May 8, 2021
2 mins read

Taliban launches new offensives as US misses May 1 deadline

At least 11 Afghan security forces members were killed in terrorists’ attacks in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed on Thursday….reports Asian Lite News

Taliban have launched a new wave of offensive in several Afghan cities and are resorting to bombings and heavy weapons after the United States missed May 1 deadline to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

Several cities around Afghanistan are witnessing the wrath of the Taliban’s attacks. The Afghan forces have suffered heavy casualties in the past few days as they fought back the terror group offensive.

At least 11 Afghan security forces members were killed in terrorists’ attacks in eastern Afghanistan on Wednesday night, authorities confirmed on Thursday.

Afghan security forces had launched airstrikes and deployed elite commando forces to the area. The insurgents had been pushed back but fighting was continuing on Tuesday and hundreds of families had been displaced, he added.

Security Council strongly condemns Afghan terror attack

“There was a thunderstorm of heavy weapons and blasts in the city and the sound of small arms was like someone was making popcorn,” The News International quoted Mulah Jan, a resident of a suburb of Helmand provincial capital Lashkar Gah, as saying.

“I took all my family members to the corner of the room, hearing the heavy blasts and bursts of gunfire as if it was happening behind our walls,” he said. Families that could afford to leave had fled, but he had been unable to go, waiting with his family in fear before the Taliban were pushed back.

Attaullah Afghan, the head of Helmand’s provincial council, said the Taliban had launched their huge offensive on Monday from multiple directions, attacking checkpoints around the outskirts of Lashkar Gah, taking over some of them.

Also read:Taliban capture key district in northern Afghanistan

US forces missed the May 1 deadline to withdraw troops. The May 1 deadline for US troops to pull out was agreed to last year under former President Donald Trump.

US President Joe Biden announced last month the decision to withdraw troops from the country starting on that May 1 deadline, with the aim of completely withdrawing from Afghanistan by September 11, which would mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks that sparked the war in Afghanistan, the longest conflict in American history.

The Taliban rejected President Joe Biden’s announcement that troops would stay on past the deadline but withdraw over the next four and a half months.

Last week on Thursday, White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the US has begun pulling out its forces from Afghanistan.

On Monday, at least seven Afghan military personnel were killed when the Taliban set off explosives smuggled through a tunnel the group had dug into an army outpost in southwestern Farah province. (ANI)

Also read:N.Korea breaks ties with Malaysia

Previous Story

Maldives ex-president Nasheed hurt in assassination bid

Next Story

‘US ignored Pak outreach for rapprochement’

Latest from Afghanistan

48-hour truce on fragile border

Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban administration announce a 48-hour ceasefire after deadly border clashes, offering a fragile pause amid rising hostilities and collapsing diplomatic ties….reports Asian Lite News Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban administration

UN urges restraint in Pak-Afghan clashes

Bennett’s statement came after Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said that 12 Afghan civilians were killed and over 100 others injured in recent attacks…reports Asian Lite News UN Special Rapporteur on human rights

Pakistan-Afghanistan border Attack kills 12

Mujahid said that multiple Pakistani soldiers were killed in retaliatory action by Afghan forces…reports Asian Lite News At least 12 people were killed and more than 100 injured in a Pakistani military

India Commits to Afghan Growth

As a special gesture, India gifted 20 ambulances to the Afghan people with a symbolic handover being done by the EAM…reports Asian Lite News India on Friday announced plans to expand its

Border Strikes Stoke Afghanistan-Pakistan Rift

The explosions, reportedly originating from District 8 in eastern Kabul, a zone home to key government facilities and residential areas, triggered widespread panic. …reports Asian Lite News Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan
Go toTop

Don't Miss

Taliban ask US, EU to end lift sanctions

Muttaqi said that the payment of civil servants’ salaries and

Pakistan, Afghanistan set up committee on Durand line

During high-level meetings between Pakistan NSA and Taliban leadership, the