Security officials on Wednesday said U.S troops have been sent to Kunduz to help Afghan security forces in their ongoing battle against the Taliban.

“The Afghans own the leadership of the war, the Americans and NATO want to further boost this leadership,” said a defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish. 

Referring to reports of U.S troop deployment to Kunduz, military commentators on Wednesday claimed that corruption and poor leadership of the war appear to be key factors behind the move to send in troops not only to Kunduz but also to other volatile provinces including Helmand and Nangarhar. 

“The Afghans own the leadership of the war, the Americans and NATO want to further boost this leadership,” said a defense ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish. 

“There is an issue with our leadership, many of our commanders are involved in corruption instead of thinking about their duty,” said military analyst Mohsin Mukhtar.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense (MoD) has said that the U.S and NATO forces continue their mission in the country in an advise, assist and train capacity.

But military commentators suggest that the Afghan government should take firm steps to fight corruption in the security and defense force sector, and tackle the problem of poor war management. 

This move comes after insurgents carried out three deadly attacks against large military facilities in the past two months. 

“The government should secure itself from the disease of corruption, disunity, personal interest and ignorance of national interests,” said military analyst Atiqullah Amarkhail. 

“These are weaknesses which have occurred, but we have learnt lessons from them,” added Radmanish.

An example of serious corruption within the security forces was cited by John F. Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (Sigar), on Monday. He said over 50 percent of fuel purchased for the Afghan Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) was not reaching its intended destination. 

“We have heard, we haven’t documented it exactly because it’s so difficult but that over 50 percent of the fuel we purchase for the Afghans never reaches the intended people. The fuel just gets diverted,” he said. 

He alleged that the Afghan security officials are involved in selling the fuel and weapons to the Taliban.