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Gasoline tanker trucks burst into flames in Kabul overnight, killing at least seven people and starting large fires that caused power cuts to some parts of the Afghan capital, officials said on Sunday. The tankers were parked in northern Kabul and burst into flames late on Saturday, according to the Ministry of Interior. Fourteen people were injured. The cause of ignition was not immediately known but the fires come as the city remains on "high alert" with officials bracing for attacks from the insurgent Taliban over the foreign troops' continued presence in the country. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid has said they were not involved. Tariq Arian, the ministry of interior spokesman, said they were still investigating the cause of the fire. The Taliban have said US President Joe Biden's announcement last month that American troops would leave by Sept. 11 violates a 2020 agreement under the Trump administration that offered a May 1 withdrawal deadline. Separately on Saturday, shooting near a major airfield in Kandahar prompted the commander of foreign forces in Afghanistan to warn that attacks on foreign troops would be a mistake and that they were prepared to defend themselves and Afghan forces if needed.

A rocket hit the provincial governor's compound in Afghanistan's eastern Kunar province on Monday during a religious ceremony, wounding at least 16 children, local officials said, blaming Taliban insurgents. Fighting between the Afghan government and the Taliban has increased across the country recently as peace talks failed to make progress despite international calls to reduce violence. At least 16 children, three Afghan security force members and religious affairs officials were wounded, Iqbal Sayeed, the governor of Kunar said, and some children are in critical condition. The Taliban said they were aware of the incident and investigating. The Afghan government says since the announcement by US President Joe Biden this month of plans to withdraw American combat troops from Afghanistan by Sept. 11, the Taliban have stepped up attacks on Afghan security forces. More than a hundred Afghan civilians and security forces have been killed in fighting in the last 10 days and many more wounded, according to government officials. A roadside bomb hit an army vehicle in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Monday, wounding six people. Taliban insurgents killed eight members of a police public protection unit in southeastern Logar province on Sunday, police spokesman Gul Haidar Ahmadi said.

Eight members of the same family were gunned down in an attack on a mosque in eastern Afghanistan, officials said Sunday. The shooting happened on Saturday night in the city of Jalalabad in Nangarhar province, and was believed to be over a land dispute, the province's governor Zaiulhaq Amarkhil said. Five brothers and three of their male cousins were killed. "The incident is under investigation but initial information shows a land dispute has caused the incident," Amarkhil told AFP. Fareed Khan, a spokesman for Nangarhar police, confirmed the attack. Afghanistan, like the rest of the Muslim world, is observing the holy month of Ramadan, when men gather every night to offer special prayers after fasting for the day. Revenge killings are common in Afghanistan, where families seek justice by carrying out violent acts of vengeance based on an ancient code of honour. So-called blood feuds can last for decades, passing down through generations in a cycle of violence.

