Press Statement
Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary Of State
September 17, 2019
The United States condemns the recent Taliban attacks on the people, institutions, and infrastructure of Afghanistan.
Just today, the Taliban has claimed responsibility for a terrorist attack carried out by a suicide bomber in Kabul that killed more than 20 Afghans. They also claimed responsibility for a blast in the Parwan province capital of Charikar that killed more than two dozen people at a campaign rally where a candidate for election was about to appear. And for days, Afghanistan has endured blackouts and other challenges as a result of Taliban attacks against power transmission lines which carried electricity to hospitals, schools, and homes in many areas of the country.
Through these attacks, the Taliban demonstrate blatant disregard for the people and institutions of Afghanistan. For Afghans to truly reconcile, the Taliban must begin to demonstrate a genuine commitment to peace rather than continue the violence and destruction that causes such inordinate harm to the Afghan people and the future of their country.
