Three NATO service members killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan.

Soldiers on patrol in Afghanistan. The Hill/Getty.

Three NATO service members from the Czech Republic have been killed in a suicide bombing. The Hill. The three men were killed near Bagram in the Parwan province. The Czech Republic recently agreed to deploy 390 soldiers to Afghanistan, an increase of their original deployment of 230 soldiers. The Taliban has taken credit for the attack. 13 Czech soldiers have died in Afghanistan since 2002. 

My Comment:

Sadly, a suicide bombing killing three NATO troops isn't very newsworthy anymore. The violence there is increasing with a three way brawl between the Afghan government, the Taliban and ISIS and it is starting to take a toll on allied troops. Such violence is not anything new, after all the Afghan government has been taking horrible casualties and loosing territory to the Taliban for quite some time, but it's still sad to note. 

I often forget that the war in Afghanistan is a NATO affair. Though I was aware that many European countries had deployed troops to the country I thought that they had all gotten home by now. I hadn't realized that the Czech Republic still had troops in Afghanistan and that they were involved in combat operations. The loss of these three men is a tragedy and I appreciate their sacrifice. 

As for the Taliban, this was a successful attack. In addition to the Czech soldiers they also wounded an American soldier an an unknown number of Afghan soldiers. It won't be much in the big scheme of things but it does show that foreign advisers are still at risk in Afghanistan.

I am not sure what to think about the rumors about the United States and the Taliban entering into talks. I think it does show that the Trump administration is willing to talk to anyone. Often condemned as a war maker or unhinged, I think the president has shown that he likes diplomacy.   

Still, I doubt any real deal with the Taliban is possible for one simple fact. They are winning. They are in a position of power and have taken quite a bit of the countryside from the Afghan government. If it wasn't for ISIS taking power in parts of the country as well they probably would control even more. Unlike other conflicts I don't see a diplomatic solution here...