* Biden says US objectives had become 'increasingly unclear' * US troop levels reached 100,000 in 2011; 2,500 there now * Troops under NATO command to withdraw at same President Joe Biden said on Wednesday US troops will be withdrawn from Afghanistan starting May 1 to end America's longest war, rejecting calls for them to stay to ensure a peaceful resolution to that nation's grinding internal conflict. Foreign troops under NATO command will also withdraw from Afghanistan in coordination with the US pull-out, NATO allies agreed. The withdrawal of foreign troops will be completed by Sept 11. Around 7,000 non-US forces from mainly NATO countries, also from Australia, New Zealand and Georgia, outnumber the 2,500 US troops in Afghanistan, but they still rely on American air support, planning and leadership. ‘While our military contribution will reduce, we will continue to support the stability of Afghanistan through our bilateral partnership and in concert with our other nations,’ Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. Biden acknowledged that US objectives in Afghanistan had become ‘increasingly unclear’ over the past decade and set a deadline for withdrawing all US troops remaining in Afghanistan by Sept. 11, exactly 20 years after al Qaeda's attacks on the United States that triggered the war. But by pulling out without a clear victory over the Taliban and other radicals in Afghanistan, the United States opens itself to criticism that a withdrawal represents a de facto admission of failure for American military strategy. ‘It was never meant to be a multi-generational undertaking. We were attacked. We went to war with clear goals. We achieved those objectives,’ Biden said, noting that al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in 2011 and saying that organization has been ‘degraded’ in Afghanistan. ‘And it's time to end the forever war,’ Biden added. The war has cost the lives of 2,448 American service members and consumed an estimated $2 trillion. US troop numbers in Afghanistan peaked at more than 100,000 in 2011. In withdrawing, Biden is embracing risks at the start of his presidency that proved too great for his predecessors, including that al Qaeda might reconstitute itself or that the Taliban insurgency might topple the US-backed government in Kabul. ‘I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats,’ Biden said. ‘I will not pass this responsibility on to a fifth.’ Afghan President Ashraf Ghani wrote on Twitter that he spoke with Biden and respects the US decision. Ghani added that ‘we will work with our US partners to ensure a smooth transition’ and ‘we will continue to work with our US/NATO partners in the ongoing peace efforts.’ A peace summit on Afghanistan is planned from April 24 in Istanbul that would include the United Nations and more than 20 countries. TALIBAN WON'T ATTEND The Taliban, ousted from power in 2001 by US-led forces, said they would not take part in any meetings involving decisions about Afghanistan until all foreign forces have left. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on Wednesday called on the United States to adhere to the deal the group reached with Trump's administration. ‘If the agreement is committed to, the remaining problems will also be solved,’ Mujahid wrote on Twitter. ‘If the agreement is not committed to ... the problems will certainly increase.’ In Afghanistan's capital Kabul, government officials said they would carry on with peace talks and their forces would defend the country. ‘Now that there is an announcement on foreign troops withdrawal within several months, we need to find a way to co-exist,’ said Abdullah Abdullah, a top peace official and former presidential candidate. ‘We believe that there is no winner in Afghan conflicts and we hope the Taliban realize that too.’ Biden rejected the idea that US troops could provide the leverage needed for peace, saying: ‘We gave that argument a decade. It has never proven effective.’ ‘American troops shouldn't be used as a bargaining chip between warring parties in other countries,’ Biden said. Biden also said the threat of terrorism was not limited to a single country and that leaving American forces in one foreign land at great financial cost did not make sense. The president made the decision personal, invoking the memory of his late son who served in Iraq and showing a card he carried with the number of US troops killed and wounded in Afghanistan. Visiting Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, Biden later said the decision to withdraw was not difficult. ‘To me, it was absolutely clear,’ Biden said. Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican, was among Biden's fiercest critics, saying the withdrawal would backfire by prolonging the conflict and possibly even breathing new life into al Qaeda. ‘What do we lose by pulling out? We lose that insurance policy against another 9/11,’ Graham said. Critics of the US military involvement say it clearly failed to get the Taliban to end the conflict on America's terms. Some experts blame endemic corruption in Afghanistan, Taliban safe havens across the border in Pakistan and overly ambitious goals for training Afghan security forces. Biden criticized past US aspirations to somehow unify Afghans, a goal that defied the lessons of history over centuries. ‘It’s never been done,’ Biden said.      

At least 68 Taliban militants were killed and 74 others were wounded in government security operations in Afghanistan in the past 24 hours, the Afghan Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a released statement on Wednesday. The operations were reportedly conducted in Herat, Faryab, Farah, Badakhshan, Kunduz and Kandahar provinces. Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the Ministry of Defence tweeted on Wednesday that 211 Taliban placed IEDs were also discovered and defused in different parts of the country in the past 24 hours, according to (Khaama Press). MoD in another released statement indicated that Afghan national defence and security forces backed by air support launched several operations in Arghandab and Zherai districts of Kandahar province. The operations resulted in 19 Taliban killed and further 12 others were injured. Some of their weapons and ammunition were also destroyed by the Afghan security force members, the statement read. Afghan National Army (ANA) also discovered and defused 59 Taliban planted bombs in both of the districts. Meanwhile, MoD stated on Tuesday that the Afghan Air Force target a Taliban gathering in Imam Sahib district of Kunduz province in which 17 of the militant fighters were killed and 15 others were wounded. The Taliban has not yet commented on the casualty figure published by the government defense ministry. This comes as the Ministry of Interior (MoI) Affairs said a suicide bomber was killed before reaching his target in the Panjwai district of Kandahar province. A Taliban explosive-laden vehicle was gunned down before it could reach and cause chaos in the region, MoI stated on Wednesday. The statement added that a Taliban mine planter was killed and another was captured in clashes between the ANP and the militants. The incident happened before the Taliban affiliates could place a bomb in the PD9 of Kandahar city. (QNA)  

