Afghan National Army soldiers prepare to move out following an inspection of troops at the Regional Military Training Center at Tactical Base Gamberi, Afghanistan, on July 30, 2015. JARROD MORRIS/U.S. ARMY
On June 7, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a weeklong ceasefire with the Taliban to coincide with the holiday marking the end of Ramadan next week.
The ceasefire will begin on June 12 and last through the Eid al-Fitr holiday, until around June 19. The ceasefire does not include al-Qaida or ISIS.
According to Chief Of Staff Gen. Mohammad Sharif Yaftali, governemnt would be on standby throughout the ceasefire being ready to respond to any attacks. He added that Government forces would continue to combat “international terrorists” likely referring to al-Qaida and ISIS.
The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announces ceasefire from the 27th of Ramadan until the fifth day of Eid-ul-Fitr following the historic ruling [Fatwa] of the Afghan Ulema.
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) 7 June 2018
The Taliban has not commented on a statement by the Afghan government. The group has been steadily expanding its presence in the country, capturing new districts and carrying out successful attacks against government forces.
#Afghan national defense and security forces will only stop offensive maneuvers against Afghan armed Taliban and will continue to target Daesh and other foreign backed terrorist organizations and their affiliates.
— Ashraf Ghani (@ashrafghani) 7 June 2018
On June 6, USA TODAY reported citing data from coalition military statistics, US warplanes destroyed about 40 US-supplied Humvees that the Taliban had captured from Afghanistan’s military over the past several years.
“In the event this type of military equipment is stolen, U.S. Forces-Afghanistan and the Afghan national defense and security forces work quickly to reacquire the equipment or eliminate it from the battlefield altogether so as not to allow the enemy an advantage,” Lt. Col. Martin O’Donnell, a military spokesman, said according to a statement quoted by USA TODAY.