Taliban declares Eid al-Fitr ceasefire
HOLIDAY DETENTE: It is a way for the Taliban leadership to give its forces a brief respite from fighting that has intensified in Afghanistan since May 1, an analyst said
AFP, KABUL
The Taliban yesterday declared a three-day ceasefire for this week’s Eid al-Fitr holiday, following a sharp spike in violence as Washington goes about withdrawing its remaining troops from Afghanistan.
Violence has soared since May 1 the deadline missed by the US to withdraw the last of its troops and while the Taliban has avoided engaging US forces, attacks against Afghan government and civilian targets have not stopped.
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Afghanistan s Taliban insurgents declared a three-day nationwide ceasefire for the Eid Al Fitr holiday on Monday as the country mourned the deaths of more than 50 people, mostly students, in a bombing outside a school in the capital.
Just hours after the ceasefire was announced, 11 people died when a bus in southern Zabul province struck a roadside mine, the interior ministry said.
At least 24 more people on the bus were injured, ministry spokesman Tariq Arian said. Improvised explosive devices litter the countryside and have been used extensively by the Taliban.
The ceasefire announcement comes as the United States continues to pull out its last 2,500 troops from the violence-wracked country despite faltering efforts between the Taliban and Afghan government to end a decades-long war.
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Afghan Taliban declare ceasefire for Eid holidays Published: 10:10 PM, May 10, 2021
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KABUL: The Taliban on Monday declared a three-day ceasefire for this week’s Eid al Fitr holiday, following a sharp spike in violence as Washington goes about withdrawing its remaining troops from Afghanistan. Violence has soared since May 1 the deadline missed by the United States to withdraw the last of its troops and while the Taliban have avoided engaging American forces, attacks against government and civilian targets have not stopped.
In the latest, the interior ministry said on Monday that at least 11 people were killed by a bomb that struck a bus overnight in southeastern Zabul province.
KABUL: Students bow their heads as they stand on Sunday near the backpacks and books left behind by their colleagues who died in multiple blasts outside a girls’ school on the outskirts of the Afghan capital. AFP
KABUL: Dozens of young girls were buried on Sunday at a desolate hilltop cemetery in Kabul, a day after a secondary school was targeted in the bloodiest attack in Afghanistan in over a year.
A series of blasts outside the school during a peak holiday shopping period killed more than 50 people, mostly female students, and wounded more than 100 in Dasht-i-Barchi, a west Kabul suburb populated mostly by Hazara Shias.