KABUL — Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on Monday that Taliban insurgents are the main reason for the continuing presence of foreign troops in Afghanistan.
Ghani, speaking at the annual opening ceremony of the Afghan parliament, said that the Afghan government asked for the extension of the foreign military mission largely because of the ongoing militant threat.
“Those Taliban who are killing our people are the enemies of our nation, as are Daesh (the so-called IS) and other terrorist groups,” Ghani told the parliamentarians. He claimed that there were 20 different militant insurgent groups, including the Taliban, operating in the country.
Meanwhile, an extended battle was underway on Monday between Taliban fighters and Afghan security forces in the southern province of Kandahar’s Nash district, according to Zia Durrani, spokesman for the Kandahar provincial police chief.
The attack started on Sunday and continued into Monday, Durrani said, adding that at least six police officers have been killed and around 15 wounded. He estimated that 15 Taliban fighters have been killed and more than 30 wounded.
“The reinforcements have arrived, but right now the clash is near the Nash district headquarters,” said Durrani.
Qari Yosouf Ahmadi, a Taliban spokesman, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Elsewhere in the eastern province of Nangarhar, at least four police officers were killed when their checkpoint came under attack, said Attaullah Khogyani, spokesman for the provincial governor.
The attack took place early Monday morning in the Achin district, Khogyani said, adding that eight of the attackers have been killed and five police officers wounded. There has been no claim of responsibility but Khogyani blamed the local affiliate of Daesh. Daesh has been active in Afghanistan’s eastern provinces, launching several similar attacks in recent months.
In another development Afghanistan’s national security adviser said on Monday that associating terrorism with Islam was inappropriate given the suffering Muslims have endured at the hands of terrorists and the sacrifices they have made to defeat such violence. The South Asian region, including Afghanistan and Pakistan, had the “highest concentration of organized terrorists anywhere in the world,” Hanif Atmar said. He noted that 20 out of 98 groups designated by the US as terrorist organizations were operating in the region.
Afghanistan has lost 10,500 people to terrorism over the last 14 months, with an average of 28 people dying each day, he said.
“It is inappropriate to associate terrorism with Islam, because it fails to understand, to appreciate, the sacrifices that the Muslims are making in order to defeat terrorism, and the suffering that the Muslims have had at the hands of the terrorists,” he told participants of the Asian Security Conference, being held this year in New Delhi.
India’s Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar said a global response to countering terrorism must come from Asia, since “Asians being subjected to the terrorist violence carried out by four out of five deadliest terror outfits in the world.”
