The United States, after signing the peace agreement with the Taliban Saturday, again bombarded fighters of the Islamic organization with rockets in Afghanistan. Earlier, an attack by the Taliban killed 16 Afghan soldiers and 4 officers.
The US Army today launched a series of airstrikes against Taliban militants in Helmand, a province in southern Afghanistan. A US Army spokesperson announced this. The Taliban is said to have actively attacked a checkpoint of Afghan national security forces. “It was a defensive attack to stop the Taliban,” says the American Colonel Sonny Legget.
Agreement
The American army and the Taliban continue to fight, although they signed a historic peace agreement last weekend. Among other things, it stated that the US would withdraw all its troops from the country in the coming 14 months. But only on the condition that the Taliban also adhere to the agreement.
For example, the Taliban must prevent a group or individual from using the “land of Afghanistan” to threaten the security of the United States or any of its allies. They refer to the Al-Qaeda terror group, which, according to former President Bush, was supported by the Taliban, before and after the September 11 attacks.
No release
President Ashraf Ghani announced Sunday that the cease-fire of February 22 would be extended until the inter-Afghan talks start on March 10. Experts now ask themselves whether the Taliban will continue to adhere to the truce. Before Afghanistan releases 5,000 Taliban prisoners, the Taliban will not go to the talks, a spokesperson said.
The war in Afghanistan has now been going on for more than 18 years. The new agreement was to pave the way for direct negotiations between Taliban representatives and Afghan leaders in Oslo next month, US officials reported.
