Afghan Airstrike Kills 15 Taliban at Local Gathering
Incident comes amid hope of intra-Afghan peace talks
Jason Ditz
The hope is that intra-Afghan peace talks could be announced any day now, but with the Afghan government bragging up a high profile village where the Taliban were meeting. At least 15 were killed, with Afghan Interior Ministry saying a number of them were “leaders.”
Afghan officials say 14 other Taliban were killed in Ghor Province overnight. Between the two, that’s not exactly the level of calm to facilitate the long-awaited peace talks, and once again it’s the Afghan government potentially throwing a spanner in the plans.
The Taliban has complained several times that deliberate attacks on them are a violation of the US-Taliban peace deal, which was meant to lead to more negotiations. The Afghan government isn’t clearly on board with the peace process.
That has meant the government doing things that might sabotage peace, and hoping the US will back them. So far, US drawdowns continue either way, and the Afghan strikes risk provoking a Taliban retaliation they might not be prepared for.'
Afghan officials say 14 other Taliban were killed in Ghor Province overnight. Between the two, that’s not exactly the level of calm to facilitate the long-awaited peace talks, and once again it’s the Afghan government potentially throwing a spanner in the plans.
The Taliban has complained several times that deliberate attacks on them are a violation of the US-Taliban peace deal, which was meant to lead to more negotiations. The Afghan government isn’t clearly on board with the peace process.
That has meant the government doing things that might sabotage peace, and hoping the US will back them. So far, US drawdowns continue either way, and the Afghan strikes risk provoking a Taliban retaliation they might not be prepared for.'
posted by Satish Sharma at
11:12
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