Washington, February 20 (RHC)-- The United States has escalated military operations in Afghanistan despite a formal end to its combat mission in December. According to The New York Times, American Special Operations forces have carried out a "significant increase" in night raids over the past several months.

The NATO occupation declared an end to combat operations in December, but the United States secretly expanded its role to ensure American troops continue fighting.

U.S. forces have directly engaged in combat roles during joint operations with Afghan counterparts. Afghanistan’s recently elected president, Ashraf Ghani, has eased restrictions on night raids imposed by his predecessor, Hamid Karzai.