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US conducts airstrikes against Taliban first time since Eid ceasefire

WION Web Team
KabulUpdated: Jun 05, 2020, 07:26 PM IST
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Afghan policemen arrive near a site of car bomb attack as smoke rises from the Police headquarters in Kandahar province. Photograph:(AFP)

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USFOR-A spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said the air strikes were conducted in southern Kandahar province and western Farah province

The United States conducted airstrikes against Taliban positions in Afghanistan for the first time since the start of the Eid ceasefire.

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USFOR-A spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett said the airstrikes were conducted in southern Kandahar province and western Farah province against Taliban fighters who had attacked Afghan army checkpoints.

“All sides must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take hold,” Leggett added.

The Taliban had earlier announced a ceasefire with Afghan forces which ended on May 26 as Eid ended. 

The US had reached a deal with the Taliban in February ensuring it would pull its troops from the country in return for security guarantees, however, the Taliban and the Afghan government have been at loggerheads with each other.

Although under the agreement the US and Taliban were supposed to refrain from attacking each other but the US had said last month that it would conduct "defensive strikes" against the Taliban if they attacked Afghan forces.