End of Afghan ceasefire sparks calls for new peace talks as IS admits bomb attack

A THREE-DAY ceasefire in Afghanistan marked by violent attacks has ended amid calls for renewed peace talks between the government and Taliban.

Taliban political spokesman Suhail Shaheen said the negotiating teams of the government and the Islamic Emirate, as the Taliban refers to its ousted regime, met briefly on Saturday in Qatar and renewed their commitment to finding a peaceful end to the war and called for an early start to talks that have been stalled.

America has been pressing for accelerated talks as it withdraws the last of its 2,500-3,500 soldiers and Nato its remaining 7,000 allied forces.

Even as the Taliban and the government signed on to the ceasefire, which was declared to mark the Islamic holiday of Eid-al-fitr, violence continued unabated in Afghanistan.

A bombing on Friday in a mosque north of the capital killed 12 worshippers, including the prayer leader. Another 15 people were injured. The Taliban denied involvement and blamed the government intelligence agency.

Yesterday, the Islamic State affiliate admitted responsibility for the mosque attack, saying its fighters planted an explosive device in “a worship place for disbelievers Sufis”, killing the “apostate Imam”.

The IS also said it blew up several electrical grid stations over the weekend. That left Kabul in the dark for much of the three-day holiday that followed Ramadan.

In posts on its affiliated websites, IS claimed additional attacks over the last two weeks that destroyed 13 electrical grid stations in several provinces. The stations bring imported power from the Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The attacks have left nine provinces including Kabul with disrupted power supplies.

There was also concern that local warlords, demanding protection money from the government to safeguard stations in areas they control, may have been behind some of the destruction.