The Taliban is threatening to take action on U.S. troops for violating an agreement between the Taliban and Afghan forces to entirely withdraw forces by May 1.
“As withdrawal of foreign forces from #Afghanistan by agreed upon May 1st deadline has passed, this violation in principle has opened the way for [Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan] Mujahidin to take every counteraction it deems appropriate against the occupying forces,” tweeted Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid.
“The Mujahidin of IEA will now await what decision the leadership of Islamic Emirate takes in light of the sovereignty, values and higher interests of the country, and will then take action accordingly, Allah willing,” he added.
President Joe Biden last month said he would remove occupied forces out of Afghanistan by Sept. 11, moving the date back about four months.
Biden’s plan, however, has May 1 as the start of the withdrawal, not the end date. Mostly, the Taliban has avoided encounters with U.S. and coalition forces but has continued attacks on civilians and the Afghan military.
A spokesperson for the Afghan Ministry of Interior, Tariq Arian in a tweet said Taliban attacks may increase “because they think power can be gained through war. We are ready to respond.”
Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Asia Programme at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, told Reuters the U.S. “can’t rule out attacks.
“That said, the Taliban is less likely to attack foreign forces now that it knows there is a specific date when they will be leaving.”
Source: Newmax
