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Taliban, in Pre-Dawn Attack, Breaks Afghanistan's Eid Ceasefire

by Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD --

   A pre-dawn Taliban attack in western Afghanistan Wednesday killed 30
   members of government forces, the deadliest insurgent raid since a
   nationwide temporary cease-fire during the Muslim festival of Eid
   ul-Fitr.

   Local officials said Taliban Insurgents assaulted Afghan National Army
   (ANA) posts in the Bala Murghab district in the Badghis province,
   triggering fierce clashes in the area, with both sides suffering
   casualties.

   Provincial governor Abdul Ghafoor Malikzai told VOA the ANA lost 30
   personnel when a convoy of soldiers heading to the fighting zone was
   ambushed by Taliban fighters.

   A spokesman for the ministry of defense in Kabul confirmed to VOA that
   the clashes left 13 Afghan soldiers dead and eight others wounded.

   Security officials in Badghis said Afghan forces also inflicted heavy
   casualties on the opposition, killing 15 Taliban assailants.

   The Taliban ended its three-day ceasefire on Sunday while the
   government extended a unilateral weeklong ceasefire, initially due to
   end on Wednesday, by ten days. This was the first time in 17 years that
   Afghan warring sides temporarily suspended battlefield operations.

   Afghan President Ashraf Ghani hoped his initiative to suspend
   anti-Taliban security operations would encourage the insurgents to
   extend their ceasefire to pave the way for direct peace talks. The
   United States had also paused its operations against the Taliban to
   honor Ghani's ceasefire.

   But the Taliban refused to extend its ceasefire truce and has resumed
   battlefield attacks since Monday morning.

   The insurgent group says no intra-Afghan negotiations are possible
   until all U.S.-led foreign troops leave Afghanistan.

   The Taliban dismisses the Afghan government as a U.S. puppet and has
   repeatedly called for direct talks with Washington. The insurgent group
   blames the presence of U.S.-led foreign forces for initiating and
   prolonging the Afghan war.

   The U.S.-led international military alliance ousted the Taliban from
   power in 2001 to punish it for harboring the al-Qaida terrorist network
   in Afghanistan.