Washington, August 4 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump has once again warned that his country's troops could "win" the Afghan war within days by killing millions.  Trump made the warning on Friday as he hailed the “progress” made in peace talks between his administration and the Taliban militant group.

“We’ve made a lot of progress.  We’re talking,” the U.S. president told reporters at the White House, at the same time threatening to kill anyone and anything if he doesn't get his way.  Trump said that US forces, bogged down in the country for nearly two decades, “could win Afghanistan in two days or three days or four days, but I’m not looking to kill 10 million people.”

In a similar sarcastic comment last month, Trump spoke about 10 million casualties but this time he specified that no nuclear weapons would be involved, saying: “I’m talking conventional.”

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan in October 2001, shortly after the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington.  While the invasion ended the Taliban’s rule in the country, it has failed to eliminate the militant group. The Daesh terrorist group has also emerged in the Asian country more recently.

The U.S. has been attempting to negotiate an alleged peace deal with the Taliban militant group, which now controls or influences about half of Afghanistan's territory.  The Afghan government is left out of the talks between the Taliban and the United States.  The Taliban say they don’t recognize the Kabul government and that they will not hold talks with it unless all foreign forces exit the country.

According to a UN report released this week, at least 1,366 civilians were killed and another 2,446 wounded during the first six months of 2019 as a result of the conflict in Afghanistan.