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin met Afghan President Ashraf Ghani in an unannounced visit to Kabul yesterday, as Washington reviews the peace process there and its planned troop withdrawal. Austin said on Twitter that he had come to “listen and learn”, on his first trip to Afghanistan since his appointment. “This visit been very helpful for me, and it will inform my participation in the review we are undergoing here with (US President Joe Biden),” he added. The meeting comes at a crucial time for the Afghan peace process ahead of a May 1 deadline for the withdrawal of US troops agreed by the insurgent Taliban and the administration of previous US president Donald Trump. Biden told ABC News on Wednesday that the deadline would be tough to meet and that his administration is consulting with allies and in the process of making a decision. The United States special envoy for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, has also been travelling in the region in recent weeks with proposals, including an interim Afghan government and a summit in Turkey to jumpstart the peace process. Negotiations between the Taliban and the Afghan government in Qatar’s capital Doha have struggled to gain momentum and violence has risen. Last week Moscow hosted a gathering of stakeholders in a bid to break the deadlock, but even that ended without any concrete proposals. An even broader conference is now scheduled to be hosted by Turkey next month. The US, Russia and other stakeholders want to see some form of transitional government take power in Afghanistan, but Ghani has insisted leaders can only be chosen at the ballot box. Having made enormous gains on the battleground, the Taliban appear to have little to gain from either strategy. Taliban co-founder and deputy leader Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar told the Moscow conference that Afghans “should be left to decide their own fate”. The Taliban said on Friday that they would like to see the peace process sped up, but warned Washington against keeping troops in Afghanistan beyond their agreed withdrawal date. Afghanistan’s presidential palace said yesterday that Austin and Ghani discussed the peace process and concerns over rising violence. The Afghan government is keen to keep US forces in the country for as long as possible for the vital air cover that they provide. After talks with President Ashraf Ghani yesterday, Austin would not be drawn for comment on the deadline. “That’s the domain of my boss,” he told reporters. “That’s the ... decision that the President (Biden) will make at some point in time, in terms of how he wants to approach this going forward.” Under the deal thrashed out between the Taliban and Washington, the insurgents pledged to engage in peace talks with Afghan government negotiators, but they have made almost no progress and fighting has only worsened – particularly in rural areas. Major urban centres are also in the grip of a bloody terror campaign in the form of attacks targeting politicians, civil servants, academics, rights activists and journalists. Kabul was the last stop on a whirlwind tour of Asia for the new Pentagon chief, a former career soldier who served in Afghanistan as a division commander from September 2003 until August 2005. Austin and his entourage flew into Afghanistan on a US-liveried aircraft instead of a military plane that usually carries US officials to the war-torn country. Details of his visit were kept under wraps for security reasons until after he left. Asked about the Taliban warning that Washington would face consequences if the deadline wasn’t met, Austin said that he is sure US forces could cope. “I have great confidence and in his ability to protect our troops,” said Austin, referring to General Austin Miller, commander of US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) forces in Afghanistan.

Three people were killed and 11 wounded when a roadside bomb hit a bus carrying Afghan government employees in Kabul on Thursday, officials said. The bombing comes on the day the Afghan government, Taliban and key countries, including the United States and Russia, gather in Moscow to push for a reduction in violence to propel the Afghan peace process forward. A spokesman for the Kabul police confirmed the casualty figures but gave no further details. Another official said the vehicle was carrying Afghan government employees. The blast hit a bus which was rented by the Afghan ministry of information and technology to transport employees, said Abdul Samad Hamid Poya, a ministry adviser. He added that it was unclear at the moment who the victims are. No one claimed immediate responsibility for the blast, but the Afghan government has blamed the Taliban for running an assassination campaign against government employees, civil society figures and journalists. The insurgent Taliban has denied being involved in the campaign.  

