Kabul death toll 80 as IS grows in Afghanistan
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The death toll in a suicide bombing at a Kabul wedding claimed by the Islamic State affiliate in Afghanistan has risen to 80, an official said yesterday, as a US envoy was set to resume talks with the Taliban on ending America鈥檚 longest war.
The initial toll in Saturday's blast was 63 but 17 people later died of their wounds, Afghan Interior Ministry spokesman Nusrat Rahimi said. Thirty people were in critical condition after the attack.
The suicide bombing renewed concerns that the growing threat by the IS affiliate will mean little peace for Afghan civilians despite the US-Taliban negotiations to end nearly 18 years of fighting.
鈥淲e will try and close on remaining issues,鈥 envoy Zalmay Khalilzad said on Twitter. 鈥淲e鈥檙e ready. Let鈥檚 see if the Taliban are as well.鈥
US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that about 13,000 US troops remain in Afghanistan. And he wants to bring at least some of them home before next year鈥檚 US presidential election.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been there for 18 years. It鈥檚 ridiculous,鈥 Trump said, adding that 鈥渨e鈥檙e not really fighting; we鈥檙e a 鈥 almost more of a police force over there.鈥 But Afghanistan remains dangerous and some US presence is needed, he said.
The top Taliban demand is for the estimated 20,000 US and allied forces to leave, a prospect that has created widespread concern that another civil war in Afghanistan could follow as various armed parties jostle for power.
Afghanistan was the world鈥檚 deadliest conflict in 2018 and the United Nations has said more civilians died there last year than in the past decade. Over 32,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan in the past 10 years.
Khalilzad鈥檚 new discussions in Qatar, where the Taliban have a political office, will seek guarantees that Afghanistan, which hosted al-Qaida and its leader Osama bin Laden before the 9/11 attacks, will not be used as a launchpad for global terror assaults.
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