TLTP
\nKABUL
\nThe US carried out air strikes in support of Afghan security forces under attack by the Taliban in southern Helmand province, despite a peace deal signed earlier this year between Washington and the insurgent group.
\nCol Sonny Leggett, a US military representative in Afghanistan, said the recent Taliban assault in Helmand was not in line with the US-Taliban deal signed in February and that it undermined intra-Afghan peace talks ongoing in Doha. He also said the air strikes did not violate the February deal.
\nThe Taliban \u201cneed to immediately stop their offensive actions in Helmand province and reduce their violence around the country,\u201d Col Leggett said on Twitter, quoting Gen Scott Miller, the commander of US forces in Afghanistan.
\nCol Leggett said that US forces will continue to provide support in defence of Afghan national security forces when attacked by the Taliban. The announcement of US strikes followed gun battles on Monday in and around Lashkar Gah, the capital of Helmand province. Witnesses reported shooting in the city and some residents fled the districts of Nad Ali and Nawa because of the fighting.
\nOmer Zwak, spokesman for the provincial governor in Helmand, said Taliban fighters started co-ordinated attacks across the province in the past week and stepped those up at the weekend.
\n\u201cThe Taliban have destroyed several bridges over the main highway, so the highway is closed right now and no one can travel,\u201d said Mr Zwak.
\nHelmand\u2019s police chief General Khalil-ur-Rahman Jawad told reporters that \u201ctactical measures have been taken to prevent casualties, but security will soon be restored to restore order\u201d. He said the Afghan Air Force had conducted strikes that had killed 170 insurgents in the last 24 hours.
\nThe US-Taliban deal in February provides for the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan in exchange for security guarantees from the insurgent group, and a pledge to sit down with the Kabul administration to find a peaceful settlement.
\nRepresentatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban are now holding negotiations in Qatar, a Gulf state where the Taliban has run a political office for many years. The negotiations are an effort at ending a decades-long war in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TLTP KABUL The US carried out air strikes in support of Afghan security forces under attack by the Taliban in southern Helmand province, despite a peace deal signed earlier this year between Washington and the insurgent group. Col Sonny Leggett, a US military representative in Afghanistan, said the recent Taliban assault in Helmand was not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-150352","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n