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Taliban cover 97% of Afghanistan
New research indicates that 80% of Afghanistan now has a permanent Taliban presence and that 97% of the country has "substantial Taliban activity."
The International Council on Security and Development (ICOS) has followed the movement of the Taliban throughout Afghanistan since 2007, by tracking third party public daily reports of incidents that indicate Taliban presence. Presence is defined by: "(An) average of one (or more) insurgent attacks (lethal and non-lethal) per week."
Even with this new data outlining a 97% presence, ICOS President Ms. Norine McDonald QC told the Huffington Post that she believes that figure is "conservative".
"It's bad numbers and bad news," says MacDonald. "They (the Taliban) have the momentum, their strategies and tactics are working, and ours are not. ... it's not a question of where they are operating, it's more a question of where they are not."