The Taliban has broken off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States.

The U.S. military has rejected a claim by the Afghan Taliban that the United States is violating the terms of a peace deal signed by the two sides in late February.

Kabul, Afghanistan – When 55-year-old Khairullah from a village in Afghanistan’s northern Jawzjan province was invited to join a meeting after Friday prayers on March 27, he was not prepared for what he witnessed.

The Taliban on Tuesday broke off talks with the Afghan government on a prisoner exchange, a main step in peace talks being brokered by the United States after it agreed on a troop withdrawal pact with the militants.

Afghan forces announced they have arrested the leader of the country’s ISIL (ISIS) affiliate along with 19 other fighters.

The Taliban said their peace deal with the United States was nearing a breaking point, accusing Washington of violations that included drone attacks on civilians, while also chastising the Afghan government for delaying the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners promised in the agreement.

Taliban touts training camps ‘still going on’ that prepare fighters for ‘war’ As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo calls for the Taliban to honor a non-existent commitment to “reduce violence,” the Taliban continues to train for war. The Taliban has publicized the training of its fighters at three separate camps over the past five days.

Afghanistan began on Thursday the process of releasing from jail 100 Taliban Islamist militants in a prisoner swap for 20 of its security forces, a senior security official and a Taliban representative said.

A roadside bombing in southern Afghanistan on Wednesday killed at least eight civilians, including six children.

A three-member Taliban team arrived in Kabul on Tuesday to begin a prisoner exchange process pivotal to starting talks between the insurgents and the government side to end Afghanistan’s 18-year-old war.