Violence has once more risen in Afghanistan from the 5,000 Taliban prisoners that the United States urged Afghanistan to release earlier this year that is now terrorizing the region once again.
The United States currently is seeking to end its two-decade-long war in the region against terrorism. For the past several months, Taliban forces have been able to seize the country once more and execute any of the Afghan military members who aided American troops in the region.
Terrorism made headlines earlier this Tuesday after a suicide attack targeted the residence of acting Defense Minister Bismillah Khan Mohammadi. Gunmen exchanged fire after the explosion in the secure, upscale area of Kabul that is home to several other government officials.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday that many Taliban insurgents were once prisoners of the American-backed Afghan government:
The Taliban commander overseeing an assault on the key southern city of Lashkargah is one of 5,000 former prisoners released by the Afghan government last year under pressure from the U.S., Afghan and Western officials say.
The commander, Mawlavi Talib, is one of the thousands of former prisoners freed to further peace talks who have returned to the battlefield to join the Taliban onslaught against cities around the country, Afghan officials say. The presence of the Taliban fighters is a fresh strain in relations between Washington and Kabul, as the U.S.-backed government struggles to fend off Taliban attacks throughout the country.
Under Mr. Talib’s command, hundreds of Taliban have pushed toward the city center over the past week. On Tuesday they launched an attack on Lashkargah’s prison in a bid to release more inmates and recruit them into the fight.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Tuesday to “reiterate the strong and enduring U.S. commitment to Afghanistan.” Both leaders “condemned the ongoing Taliban attacks, which show little regard for human life and human rights, and deplored the loss of innocent Afghan lives and displacement of the civilian population.”
