KABUL/KUNDUZ: A roadside bomb in northern Afghanistan killed 11 pro-government militiamen when it tore through a truck in a Saturday pre-dawn attack that officials blamed on the Taliban.
The group was travelling through Badakshan province to assist security forces in the area, officials said.
A local commander was among the fatalities, provincial governor’s spokesman Sanaullah Rohani said. Badakshan provincial council member Abduallah Naji said the Taliban were responsible for the incident but the militants have so far not claimed the attack.
Local militias often work with overstretched security forces in Afghanistan, and have been regularly targeted by the Taliban.
Meanwhile, the US launched its first air strikes against the Taliban since a rare ceasefire between the insurgents and Afghan forces ended more than a week ago, the US military said Friday.
The two assaults took place on Thursday and Friday in separate provinces in Afghanistan, US forces spokesman Sonny Leggett said on Twitter. “These were the 1st US airstrikes against (the Taliban) since the start of the Eid ceasefire,” he wrote. “We reiterate: All sides must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take hold,” he added.
Ten members of the Afghan forces were killed on Friday in a separate attack targeting a Humvee vehicle, the Interior Ministry said, blaming the assault on the Taliban. There was no immediate comment from the group.
The Taliban announced a surprise three-day ceasefire with Afghan forces that ended on May 26 to mark the Eidul Fitr holiday. There has since been an overall drop in violence across the country, with the Afghan government saying it is ready to start long-delayed peace talks with the insurgents.
The US negotiator with the Taliban, Zalmay Khalilzad, left Friday for the region to discuss “the practical next steps necessary for a smooth start to intra-Afghan negotiations,” the State Department said.
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