Small Wars Journal

The Taliban Claimed an Attack on U.S. Forces. Pompeo Blamed Iran.

Sun, 06/16/2019 - 4:06am

The Taliban Claimed an Attack on U.S. Forces. Pompeo Blamed Iran. By Siobhán O'Grady – Washington Post

On May 31, a suicide bomber targeted a U.S. convoy in eastern Kabul, killing four Afghan passersby and slightly wounding four U.S. servicemen and at least three civilians.

At the time, the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, with spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid telling the Associated Press in a phone interview that 10 U.S. troops were killed — a common exaggeration for the militant group.

But two weeks later, amid growing animosity between Washington and Tehran, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed to the Kabul bombing as an example of one “in a series of attacks instigated by the Islamic Republic of Iran and its surrogates against American and allied interests.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pompeo mentioned a number of recent incidents he alleged were linked to Iran…

Read on.