These are the first US air strikes against the Taliban since the start of the Eid (representational) ceasefire
Washington:
The U.S. has launched its first air strikes against the Taliban since a rare ceasefire between insurgents and Afghan forces ended over a week ago, the U.S. military said on Friday.
The two attacks took place Thursday and Friday in separate provinces of Afghanistan, U.S. Forces spokesman Sonny Leggett said on Twitter.
“These are the first US air strikes against (the Taliban) since the start of the Eid ceasefire,” he wrote.
“We reiterate: all parties must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take root,” he added.
Ten Afghan forces were killed in a separate attack on a Humvee vehicle on Friday, the interior ministry said, accusing the Taliban of assault.
There were no immediate comments from the group.
The Taliban announced a three-day surprise ceasefire with Afghan forces, which ended on May 26 to mark the celebration of Eid al-Fitr.
Since then, there has been an overall drop in violence across the country, with the Afghan government declaring its readiness to enter into peace talks with the insurgents.
Washington signed a historic agreement with the Taliban in February, in which it pledged to withdraw all US troops in return for security guarantees in order to pave the way for negotiations between the Afghan warring parties.
The Taliban have largely refrained from launching major attacks on Afghan cities since the signing of the agreement, but have continued to target Afghan forces.
Under the terms of the agreement, which excluded the Afghan government, Washington and the militants declared that they would refrain from attacking the other.
However, the Pentagon said last month that it would continue to carry out defensive strikes against the Taliban when they attack Afghan partners.
In February, all US and foreign forces will leave Afghanistan over the next year. Thousands of American soldiers have already left, a senior US defense official estimated last month at 8,500 the number of soldiers remaining in the country.
(This story has not been edited by GalacticGaming staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
