Shattering Taliban attack in Kabul even as U.S. deal nears

K AB UL, A FGH A NISTA N» The Taliban on Tuesday defended its suicide bombing against an international compound in the Afghan capital that killed at least 16 people and wounded 119, almost all local civilians, just hours after a U.S. envoy said he and the militant group had reached a deal “in principle” to end America’s longest war.

Angry Kabul residents whose homes were shredded in the explosion climbed over the buckled blast wall and set part of the compound, a frequent Taliban target, on fire.

Romanian President Klaus Iohannis condemned the attack, “which, unfortunately, ended the life of a Romanian citizen and seriously wounded another one. I reiterate our profound commitment to combating terrorism at the international level.”

“People were screaming and saying, ‘My children are trapped in the rubble,’ ” one witness, Faiz Ahmad, said. A large crater was left in the street from a tractor packed with explosives. Five attackers were killed in the Monday night attack and some 400 foreigners rescued, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi said.

The Taliban continues to kill Afghan civilians in attacks it says are meant for foreign “invaders” or the Afghan government, apparently sacrificing the support of the people it might wish to rule, even as the U.S. envoy says the deal with the insurgents only needs the approval of President Donald Trump to become a reality. The accord would include a troop withdrawal that the Taliban already portrays as its victory.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid told The Associated Press that “we understand that peace talks are going on ... but they must also understand that we are not weak and if we enter into talks ... we enter from a strong position.”

He said the attack was a response to raids by U.S. and Afghan forces on civilians across the country. While he acknowledged there should be less harm to civilians, he said they shouldn’t live near such an important foreign compound.

Questions are growing among some in Washington about the dangers of trusting the Taliban to make peace. On Tuesday, several former U.S. ambassadors to Afghanistan warned in a joint statement published by the Atlantic Council that “it is not clear whether peace is possible,” saying the Taliban has “made it clear that the war will go on against the Afghan government.”

A full U.S. troop withdrawal that moves too quickly and without requiring the Taliban to meet conditions such as reducing violence could lead the militant group to avoid making compromises with other Afghans, the former envoys warned. Civil war could follow and give alQaeda and the local Islamic State affiliate space to grow, they said: “All of this could prove catastrophic for U.S. national security.”

The attack occurred just hours after U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad briefed the Afghan government on an agreement “in principle” with the Taliban that would see 5,000 U.S. troops withdraw from five bases in the country within 135 days of a final deal on ending nearly 18 years of fighting. There are 13,000 to 14,000 troops in the country now.

Khalilzad has not commented publicly since the blast, which rocked Kabul as many residents watched him speak in a nationally televised interview about the deal and Afghanistan’s future.