KABUL, Afghanistan – Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo visited the Gulf country of Qatar on Saturday, where he met with Afghan and Taliban negotiators trying to break the stalemate in their stalled peace talks. It landed hours after a deadly rocket attack in Kabul, the latest evidence of widespread violence in Afghanistan.
The rocket barrage landed in the heart of Kabul, killing at least eight people and injuring more than two dozen. The attack, which took place early on Saturday, silenced warning voices that erupted in the diplomatic quarters of the Afghan capital, and residents took cover on their morning commute.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the attack, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors Islamic State declarations. The group is seen by many experts as a major loser for future peace in Afghanistan.
In the wake of the Trump administration’s demise, Qatar is the latest stop on Mr. Pompeo’s hurricane, President-elect Joseph R. Prior to taking office in January, Biden Jr. was pursuing the White House’s foreign policy objectives. The Pentagon said this week that it would halve the number of US troops in Afghanistan by about half to 2,500, down from 50,000 by mid-January.
The troop withdrawal has created uncertainty among Afghan officials who are hoping for a policy change under Mr Biden. Afghan security forces, still dependent on U.S. airstrikes, have struggled to defend the region from recent Taliban attacks.
In Doha, which hosts the peace talks, representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban have been wrestling for months over two major sticking issues, and negotiators from both sides have said in recent days that they are close to success.
The Afghan government and the Taliban are stuck on which Islamic school to consider using to resolve disputes during negotiations, and if the February 29, US-Taliban deal will be referenced.
Mr Pompeo told the Afghan negotiating team that the United States would “sit on the sidelines and help wherever we can.” “I know I would be very interested in getting your thoughts on how we can increase the likelihood of a successful outcome.”
Fauzia Kuofi, one of the Afghan government’s negotiators, said they had asked Mr Pompeo to accept a nationwide ceasefire and put more pressure on him not to withdraw US troops so quickly, adding that Mr Pompeo had ignored the issue. .
The Taliban are still holding American Mark Friarix, a former Navy diver and civil engineer who was abducted in Kabul and taken to Khajuraho province earlier this year. It is not clear if Mr. Pompeo discussed the release of Mr. 58 Freericks during his more than an hour-long meeting with the Taliban.
As Mr Pompeo was meeting with Taliban and Afghan government officials, Kabulis were passing through areas devastated by Saturday’s attack.
A spokesman for the Afghan Interior Ministry, Tariq Arian, said 23 rockets had crashed in the city of Kabul, near the university and other areas near the shopping area.
Security officials said they found a parked truck on his bed, from which rockets were fired, indicating that the car had been used in the fighting. Islamic State carried out a similar attack targeting the presidential inauguration in March.
The Afghanistan group, despite being incorporated militarily in the east of Afghanistan, has still managed to carry out attacks in Kabul with small cells that often coordinate on encrypted messaging applications. The group has often attacked Shia places of worship and neighborhoods.
A Taliban spokesman said the insurgent group was not involved.
The city was hit by a rare rocket attack as there were confirmation votes for 10 ministers in the Afghan parliament.
Fareed Ahmed Amiri, manager of the popular downtown bakery and coffee shop Slice, said he was nearby when the rocket arrived.
“It’s very shocking,” Mr. Amiri said. Security camera footage shared on social media showed me hitting the rocket almost directly in front of the bakery, killing the delivery van with a shrapnel and injuring its employees.
The attack took place during a particularly bloody month. At least 163 civilians were killed nationwide in November, according to data compiled by the New York Times. Nov. On the 2nd, three gunmen attacked Kabul University, killing at least 22 people, many of them students.
Mr Amiri said, “Confidence in the security forces is waning. How can that be in the heart of Kabul?”
The relentless attacks, including targeted killings in Kabul and other cities across the country, have sown growing distrust in his government of Afghan citizenship.
Although Afghanistan’s senior vice president, Amrullah Saleh, is cracking down on crime in Kabul, it is not clear how the rocket-propelled grenade could enter the city and keep its arsenal in the spotlight.
“Even downtown is not safe,” Mr Amiri said.
