Afghanistan

Several complex and gruesome attacks, including on a hospital in Kabul and a funeral in Nangarhar, claimed more than 100 civilian casualties on Tuesday, risking further erosion of the atmosphere for delayed intra-Afghan peace talks. Amid widespread horror and anger at the attacks, President Ghani blamed the Taliban and announced Afghan security forces would drop their defensive posture and resume fighting the insurgent movement. For their part, the Taliban denied responsibility and no other group claimed the attack. Crisis Group expert Andrew Watkins says that yet another cycle of violence appears imminent, but neither side wishes to be blamed for closing the window on a peace process.