Afghanistan: Taliban Kills 26 Pro-Government Militias

By Staff, Agencies

At least 26 pro-government militiamen were killed in an attack by the Taliban militants in northern Afghanistan amid a new round of peace talks in Qatar.

Government officials put the death toll from Saturday’s attack in Baghlan province at 26, but the Taliban said the figure was higher.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the raid, adding that it also left 12 pro-government militias wounded.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, local officials told Afghanistan’s TOLO news channel that the attack began on Friday night when a group of the Taliban militants attacked a village in Baghlan’s Nahrin district.

They noted that deadly clashes continued for six hours.

The attack came as Taliban and the US began their seventh round of negotiations — excluding the Kabul government — in the Qatari capital, Doha, on Saturday.

The US-Taliban peace talks are led by US Special Envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad, who has held six rounds of the discussions in Doha since October 2018.

The new round of talks is expected to focus on working out a timeline for US-led foreign forces' pullout from Afghanistan and on a Taliban guarantee that its elements will not plot attacks.

During the fifth round of the US-Taliban talks in Doha, which ended in mid-March, the two sides “agreed in draft” on the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan in return for preventing the country’s soil from being used as a hub for terrorism.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan under the guise of the war on terror. Some 18 years on, the Taliban have only boosted its presence across the country, and Washington is seeking truce with the militants.

In April, the Taliban announced the beginning of its spring offensive in Afghanistan despite involvement in the peace talks with the US.