Afghan troops prepare for US troop pullout
阿富汗军队为美军撤退做准备

The United States is scheduled to halt combat operations in Afghanistan by the end of 2014, leaving behind troops for support only. Can Afghanistan’s brand new army and the police really stand up to the Taliban? CCTV correspondent Maeva Bambuck caught up with General Sakhidat Keftan. As the commander of an Afghan National Army unit controlling three provinces, he’s spearheaded operations in some of the country’s most dangerous areas.

Brigadier General Sakhidat Keftan is directing a joint operation in the Ghorband District of Parwan, north of the country’s capital, Kabul.

Under his command, elements of the Afghan National Army, - joined by the national police - are driving out the Taliban. They took back control of the road, leading from Kabul to Bamyan.

Now, they’re chasing their adversaries into the mountains.

There isn’t a single foreign soldier here. Afghans are fighting on their own.

In three days, they surrounded the insurgents’ hideout. Taliban forces had been firing from there, near a derelict phone tower, using its control room to store their weapons.

The army came prepared.

Using Russian-made artillery, they demolished the weapons stockpile and regained control of the area.

But something else an airstrike provides, that a ground offensive doesn’t, is the element of surprise. The Taliban saw them coming.

The heads of the army, the police and local intelligence officials are still learning to coordinate their offensives.

But Brigadier Keftan tells us he has no doubt that Afghans can secure the country on their own.