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 The announcement of the start of "Operation Omari", named after
the late Taliban founder Mullah Mohammad Omar, came just days after
Secretary of State John Kerry visited Kabul and reaffirmed U.S.
support for a national unity government led by President Ashraf
Ghani.
"Jihad against the aggressive and usurping infidel army is a holy
obligation upon our necks and our only recourse for reestablishing
an Islamic system and regaining our independence," the Taliban said
in a statement.
The insurgency has gained strength since the withdrawal of
international troops from combat at the end of 2014 and the Taliban
are stronger than at any point since they were driven from power by
U.S.-backed forces in 2001.
As well as suicide and tactical attacks, the offensive would include
assassinations of "enemy" commanders in urban centers, the Taliban
said in their statement.
 "The present operation will also employ all means at our disposal to
bog the enemy down in a war of attrition that lowers the morale of
the foreign invaders and their internal armed militias," they said.
In line with recent statements, the militants also said they would
establish good governance in areas they controlled as well as
avoiding civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure.
The seasons have long shaped violence in Afghanistan with fighting
easing off in the winter, when mountain passes get snowed in, and
picking up again in the spring and summer.
How far the announcement will lead to an immediate escalation in
fighting, which caused 11,000 civilian casualties last year, remains
unclear. However, NATO and Afghan officials have said they expect
very tough combat in 2016.
US EMBASSY WARNING
Hours before the Taliban announced their offensive, the U.S. embassy
in Kabul issued an emergency warning to U.S. citizens, saying it had
received reports that insurgents were planning attacks on a major
hotel in Kabul.
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Heavy fighting has continued for months across Afghanistan, from
Kunduz, the northern city that fell briefly to the insurgents last
year, to Helmand province bordering Pakistan in the south.
In Helmand, where thousands of British and American troops were
killed or wounded fighting the Taliban, government forces have
pulled back from many areas and are struggling to hold on to centers
close to the provincial capital, Lashkar Gah.
Understrength Afghan security forces, struggling with heavy
casualties and high desertion rates and short of air power,
transport and logistical support, have struggled in their first year
fighting largely alone.
According to NATO commanders, the Taliban exert control over only
six percent of Afghanistan but up to a third of the country is at
risk from the insurgents and government forces control no more than
70 percent of territory.
U.S. General John Nicholson, who took over as commander of
international troops in Afghanistan last month, is conducting a
strategic review, including plans to cut U.S. troops in Afghanistan
from 9,800 to 5,500 by the end of the year.
Unless the plan is changed, the reduction would mean the end of most
of NATO's training and assistance operation, leaving the remaining
U.S. troops focusing on counterterrorism operations against radical
groups like Islamic State.
(Reporting by James Mackenzie; Editing by Paul Tait, Robert Birsel)
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