The United States has said that the attack on Kabul’s maternity hospital was carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) and urged the government to embrace the weak peace efforts with the Taliban. The Wednesday attack on the state-run hospital has killed 24 people, including two unborn babies.
Political experts are unsure whether the declaration by the US would be enough to stop the offensive announced by Ashraf Ghani to resume the operations against the Taliban.
On Tuesday, the Afghan government ordered the military to switch from defensive to offensive mode against the Taliban following the hospital attack in Kabul and the Nangarhar province attack that killed a score of civilians.
In a statement on twitter, US Special Representative Zalmay Khalilzad accused ISIL of both attacks and added that the group does not approve of the peace agreement and wants to trigger an Iraq-styled sectarian war in Afghanistan.
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Khalilzad said that it’s the trap laid by ISIL to delay the peace and create unrest, he added that the Afghans must come together to stop this menace and pursue the historic peace agreement which would put an end to the decades-old war. He said
No more excuses. Afghans, and the world, deserve better.”
ISIL Kabul Attack
According to the SITE intelligence group, a militant group affiliated with ISIL accepted the responsibility for the Nangahar suicide bombing. But no group has yet claimed any responsibility for the hospital attack.
Though the Taliban have categorically denied any involvement in the attacks, the government blamed the group for fostering an environment in which anarchy and terrorism thrive. The recent attacks were another setback for the US as it stalled the plans to bring peace in Afghanistan and an end of America’s longest war.
In February, the Taliban and the US agreed on the phased troops’ withdrawal, and the Afghan government was to release the prisoners before the talks start. However, the intra-afghan dialogue is yet to begin, but it is not a party to the February peace deal.
Many opposition leaders, along with Ashraf Ghani, support the offensive against the Taliban as they believe that the sole purpose of the US is to stick to the troops’ withdrawal agreement and help Trump win the re-election in November.
