Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said yesterday he had sent a delegation to Pakistan to meet Taliban representatives, his first acknowledgement of official talks with insurgents who are fighting to topple the government in Kabul.
The tentative step towards full peace negotiations aimed at ending more than 13 years of war came hours after suspected Taliban suicide bomb attacks in the Afghan capital struck a convoy of foreign troops and a compound of the country’s intelligence agency.
The blasts killed at least one person and wounded three, according to Afghan and foreign officials.
Separately, two drone strikes targeting militants loyal to Islamic State in the eastern province of Nangarhar this week killed dozens of fighters, including the movement’s second-in-command in Afghanistan, officials said.
The commander was identified by Afghan intelligence as Gul Zaman, who had been in Achin district where Islamic State sympathisers have taken territory from rival Taliban insurgents.
Taliban and other Islamist militants have stepped up attacks on Afghan and foreign forces this year, after most coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
As security has deteriorated, a handful of Afghan districts have fallen under Taliban control. The growing presence of fighters loyal to Islamic State, mostly made up of disgruntled members of the Taliban, is an added concern.
Yesterday, a suicide car bomber slammed into a vehicle carrying foreign forces in eastern Kabul, wounding at least two people. The blast blew the vehicle into a wall, leaving behind an empty, charred hulk.
The US-led military coalition said there were no fatalities, but declined to give further details. A foreigner was wounded, bystanders said.
In the second attack, suspected Taliban fighters raided a compound used by Afghanistan’s intelligence agency, Karimi added, killing one security guard and wounding another.
Yesterday afternoon, Ghani announced on Twitter he had sent a peace delegation to Pakistan for negotiations with the Taliban.
