The United State has launched an airstrike against the Taliban movement in central Wardak province, Afghanistan, US Forces Spokesman Col. Sonny Leggett tweeted.
According to the statement, five Taliban militants were killed in the strike.
The US military denies allegations that it violated its agreement with the Taliban, along with accusations that the airstrike killed Afghan civilians, Leggett added.
USFOR-A conducted a targeted strike in Nerkh, Wardak last night- in defense of the ANDSF and in accordance with the U.S.-TB Agreement- killing 5 Taliban fighters. We reject the allegations of violating the agreement and of killing innocent Afghans.@Zabehulah_M33 @IeaOffice
— USFOR-A Spokesman Col Sonny Leggett (@USFOR_A) October 26, 2020
The statement comes a day after the US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, announced that 12 children had been killed and many more injured in an air strike by Afghan government forces carried out in the northeastern province of Takhar. Khalilzad also called for a reduction of violence in the country and for a speedup of a political settlement.
On 18 October, the Taliban movement accused the US forces of breaching the non-aggression pact between the two sides by carrying out airstrikes on the movement's positions in Afghanistan’s south and west. The US has categorically rejected the Taliban's claims, claiming that the airstrikes were conducted only in tandem with the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces.
In recent weeks, hundreds of Taliban militants have been reportedly killed in fights against Afghan government forces and in US airstrikes.
The attacks continue despite the ongoing peace deal between the two sides signed earlier this year in Doha. According to the peace process agreement signed between the US and the Taliban on 29 February, foreign armed forces are required to withdraw from Afghanistan in return for the Taliban's pledge to prevent the country from becoming a haven for terrorist groups.
*Taliban is designated as a terrorist group banned in Russia
