US unleashes B-52s in bid to stem Taliban advance

American B-52 bombers and Spectre gunships have been sent into action against the Taliban to try to stop the insurgents’ march on three key cities.

The return of the B-52 “stratofortress” after at least a year’s hiatus is the clearest sign yet that the Pentagon is being forced to intensify daily sorties, not only to halt the Taliban but also to help the struggling Afghan air force.

The Taliban yesterday overran Zaranj in Nimroz, a southwest province bordering Iran, making it the first provincial capital to fall since foreign troops began their withdrawal, while in the capital, Kabul, the insurgents assassinated Dawa Khan Menapal, the government’s chief media officer.

The UK government yesterday advised all Britons in Afghanistan to leave because of the “worsening situation”.

Aircraft used by the Afghans, many supplied by the US, are running out of spares, munitions and pilots, at least seven of whom have been killed after being targeted by the Taliban. The rest of the pilots are reported to be exhausted by the relentless missions.

More than a third of the air force’s 162 aircraft and helicopters are inoperable after the withdrawal by thousands of US contractors.

American defence sources told The Times that B-52s, a US air power stalwart for 70 years, were flying into Afghanistan from al-Udeid airbase in Qatar. The aircraft, which can carry up to 32 tonnes of bombs, were hitting targets around Kandahar, Herat and Lashkar Gah in Helmand province.

The US is also using armed Reaper drones and AC-130 Spectre gunships, a heavily-armed, ground-attack version of a transport aircraft designed for low-altitude close-air support and bristling with cannon. At least five missions were being flown each day.

The USS Ronald Reagan, a nuclear-powered carrier in the Arabian Sea, is contributing its F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jets to the missions but they are not involved in the bombing.

The defence sources insisted that there was every intention to continue with the airstrikes after August 31, the date set for the withdrawal of the last remaining US troops in Afghanistan.

The cost of launching continuous airstrikes from the Gulf, including mid-air refuelling for all the fixed-wing aircraft, will begin to take its toll, however, in the weeks and months ahead.

Added to the growing expense will be the challenge of keeping the Afghan air force flying and combat-ready after the last of the 16,000 US contractors have left. Captain Bill Urban, lead spokesman for US Central Command, which is in charge of “over-the-horizon” operations in Afghanistan, told of the three ways the country’s aircraft were being maintained.

First, a few hundred contractors were still working in Afghanistan. Mechanics at the bases were also being given “virtual assistance” from the Gulf over Zoom. And aircraft were being flown to a “third country” for checks.

Afghan pilots have already flown out several times and returned to rejoin the strike missions. There is concern, however, that none of the US contractors will remain in Kabul after August 31. Most are reluctant to stay without American back-up.

Urban said that a change of policy would be required in Washington if they were to remain.

The Afghan air force has seven types of aircraft, including A-29 Super Tucano and AC-208 Combat Caravan propeller-driven light attack aircraft, which can fire laser-guided munitions. They also have the American-produced Sikorsky Black Hawk and Russian Mi-17 helicopters as well as Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport aircraft.

The Super Tucanos and Combat Caravans are vital for the airstrike campaign against the Taliban but pilots and ground crews are limited. Afghan pilots went to America to be trained on the Super Tucano in 2015 but only 30 qualified in five years.

One US official pointed out a problem if virtual maintenance over Zoom from Qatar became the primary method of keeping Afghan aircraft flying — electricity and internet access in Afghanistan are very unreliable.

“You’ve got to be there sometimes to help with maintenance or training,” John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, said. “As good as we like Zoom, it’s a lot better when you’re face to face.”

Sopko criticised the US military for failing to consider whether the high-tech hardware it provided was sustainable. “We gave them highly technical equipment and we tried to build a military that looked and acted and sounded like us,” he said.

“The Afghan air force is critical to the sustainability of the Afghan military. What happens when a helicopter has a busted engine? Would the entire helicopter be flown out or would the engine be removed and flown out? Either scenario would likely be pricey.”

Sopko said that Americans had also failed to take into account the “long tail” of logistics issues plaguing Afghan forces and other challenges, such as fuel theft.