Taliban: US 'usurping' Afghanistan's assets

KABUL, Afghanistan: Taliban authorities accused the United States on Thursday (Friday in Manila) of having usurped Afghan assets, after Washington revealed plans to set up an external fund to manage $3.5 billion of its seized national reserves.

When the Taliban stormed back to power in August last year, the US froze $7 billion in central bank assets, exacerbating a poverty crisis caused by the collapse of the old regime and suspension of foreign aid.