QUETTA, Pakistan — A powerful roadside bomb exploded near a vehicle carrying Pakistani security forces, killing two soldiers in the southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of the restive Baluchistan province, a police official said Tuesday.

Sixteen Taliban militants were killed and six others wounded in five provinces since early Tuesday, the country’s defense ministry confirmed on Wednesday.

More than 100 militants have surrendered to Afghan government forces over the past two days amid increasing military pressure on the Taliban, officials said Tuesday.

The escalation between the United States and Iran over the killing of an Iranian commander now has sparked deep concerns about prospects for the peace process in Afghanistan, with officials and experts warning that Iran could collaborate with the Taliban to thwart American efforts in the war-torn country.

Sixty-nine Taliban militants have surrendered to the Afghan army in western Ghor province amid military pressure in the mountainous region, provincial governor said on Tuesday.

Ten Taliban militants have surrendered in two Afghan northern provinces, authorities said Thursday.

U.S. lead negotiator Zalmay Khalilzad is expected to meet Qatar-based Taliban envoys later this week to find out whether the insurgent group is ready to reduce violence in Afghanistan for the sake of resuming peace talks.

The latest Taliban attacks underscore that the insurgents are at their strongest point since the beginning of the 18-year war.

On December 30, 2019, Associated Press (AP) reported that 5,000 Taliban prisoners will be freed as part of a deal between the U.S. and the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban organization).[1] The AP report, quoting a Taliban official familiar with the U.S.-Taliban talks in Qatar, states that the release of the Taliban prisoners “has been written in to the […]

Afghan security forces have captured a Taliban key commander in the northern Faryab province, provincial police spokesman Mohammad Karim Yurash said Sunday.