U.S. Rules Out Releasing Billions in Afghan Funds After Strike

The Biden administration has decided it will not release any of the roughly $7 billion in foreign assets the Afghan central bank holds on US soil and has suspended talks with the Taliban over the funds following the assassination of al-Qaeda leader suspended in Kabul, US officials say.

The decision undoes early signs of progress in US-Taliban talks and deals a blow to hopes for an economic recovery in Afghanistan, as millions face starvation each year during the group’s rule. The US drone strike that killed the al Qaeda leader Aiman ​​al-Zawahiri Late last month, deep fissures within the movement became apparent, and concerns in the West about a resurgence in global terrorism originating in Afghanistan were stoked.