Taliban leaders stand by agreement with US

Afghan Taliban leader Hebatullah Akhunzada has said despite attacks on Afghan security forces that he stands by the historic peace deal with the United States.

According to Al Jazeera, he said that our group is committed to the agreement with the United States.

Hebatullah Akhunzada, in a statement issued on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr, urged Washington not to miss the best opportunity to reach an agreement to end the long US war in Afghanistan.

"The Islamic Emirate stands by the agreement reached with the United States and urges the other side to live up to its promise and not to miss this important opportunity," he said.

"I urge US officials not to allow anyone to obstruct, slow down or undermine this international agreement," the Taliban leader said.

The Taliban have stepped up attacks on Afghan forces since the peace deal in Doha in late February, but there have been no clashes with foreign forces under the agreement, but the United States has warned that the agreement is not being implemented. Is.

Several people, including soldiers, have been killed in Taliban attacks in the past week.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the May 18 attack on an Afghan intelligence checkpoint that killed eight soldiers.

A car bomb in the province killed at least seven intelligence personnel and wounded about 40, said Waheedullah Jumazada, spokesman for the governor of the eastern province of Ghazni.

He said the Taliban used a military vehicle in their attack and targeted the National Directorate of Security Unit.

The Interior Ministry in Kabul and health officials in Ghazni also confirmed the car bombing. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement on Twitter that his mujahideen had carried out the attack.

It should be noted that the agreement between the US and the Taliban was aimed at paving the way for talks between the Afghan government and the militants. Under the agreement, the Taliban and the Afghan government also released each other's prisoners.

Last month, the Taliban warned the United States of delaying the release of prisoners, saying it was carrying out drone strikes on civilians, which led to the agreement being broken and the release of prisoners being delayed unnecessarily.

The Taliban said they had stopped attacks on Afghan security forces' rural posts, while cities and military installations had not been attacked by foreign and Afghan forces.

He said persistent violations of the agreement would create a climate of mistrust, which would not only damage the agreement but also force its fighters to respond in the same way and intensify the fighting.

The Taliban said in a statement that "we are seriously urging the Americans to abide by the terms of the agreement and to urge their allies to abide by it."