KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban is urging all NATO nations in Afghanistan to follow France's lead and pull their international forces from the war this year.
The call came in a three-page statement released Sunday as heads of state met at the NATO summit in Chicago to talk about the future of Afghanistan.
Newly elected French President Francois Hollande has said he will withdraw all French combat troops from Afghanistan by year's end — a full two years before the timeline agreed to by nations in U.S.-led NATO coalition.
The insurgent group noted declining public support for the war in the West and said political leaders should listen to their constituents and get out of Afghanistan.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An insurgent attack in Afghanistan killed two NATO service members on Sunday, the alliance said, while Afghan officials reported that a suicide bomber struck a police checkpoint in the country's south.
NATO did not provide any further details on the attack that killed the service members, its location or their nationalities. It was not clear if the two attacks were related.
The Afghan officials said the attack in the south took place in Uruzgan province on Sunday afternoon.
Fareeb Ayal, a spokesman for the police chief of Uruzgan province, said a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police checkpoint near a marketplace in Tarin Kot, the provincial capital.
Ayal said a NATO convoy was at the checkpoint at the time of the explosion. He said six children were wounded, two of them critically. He said there were some NATO casualties too, but he didn't have details.
Salim Ahsas, a spokesman for the Afghan National Police in the south, said three NATO troops were wounded.
Taliban spokesman Qari Youssef Ahmadi said the Taliban were behind the attack.
The latest violence came as world leaders, weary of war, are to tackle Afghanistan's post-conflict future — from funding for security forces to upcoming elections — at a NATO summit in Chicago that opens Sunday.
Sunday's NATO deaths bring to 24 the number of foreign troops killed this month in Afghanistan and 156 this year.
