Airstrikes are on the increase as the U.S. pursues Afghan peace talks

ISLAMABAD — New U.S. Air Force statistics show the U.S. dropped more bombs on Afghanistan last year than any year since 2013, even as Washington’s peace envoy sought to boost regional support for a reduction in violence ahead of a final deal to end America’s longest war.

U.S. peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad arrived in Kabul from Pakistan on Saturday, where he told Afghan President Ashraf Ghani there has been “no notable progress” in talks with the Taliban. However, he said he was hopeful of reaching an understanding with them on a reduction of hostilities without offering any time frame, according to a statement issued late Saturday from the presidential palace.

Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said Khalilzad was in Pakistan the previous day to rally support for getting an agreement with the Taliban to reduce their attacks, as a first step toward a peace agreement to end 18 years of war in neighboring Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said it supported a quick peace deal with the Taliban and repeated Washington’s call for a reduction in violence.

But the violence on the side of Afghan government forces and its U.S. allies has also raised concerns. Stepped up bombings by the United States and operations by CIA-trained Afghan special forces —— several of which have resulted in civilian casualties —— have been sharply criticized by human rights groups, some Afghan officials and even resulted in the sacking of Afghanistan’s intelligence chief.

Increasing U.S. air attacks began in 2018 and have led to higher death tolls in the conflict. In 2019, the U.S. Air Force dropped 7,423 bombs on Afghanistan, up slightly from 2018 when it dropped 7,362 bombs on the war-shattered country, according to statistics from the U.S. Central Command Combined Air Operations Center. This compares to a far lower 4,361 bombs dropped in 2017 and 1,337 in 2016, according to their statistics.

The U.S. military statistics said that its air force carried out a total of 2,434 sorties last year, in which at least one bomb or strike was carried out on Afghanistan.

The United Nations has blamed the increased U.S. bombing, at least in part, for a rise in civilian casualties in Afghanistan. For the first time since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, the U.N. said that Afghan government forces and its U.S. allies killed more civilians in the first three months of last year than insurgents.

The U.N. also points out that insurgent bombings and attacks wounded more civilians during the same period and almost daily the Taliban targeted military and government officials. The militants now control or hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan. The U.N. has called for all sides in the protracted conflict to take better care to avoid civilian casualties.

The most recent airstrike to raise hackles in Afghanistan occurred overnight on Friday when a family of six, including a child, were killed in a northern province. The U.S. military initially said the airstrike in Kunduz killed three Taliban and destroyed a cache of weapons.

U.S. officials have since said the strike is under investigation, in reply to queries from The Associated Press.