Taliban ambush kills 25 Afghan security personnel

Published October 22, 2020
At least 25 Afghan security force personnel were killed in an ambush blamed on the Taliban, officials said on Wednesday, as spiralling violence imperils ongoing peace talks. — AFP/File
At least 25 Afghan security force personnel were killed in an ambush blamed on the Taliban, officials said on Wednesday, as spiralling violence imperils ongoing peace talks. — AFP/File

KUNDUZ: At least 25 Afghan security force personnel were killed in an ambush blamed on the Taliban, officials said on Wednesday, as spiralling violence imperils ongoing peace talks.

The ambush came despite Taliban assurances to Washington last week that they would reduce bloodshed.

Security forces were attacked overnight on Tuesday in Takhar province and fighting was ongoing, said Jawad Hejri, a spokesman for the governor, who put the death toll so far at 25.

“The Taliban had taken positions in the houses around the area. They ambushed our forces who were there for an operation against the enemy,” he said.

Takhar provincial health director Abdul Qayoum said 34 security personnel had been killed — including the deputy police chief of the province.

The Taliban did not directly take responsibility, but said their fighters had “engaged the enemy” in Takhar to retaliate against security operations carried out against them.

Despite joining peace talks with the Afghan government in Qatar last month, the Taliban have only increased violence in Afghanistan in a bid to wield leverage in the negotiations.

A major assault by the militants in Helmand province forced thousands of families to flee their homes this month, while a car bomb on Sunday near the police headquarters in Ghor blamed on the insurgents left 16 people dead and 154 wounded.

The UN refugee agency UNHCR said nearly 40,000 people had fled in Helmand, and called for aid to help the displaced.

“Disruptions in telecommunications, the threat of improvised explosive devices and the continued closure of the highway between Kandahar and Helmand following the destruction of several bridges are adding to the challenges,” said Caroline Van Buren, the UNHCR’s representative to Afghanistan.

Little progress has been made in meetings between Afghan government negotiators and the Taliban in Doha since the talks started in September.

“This level of violence, of course, makes the task of negotiating very difficult,” said Nader Naderi, a negotiator for the Afghan government.

“Situations like this add to the sense of urgency for a ceasefire.” The top US envoy to Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, said earlier this week that fighting is threatening the peace process.

“Violence today remains distressingly high in spite of the recent reaffirmation of the need for substantial reduction,” he added.

US influence over Afghanistan’s battlegrounds is on the wane, however, with the Pentagon looking to withdraw all its remaining troops by next May.

With US elections less than two weeks away, President Donald Trump is trying to make good on his promise to end America’s longest war and pull back troops even sooner.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2020

Opinion

Editorial

New terror wave
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

New terror wave

The time has come for decisive government action against militancy.
Development costs
27 Mar, 2024

Development costs

A HEFTY escalation of 30pc in the cost of ongoing federal development schemes is one of the many decisions where the...
Aitchison controversy
Updated 27 Mar, 2024

Aitchison controversy

It is hoped that higher authorities realise that politics and nepotism have no place in schools.
Ceasefire, finally
Updated 26 Mar, 2024

Ceasefire, finally

Palestinian lives matter, and a generation of orphaned Gazan children will be looking to the world community to secure justice for them.
Afghan return
26 Mar, 2024

Afghan return

FOLLOWING a controversial first repatriation phase involving ‘illegal’ Afghan refugees last November, the...
Planes and plans
26 Mar, 2024

Planes and plans

FOR the past many years, PIA has been getting little by way of good press, mostly on account of internal...