Pfc. Joel D. Dulashanti, a sniper with 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, jots down notes as a spotter for another sniper during their training on the new XM110 Semi-automatic Sniper System held here at Forward Operating Base Salerno, Afghanistan. The SASS will be an addition to the arsenal of weapons the Soldiers of Task Force Fury have at their disposal, such as the older style M24 Sniper Weapon System, seen here in the foreground. Growing Taliban Use Of Marksmen Worries
U.S. Military -- McClatchy Newspapers
U.S. Military -- McClatchy Newspapers
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan — Taliban fighters increasingly are deploying precision marksmen to fire on U.S. troops at greater distances throughout opium-producing southern Afghanistan, according to the top two commanders for the southern region.
The increased use of marksmen is the latest Taliban shift to asymmetrical warfare and away from confronting U.S. troops in conventional fights, the commanders told McClatchy.
Instead of gathering in company-sized units to take on foreign troops, Taliban forces also are resorting increasingly to explosives and bombings, attacks that require fewer people and pose less risk to themselves, the commanders said. Explosives attacks rose by 33 percent last year, as did deaths of coalition troops, according to the International Security Assistance Force, which leads the coalition forces stationed here.
"They are reverting to tactics that tell us they are suffering heavy losses," said U.S. Brig. Gen. John Nicholson, the deputy commander for the southern regional command. "They are trying to minimize their exposure."
The expanded use of precision marksmen comes as the fighting shifts from eastern Afghanistan to the south, where the Taliban are trying to protect opium production, which is reputed to be their economic base. The number of coalition troops killed in southern Afghanistan has increased sharply in the past two months.
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My Comment: With the Taliban slowly getting their act together, and the Afghan Government slowly disintegrating, the sophistication and development of their military wing will alter the balance of power in much of the country.
A sniper corp will be developed, in addition to the crews that are responsible for placing roadside IEDs. All of these developments do note bode well for NATO and U.S. soldiers in the country.