A new elite Taliban force is proving its strength in the strategic southern province of Helmand, pointing to the insurgents' ability to refine their battlefield techniques to match Afghanistan's increasingly professional national army.
The Taliban regard Helmand as their heartland. They share Pashtun ethnicity with its residents and the province's vast opium output has helped fund the war against the government in Kabul, now in its fifteenth year.
In recent weeks, the Taliban have taken huge swaths of the province and now they appear to be closing in on the capital, Lashkar Gah.
Afghan officials in Helmand say the army is facing an insurgent fighting force that is better-organized and more skilled than ever. They say the Taliban have been sending men into the fight who appear to be members of a commando-like unit, believed to consist of several hundred elite fighters.
A senior Taliban commander confirmed the existence of the new, highly-trained force.
Speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media, the commander said the force numbered "around 300 fighters now, after starting out with 200." The new commando unit is called Sara Khitta, which means Red Group or Danger Group in Pashto.
"This kind of force is giving us very good results, and we have been discussing whether or not we should deploy this sort of unit more widely," he said.
The Taliban would give no further details, and military officials refused to discuss the subject. But civilian officials in Helmand said the force is led by a commander known as Haji Nasar, former operational head of the Taliban operating in Kandahar and Zabul provinces.
The unit was first deployed in the district of Sangin, in north-eastern Helmand, earlier this year and its success has inspired plans to expand the force to 400 fighters, according to the deputy head of Helmand's provincial council, Abdul Majeed Akhonzada. "They are very dangerous and very successful," he said.
It appears to be the latest development in Taliban tactics. Over the past six months, the insurgents have shown that they are able to modify their approach to suit different terrain.
For instance, in southern Uruzgan they have started closing off local roads and intra-provincial highways to cut supplies to villages and towns, putting local government under pressure. This allows them to expand their territory while launching fewer direct attacks on police checkpoints and buildings, minimizing the number of casualties among the insurgents.
