Taliban urges U.S. Congress to release Afghanistan’s assets

ISLAMABAD (AP) — The Taliban foreign ministry is urging the U.S. Congress to release Afghanistan’s assets, which were blocked after the takeover. The militant group’s acting foreign minister calls the sanctions against the Doha agreement signed on February 2020. The country also is facing an economic crisis that has alarmed international organizations. The World Food Program says 8.7 million people in Afghanistan are at risk of “famine-like conditions.” Meanwhile an explosion Wednesday hit a minivan in a Shiite neighborhood in western Kabul, killing one civilian and wounding three others. A Taliban official told The Associated Press that an investigation is continuing. He did not elaborate. No one immediately claimed responsibility.