The Pentagon has downgraded fighting between Afghan government forces and the Taliban over the weekend, saying it would have no effect on the withdrawal of foreign troops from the country. Afghanistan in progress.
“What we saw were minor harassment attacks that did not have a significant impact on our personnel, our equipment and our bases,” US Department of Defense spokesman John Kirby told reporters yesterday.
“We have not yet seen anything that could affect the departure,” he added.
The Taliban and the Afghan army clashed in several provinces, such as the former rebel stronghold of Kandahar. The U.S. military says a U.S. military says a car bomb had exploded at an Iraqi police recruiting center at Kisak, killing at least 12 people.
“I think you saw over the weekend that General (Austin) Miller certainly has options at his disposal to defend our troops and our people,” Kirby was quoted as saying by the commander of US forces in Afghanistan.
At the same time, Washington is considering issuing travel visas to Afghan interpreters who helped the US military and who are feared to be targeted when foreign forces leave the country, the Pentagon spokesman added.
As thousands of former Afghan interpreters await answers to their US visa applications, Kirby said the Pentagon is in talks with the State Department, which is in charge of the case, to make progress.
Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin “is well aware of the support we have received over the past 20 years from Afghans in various roles,” Kirby said. “He is also fully aware of the risks that these people have taken and continue to take, along with their families, in supporting not only the United States but also our NATO and coalition partners.”
The minister “is in discussions with Secretary of State (Anthony) Blinken on how we can meet our obligations to them,” he added.
In a report released in early April, Brown University in the United States said that in 2019, some 19,000 visa applications from Afghans who worked for the U.S. government as interpreters or in administrative positions had not yet been processed.
Violence against Afghan army forces has intensified in recent weeks, with more than 100 members of the Afghan security forces killed. On Monday, local officials said Taliban insurgents attacked a military outpost in the southwestern province of Farah, killing at least seven Afghan soldiers.
On Sunday, the Afghan Ministry of Defense announced that more than 100 insurgents had been killed in 24 hours in fighting between government forces and the Taliban.
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