US to ‘respond forcefully’ to Taliban offensives after Trump’s troop deadline passes
The commander of Nato forces in Afghanistan said it would be a mistake for the Taliban to attack foreign troops in the country after a May 1 withdrawal deadline passed.
The date was agreed to in a deal signed by Donald Trump’s government and the insurgents in February last year.
Gen Scott Miller issued a warning to the group on Saturday after what a US forces spokesman described as “ineffective indirect fire” at an airfield in Kandahar. No casualties were reported.
The Taliban did not immediately claim responsibility for the attack.
US troops were initially to leave Afghanistan by Saturday, but US President Joe Biden announced last month that the deadline would be extended until September 11.
A security source said Kabul was on “high alert” as the May 1 deadline passed, with military patrols increased in cities across the country.
“Make no mistake, we have the military means to respond forcefully to any type of attacks against the coalition and the military means to support the [Afghan] security forces,” Gen Miller said.
More than 100 Afghan security personnel were killed during an escalation in violence in recent weeks.
The government blamed the Taliban for a blast in eastern Logar province last Friday that killed dozens of people.
The Taliban said there would be consequences after the US delayed the withdrawal date and the group boycotted peace talks in Turkey last month.
On Saturday, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the presence of foreign forces after Saturday “opened the way for [the Taliban] to take every counteraction it deems appropriate” against foreign forces.
But last week he told Reuters that talks would continue between the US and the Taliban.
Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia programme at the Woodrow Wilson Centre, said there was a risk of attacks on foreign troops.
“That said, the Taliban is less likely to attack foreign forces now it knows there is a specific date when they will be leaving.”