US freezes overseas troop action
KABUL: US Defence Secretary Mark Esper has ordered a 60-day freeze on moves by US troops and civilian defence employees overseas in an effort to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The move stopped the deployment or redeployment of some 90,000 US service members for the next two months and comes just as the Islamic State (IS) claimed a terror attack on a Sikh temple in Afghanistan’s capital killing 25.
It also freezes in place the families of service members who travelled overseas with their deployments.
“This measure is taken to aid in further prevention of the spread of coronavirus disease to protect US personnel and preserve the operational readiness of our global force,” the Pentagon said in a statement.
The statement said Mr Esper’s order “is not expected to impact” the drawdown of some 4,000 US troops in Afghanistan targeted to be completed within 135 days of the Feb 29 peace pact with the Taliban.
The Pentagon said there were 435 current and recovered Covid-19 cases among military personnel, civilians, contractors and their families.
One Defence Department contractor died from the disease.
The attack on the Sikh temple in
Afghanistan’s capital where 25 were killed as worshippers were offering morning prayers highlights the country’s ongoing violence.
The brutal attack — claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group — came hours before Afghanistan’s National Security Council announced that the Taliban and government officials would hold a historic meeting face-to-face over a prisoner exchange.
Along with a raging insurgency, impoverished Afghanistan is reeling from a massive cut in US aid while it struggles with political deadlock and rising coronavirus cases.
Sikhism and Hinduism are rooted in India.
The IS has a history of targeting Afghan Sikhs and Hindus.
In recent months, the jihadist group has suffered mounting setbacks after being hunted by US and Afghan forces as well as Taliban offensives targeting their fighters.
But it still retains the ability to launch major assaults on urban centres.
To add to Afghanistan’s woes, Washington slashed the amount of aid to the country this week after President Ashraf Ghani and his rival Abdullah Abdullah, who has also proclaimed himself president, failed to resolve their standoff.
Following a visit to Kabul, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the US would immediately cut US$1 billion (about 32 billion baht) and was prepared to pull another $1 billion in 2021.