A female doctor was killed in a bomb blast in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad in what appeared to be another targeted hit, officials said Thursday, just days after three women media workers were gunned down in the area. Journalists, religious scholars, activists and judges have all been victims of a recent wave of political assassinations across Afghanistan, forcing many into hiding -- with some fleeing the country. In the latest incident, the doctor was killed after a magnetic bomb was attached to the vehicle she was travelling in, according to a spokesman from the provincial governor's office. A child was also injured by the explosion. ‘She was commuting in a rickshaw when the bomb went off,’ the spokesman told AFP. Another spokesman from a provincial hospital also confirmed the incident and toll. No group has claimed responsibility for the blast. The attack comes two days after three female media workers were gunned down in Jalalabad in separate attacks that were just minutes apart. The local Islamic State group affiliate said its gunmen carried out the killing of what it called ‘journalists working for one of the media stations loyal to the apostate Afghan government’. Afghan and US officials have blamed the Taliban for the wave of violence, but the group has denied the charges. The assassinations have been acutely felt by women, whose rights were crushed under the Taliban's five-year rule, including being banned from working. Intelligence officials have previously linked the renewed threat against female professionals to demands at the peace talks for their rights to be protected. The attacks come as speculation is rife over America's future in Afghanistan after the administration of President Joe Biden announced plans to review the withdrawal agreement signed with the Taliban last year that paved the way for foreign troops to leave the country by May.    

Civilian casualties in Afghanistan escalated sharply after peace talks began last year, the United Nations said in a report released on Tuesday, calling for a ceasefire as negotiators met for the first time after weeks of inaction. US-brokered peace talks began in September but progress has since slowed and violence has risen with uncertainty over whether international forces will pull out troops by May as originally planned. Civilian casualties were 8,820 in 2020, according to the United Nations' mission to Afghanistan's (UNAMA) annual report. That was 15% lower than the previous year, but the report's authors noted with alarm a sharp uptick and historically high civilian casualties in the final three months of 2020, when peace talks began. Last year ‘could have been the year of peace in Afghanistan. Instead, thousands of Afghan civilians perished,’ said Deborah Lyons, head of UNAMA, reiterating calls for a ceasefire which has been repeatedly rejected by the Taliban. ‘Parties refusing to consider a ceasefire must recognise the devastating consequences.’ The Taliban on Tuesday issued a response critical of the report, saying ‘the concerns, precise information and accurate details that were shared by us have not been taken into account.’ The report said that for the first time since records began, deaths and injuries had escalated in the final three months of the year from the previous three months. Casualties for the fourth quarter were up 45% compared with the same period in 2019. The majority of were ascribed to non-government actors, predominately the insurgent Taliban, and more than one-fifth were attributed to government forces. A government spokesman did not immediately respond to request for comment. Both sides said on Twitter their chief negotiators met in Doha, the venue for talks, on Monday evening, adding that teams would continue work on an agenda. After a monthlong break over the new year period, negotiators returned to Doha briefly before many senior members of the Taliban left to hold meetings in Russia and Iran. Mujahid said they would hold further meetings soon. Zabihullah said that the lull was only a break and the Taliban were committed to talks, with further meetings expected in coming days.  

A massive blaze engulfed a customs post in Afghanistan on Saturday after fuel trucks caught alight, injuring at least 60 people and prompting authorities across the nearby Iranian border to send fire engines and ambulances, officials said. Scores of local residents battled to control the blaze in the border town of Islam Qala, which initial reports said had started after a gas tanker exploded. Officials said later that the cause was not immediately clear. Waheed Qatali, governor of the western province of Herat, said Iranian authorities and NATO-led personnel in Afghanistan had been asked for urgent assistance to contain the fire, which damaged electricity infrastructure, leaving much of Herat's capital city without power. Thick plumes of black smoke and flames rose high into the air around the scene, television pictures showed. Rescue workers and Afghan security forces moved hundreds of fuel and gas tankers from the area, while the international Resolute Support Mission was contacted with a request to provide aerial firefighting assistance, Qatali said. A Western official monitoring the situation told Reuters at least 60 people had been injured so far. Afghan officials gave a lower casualty toll, but said that number could rise. Across the Iranian border, regional emergency official Mohsen Nejat told state television Iran had sent 21 ambulances and 20 fire trucks to the scene. More than 300 vehicles carrying gas, diesel and gasoline exploded, Hossein Akhundzadeh, a regional Iranian trade official, told Iran's semi-official news agency ISNA. "It's not known whether the drivers were able to escape or not. The blaze has not been contained yet and exact information is not available," he said. Wahid Tawhidi, a spokesman for power distribution company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat, said 100 megawatt (MW) of electricity imported from Iran to Herat province had been disconnected because two pylons had burned down. He said 60% of Herat, one of Afghanistan's largest provinces, was without power. Younus Qazizada, the head of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industries, told Reuters the blaze had caused millions of dollars in damage. "Preliminary investigations show that more than $50 million of damage has been caused by the fire so far," he said. Seventeen injured people were taken to hospital and the number of casualties could rise, said Mohammed Raffia Shiraz a spokesman for Herat's health department.

