KABUL // The US must confront Russia for providing weapons to the Taliban for use against American-backed forces in Afghanistan, top US military officials said Monday.
General John Nicholson, the top American commander in Kabul, would not provide specifics about Russia's role in Afghanistan but said he would "not refute" Moscow's involvement including giving weapons to the Taliban.
His comments came as defence secretary James Mattis arrived in Kabul for an unannounced visit.
While other US officials have accused Russia of helping Taliban insurgents, Gen Nicholson is the first to publicly indicate that such support extends to arms.
Earlier on Monday, a senior US military official in Kabul said that Russia was giving machine guns and other medium-weight weapons. The Taliban are using the weapons in the southern provinces of Helmand, Kandahar and Uruzgan, according to the official, who briefed journalists on intelligence information on condition of anonymity.
Moscow has been critical of the US over its handling of the war in Afghanistan, where the Soviet Union fought a bloody and disastrous war of its own in the 1980s.
It denies that it provides any such support to the Taliban, which ruled Afghanistan until the US-led invasion in 2001, but has said it maintains ties with Taliban officials to push for peace negotiations.
Moscow says contacts are limited to safeguarding security and getting the hardline religious fundamentalists to reconcile with the government — which Washington has failed for years to advance.
Alluding to the increasing concerns of the US, Gen Mattis said, "We'll engage with Russia diplomatically."
"We'll do so where we can, but we're going to have to confront Russia where what they're doing is contrary to international law or denying the sovereignty of other countries."
"Any weapons being funnelled here from a foreign country would be a violation of international law," he said.
Gen Mattis met with president Ashraf Ghani and other senior government officials just hours after the Afghan defence minister and army chief resigned over a massacre of more than 130 Afghan troops at a military base last Friday.
The attack — the biggest ever by the Taliban on a military base in Afghanistan — involved multiple gunmen and suicide bombers in army uniforms who penetrated the compound of the 209th Corps of the Afghan National Army in northern Balkh province on Friday, killing and wounding scores.
The Taliban claimed responsibility for the assault. The authorities have not released definitive numbers for the casualty tolls but Afzel Hadid, the head of the provincial council in Balkh, said at least 130 people were killed and 80 were wounded.
Mr Ghani accepted the resignations of the army chief of staff Qadam Shah Shahim and defence minister Abdullah Habibi. It was not immediately clear who would replace them.
Gen Nicholson also said that in view of the sophisticated planning behind the attack, "it's quite possible" that the Pakistan-based Haqqani network was responsible.
The Taliban claimed it carried out the attack.
Gen Nicholson recently told Congress that he needs a few thousand more troops to keep Afghan security forces on track to eventually handling the Taliban insurgency on their own.
Gen Mattis on Monday offered a grim assessment for Afghan forces fighting the Taliban.
"2017 is going to be another tough year," he said.
Kabul was the final stop on Gen Mattis' six-nation, week-long tour. He is the first member of president Donald Trump's cabinet to visit Afghanistan.
As part of the administration's review of Afghan policy, Mr Trump's national security adviser, Army Lt Gen HR McMaster, visited Kabul last week to consult with Gen Nicholson and with Afghan officials.
The war began in October 2001.
The US has about 9,800 troops in Afghanistan. They ended their combat mission against the Taliban in 2014 but are increasingly involved in backing up Afghan forces on the battlefield.
* Associated Press and Reuters
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