"The US conducted an airstrike on March 4 against Taliban fighters in Nahr-e Saraj, Helmand, who were actively attacking an ANDSF checkpoint. This was a defensive strike to disrupt the attack," Leggett said.

The attack came after Donald Trump announced that he had had a phone conversation with Taliban political head, Abdul Ghani Baradar.

On February 29, 2020, the United States and the Taliban signed a peace agreement in Doha, Qatar. The provisions of the deal include the withdrawal of all American and NATO troops from Afghanistan, a Taliban pledge to prevent al-Qaeda from operating in areas under Taliban control, and talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government. The United States agreed to an initial reduction of its force level from 13,000 to 8,600, followed by a full withdrawal within 14 months if the Taliban keeps its commitments. The United States also committed to closing five military bases within 135 days, and expressed its intent to end economic sanctions on the Taliban by August 27, 2020.

The resulting intra-Afghan negotiations are scheduled to begin on March 10, 2020 in Oslo, Norway. The composition of the Afghan government negotiating team has not yet been determined, because the results of the 2019 Afghan presidential election are disputed and a new president has not been sworn in.

The deal requires the Afghan government to release 5,000 Taliban prisoners by the start of the talks, in a prisoner exchange for 1,000 government soldiers held by the Taliban. The Afghan government was not a party to the deal, and on March 1, Ghani stated that he would reject the prisoner exchange: "The government of Afghanistan has made no commitment to free 5,000 Taliban prisoners.  The release of prisoners is not the United States authority, but it is the authority of the government of Afghanistan." Ghani also stated that any prisoner exchange "cannot be a prerequisite for talks," but must be a part of the negotiations.

On March 2, a Taliban spokesperson stated that they were "fully ready" for the intra-Afghan talks, but that there would be no talks if about 5,000 of their prisoners are not released. He also said that the agreed-upon period of reduction in violence was over and that operations against Afghan government forces could resume. (ILKHA)