Suicide attacks hit Kabul ahead of Taliban talks
July 7, 2015
In messages on Twitter, the Taliban claimed responsibility for two suicide attacks in Kabul on Tuesday.
The attacks, only an hour apart from reach, left one person dead and five wounded.
The suicide attacks targeted a NATO convoy and the office of the National Directorate of Security, Afghanistan's intelligence agency.
The Taliban's violent move comes ahead of talks between the militant group and the Afghan government, which aim to kick-start negotiations for a peace deal.
However, the group has said that foreign troops must depart Afghan soil before full-fledged negotiations can commence.
The talks, slated to take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, were the first to be formally acknowledged by the Afghan government, after covert talks took place in Norway and Qatar.
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said the talks aim to "change this meeting into a process of continuing talks" and hope to build trust between the parties.
The president's deputy spokesmen said that the delegation would be led by Hekmat Khalil Karzai, the deputy foreign minister, and comprise members of the country's High Peace Council.
Breakthrough?
Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif called the talks "a major breakthrough," adding that the announcement of the meeting was a positive development.
"I hope there will be a positive outcome which will certainly be very helpful for peace and stability in Afghanistan," Sharif said in televised comments from the Norwegian capital Oslo, where he is on a three-day visit.
Since assuming office in September, Ghani has courted regional stakeholders - such as Qatar and Pakistan - in a move to end fighting between the government and Taliban after the latter was toppled in 2001 by a US-led invasion.
In May, both countries signed an intelligence sharing agreement, a move meant to increase cooperation in operations against the Taliban.
Ghani has pursued ties with Pakistan, despite the country having been accused of sheltering and providing support to the Taliban.
ls/jr (AP, AFP, Reuters, dpa)