At least four Afghan security force members, including a commander, were killed and seven were critically injured in blasts in eastern and southern provinces on Saturday, officials said, adding that three civilians were injured in the east. No militant group immediately claimed responsibility for the three attacks, which come amid an upsurge in violence in Afghanistan as clashes intensify between government forces and Taliban insurgents. A string of near-daily roadside bombings in recent weeks has killed government officials, judges, journalists and activists. The bloodshed comes as US-brokered peace talks between the Taliban and representatives of the Afghan government have staggered in recent months. President Joe Biden's team is reviewing a peace-building deal that the government of his predecessor Donald Trump sealed with the Taliban in February 2020. The pact requires all American and allied forces to leave the country by May 1. The United States has reduced the number of troops in Afghanistan to 2,500 from the 12,000 there when the agreement was signed. But violence remains high, with the US and Afghan governments largely blaming the Taliban. On Saturday, a police spokesman in southern Kandahar province said a blast there was caused by a Humvee packed with explosives that targeted a police outpost, injuring seven police personnel. Afghanistan's Defence Ministry said ‘18 Taliban terrorists were killed and 9 others were wounded’ in an operation in Arghandab district of Kandahar province on Friday night. An explosion targeted the police commander in the Chapa Dara district of eastern Kunar province, killing four local police personnel, including the commander, said a provincial police spokesman. A roadside bomb blast injured three civilians in Jalalabad, the capital of eastern Nangarhar province.  

Militants shot dead four government employees in central Kabul Tuesday in the latest rush-hour violence to rock the Afghan capital. The city has seen near-daily attacks during the busy morning commute, targeting prominent Afghans including politicians, journalists, activists, judges, and religious scholars. Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told reporters that gunmen opened fire on a vehicle carrying staff from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, killing four of them. A separate attack saw a civilian wounded when a bomb targetted another government vehicle, police said. Tuesday's attacks came a day after three bomb blasts rattled the capital, killing at least one person. Government negotiators are pushing for a permanent ceasefire, but the insurgents have so far dismissed calls for a truce. The rise in violence has led US President Joe Biden's administration to launch a review of a deal signed between Washington and Taliban last year that paved the way for the withdrawal of all American troops in coming months.  

An attack carried out by Taliban militants on a security checkpoint Kunduz killed 16 Afghan security personnel. Member of the regional council in Kunduz Rabani Rabani said that two other security personnel were injured in the attack. He added that two militants were arrested by the security forces during the attack. Afghanistan has been seeing an escalation of violence in recent months, particularly in Kabul which saw attacks that targeted police officers, media personalities, politicians, and rights activists.

Two people were killed as the Afghan capital was rocked Tuesday by a series of rush-hour car bombs, officials said, while a police vehicle was targeted in an attack north of Kabul. Attacks during the morning commute have become a favoured tactic of insurgents, who remotely detonate bombs attached to target vehicles. Police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz told reporters two people were killed and two injured in a first blast, while a second targeting an interior ministry vehicle wounded two security personnel. There were no reports of casualties from a third blast. Deadly violence has ravaged the country in recent months -- particularly in Kabul, with near-daily attacks against government officials, security personnel, journalists and other prominent Afghans. Separately, a police vehicle was targeted north of Kabul in Parwan province, but the blast caused no casualties, police said. Peace talks between the warring Taliban and Afghan government were launched in September in Qatar, but progress has been slow. The new US administration of President Joe Biden has said it will review a landmark deal Washington made with the Taliban last year after accusing the insurgents of ramping up violence.

