Taliban chief: No peace until foreign troops leave Afghanistan

The attack came as the Taliban’s new leader Mullah Mansour told the government it must cancel a security deal with the United States and expel all foreign troops if it wants peace.

Mullah Mansoor created the need in a note observing Eid-ul-Adha, his first message’s Muslim event following the demise of president Mullah Omar was established in July, because he officially took charge.

“If the Kabul administration wants to end the war and establish peace in the country, it is possible through ending the occupation and revoking all military and security treaties with the invaders”, Mansour said in the message posted in English on the Taliban’s website.

Provincial deputy police chief Abdul Hafiz Khashi said an Afghan Army soldier with links to the Taliban attacked fellow troops at a checkpoint at about 2 a.m. local time, killing 10 soldiers and making off with their weapons and other equipment.

Last year, the Upper House of Afghanistan’s parliament ratified the controversial Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA) with Washington, according to which about 10,000 American troops would stay in Afghanistan beyond 2014, when the US-led combat mission ended. Moreover, questions surrounding the support base of his successor, Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, further suggested that the Taliban’s days as a formidable fighting force might be numbered.

The statement said nearly 70 Taliban fighters were also killed by Afghan security forces over the same period.

Some senior Taliban leaders had been suspicious of Mullah Mansour’s support for peace talks hosted by neighbouring Pakistan, and accused pro-Pakistani circles of installing him as the new leader.

Mansour addressed the rifts in the Eid message by accusing the Taliban’s “enemy” of trying to sow discord in the movement. Divisions within the Taliban have threatened to derail fledgling peace talks with the Afghan government and allow the Islamic State group to expand its foothold in the region.

The report said 1,592 civilians were killed, a six percent fall over previous year , while the number of injured jumped four percent to 3,329.