Afghanistan To Hold Ceasefire With Taliban

The president of Afghanistan has announced a week-long ceasefire with the Taliban to coincide with the holiday marking the end of Ramadan next week.

A statement sent from President Ashraf Ghani's office on Thursday says the ceasefire will begin on 27 Ramadan, or 12 June in the Western calendar, and last through the Eid al-Fitr holiday, until around 19 June.

They confirmed the ceasefire does not include al-Qaeda or the Islamic State group.

There was no immediate comment from the Taliban, who have steadily expanded their presence in recent years.

Mr Ghani's statement referred to a gathering of Afghanistan's top clerics on Monday in which they issued a decree against suicide attacks and called for peace talks.

A suicide bomber struck just outside the gathering as it was dispersing, killing at least seven people and wounding 20 in an attack claimed by the Islamic State group.

The Taliban had denounced the gathering, insisting that its jihad, or holy war, against foreign invaders was justified.

It instead urged the clerics to side with it against the "occupation".

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson says he welcomes the ceasefire announcement:

"This is an opportunity to reduce levels of violence and create space for talks to begin.

"We call on the Taliban to join the ceasefire and seize the opportunity to advance the cause of peace which the people of Afghanistan so deserve.

"The UK stands firmly with the Afghan government against terrorism and supports its efforts to build peace."

The United States and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in Afghanistan in 2014, but the US still has thousands of forces based there in a support and counter-terrorism role.

President Donald Trump's administration has sent additional troops to try to change the course of America's longest war.

The US has said it is open to an Afghan-led peace process.

The top US commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, said last month that some elements of the Taliban are showing interest in peace talks.