KABUL - Afghan army and NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) have made progress in fighting insurgents but challenges remain, Lt. General David M. Rodriquez, Commander of ISAF Joint Command (IJC), said on Monday, Xinhua reported.
"Together Afghan and coalition forces have degraded many of the insurgents support bases and weakened the enemies effectiveness," Rodriquez told a joint press conference here in ISAF fortified headquarters.

Nevertheless, he noted that Taliban-led insurgency in Afghanistan would increase this summer. "I'm confident that we have the right approach. Where we partner together and focus our efforts, we are seeing progress, and we are setting the conditions for the Afghan people to build a better future for themselves," said Rodriquez who also serves as Deputy Commander of United States Forces-Afghanistan.

Major General Michael G. Krause, Deputy Chief of Staff at IJC, said that the violence in Afghanistan is much more isolated than it was in previous years. "We have had success cutting off the insurgents form their support bases," he said. He named the four provinces as Kandahar and Helmand, the Taliban heartland in southern Afghanistan, and Kunar and Khost in eastern part of the country. (Xinhua)