The Afghan security forces launched a spate of airstrikes in eastern Logar province, killing one of the key elements behind numerous deadly attacks, the Afghan Defense Ministry said Saturday.

The U.S. chief peace negotiator for Afghanistan met leaders in Kabul Sunday after arriving in the country on an unannounced visit, his first since President Donald Trump halted talks with Taliban insurgents on ending the Afghan war.

More than 80 Taliban fighters have been killed in air raids by Afghan and US forces in Afghanistan’s Kandahar and Faryab provinces in the past 24 hours, officials said.

Unidentified gunmen shot dead five migrant labourers in Indian-administered Kashmir on Tuesday, police said, in the bloodiest incident since New Delhi moved to strip the region of its autonomy.

Five militants affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) group have been confirmed dead as unmanned planes target the hardliner outfit’s hideouts in Haska Mina and Mohmandara districts of the eastern Nangarhar province on Tuesday, said a provincial government statement released here Wednesday.

Afghanistan — The Afghan government said on Tuesday that it would not take part in negotiations with Taliban unless a cease-fire had first held for at least a month, a demand that is likely to face resistance from the insurgents and complicate the revival of peace efforts that were upended by President Trump.

NATO has reaffirmed its commitment to the long-running Afghanistan mission and said it will ensure its deployment there remains “sustainable.”

Russia, China and Pakistan have called for an early resumption of negotiations between the United States and the Taliban to reach an agreement about ending the war in Afghanistan.

An Indian journalist, who testified before a US committee discussing human rights situation in Kashmir, said Pakistan-sponsored terrorism has been completely overlooked by the world press for the past 30 years, evoking a sharp reaction from a US Congresswoman who questioned her objectivity while reporting.

Four Afghan army special force members were killed and others wounded in a Taliban militants’ ambush attack in northern Takhar province Wednesday, local police said.