Afghanistan truce still in effect despite Taliban attacks

It appears the U.S. military’s temporary truce with the Taliban is still holding despite a recent Taliban attack that killed at least six people in Afghanistan.

The reduction in violence began on Feb. 22 and is slated to last seven days. If levels of violence remain down, the United States and Taliban could sign an interim peace agreement on Saturday.

“We're working our way through the reduction of violence. We’re seeing what we would call a downward trend in violence, which is great for the #Afghan people. It's great for the country of #Afghanistan.” – General Scott Miller pic.twitter.com/SMdDyIbgv2

— USFOR-A Spokesman Col Sonny Leggett (@USFOR_A) February 25, 2020

But violence has not ceased entirely. On Monday, a Taliban attack on pro-government forces killed at least six people and left five others wounded, Afghan officials told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 

In addition, a district governor and two Afghan government employees were also kidnapped on Monday in Samangan Province.

The top U.S. military commander in Afghanistan acknowledged there have been “some incidents” during the truce but said that the country's overall security situation has remained stable.

“We're working our way through the reduction of violence,” Army Gen. Austin Miller said on Tuesday while visiting Afghanistan’s national-level counterterrorism unit. “We’re seeing what we would call a downward trend in violence, which is great for the Afghan people. It's great for the country of Afghanistan.”

“There's still some incidents and we're working through those incidents,” Miller continued. “We remain committed in our support to the Afghan security forces.”

Miller made his remarks in Kandahar Province along with Acting Afghan Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid, who claimed the Taliban have posed for group photos with Afghan security forces during the truce.

A spokesman for the Taliban could not be reached for comment on Tuesday.