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The victims of recent fighting in Helmand include a pregnant woman struck by a stray bullet. Peace talks continue, but the Taliban argue that an Afghan cease-fire should come as the talks conclude.
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With talks begun between Afghanistan's government and the Taliban, U.S. special envoy for Afghan peace Zalmay Khalilzad tells NPR the U.S. has "tested" the Taliban and "they are meeting those tests."
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The Taliban and Afghan government agreed to halt fighting for three days during the upcoming Eid al-Adha, a move that could renew momentum toward negotiations.
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The Taliban announced the cease-fire in honor of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, and the Afghan government quickly reciprocated by initiating a process to release up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners.
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The prisoner swaps, stipulated in last month's peace deal between the U.S. and Taliban, were in doubt for weeks amid Afghan government discord. They're expected to kickstart inter-Afghan peace talks.
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Afghanistan's president is resisting a promised prisoner swap, the Taliban has resumed attacks, but U.S. officials are pushing both sides to sit down for a political settlement to end the war.
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The attack interrupted a memorial for a Shiite leader that the country's chief executive had been attending. The Taliban, which just signed a peace deal with the U.S., said they were not involved.
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The strike followed President Trump's call with the Taliban, during which he says they agreed "we don't want violence." Still, the group has led a wave of attacks since signing the landmark deal.
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A peace deal signed with the Taliban calls for 4,000 of the approximately 13,000 U.S. forces in Afghanistan to leave within 135 days and for all U.S. troops to be out within 14 months.
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The quasi cease-fire was hammered out during protracted negotiations in Qatar that began in 2018 and could ultimately lead to a significant reduction in U.S. troops in Afghanistan.