The top U.S. military commander met this week with leaders of the Afghan Taliban insurgency and Afghanistan’s government to urge a reduction in violence across the war-torn South Asian country.

President Ashraf Ghani spoke with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday evening and they discussed the peace process and their concerns over the escalation of violence in Afghanistan, Presidential Palace spokesman Sediq Sediqqi said.

Mark Milley, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, held unannounced talks with the Taliban peace negotiators in Doha, capital of Qatar, to urge a reduction in violence across Afghanistan, AP reported.

President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday invited the Taliban to Kandahar province to hold a discussion about bringing peace to Afghanistan. In a trip to the southern Kandahar province on Thursday, Ghani said that if the Taliban is willing to bring peace, they can come to Kandahar to hold talks with the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

At least 13 security force members were killed and four others were wounded in Taliban attacks in northern Baghlan province on Tuesday night, local officials said on Wednesday.

At least two people were wounded in a magnetic IED blast in Kabul city on Wednesday morning, Kabul police confirmed in a statement.

The Taliban’s recent shift to magnetic bombs to target Afghan officials in Kabul underscores the government’s struggle to protect its own people. As he has done most workdays, Mahbubullah Mohibi left his home on Tuesday morning in a white armored S.U.V. with government plates, bound for his office job as deputy governor for Kabul Province.

Taliban delegation’s 3-day visit to Islamabad follows consultation with Afghan government, says Kabul. A delegation of the Afghan Taliban met with Pakistan’s top diplomat Wednesday to discuss the ongoing peace process in Afghanistan.

Afghan officials blame the Taliban for the attack that took place in the Wazirabad area of Pol-e-Khumri city. At least 13 Afghan police officers were killed in an attack on their checkpoint in Afghanistan’s northern province of Baghlan, officials said on Wednesday.

President Ashraf Ghani at the Presidential Palace on Wednesday met with General Mark Milley, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, discussing current security tensions and the ongoing peace process.