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2 US Soldiers Killed in Afghanistan, a Day After Pompeo's Visit, Ashraf Ghani Arrives in Pakistan

June 27, 2019

 

US Soldiers in Afghanistan, file, 2017	Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, and Pakistani PM, Imran Khan, June 27, 2019

 

U.S. Military Says Two Service Members Killed In Afghanistan

June 26, 2019 04:24 GMT

By RFE/RL

The U.S. military says two of its service members were killed in Afghanistan on June 26, a day after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made a quick visit to Kabul where he said Washington was hopeful of a peace deal "before September 1." A statement by the military did not provide any details surrounding the circumstances of the deaths, which bring the tally of U.S. service member fatalities in Afghanistan to at least six this year. The statement also said the identities of the soldiers would not be released until their families had been notified. The United States began a fresh push last September to bring the militant group to the negotiating table to end the nearly 18-year Afghan conflict -- the longest war in U.S. history. The U.S. envoy seeking a peace deal, Zalmay Khalilzad, has held six rounds of talks with the Taliban in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The next round is scheduled to begin on June 29. The talks are expected to focus on working out a timeline for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan and on a Taliban guarantee that militants will not plot attacks from Afghan soil. Before leaving Afghanistan for India, Pompeo on June 25 underscored Khalilzad's strategy in the talks, which involves four interconnected issues: counterterrorism, the presence of foreign troops, inter-Afghan dialogue and a permanent cease-fire. "All sides agree that finalizing a U.S.-Taliban understanding on terrorism and foreign troop presence will open the door to intra-Afghan dialogue and negotiation," Pompeo said. About 20,000 foreign troops, most of them American, are deployed in Afghanistan. The Taliban has refused to hold direct talks with the Afghan government, which it calls a "U.S. puppet," but has said it would talk with government officials if they attend the meetings as ordinary Afghans.

Based on reporting by AP, Reuters, and AFP

US Military: 2 Service Members Killed in Afghanistan

By Ayaz Gul June 26, 2019

ISLAMABAD -

The NATO-led security alliance in Afghanistan says two U.S. soldiers were killed in an ambush in the eastern part of the country, bringing to nine the number of fatalities the U.S. military has suffered since the beginning of the year.

In a statement Wednesday, the Resolute Support mission said  the identities of the soldiers would not be released until their families had been notified. It did not share further details about how and where the casualties occurred.  

The Taliban claimed in a brief statement its fighters ambushed and killed two American soldiers in the eastern Afghan province of Wardak on Tuesday. The insurgent group’s spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the attack took place in Sayedabad district.

It was not immediately clear whether Mujahid was discussing the same incident that led to the death of American soldiers.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo described the killing of American soldiers as “tragic" and offered his condolences to their families.

“I think this drives home the need for us to be successful, right, the mission set that we’ve undertaken in Afghanistan is a reconciliation, to reduce the level of violence, to reduce the level of risk to Afghans broadly and the risk to American service members,” Pompeo told reporters in India where he is holding bilateral meetings.

The Resolute Support Mission consists of some 17,000 troops, about half of them from the United States. A smaller number of U.S. troops also operates in Afghanistan under a counter-terrorism mission.

The latest U.S casualties come a day after Pompeo stopped in the Afghan capital, Kabul, for daylong talks with Afghan President Ashraf Ghani as well as other senior leaders and opposition politicians to discuss ongoing efforts Washington is making to reach an agreement with the Taliban toward ending the nearly 18-year-old war.

As U.S. and Taliban negotiators are preparing to meet in Qatar Saturday for a new round of talks, Pompeo told reporters before leaving Afghanistan he is hopeful of a peace deal “before September 1”, ahead of the country's presidential election on 28th that month.

https://www.voanews.com/south-central-asia/us-military-2-service-members-killed-afghanistan

Afghan President, Ashraf Ghani, Arrives in Pakistan, Holds Talks with PM Imran

Dawn.com, June 27, 2019

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani arrived in Pakistan on Thursday morning for a two-day visit aimed at strengthening ties between the two countries.

Upon arrival at Nur Khan airbase in Islamabad, Ghani was received by Adviser to PM for Commerce, Textile and Industry Production Abdul Razak Dawood.

He met Prime Minister Imran Khan at the Prime Minister House, where he was presented a guard of honour. The two leaders introduced members of their delegations to each other.

The premier and President Ghani later held a one-on-one meeting, in which matters pertaining to bilateral cooperation in various sectors and regional situation were discussed.

The Afghan president also met Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi. Ghani "appreciated Pakistan's efforts for peace process in Afghanistan".

The visit comes less than a week after Pakistan hosted dozens of Afghan politicians to discuss ways to end an 18-year-long war in its neighbouring country.

Ghani along with his ministers, advisers and a business delegation was invited for the visit by Prime Minister Imran Khan.

President Ghani will also travel to Lahore during the visit, which is his third tour to Pakistan since 2014, as efforts have intensified to reach a political settlement and end decades of war in Afghanistan.

The delegation-level talks between the two sides would focus on strengthening bilateral cooperation in diverse areas including political, trade, economic, security, peace and reconciliation, education and people-to-people exchanges, said Pakistan’s Foreign Office on Wednesday.

President Ghani earlier this year had accused Pakistan of meddling in internal politics of Afghanistan. He said the keys to the war were in the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where its government and military were based, and Quetta, the alleged hideout of a key group of Taliban leaders. Pakistani officials deny supporting the Taliban and say Islamabad favours a political settlement to maintain stability in Afghanistan, but Afghan officials remain cautious.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1490714/afghan-president-ashraf-ghani-arrives-in-pakistan-holds-talks-with-pm-imran

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