US Steps Up Airstrikes

With focus on Iraq and Syria, US air war heats up in Afghanistan amid US drawdown - Nation - The Boston Globe 

Officials said they were still compiling the bombing statistics for September but the recent uptick in air attacks in Afghanistan comes as the United States is preparing to pull out about half of its 24,000 troops by the end of the year and curtail most combat operations.
The stepped-up campaign was viewed by some analysts as an effort to beat back recent Taliban gains ahead of the US drawdown. Others saw it as a preview of what might lie ahead as the Afghan government struggles to maintain its own security and needs sustained US help from the air.