A suicide bomber drove a vehicle loaded with explosives into a base for Afghan defence forces in the country's east on Saturday, killing at least eight security personnel in an attack claimed by the Taliban. The pre-dawn assault took place in the restive province of Nangarhar where the Taliban have claimed several deadly assaults targeting government forces. It came two days after the Pentagon said the Taliban were not living up to promises made in a deal signed with Washington last year, including reducing violence and cutting ties with Al-Qaeda. The eight were killed when the bomber hit the base with a Humvee, the office of Nangarhar's governor said in a statement. The deputy head of Nangarhar provincial council, Ajmal Omar, confirmed the attack but put the number of dead soldiers at 15 with five wounded. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said his group had carried out the attack. The governor's office said security forces had seized another vehicle loaded with explosives near the city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar. Nangarhar province has seen several recent deadly attacks carried out by the Islamic State. Separately, two roadside bombs exploded in Kabul on Saturday but there were no casualties, police said. Violence has surged across Afghanistan even as the Taliban and government engage in peace talks that began in September. The discussions have so far failed to make any major breakthrough. The new Biden administration in the United States has accused the Taliban of not reducing violence despite signing a deal with Washington last year that stipulated the group do so. That agreement required the Taliban halt attacks on US forces, sharply decrease violence and advance peace talks with the government in Kabul. In return, the United States would steadily reduce its troop levels in the country, and remove all forces by May 2021. But on Thursday the Pentagon said ‘the Taliban are not meeting their commitments to reduce violence, and to renounce their ties to Al-Qaeda’. The Biden administration is now reviewing the deal, which the previous Trump government signed with the insurgents in February 2020.  

Gunmen shot dead two Afghan women judges working for the Supreme Court in an ambush in the country's capital Sunday, officials said. The latest attack comes just two days after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, the fewest in nearly two decades. The attack on the judges happened as they were driving to their office in a court vehicle, said Ahmad Fahim Qaweem, a spokesman for the Supreme Court. ______________________________ Read also: Qatar condemns attack in Kabul ______________________________   "Unfortunately, we have lost two women judges in today's attack. Their driver is wounded," Qaweem told AFP. There are more than 200 female judges working for the country's top court, the spokesman added. Kabul police confirmed the attack, which no group has claimed so far. Afghanistan's Supreme Court was a target in February 2017 when a suicide bomb ripped through a crowd of court employees, killing at least 20 and wounding 41. The head of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission also condemned the murders, calling the ongoing killings a "systematic massacre". "Afghanistan is losing one of its most important gains, its educated & professional cadre, in what seems to be a systematic massacre & the world seems to be just watching. This must stop," tweeted Shaharzad Akbar. In recent months, several prominent Afghans -- including politicians, journalists, activists, doctors and prosecutors -- have been assassinated in often brazen daytime attacks in Kabul and other cities.

The Taliban welcomed the latest withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan with the insurgents' spokesman Saturday calling the continued reduction of American forces a ‘good advancement’ even as fighting raged across the war-weary country. The Taliban's statement came just hours after the Pentagon announced it had cut troop levels in Afghanistan to 2,500, their lowest numbers during the nearly two decades of fighting. Washington struck a deal with the Taliban in Qatar last year to begin withdrawing its troops in return for security guarantees from the militants and a commitment to peace talks with Kabul. Those talks are ongoing, but have stalled amid violence and allegations of slow progress. Meanwhile the Taliban has continued its lethal assaults on Afghan security forces and civilians alike. ‘The withdrawal of other US forces from Afghanistan, which was announced by the US yesterday, is a good advancement and practical measure,’ tweeted Taliban spokesman Mohammad Naeem. ‘Undoubtedly, the practice of the agreement signed between the IEA and the US is in the benefit of both countries and nations,’ he added, referring to the Taliban's official acronym. Outgoing President Donald Trump, seeking to fulfil a campaign promise to end the US wars launched in Afghanistan and Iraq after the 9/11 attacks, had ordered force levels to be slashed in both countries to that level by January 15 -- despite initial pushback from the Pentagon. Both the Taliban and Afghan government however are anxiously eyeing the arrival of President-elect Joe Biden in Washington and any new policy directions that might be implemented by the incoming administration. Earlier Saturday Afghan officials said two Taliban fighters had infiltrated a base of pro-government Afghan militiamen in western Herat province, killing 12 security forces. And in a separate incident, a vehicle carrying police was struck by a roadside bomb in the Afghan capital Kabul, which killed two policemen and wounded one other.

