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Afghanistan partial truce holds on eve of US-Taliban deal

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AFP Kabul
Last Updated : Feb 28 2020 | 7:16 PM IST

A partial truce between the Taliban, US and Afghan troops held for a seventh day Friday, with only minor attacks reported on the eve of a deal to withdraw American troops.

The accord would see thousands of American troops quit Afghanistan after more than 18 years, in return for various security commitments from the Taliban and a pledge to hold talks with the government in Kabul.

Afghan officials will be conspicuously absent from Saturday's signing ceremony in Doha, but a government delegation will be there to make "initial contacts" with the insurgents.

While the ongoing truce does not amount to a full ceasefire, the number of Taliban attacks has fallen dramatically, with only isolated attacks in rural areas breaking the calm.

But in a sign of the underlying tensions, the Afghan interior ministry said a policeman was killed and three people were injured in three attacks on Friday.

A day earlier, the Islamic State group claimed responsibility for a bombing in Kabul which left one person dead and 10 others wounded.

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First Published: Feb 28 2020 | 7:16 PM IST

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