U.S. Military Conducts “Defensive” Airstrike Against Taliban Forces Less Than a Week After Historic Peace Deal

Less than a week after signing a historic peace deal with the militant group, the U.S. military conducted a “defensive” airstrike against Taliban forces in Afghanistan. U.S. military spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett tweeted that the airstrike was conducted against four Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj who he said were “actively attacking” an Afghan National Defense and Security Force (ANDSF) checkpoint.

“This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack. This was our 1st strike against the Taliban in 11 days,” he said. Leggett also said that Taliban forces had conducted 43 attacks on Afghan troops on Tuesday in the same province.

“To be clear – we are committed to peace, however, we have the responsibility to defend our ANDSF partners,” Leggett said in a tweet. “Afghans & US have complied (with) our agreements; however, Talibs appear intent on squandering this (opportunity) and ignoring the will of the people for peace.”

Fox News reported that “Afghanistan’s interior ministry said four civilians and 11 troops were killed Wednesday in a wave of attacks attributed to the Taliban across the country in the past 24 hours. Afghan forces killed at least 17 Taliban members during those clashes.”

However, the Taliban have not claimed responsibility for any of the attacks so far and have not commented on the U.S. airstrike.

Military Times reported that “U.S. officials argue there’s a commitment by the Taliban to reduce violence. However, the four pages signed Feb. 29 agreement does not discuss a cessation of hostilities or reduction in violence. Technically, the week-long reduction in violence partial truce ended on Feb. 29.”