Taliban attacks 24 Afghan provinces in a day

Kabul, Sep 28 The Afghan Ministry of Defence has said the Taliban staged attacks in 24 provinces of the country in the past 24 hours.

The provinces are Nangarhar, Kunar, Laghman, Nuristan, Kapisa, Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, Logar, Paktia, Paktika, Khost, Kandahar, Zabul, Herat, Farah, Badghis, Ghor, Faryab, Sar-e-Pul, Balkh, Helmand, Kunduz, Badakhshan and Baghlan, TOLO News reported.

"In defiance of the peace process and the aspiration of the Afghan people, the Taliban have kept the level of violence very high, they stage terrorist attacks on the Afghan people and the security forces on a daily basis," Fawad Aman, deputy spokesman for the Ministry, said on Sunday.

In a statement, the Ministry further said that the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces (ANDSF) are ready to respond to any threat against the country, but reiterated the call on the Taliban to stop the war and join the peace process.

However, a member of the Taliban's negotiating team said that the Afghan government is reporting a high level of violence to keep the foreign forces in the country.

The attacks come as negotiators from both sides of the Afghan peace talks in Doha are attempting to find a political settlement to end the conflict in the country, reports TOLO News.

The talks in Doha are considered by many to be a historic opportunity to end the 40 years of conflict in Afghanistan.

The Afghans expect that the two sides during the talks will demonstrate their real intentions for finding a diplomatic settlement to the war.

( With inputs from IANS )