Four doctors who worked at an Afghan prison with hundreds of Taliban inmates were among five people killed Tuesday when a bomb attached to their car exploded, police said. The blast happened in a southern district of the city when the doctors were travelling to the Pul-e-Charkhi prison where they worked, Kabul police spokesman Ferdaws Faramarz said. Four doctors and a passer-by were killed when a "magnetic bomb" attached to the car detonated, Faramarz said, adding that another two people were wounded. Hundreds of Taliban fighters and other criminals are incarcerated at Pul-e-Charkhi, located on the eastern outskirts of Kabul. The city has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the Taliban and the government engaging in peace talks. Targeted killings of prominent figures, including journalists, politicians and rights activists have also become more common recently in Kabul and other provinces. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for some of the recent attacks in Kabul, that killed dozens of people. Tuesday's attack came just two days after a car bomb targeting a lawmaker killed 10 people and wounded more than 50 in Kabul. Lawmaker Khan Mohammad Wardak was wounded in the blast. Days before that incident, a deputy governor of Kabul province, Mahbobullah Mohebi was killed in a similar attack. And on Monday, an Afghan journalist was shot dead by gunmen in the eastern city of Ghazni in what appeared to be a yet another targeted killing. Rahmatullah Nekzad had contributed to the Associated Press news agency since 2007 and had also previously worked with the Al-Jazeera broadcast network.

A car bomb targeting an Afghan lawmaker killed nine people and wounded more than a dozen in Kabul on Sunday, officials said, the latest attack to rock the capital. Kabul has been hit by a wave of deadly violence in recent months despite the Taliban and government engaging in peace talks to end the country's long conflict. Sunday's bombing targeted parliamentarian Khan Mohammad Wardak who was injured in the attack, officials said. "Nine people were killed and 20 others were wounded in the car bomb," Interior Minister Masoud Andrabi told reporters, adding that all the casualties were civilians. The ministry said in a separate statement that women and children were among those wounded by the "terrorist attack". A security source said the car bomb detonated in the west of the capital. "It was a powerful explosion that has caused a lot of damage to houses in the vicinity," the source said. Television footage showed at least two cars on fire, with plumes of thick black smoke billowing into the sky. An aide to lawmaker Wardak said the attack occurred when he was travelling in his convoy, and five of his bodyguards were among the wounded. "The enemies of Afghanistan carried out a terrorist attack on Khan Mohammad Wardak," President Ashraf Ghani said in a statement condemning the bombing. "Terrorist attacks on civilian targets and facilities will endanger the opportunity for peace," he added. No group has so far claimed responsibility for the attack. The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of the recent attacks in Kabul. Dozens of people, mostly students, were killed when IS attacked two education centres, including one at Kabul University that saw gunmen open fire on classrooms. The group has also claimed a series of recent rocket attacks in and around the capital. Kabul has seen a spate of targeted assassinations of prominent figures in recent months, including top officials, journalists, clerics, politicians and rights activists. Last week a deputy governor of Kabul province was killed when a bomb attached to his vehicle detonated while he was on his way to office. Vice President Amrullah Saleh, a strong opponent of Taliban, was appointed in October to lead a taskforce to curb the violence in Kabul. Saleh's programme was popular with people in the capital and that had prompted the Taliban to launch new attacks in an attempt to discredit him, said Sayed Nasir Musawi, an independent Kabul-based political analyst. Sunday's car bomb comes just two days after 15 children were killed and many more wounded when a motorbike laden with explosives blew up near a religious gathering in a remote part of the eastern province of Ghazni, officials said, blaming the Taliban. The Taliban denied involvement and said the blast occurred when "unexploded ordnance" detonated near the children. Violence has also surged across several provinces in Afghanistan this year. Attacks by the Taliban had killed nearly 500 civilians and wounded more than 1,000 others over the past three months itself, the interior ministry said on Saturday. "Until there is a ceasefire announcement by the Taliban, they will carry out attacks, blasts and target killings as a pressure tactic in the peace negotiations," Musawi said.

Four rockets hit a US military base in Bagram in Afghanistan during the early hours of Saturday, official said. Spokesperson for Parwan Governor, Wahida Shahkar said in a statement that the rockets were fired at Bagram Airfield from Qalandarkhil area in Parwan province, Afghan Tolo News reported. Bagram district governor Abdul Shakoor Qudosi said that the incident happened at around 6:30am on Saturday morning. He said that 10 BM-12 rockets were placed on a small truck in Qalandarkhil area. He added that four of the rockets were fired and six others were foiled by police. Authorities have not reported casualties or damage caused during the incident. (QNA)