Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
April 24, 2021
Officials in Afghanistan on April 24 described a wave of attacks that killed at least 22 people in five provinces over the previous 24 hours as violence continued to plague efforts to hammer out a path to peace.
Bombings by Taliban militants have surged since U.S. President Joe Biden this month announced a delay in the withdrawal of U.S. troops from a previous deadline of May 1 to September 11.
Three attacks took place in the capital, Kabul, on April 23 and 24, including gunmen killing four policeman, a university teacher, and a government employee, according to a police spokesman.
In the southeastern province of Ghazni, local officials said at least four civilians were killed by a roadside bomb.
Two more died in a separate bombing in the provincial capital.
Local officials blamed Taliban militants for the attack, but no one has claimed responsibility.
Three Afghan soldiers were killed by a roadside bombing in the central Logar Province, and two policemen and a civilian died in an explosion in Jalalabad city.
Seven pro-government forces were killed in an overnight attack in the northern Takhar Province that employed a drone, according to government and intelligence officials.
Taliban leaders responded to Biden’s postponement of a withdrawal agreed with the previous U.S. administration by refusing to attend a high-level peace conference planned for Turkey in mid-April.
The Taliban had warned it would step up its attacks after May 1 to protest the delay.
Intra-Afghan talks between Kabul and Taliban representatives in Doha have been stalled since mid-September 2020.
Based on reporting by dpa