Over 30 Killed hrs before his speech, 100s killed in the past few days. Obama STILL declares victory over the Taliban

President Obama said on Monday that the Taliban has been toppled, despite another day of widespread violence in Afghanistan perpetrated by the jihadist group. Hours before Obama spoke at the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans, three Taliban militants attacked a hotel in Kabul, Afghanistan, CNN reported. The three suicide attackers killed a police officer and wounded four others. The incident was the latest in a string of attacks by the Taliban and its rival the Islamic State that have struck the country in recent weeks. CNN noted that the Taliban carried out an attack on June 30 on a police convoy that killed 30 police officers and four civilians. The Taliban also recently attacked a bus with security contractors, killing at least 14 and wounding eight.

“To all of you who served in Afghanistan, you can take enormous pride in the progress you helped achieve, driving al Qaeda out of its camps, toppling the Taliban, delivering justice to Osama bin Laden,” Obama said on Monday. Some observers have blamed the deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan on the Obama administration, arguing that the president reduced the number of American troops in the country before Afghan forces were ready to assume the responsibility of security on their own. The Obama administration has been reducing U.S. troops levels in Afghanistan in recent years and announced earlier this month that the number of soldiers would fall to 8,400 through the end of 2016.