US Defence Secretary Jim Mattis and Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg renewed their commitment to Afghanistan Wednesday, as militants fired rockets that killed one person and wounded four in Kabul. Mattis is the first member of US President Donald Trump’s cabinet to visit the country since Trump pledged to stay the course in America’s longest war. At a joint news conference with Ghani at the presidential palace Mattis and Stoltenberg pledged the support of US and Nato allies to the Afghan conflict, and expressed determination to stop the country becoming a safe haven for terrorists. The foreign assistance would give Afghan forces a “compelling battlefield advantage over anything the Taliban stands to mass against” it, Mattis told reporters. America is pressing Nato partners to increase their own troop levels in the country to help Afghan forces get the upper hand in the grinding battle against the Taliban and Islamic State.

Source: Dhaka Tribune September 27, 2017 12:33 UTC