US strikes Taleban hours after Trump spoke to its chief

KABUL • The United States launched an air strike against Taleban fighters to defend Afghan forces yesterday, an American military spokesman said, as violence spirals after a string of deadly attacks by the insurgents, throwing the country's nascent peace process into grave doubt.

News of the air strike in southern Helmand province - the first in 11 days - came hours after US President Donald Trump told reporters he had had a "very good" chat with the Taleban political chief, who last Saturday signed a historic deal with Washington on the withdrawal of foreign forces.

Since the signing in Qatar, however, the militants have ramped up violence against Afghan forces, ending a partial week-long truce that provided a rare reprieve to war-weary residents.

In a tweet, US Forces-Afghanistan spokesman Sonny Leggett said the air strike took place against Taleban fighters who were "actively attacking" an Afghan forces' checkpoint in Helmand province.

"This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack," he tweeted. "We call on the Taleban to stop needless attacks and uphold their commitments. As we have demonstrated, we will defend our partners when required."

He said insurgents had carried out 43 attacks on checkpoints in Helmand on Tuesday alone.

The insurgents killed at least 20 Afghan soldiers and policemen in a series of overnight attacks, government officials told Agence France-Presse, casting a pall over peace talks between Kabul and the Taleban due to begin next Tuesday.

The news of the latest attacks came after Mr Trump told reporters in Washington on Tuesday that he had a "very good" relationship with Taleban political chief Mullah Baradar.

"The relationship is very good that I have with the mullah. We had a good long conversation today and you know, they want to cease the violence, they'd like to cease violence also," he said.

According to the insurgents, the pair spoke on the telephone for 35 minutes.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE