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Fight against IS will step up during Afghan truce: US general
BRUSSELS, June 8, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – A one-week ceasefire with the Taliban
announced by the Afghan government will allow the fight against the Islamic
State group to be stepped up, the top US general in the country said Friday.
Afghan commandos backed by US special forces and air support are tackling
IS and Al-Qaeda fighters who hold pockets of territory in the northern and
eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Jowzjan.
“We are in the middle of a new offensive against ISIS in Nangahar. This
will continue and in fact will be intensified during the period of
ceasefire,” General John Nicholson, who commands US and NATO forces in
Afghanistan, told reporters.
Speaking on the sidelines of a NATO defence ministers’ meeting in
Brussels, Nicholson said US forces would respect the apparently unilateral
ceasefire with the Taliban announced by Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on
Thursday.
But Nicholson said his troops would not hesitate to respond if the Taliban
broke the ceasefire.
“We will act in self defence of coalition and Afghan forces,” Nicholson
said.
“This means that we will be watching and prepared to respond to any threat
that occurs or appears imminent to affect our forces.” The Taliban, ousted
from power in a US-led invasion in 2001, have not yet confirmed if they will
respect the ceasefire, which was called to coincide with Eid-al-Fitr, the
holiday that caps the holy month of Ramadan.
Ghani’s surprise declaration came on the heels of a fatwa issued by
Afghanistan’s top clerics branding suicide attacks “haram”, or forbidden, and
a Pentagon announcement that senior Taliban officials had been negotiating
with Afghan authorities on a possible ceasefire.
BSS/AFP/FI/ 1623 hrs