Militants have reacted violently to the increased airstrikes, launching attacks across the war-torn country
AFP: Afghan conflict to intensify in 2018 'game changer'
Fighting in Afghanistan has escalated with US and Afghan officials tipping 2018 to be a "game-changer" as relentless airstrikes pummel Islamist militant groups -- but others warn the 16-year war has simply become a more violent stalemate.
A traditional easing in fighting during the freezing winter months has been absent this year as the Taliban and Islamic State group respond to intensifying US and Afghan air assaults.
Since US President Donald Trump announced his new strategy for Afghanistan in August, giving the US Air Force more leeway to go after militants, American pilots have been bombarding Taliban and IS fighters, their training camps and drug-making laboratories.
"The gloves are off," Brigadier General Lance Bunch, who directs future air operations in Afghanistan, told reporters recently.
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WNU Editor: It is also going to be an expensive 2018 .... Pentagon: War in Afghanistan will cost $45 billion in 2018 (The Hill).
