The New York Times: The Pentagon is considering requesting permission to intervene by air to prevent Kabul from falling into the hands of the Taliban

The New York Times quoted senior officials as saying that the Pentagon is considering requesting permission from the White House to launch air strikes to support Afghan security forces in the event that the capital, Kabul, is in danger of falling into the hands of the Taliban. Information in conjunction with the expansion of the movement's control over the land

According to the newspaper, US officials have confirmed that the possible fall of Kabul may lead to a military intervention after the US withdrawal, and this possibility decreases when it comes to other cities, including Kandahar (southern Afghanistan).

The officials told the newspaper that one of the options being considered would be a US military intervention in an unusual crisis such as putting embassies, US citizens and allies at risk.

Officials said the United States would not provide additional air support to Afghan forces in rural areas, many of which are already under Taliban control.

With the acceleration of the American withdrawal from the country, the Taliban movement has recently intensified its attacks on the Afghan forces, and was able to control several districts in Ghazni (southeast) and Faryab (west).

Washington had said that it has so far completed 50% of the withdrawal process, which was supposed to be completed before last September.

Afghan forces inspect the site of a bombing that hit Kabul a few days ago (Reuters)

new blast

On the security side, a security source told Al Jazeera that there were dead and wounded today, Thursday, after a car bomb exploded targeting Afghan forces in Baghlan Province (north), without giving further details about the attack or the party that carried it out.

The bombing comes amid an escalation of violence in Afghanistan in light of the continued withdrawal of US and other foreign forces.

It also comes after 10 Afghans working for an international demining agency were killed in an attack on Tuesday evening in Baghlan Province, northern Afghanistan.

The Afghan government accused the Taliban of carrying out the attack, but the movement denied this.

peace negotiations in Doha

Politically, the Qatar News Agency reported that Mutlaq Al-Qahtani, the Qatari Foreign Minister’s special envoy for combating terrorism and mediation in settling disputes, held two separate meetings yesterday, Wednesday, in the Qatari capital, Doha, with the US envoy to Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad and the head of the Taliban’s negotiating team, Sheikh Abdul Hakim. Khaydad.

The agency added that during the two meetings, the peace process in Afghanistan and the ongoing talks in Doha between the Afghan parties were discussed.

The delegations of the Afghan government and the Taliban movement resumed on Wednesday in Doha the third round of negotiations.

A spokesman for the government delegation said that it was agreed to speed up the negotiations and their agenda.

For his part, spokesman for the Political Bureau of the Taliban, Muhammad Naim, told Al-Jazeera that the heads of the two delegations discussed the mechanism for accelerating the talks, and setting the agenda for future meetings.

Tariq Farhadi, an advisor to the former Afghan president, called for optimism about the serious Afghan round of negotiations in Doha.

In an interview with Al Jazeera, Farhadi expressed his hope that this round will focus on the concessions that each party must make to advance the power-sharing agenda.