Carolyn Kaster/AP
President Donald Trump and US Marines.
- The US military launched its first airstrike in weeks against the Taliban on Wednesday, one day after President Donald Trump said he had a "good talk" with the terrorist group.
- The US said the attack was "defensive" in nature.
- The attack marks the first US conflict with the Taliban in 11 days, and after the US signed a partial truce agreement with the group.
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The US military launched its first airstrike in weeks against the Taliban early Wednesday, one day after President Donald Trump said he had a "good talk" with the terrorist group.
US Army Col. Sonny Legget, the spokesman for US Forces Afghanistan, said the attack was "defensive," and was launched to counter a Taliban assault against US-backed Afghan government forces in southern Helmand province.
"We call on the Taliban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments," Legget said in a statement. "As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required."
The attack marks the first US assault with the Taliban in 11 days. On Tuesday, Trump said he had a "a very good talk" with Taliban leaders about a conditional agreement signed on February 29 that would see the US withdraw all troops from Afghanistan, as long as the group held up its end of the bargain.
The Taliban claimed in its own statement that Trump said it was a "pleasure" to talk to the group.
"You are a tough people and have a great country, and I understand that you are fighting for your homeland," Trump said in the 35-minute call, according to the Taliban statement.
The ongoing conflict highlights the nuances of the partial truce and withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan. The agreement was predicated on the release of 1,000 Afghan security-forces prisoners in exchange for 5,000 Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government, which Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani said he did not agree to.
"There is no commitment to releasing 5,000 prisoners," Ghani said, adding that the condition "cannot be a prerequisite for talks."
Meanwhile, the Taliban responded by resuming attacks against Afghan government forces and claiming "our operations will continue as normal."
The Islamist organization stipulated that it would not attack "foreign forces," which ostensibly includes US troops.
Several news reports from the region indicated the terrorist group has killed scores of Afghan soldiers and policemen since the agreement. According to the US, the Taliban conducted 43 attacks against Afghan security checkpoints on Tuesday alone.
"To be clear - we are committed to peace, however we have the responsibility to defend our [Afghan] partners," Legget said, adding that the Taliban appeared to be "squandering" the peace process and "ignoring the will of the people."
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