Taliban claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb that killed 2 US soldiers in Afghanistan

11 January، 2020

Taliban claimed responsibility for a roadside bomb that killed two US service members were killed in Afghanistan on Saturday when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb, the military confirmed in a statement. Two others were injured in the attack.

The Taliban immediately claimed responsibility, and a spokesman said the attack occurred in the southern Kandahar province, the Associated Press reports.

None of the US soldiers were identified, per defense department rules. There are currently more than 12,000 US troops stationed in Afghanistan, but President Donald Trump announced in December that he had ordered the military to start withdrawing roughly 7,000 service members in coming months.

FILE - In this Dec. 25, 2019, file photo, an Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. Goble, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who died in Afghanistan this week, was seizing a Taliban weapons cache when he was killed, the U.S. military said Friday. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, File) — FILE – In this Dec. 25, 2019, file photo, an Army carry team moves a transfer case containing the remains of U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael Goble, at Dover Air Force Base, Del.. Goble, a U.S. Special Forces soldier who died in Afghanistan this week, was seizing a Taliban weapons cache when he was killed, the U.S. military said Friday.

Washington had been engaged in on-again, off-again peace talks with the Taliban, according to the AP. A potential ceasefire agreement would allow the US to withdraw all American soldiers from the country. But despite the peace talks, 23 US soldiers were killed in Afghanistan last year alone.

The New York Times reports that Afghan officials were stunned when Trump announced his decision to pull around half of the American troops in the country. In January, after the US targeted a top Iranian general in Iraq, more than 3,000 troops were deployed to the region.

Taliban militants have control in roughly half of the country, and continue to stage attacks against both US and Afghan forces. Earlier Saturday, NATO and Afghan officials confirmed that a roadside bomb had hit a US vehicle, but casualties were not announced at the time.