[NEWS] U.S., Taliban near Afghanistan deal, fighting intensifies in north – Loganspace AI

KABUL (Reuters) – U.S. and Taliban negotiators are shut to a deal that could launch the technique for peace in Afghanistan, a chief U.S. legitimate acknowledged on Sunday, because the insurgents adopted their weekend assault on the strategic middle of Kunduz by attacking a second northern city.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born U.S. diplomat overseeing negotiations for Washington, acknowledged he would bound to the Afghan capital of Kabul on Sunday night for consultations after wrapping up the ninth spherical of talks with Taliban officials in Qatar.

“We are on the threshold of an settlement that will decrease violence and launch the door for Afghans to take a seat down down together to negotiate an honorable and sustainable peace and a unified, sovereign Afghanistan that would now not threaten the United States, its allies, or any various nation,” he acknowledged in a Twitter put up.

The observation came as Taliban fighters attacked Pul-e Khumri, within the northern province of Baghlan, factual a day after a major level to of strength by a entire bunch of fighters who overran ingredients of Kunduz, a strategic city the insurgents have twice come shut to taking as of late.

The internal ministry acknowledged in an announcement on Sunday that 20 Afghan security power contributors and 5 civilians had been killed, and no longer no longer up to 85 civilians had been injured in Kunduz city all the plan via clashes with the Taliban fighters.

Whereas Kunduz used to be peaceable after clearance operations that had driven out insurgents, internal ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi acknowledged, fighters had taken up positions in two areas of Pul-e Khumri and had been battling Afghan security forces.

Afghan forces killed 5 gunmen and arrested two militants all the plan via the clearance operation in Pul-e-Khumri city, Rahimi acknowledged.

Local officials and residents acknowledged the city used to be locked down with Taliban fighters occupying positions around a few of the main entry aspects into the center and cutting the main highway connecting Kabul with the north.

“Instantly, clashes are below technique between the Taliban and security forces within the city, shut to the governor’s compound and police headquarters,” acknowledged Abdul Jamil, a Pul-e Khumri resident reached by mobile phone.

“The city is closed and in level of truth shrimp trail will also be viewed. Other folks are timid,” he acknowledged.

There used to be also combating within the central province of Ghazni and Laghman province, east of Kabul, Taliban and authorities officials acknowledged. A blast at a soccer stadium killed the mayor of the northern city of Faizabad whereas a boulevard-side bomb killed no longer no longer up to eight of us, including ladies and formative years touring in a car in northern Balkh province.

A second boulevard-side bomb in western Farah province killed two ladies, four formative years and two policemen, local police officials acknowledged.

Local officials in Faryab province, on the north west border acknowledged an air strike killed no longer no longer up to 12 civilians, including eight formative years however the defense ministry denied the document.

PEACEFUL SOLUTION

With talks in Doha shut to wrapping up, the most modern combating underlined the Taliban’s obvious decision to enter any deal from a station of strength on the battlefield.

Khalilzad gave no details of the deal, which is expected to behold hundreds of U.S. troops withdrawn from Afghanistan in alternate for ensures by the Taliban now to now not allow the nation to be aged as a pass for militant assaults in a international nation.

Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taliban’s political place of job in Doha, acknowledged all aspects had been in discussions to finalize technical points.

“We are on the verge of ending the invasion and reaching a peaceful resolution for Afghanistan,” Shaheen acknowledged on Twitter.

The settlement would no longer by itself extinguish the combating between the Taliban and Afghan security forces, however would allow the launch of so-called “intra-Afghan” peace talks, that are expected to be held within the Norwegian capital of Oslo.

But it indubitably used to be no longer determined whether or no longer the Taliban would agree to talk directly with the Western-backed authorities of President Ashraf Ghani, which they’ve in thoughts an illegitimate international-imposed regime.

Some Taliban officials have acknowledged they could most attention-grabbing agree to focus on with Afghan officials in a non-public capacity, no longer as representatives of the divulge, and they also continue to be adversarial to presidential elections scheduled for Sept. 28.

It used to be also unclear whether or no longer the settlement would veil the paunchy withdrawal of all 14,500 U.S. troops from Afghanistan or how long a pullout would protect.

Larger than 20,000 international troops are within the nation, most serving as portion of a NATO-led mission to prepare and reduction Afghan forces. Hundreds of U.S. troops are also engaged in a separate counter-terrorism mission combating militant teams such as Islamic Bid and Al Qaeda.

Suicide bombings and fight operations have continued for the length of the talks and the combating within the north underlined the vulnerability of immense ingredients of Afghanistan, the put the Taliban administration more territory than at any time since being overthrown by a U.S.-led campaign in 2001.

In accordance with the United Nations, 3,804 civilians – including better than 900 formative years – had been killed and 7,000 wounded in 2018, the deadliest Twelve months for non-combatants within the war.