More than 30 Taliban killed as Afghan forces conduct air raids
Trump says US is dealing well with Taliban adding that ‘they’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp, but you know it’s been 19 years and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness’
The Afghan air force conducted multiple strikes on Taliban positions on Saturday that killed more than 30 insurgent fighters, officials said, as President Ashraf Ghani once again called for a ceasefire.
The Taliban claimed the strike had killed nearly two dozen civilians including women and children in the latest mass-casualty incident in Afghanistan that came even as peace talks were under way in Qatar.
“This morning, Taliban fighters atacked (Afghan army) positions in ... Khan Abad district in Kunduz province,” the Defence Ministry said in a statement on Twiter.
The military “intercepted the atack in accordance with ‘active defence’ procedures,” the statement added, noting that more than 30 Taliban fighters including two commanders were killed.
In a statement, the Taliban denied its fighters were hit and said 23 civilians had been killed.
The defence ministry said it was aware of the claim and would investigate.
Local hospital director Mohammad Naeem
Mangal said that three dead and three wounded civilians had been brought to the facility.
The atack came shortly before Ghani once again called for a humanitarian ceasefire “to protect our people, prevent violence and terrorist incidents and to achieve a dignified and lasting peace.”
The insurgents have so far ignored such requests, though they have unilaterally called two short, separate truces this year in the run-up to peace talks, which opened a week ago in Doha.
Earlier, President Donald Trump complimented the Taliban for being tough and smart, and said the United States is dealing well with the Afghan militant group.
The Taliban, whose rigid government was overthrown by US forces which invaded Afghanistan a month ater the Sept.11, 2001, atacks, began peace negotiations with the Afghan government this week to end two decades of war.
“We’re dealing very well with the Taliban,” Trump told a news conference. “They’re very tough, they’re very smart, they’re very sharp, but you know it’s been 19 years and even they are tired of fighting, in all fairness.”
Trump, who is seeking re-election on Nov.3, is eager to claim an end to America’s longest conflict, and his administration has voiced its intention to use aid as leverage to push for a peace deal in Afghanistan.
The United States is set to withdraw all its troops from Afghanistan by May 2021, subject to the Taliban meeting certain security guarantees.
Taliban and Afghan government peace negotiators held their first formal meeting on Tuesday in Doha, ater an opening ceremony on Saturday which was atended by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Earlier, the US Embassy in Afghanistan warned that extremists groups are planning atacks against a “variety of targets” but are taking particular aim at women.
The warning didn’t specify which organisations were ploting the atacks. But it comes as the Taliban and government-appointed negotiators are siting together for the first time to try to find a peaceful end to decades of relentless war.
The “Taliban don’t have any plans to carry out any such atacks,” the group’s spokesman Zabihullah Mujahed said on Friday.
Peace negotiations underway in Qatar, where the Taliban maintain a political office, are in the initial stages, with participants still hammering out what items on the agenda will be negotiated and when.
Washington’s peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said at the start of negotiations last weekend that spoilers existed on both sides. He said that some among Afghanistan’s many leaders would be content to continue with the status quo rather than find a peaceful end to the war that might involve power sharing.
According to the embassy warning issued late on Thursday, “extremist organisations continue to plan atacks against a variety of targets in Afghanistan, including a heightened risk of attacks targeting female government and civilian workers, including teachers, human rights activists, office workers, and government employees.”
The embassy didn’t provide specifics, including how imminent the threat is.