The United States has significantly intensified its bombing campaign in Afghanistan in the past two months as part of President Obama’s widening war against the Islamic State militants who have seized territory outside of Iraq and Syria, according to senior military commanders.
American drones and fighter jets dropped 251 bombs and missiles in January and February in Afghanistan, more than three times the strikes in the same period last year, according to data compiled by the Air Force.
The strikes came in response to a decision by Obama around the beginning of the year that gave the military more leeway to launch attacks on Islamic State militants who had gained control over territory in several provinces, including areas in the Tora Bora region, where Osama bin Laden once took refuge.
Afghan and American commanders said that while the strikes have dealt a blow to the Islamic State, they have broader concerns about the security situation in Afghanistan because the Taliban appear stronger than at any point since 2001, and its 20,000 to 40,000 fighters are estimated to be at least 20 times the number of militants aligned with the Islamic State.
The widening nature of the air campaign — and the fact that the United States is increasing its strikes in Afghanistan a little more than a year after Obama declared an end to combat missions there — has set off a debate inside the administration and among national security experts. Some have questioned whether the administration should treat each emerging Islamic State affiliate as a legitimate threat to the United States that requires a military response, and whether the focus should be more on the Taliban than the Islamic State.
Under the current rules of engagement ordered by Obama, American forces can attack the Taliban if they pose a direct threat to those forces. The military has far more latitude to engage fighters from the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL.
Gen. John F. Campbell, the departing American commander in Afghanistan, said that broader authority granted to him by Obama to attack Islamic State fighters had enabled him to take more aggressive measures against the terrorist group.
“We’ve significantly increased our ability to go after ISIL, particularly in Nangarhar,” General Campbell said, referring to the province in eastern Afghanistan that includes part of the Tora Bora mountain region.
