KABUL Afghanistan: The US military on Wednesday carried out its first airstrike against the Taliban in Afghanistan since the two sides struck a peace deal in Qatar last week, a precondition for which was for all US-led foreign troops to exit the country within 14 months.
“The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e-Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an Afghan National Defense and Security Forces checkpoint. This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack. This was our first strike against the Taliban in 11 days,” US spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett tweeted on Wednesday.
In an interview with a local TV station, Washington’s top general in Afghanistan, Scott Miller, said that the airstrikes were in response to a series of Taliban attacks targeting Afghan government forces in the southern Helmand province.
On Monday, the Taliban announced the resumption of raids against Afghan forces, ending a pact to reduce violence for a week before Saturday’s historic deal between Washington and the Taliban.
The Taliban attacks did not target US-led forces. However, since Monday, nearly 50 Afghan security forces have been killed in attacks across half of the country, with the deadliest incident in northeastern Kunduz, where 20 were killed last night, according to estimates provided by local officials.
The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an #ANDSF checkpoint. This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack. This was our 1st strike against the Taliban in 11 days.
— USFOR-A Spokesman Col Sonny Leggett (@USFOR_A) March 4, 2020
“The period of reduction of violence across Afghanistan was an important period for the Afghan people, it is a start for peace pathway,” Miller told Tolo News after the airstrikes he ordered hit Taliban positions in Helmand.
“Our air support is flying (to help Afghan forces) … it is responding to different reports (of attacks by the Taliban) … we continue to defend the Afghan security forces. We had direct discussions with the Taliban … they need to lower their violence.”
He said the Doha agreement, which was signed following nearly 16 months of secret talks with the Taliban, was “fragile if the Taliban are not going to lower the violence.”
Leggett said: “Taliban leadership promised the international community they would reduce violence and not increase attacks. We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required.”
Taliban spokesmen could not be reached for comment when contacted by Arab News.
According to Russian news agency TASS, Moscow’s envoy for Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov, who was witness to the Doha deal, said that the airstrikes were an infringement of the US deal with the Taliban.
“This is a treaty violation, because both the US and the Taliban entered into legally binding commitments not to attack. The Taliban did not attack the Americans or other foreign forces. If the US did that, they violated the agreement blatantly,” the diplomat said. The strike came just hours after US President Donald Trump spoke to a senior Taliban leader, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, for the first time on the phone.
Baradar signed the deal with Washington in Doha on behalf of the Taliban. Trump described his conversation with Baradar as
“very good.”
Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on Tuesday: “Mr. President! Take determined actions in regards to the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan and do not allow anyone to take actions that violated the terms of the agreement, thus embroiling you further in this prolonged war.”
Experts said the resumption of attacks could derail the recently signed pact.
Analyst Taj Mohammad in Kabul said the events of recent days and the airstrike “could have an impact on the deal and the expected start of the intra-Afghan dialogue” on March 10.
