Casualties and Injuries in Afghan Prison Following Islamic State Attacks

The US struck a peace deal with the Taliban in February.

A second, crucial round of negotiations between the Taliban and the political leadership in Kabul has yet to start.

Still, Washington and NATO already have begun withdrawing troops in line with the deal.

“We have a cease-fire and are not involved in any of these attacks anywhere in the country,” he said.

The Taliban declared a three-day ceasefire starting Friday for the major Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha.

The ceasefire expired at 12am Monday though it wasn't immediately clear if it would be extended as the US pushes for an early start to intra-Afghan negotiations that have repeatedly been delayed since Washington signed a peace deal with the Taliban in February.

The Taliban also had denied being involved in a suicide bombing in eastern Logar province late Thursday that killed at least nine people and wounded 40.

Afghanistan has seen a recent spike in violence, with most attacks claimed by the local Islamic State group affiliate.

(Writer: Rahim Faiez)

Source: https://apnews.com/a6e54b22ba067b2d0fc89e9be4c27fb1