US launches air strike against Taliban hours after Donald Trump call
- Trump said he had a ‘very good’ chat with Taliban political chief Mullah Baradar
- The call came three days came days after the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement calling for the withdrawal of American troops
Since the signing in Doha however, the militants have ramped up violence against Afghan forces, ending a partial weeklong truce that provided a rare reprieve to war-weary residents.
US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Sonny Leggett tweeted that the air strike took place against Taliban fighters who were “actively attacking” an Afghan forces checkpoint in Helmand province.
“This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack,” he tweeted.
“We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required.”
He said insurgents had carried out 43 attacks on checkpoints in Helmand on Tuesday alone.
The militants killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a series of overnight attacks, government officials said on Wednesday, casting a pall over peace talks between Kabul and the Taliban, due to begin on March 10.
“Taliban fighters attacked at least three army outposts in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz last night, killing at least 10 soldiers and four police,” said Safiullah Amiri, a member of the provincial council.
The insurgents also attacked police in central Uruzgan province Tuesday night, with the governor’s spokesman Zergai Ebadi saying: “Unfortunately, six police were killed and seven wounded.”
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“The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah. We had a good long conversation today and you know, they want to cease the violence, they’d like to cease violence also,” he said.
But on Wednesday, US military spokesman Leggett warned that the “#Afghans & US have complied w/ our agreements; however, Talibs appear intent on squandering this (opportunity) and ignoring the will of the people for #peace.”
Trump has touted the Doha deal as a way to end the bloody, 18-year US military presence in Afghanistan – right in time for his November re-election bid.
Under the terms of the deal, US and other foreign forces will quit Afghanistan within 14 months, subject to Taliban security guarantees and a pledge by the insurgents to hold talks with the national government in Kabul.
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The agreement also includes a commitment to exchange 5,000 Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government in return for 1,000 captives – something the militants have cited as a prerequisite for talks but which President Ashraf Ghani has refused to do before negotiations start.
Trump has said the Taliban and Washington both “have a very common interest” in ending the war.
Since Saturday’s deal signing, the Taliban have been publicly claiming “victory” over the US and on Monday they announced they would resume attacks on Afghan national forces.
Ghani’s government last week sent a delegation to Qatar to open “initial contacts” with the insurgents, but Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen on Tuesday said the militants would not meet Kabul’s representatives except to discuss the release of their captives.
Apparent differences between the Doha agreement and a separate joint US-Afghan declaration made in Afghanistan underline the obstacles facing negotiators.
The US-Taliban deal committed to the release of prisoners, while the Kabul document only required both sides to determine “the feasibility of releasing” captives.
