Kabul, August 27: A convoy of 350 members of Afghan security forces was ambushed in Chahar Shanebe Tepa area today while on their way to Maimana city, capital of Faryab, reported TOLO News. The soldiers were travelling from Ghormach district. Clashes are still underway. On August 19, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced a 'conditional' ceasefire with Taliban from August 20 to mark the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha.

However, the Taliban did not respond to the ceasefire. On the occasion of Eid-Al-Adha, at least a dozen missiles have been reportedly fired in Kabul. The target area of the attacks was the diplomatic zone, and the missiles reportedly landed near the presidential palace in the capital city. In the counter-attack, two Taliban insurgents were killed.

This month, the Taliban insurgents launched a massive attack on Ghazni, 125 km south of Kabul, to take back the city. In the attack, hundreds of Taliban insurgents stormed important government entities including the National Directorate for Security (Afghanistan's Intelligence Agency) and the provincial governor's office. Around 150 soldiers and close to 100 civilians were killed in a five-day siege.

Meanwhile, Russia last week said that the Taliban had accepted an invitation for talks next month, in what promises to be one of the insurgent group's most significant diplomatic forays since the 2001 US-led invasion. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Moscow invited the Taliban to the Sept. 4 talks and was hoping for "productive" negotiations.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 27, 2018 03:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).