helmand as part of the NATO-led Resolute Support training mission are veterans of previous tours in the province, where almost 1,000 coalition troops, mostly U.S. and British, were killed fighting the Taliban.

When they left in 2014, handing over the sprawling desert base they knew as Camp Leatherneck to the Afghan army, the Marines never expected to return. The fact that they are back underlines the problems Afghan forces have faced since being left to fight alone.

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Afghanistan War News Updates -- April 30, 2017

Marines Return to Helmand Province for a Job They Thought Was Done -- NYT
'It feels like Groundhog Day': US Marines return to Helmand province -- The Guardian
US marines return to Taliban stronghold of Helmand -- Al Jazeera
1700 Troops Head To Afghanistan As Taliban Declares Fighting Season Is On -- Daily

Caller
US Army Will Send 1500 Troops To Afghanistan For Summer 2017 -- Newsweek
The Pentagon is considering up to 5,000 additional troops for Afghanistan -- Military Times
More British troops could be on their way to Afghanistan as Nato considers mission boost -- The Telegraph
2 Taliban commanders reportedly killed in US strike in Pakistan -- Long War Journal
Haqqani network and ISIS militants among 53 killed in airstrikes: MoD -- Khaama Press
Taliban vows to ‘harass, capture, kill’ enemies in fresh spring offensive in Afghanistan -- RT
US: Top Islamic State leader in Afghanistan Likely Dead -- VOA
A Look at Islamic State's Operations in Afghanistan -- VOA
Sixty percent of Taliban funding said derived from illegal opium trade -- World Tribune
Taliban are main reason behind US forces presence in Afghanistan: Hekmatyar -- Khaama Pres
Afghanistan tense as warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar returns to the fold -- Sydney Morning Herald
Visit at Ground Zero – From the MOAB Attack Site in Afghanistan -- Defense Update
MOAB’s Bright Flash turns Into a Dud in Afghanistan -- Abdullah Sharif, Huffington Post
How to win peace in Afghanistan -- Stephen J. Hadley, Andrew Wilder and Scott Worden, Gulf News
More U.S. troops might turn the tide of war in Afghanistan -- Ahmad Shah Katawazai, Military Times