Taliban claim responsibility for Afghan military centre attack

KABUL: The Taliban on Monday claimed responsibility for an attack at a military centre in southern Helmand province in Afghanistan where at least 150 members of Afghan army and intelligence wing were stationed.

The bombing occurred on Sunday night, government officials and Taliban said.

“Dozens of members belonging to the enemy forces have been killed and wounded in the attack,” said Qari Yousuf Ahmedi, a spokesman for the group in a statement.

On Saturday, the US military in Afghanistan had urged warring parties to "return to the political path" in a rare open letter to the Taliban as a surge in violence risks shattering a hoped-for peace process.

In a two-page letter to the Taliban, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Colonel Sonny Leggett said "all sides" must show restraint to prevent further bloodshed.

"If the violence cannot be reduced then yes, there will be responses", Leggett wrote in a letter to Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.

"All sides must also return to the political path... Afghans should sit down now and begin talking about the future of Afghanistan together."

The letter came after General Scott Miller, who leads US and NATO troops in Afghanistan, on April 28 warned the Taliban of potential consequences to continued violence.

Under the terms of a US-Taliban deal signed February 29, the Taliban committed to stop striking US and foreign partner troops, and agreed to start peace talks with the Kabul administration following an exchange of prisoners.

In return, the US and other foreign troops will leave Afghanistan within 14 months of the deal signing.

The US agreed not to attack the Taliban, though it has reserved the right to hit them to support Afghan forces if they come under attack.

The Taliban also verbally committed to reduce violence by as much as 80%, Leggett said, and to halt attacks on urban areas. Instead, there has been a "drastic increase" in violence, he noted.

While the Taliban have refrained from hitting coalition forces and cities, they returned to the battlefield the moment the deal was signed and have been unleashing an average of 55 attacks a day on Afghan forces, according to Afghan officials.