Taleban say near deal on US exit from Afghanistan

14 pro-govt militia killed

KABUL, Aug 28, (RTRS): The Taleban said on Wednesday they were close to an agreement with US officials on a deal that would see US forces withdraw from Afghanistan in exchange for a Taleban promise the country would not become a haven for international militants.

Negotiations over how to end the 18-year war in Afghanistan have been held in Qatar’s capital, Doha, since late last year. The ninth round of talks began last week.

“We hope to have good news soon for our Muslim, independence seeking nation,” said Suhail Shaheen, a spokesman for the Taleban’s political office in Doha.

US officials engaged in talks with the Taleban in Doha were not immediately available for comment. Two sources with knowledge of the negotiations said the US special representative for Afghanistan, Zalmay Khalilzad, who has been leading the talks, is scheduled to be in Kabul to brief President Ashraf Ghani about the agreement.

A senior security official in Kabul said the Taleban and US officials had agreed upon a timeline of about 14 to 24 months for the withdrawal of US forces.

Details would be shared with the Afghan government before they were made public, the official said.

Meanwhile, Taleban militants killed at least 14 members of a pro-government militia in Afghanistan on Wednesday, said officials, as Taleban and US officials near a deal aimed at ending the 18-year war.

Government officials said 14 members of the militia were killed and several civilians were wounded during clashes in the western province of Herat.

Abdul Ahad Walizada, a spokesman for Herat police, said the 14 were killed after a large number of Taleban fighters stormed security checkpoints in the Chahardara area.

“At least nine others are wounded in the clashes and the Taleban militants were pushed back after Afghan forces reinforced the area,” said Walizada.

Taleban officials were not immediately available for a comment.

US and Taleban officials are said to be nearing an agreement, after months of negotiations, under which the United States would start to withdraw troops from Afghanistan in exchange for Taleban pledges not to allow the country to be used by international militants plotting attacks abroad.

The Taleban on Wednesday said they are set to reach a “final agreement” with the United States to end 18 years of war in Afghanistan that began when they were ousted from power following the Sept 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

It is not clear if the agreement will include a ceasefire between the Taleban and forces of the US-backed government, or if the Taleban will promise to open power-sharing talks with the government.

The Taleban have refused to talk to the government, which they see as a US puppet.

Despite the talks between the Taleban and the United States, a senior Afghan interior ministry official said government forces along with thousands of progovernment militia members were battling the militants across at least 10 of the country’s 34 provinces.

“The Taleban consider pro-government militia forces a big threat because they have strong intelligence networks, often both sides know each other’s families,” said a second senior security official in Kabul, requesting anonymity.

This week, Taleban fighters killed nine pro-government militia members, including a district commander, Baz Mohammad, in the Jawzjan province in the north, officials said. The commander’s son is a member of the Taleban in the area, said a relative who is also a provincial council member.

Ghani