U.S. SOLDIERS IN AFGHANISTAN

The Taliban has exploited widespread internal issues within the Afghan army’s 215th Corps to retake territory in Helmand Province and ramp up violence there recently in an attempt to control the upcoming poppy harvest, said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, a spokesman for NATO’s Resolute Support Mission.Fighting in the southern Afghanistan province has remained constant since the United States officially ended its combat mission in the country in 2014. But the uptick in violence in recent weeks “was expected” as Taliban fighters attempt to control roads and smuggling networks just ahead of the poppy harvest, Shoffner said Thursday.Attacks, such as the 11-hour Taliban offensive Wednesday in Gereshk that left eight insurgents and four police officers dead, are likely to continue through the end of the month when the harvest is expected to begin, the general said. The poppy trade is the Taliban’s largest source of income.