The U.S. military said it had conducted two air raids on Taliban fighters in Afghanistan – the first since the end of the rare ceasefire between the armed group and the Afghan government forces.
There has been no immediate comment from the Taliban following this announcement.
Colonel Sonny Leggett, spokesman for the U.S. forces in Afghanistan, said the airstrikes took place in two different provinces with the intention to foil the Taliban’s plans to launch attacks on Afghan security checkpoints.
Leggett revealed the first airstrike was in southern Kandahar and the second one was in western Farah province which targeted 25 armed Taliban fighters who were executing a coordinated attack on Afghan National Security Forces (ANDSF) checkpoints.
No casualty figures were released.
“These were the 1st US airstrikes against (the Taliban) since the start of the Eid ceasefire,” Leggett wrote in a tweet announcing the attacks.
“We reiterate: All sides must reduce violence to allow the peace process to take hold,” he added.
An Afghan government official, speaking to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity, revealed three senior Taliban commanders and at least 13 other fighters had been killed in the Farah raid.
