The U.S. has conducted air bombardments in the past 48 hours targeting on Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan following multiple attacks by the militants on Afghan government forces, a military spokesman has confirmed.
The air assaults against Taliban in the province of Kandahar underscores the reliance of Afghanistan’s military on U.S. airpower, even as the Biden administration mulls whether to pull all U.S. troops out of the country by May 2021.
According to local and open sources reports, the airstrikes targeted Taliban fighters in the Zharay, Spin Boldak and Kandahar districts of the province as they were “actively attacking and maneuvering on” Afghan troops, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett wrote on his Twitter handle. Col. Legget also reiterated of the deal to withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by May still on.
Leggett’s tweet came after the Taliban’s spokesman, Qari Yousaf Ahmadi earlier Wednesday accused the U.S. of unlawfully targeting Taliban fighters in Kandahar who were not involved in the fighting.
The Taliban have refrained from attacking international forces as part of last year’s Doha deal, under which they also pledged to meet vague counterterrorism commitments. But attacks by the group on Afghans have intensified.
The deal does not explicitly bar the Taliban from attacking government forces but does include a clause that says the U.S. will defend Afghans against attacks.
The Taliban have encroached on key Afghan cities in recent months, including Kandahar, which once functioned as the capital of their heartland. Fighting throughout Kandahar province has displaced some 10,000 families, according to government data.
There are officially 2,500 American troops in Afghanistan after former President Donald Trump made steady reductions throughout last year, which started with roughly 13,000 American service members in the country. Trump campaigned on ending the war.
