US strengthens diplomatic support for peace talks with Taliban, increasing likelihood
 

US strengthens diplomatic support for peace talks with Taliban, increasing likelihood of formal negotiations in Afghanistan
By: Alex Barnes - IHS Jane's Country Risk Daily Report - 18 July 2018
RE: http://www.janes.com/article/81831/u...in-afghanistan

Event
On 16 July 2018, General John Nicholson, Commander of the US Forces in Afghanistan, announced that the US was ready to facilitate negotiations with the Taliban. Separately, according to media reports, Afghan officials are considering a second ceasefire with the Taliban over the Eid al-Adha holiday from 21 to 23 August.

US statements have been widely misinterpreted to suggest the US will directly negotiate with the Taliban. In fact, although the US continues to insist the Afghan government must remain the key interlocutor with the Taliban, the recent surge in US diplomatic activity in Kabul and Islamabad, bolstered by the unprecedented Taliban-government ceasefire in June indicates increased willingness ease the path for negotiations.

Mine attack wounds police district head in Afghanistan's Kabul
 

Mine attack wounds police district head in Afghanistan's Kabul
IHS Jane's Terrorism Watch Report - Daily Update - 19 July 2018
RE: http://www.janes.com/article/81876/m...nistan-s-kabul

THE police head of district No 5 in Afghanistan's capital Kabul was wounded when a mine, attached to his vehicle by unidentified militants, detonated in district No 5 on 15 July, Afghan Islamic Press reported. No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.

Suicide attack kills 14 people in Afghanistan's Kabul
 

Suicide attack kills 14 people in Afghanistan's Kabul
By: IHS Jane's Terrorism Watch Report - Daily Update - 24 July 2018
RE: http://www.janes.com/article/81973/s...nistan-s-kabul

FOURTEEN people, including nine security forces personnel and traffic officers, were killed and 60 others were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated their explosives near the gate of Hamid Karzai International Airport in the capital Kabul on 22 July, as Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum returned from self-imposed exile, AFP reported. Reports added that Dostum was not wounded during the attack. The Islamic State's Wilayat Khorasan claimed responsibility for the attack.