KABUL (SW) – The top NATO commander in Afghanistan has said the Alliance is ‘very serious’ about its obligations and expect the Taliban will be serious about their obligations.
"The reduction in violence was a confidence builder. We're very serious about our obligations and we expect the Taliban will be serious about their obligations. The United States has been very clear about our expectations—the violence must remain low." said, Gen. Scott Miller.
This comes as three people have been killed and 11 injured in a motorcycle bomb attack at a football match in Khost province, as the Taliban announced an end to a partial truce two days after signing a deal with the US. The Taliban had agreed to a week-long “reduction of violence” as a confidence-building measure ahead of the agreement signed on Saturday, in which the US pledged that all foreign forces would leave Afghanistan within 14 months, if the Taliban sat down for talks on Afghanistan’s future with government representatives.
The agreed “reduction in violence” expired on Saturday, but US officials had expressed hope it would be prolonged. The Afghan president, Ashraf Ghani, committed to extending it at least until the scheduled start date for intra-Afghan talks, 10 March, the Guardian reported.
The Pentagon leadership in Washington sought to play down the significance of the attack.
“The Taliban is not a monolithic group. There are multiple terrorist organizations operating … so we don’t know exactly who did that yet,” Gen Mark Milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said on Monday. “Secondly, I would caution everybody that there’s going to be an absolute cessation of violence in Afghanistan … it’s not going to go to zero.”
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