© Los Angeles Times / TNSTaliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid.
The Taliban said on Saturday they would announce a new government for Afghanistan in the coming week and
expected the economic turbulence and sharp currency falls that followed their takeover of the city two weeks ago to subside quickly.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the movement's main spokesman, made the comments to Reuters as the US military winds down its mission to evacuate US citizens and vulnerable Afghans and withdraw troops from Kabul airport ahead of the August 31 deadline set by President Joe Biden.
Mujahid condemned an overnight US drone strike against Islamic State militants following Thursday's suicide attack near the airport as a "clear attack on Afghan territory".But he
appealed to the United States and other Western nations to maintain diplomatic relations after their withdrawal, which he expected would be completed "very soon".
There is mounting frustration in Kabul at the severe economic hardship caused by a plummeting currency and rising food prices, with banks still closed two weeks after the fall of the city to the Taliban.
Mujahid said
officials had already been appointed to run key institutions including the ministries of public health and education and the central bank.
United Nations officials have warned that Afghanistan faces a humanitarian catastrophe, with large parts of the country suffering from extreme drought conditions.
The economy, shattered after four decades of war, also faces the loss of billions of dollars in foreign aid, following the withdrawal of Western embassies from the country.
Mujahid said the economic problems being experienced would be eased once the new government was in place.
"The fall of afghani against foreign currency is temporary and it is because of the situation that suddenly changed, it will come back to normal once the government system starts functioning," he said.
Comment: A day after this statement, the U.S. launched
another drone strike destroying what the military called a car bomb posing an 'imminent threat' - allegedly the vehicle contained 'multiple suicide bombers'.
© AP Photo/Khwaja Tawfiq SediqiA destroyed vehicle is seen inside a house after a U.S. drone strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021. A U.S. drone strike destroyed a vehicle carrying "multiple suicide bombers" from Afghanistan's Islamic State affiliate on Sunday before they could attack the ongoing military evacuation at Kabul's international airport, American officials said.
At the same time, a 'rocket attack' was blamed for another explosion killing a young child:
The Taliban described the drone strike and the rocket attack as separate incidents, but residents of the Afghan capital heard only one large blast.
Two American military officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, called the airstrike successful and said the vehicle carried multiple bombers.
U.S. Navy Capt. Bill Urban, a military spokesman, said the strike was carried out in "self-defense." He said the military was investigating whether there were civilian casualties but that "we have no indications at this time."
"We are confident we successfully hit the target," Urban said. "Significant secondary explosions from the vehicle indicated the presence of a substantial amount of explosive material."
RT
reports:
The explosion was caused by a rocket striking a house near the airport, BBC journalist Secunder Kermani reported, citing a source in the Afghan Health Ministry. A police chief told the AP news agency that a child was killed in the blast, and unconfirmed reports claim that at least one other person is dead and at least three are injured.
Reporting from Kabul, RT's Khaled al-Jaburi said that the "violent" explosion was followed by the launch of five rockets from an unknown area. The explosion took place on al-Shaheed Street, which leads to the airport.
Comment: A day after this statement, the U.S. launched another drone strike destroying what the military called a car bomb posing an 'imminent threat' - allegedly the vehicle contained 'multiple suicide bombers'.