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New Blast Kills Six Police In Ghazni As Taliban Reject Calls For Afghan Holiday Truce

By RFE/RL June 02, 2019

Violent bomb blasts continued to shake Afghanistan as Taliban militants have rejected calls for a holiday truce.

At least six police officers were killed after a car loaded with explosives blew up in Afghanistan's southeastern Ghazni Province on June 1.

At least eight other police officers were injured in the blast at a police compound in the southern part of the Ghazni city, the provincial capital, council chief Nasir Ahmad Faqiri said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but the blast was the latest in a series of deadly car bombs and suicide explosions to rock Afghanistan around the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and Eid, the festival that ends the Ramadan period.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for a May 22 car bomb explosion in Ghazni that left four people dead, including two police officers, and injured 17 others.

Blasts on successive days killed or wounded dozens of people in the capital, Kabul, on May 30-31.

Last year, the Taliban observed a three-day cease-fire during Eid. Many Afghans have hoped for another truce this year.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani had proposed a nationwide cease-fire at the start of Ramadan, but the Taliban rejected the offer.

Taliban head Haibatullah Akhundzada on June 1 ruled out calling a cease-fire anytime soon, saying, "No one should expect us to pour cold water on the heated battlefronts of jihad or forget our 40-year sacrifices before reaching our objectives."

Akhundzada also asserted that foreign forces in Afghanistan were "condemned to defeat."

But Akhundzada, who has led the militant group since Akhtar Mansour was killed in a 2016 U.S. drone strike, also said that Islamist fighters would continue talks with the United States.

U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad was traveling to Afghanistan and also Germany, Belgium, Qatar, Pakistan, and the United Arab Emirates as part of continuing efforts to end the long-running war.

The State Department said Khalilzad will meet again with Taliban negotiators for a new round of talks in Doha, where the group has a political office.

U.S. officials said Khalilzad will consult with the Afghan government and other Afghans while in Kabul. The Taliban has refused to negotiate directly with the Kabul government, calling it a puppet of the West.

With reporting by Tolo News, AFP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/blast-kills-six- police-in-afghanistan-as-taliban-reject- truce-offer/29976748.html

Copyright (c) 2019. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036.