Taliban Violence Increases

Amir Shah reported in the Washington Post that in a recent attack, Taliban violence in Kabul, Afghanistan has killed 26 people. This is another episode in the increased violence that Afghanistan has seen in the recent months. According to the article, “Taliban militants have stepped up attacks across the volatile south, and in the past three weeks more than 400 people have been killed.”

Shah reports that “the latest bloodshed came as the U.S. military released 33 Afghans from a prison at Bagram Air Base.” Shah reports that “some of those prisoners accused U.S. troops of putting down protests with unspecified gas that made inmates drowsy and restricted their breathing.” However, the U.S. says that they never received any formal complaints.

In a related story reported in the Washington Post by Daniel Cooney, “much of the recent Taliban fighting is believed to be funded by the country’s $2.8 billion trade in opium and heroin—about 90 percent of the world’s supply.”

Cooney also reports that “the daily violence has raised fears of Taliban resurgence.” Coalition spokesman, Lt. Col. Paul Fitzpatrick says, “We will not be deterred from our mission to provide a safe and secure environment to the Afghan people.”

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