Taliban-Led Attacks in Afghanistan Hit 10-Year High by Jessica Donati - Wall Street Journal
Taliban and other enemy attacks in Afghanistan hit a 10-year high in the final quarter of 2019, U.S. data shows, the latest indication of the growing violence ravaging the country as Washington seeks to negotiate an exit.
A surge in attacks followed the interruption in U.S.-Taliban talks last year. President Trump briefly called off talks in September, just as both sides were on the cusp of an accord to end the U.S. role in the 18-year war, blaming the decision on a Taliban attack that killed a U.S. soldier.
The Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, an independent U.S. government watchdog agency also known as Sigar, released the data on enemy attacks in its quarterly report to Congress on Friday. The agency collects the figures from the U.S. military. The Taliban is the largest antigovernment group in Afghanistan.
The report showed that 23 U.S. soldiers were killed and 192 wounded last year, the highest number since most U.S. and NATO troops pulled out in 2014. The report didn’t provide details on specific injuries…