Taliban Rejects Ceasefire, Denies Launching Rocket Attack on Kabul

Reports on Monday indicated Taliban leadership has rejected Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s offer of a three-month ceasefire coinciding with the Muslim holiday of Eid. The Taliban also denied responsibility for a rocket attack on Kabul during a televised speech by President Ghani on Tuesday.

The Taliban’s abduction of nearly 200 bus passengers over the weekend was taken as a fairly clear signal the terrorist group is not interested in a ceasefire, but Taliban commanders made it official on Monday.

“Our leadership feels that they’ll prolong their stay in Afghanistan if we announced a ceasefire now,” one senior Taliban commander explained, referring to the American military presence in Afghanistan.

Another Taliban commander said the three-day ceasefire in June that was taken as a hopeful sign by the Afghan government and many outside observers is now seen as a mistake by Taliban leadership because it relieved pressure on U.S. and Afghan government forces.

Even as it vowed to continue fighting, the Taliban denied responsibility for a shower of rockets fired at the presidential palace in Kabul on Tuesday while President Ghani was giving a televised speech commemorating the Muslim holiday.

Ghani actually heard the explosions during his presentation and responded to them live on the air. “If they are thinking the rocket attack will keep Afghans down, they are wrong,” he said.

One of the rockets struck near the presidential palace, while two others landed near a NATO compound and the U.S. embassy. No injuries from the attack were reported.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of the Interior stated the attack was carried out with two rocket-laden vehicles operated by three militants. There was no claim of responsibility for the attack. A Taliban spokesman expressly denied that the militants were Taliban fighters.

An Afghan army helicopter was seen responding to the attack and firing at a position held by the militants, who may have launched as many as 22 rockets in total. The Interior Ministry reported that all of the attackers were killed and two members of the Afghan security force were wounded during the exchange, which destroyed a house and set a nearby market on fire. Security officials will doubtless face tough questions about how the attackers were able to get so close to a secure section of Kabul and fire at the presidential palace.

Pakistan’s recently-elected Prime Minister Imran Khan condemned the attack, stating that “targeting innocent civilians on religious festivals shows the defeated mindset.”