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FORT DRUM — The security situation in Helmand Province has become more tenuous, as local soldiers left the north country to advise Afghan personnel there.

The Washington Post said Monday that Afghan forces abandoned and destroyed three military bases covering the province’s Musa Qala and Now Zad districts, the site of heavy fighting in the war’s early years. The districts have seen constant fighting since American and coalition forces ended their combat mission there in 2014.

Leadership of the 215 Corps, the Afghan unit responsible for the region, told Afghan news outlet TOLO News that vacating the bases was a necessary move to improve security elsewhere in Helmand.

A statement from the U.S. led coalition confirmed the decision and Faqir’s rationale, adding that the 215th is also reducing the number of checkpoints in the area, “which will result in more mobile forces.”

Soldiers from Fort Drum’s 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment marked the start of their new Afghan advising mission in a ceremony Saturday.

Approximately 500 soldiers from the battalion, under the 10th Mountain Division’s 2nd Brigade Combat Team, will advise Afghan military units in the province for about nine months.

The Afghan military has always invested a large portion of its combat power into checkpoints and fixed positions, a strategy that has severely limited its ability to mount offensive operations.

The 215th Corps’ relocation and redistribution of forces comes at a time when Afghan security forces are struggling to meet recruitment goals. The almost 15-year-old war has whittled their ranks through frequent casualties and desertions. The outgoing commander of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, Army Gen. John Campbell, recently told lawmakers that the former commander of the 215th Corps had been sacked following the Taliban’s recent gains.

Lt. Col. Jonathan M. Chung, the battalion’s commander, told the Times that the province has been an area of focus for higher American and Afghan leadership.

Warmer months have always seen an uptick in Taliban activity, but as U.S. forces have withdrawn from the region, the Taliban have fought consistently despite the colder weather.

The Washington Post contributed to this report.