KABUL, AFGHANISTAN — On Saturday, May 8th, a terrorist attack on the Afghan capital left over 150 people dead or injured. This attack comes in the wake of US and NATO withdrawals from Afghanistan, as the Afghan government struggles with a wave of terrorist attacks as the Taliban seeks to reassert its control over the country.
“The Taliban, by escalating their illegitimate war and violence, have once again shown that they are not only reluctant to resolve the current crisis peacefully and fundamentally, but are complicating the situation.” Afghan President Ashraf Ghani declared in response to the attack. Neither the Taliban nor the Islamic State, both of which are active in the region, have claimed responsibility for the attack.
If the Taliban were to be behind the attack, it would be a violation of the peace deal they signed with former President Donald Trump in early 2020, which is the basis for the Biden administration’s withdrawal of American troops.
