And just when we thought Donald Trump the great peacemaker was going to win that Nobel Prize:
The United States conducted an airstrike against Taliban fighters in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday just hours after President Trump spoke by phone to one of the group’s senior leaders.
Trump spoke to Taliban political leader Abdul Ghani Baradar on Tuesday, just days after the signing of a U.S.-Taliban peace deal. Trump said the two “had a good conversation” and agreed on “no violence, we don’t want violence.”
But violence across Afghanistan has spiked in recent days following a Taliban announcement Monday that it had resumed offensive operations against Afghan security forces.
A drop in violence was a critical precondition in the lead-up to the deal’s signing, but the agreement did not specify violence levels moving forward. After the signing, U.S. officials have repeatedly said, their forces reserve the right to defend themselves and their allies.
The U.S. strike Wednesday was carried out after Taliban fighters attacked an Afghan security force outpost in Helmand, according to Col. Sonny Leggett, the U.S. military spokesman in Kabul.
“This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack. This was our 1st strike against the Taliban in 11 days,” Leggett said in a statement on Twitter.
Over the past 24 hours, the Taliban has conducted 30 attacks that have killed four civilians and 11 security force members and wounded 18 others, said Nasrat Rahimi, a spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Affairs.
In one attack in Kunduz, at least eight soldiers were killed overnight, said Ghulam Rabbani, a local lawmaker.
The attack started around midnight and lasted more than two hours, and “the sound of rocket fire and light weapons could be heard throughout the city,” he said.AD
Following the U.S. airstrike Wednesday, Taliban spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the group “is committed to act on all parts of the deal one by one to control the intensity of war.” He added: “The opposite side should also remove the hurdles in the deal to pave the way for complete peace.”
Shaheen did not respond to requests to clarify what he meant by “hurdles in the deal.”
Leggett said Taliban leadership promised the international community it would “reduce violence and not increase attacks.” He called on the group to “stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required.”
The Afghan government and Taliban leaders are also locked in a disagreement about a controversial prisoner exchange that could determine the future of peace talks.
Don’t worry. It’s all good: