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Turkey on Sunday condemned a suicide bombing that targeted the convoy of Afghan Vice President Abdul Rasheed Dostum in the capital Kabul.
"We condemn the suicide attack that took place in front of Hamid Karzai International Airport right after Dostum's convoy left the airport, after he returned home after 14 months of self-exile in Turkey," said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.
An explosion occurred near the airport in the Afghan capital Kabul on Sunday, shortly after Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum left the area following his arrival home from more than a year in exile in Turkey.Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanekzai said the blast occurred near an airport entrance where supporters had been waiting to greet Dostum as his motorcade passed on its way to the city centre.Live television pictures showed Dostum greeting supporters at his office compound not long after the explosion.
Blast hits Kabul airport on return of exiled Afghan vice president
At least 363 children were killed and 992 injured on the first half of 2018 in Afghanistan, Save the Children said Monday."At the same time, there has been a worrying increase in attacks on education facilities, including at least 12 attacks in Nangarhar province in the last month alone," the NGO said in a statement of which the conclusions are based on the latest UN report on AfghanistanThe UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) on Sunday confirmed a total of 5,122 civilian casualties (1,692 deaths and 3,430 injured), which is the most recorded in a first half of the year since it began documenting civilian casualties in 2009.“It is extremely concerning to see so many civilians being killed in Afghanistan, where there has been a marked deterioration in the security situation in recent years,” Save the Children country director in Afghanistan, Onno van Manen said in the statement.According to the UN report, the use of IEDs caused nearly half of all civilian casualties.The report also holds Daesh responsible for 52 percent of casualties and the Taliban for 40 percent.
Over 350 children killed in Afghan this year, says NGO
The United States is ready to join direct negotiations with the Taliban in an effort to end the 17 year-long war in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, the top U.S. commander, said on Monday, amid growing speculation about possible peace talks.The comment follows increased diplomatic efforts to seek talks following unprecedented scenes of unarmed Taliban fighters mingling with Afghan security forces on the streets of Kabul and other cities during last month's surprise ceasefire.US 5th Fleet commander meets with Bahrain army chiefNicholson, who leads the NATO-led Resolute Support mission, said the United States recognized it had a key role to play."Our Secretary of State, Mr (Mike) Pompeo, has said that we, the United States, are ready to talk to the Taliban and discuss the role of international forces," he said."We hope that they realize this and that this will help to move the peace process forward."Earlier, the New York Times reported that President Donald Trump's administration had ordered diplomats to seek direct talks with the Taliban in a bid to jump-start negotiations.Sohail Shahin, a spokesman for the Taliban's political office in Qatar, said he was still waiting for confirmation but welcomed signs of the new approach."This is what we wanted and were waiting for, to sit with the U.S. directly and discuss the withdrawal of foreign troops from Afghanistan," he said.Civilian casualties in Afghanistan hit new high: UNHe said that as a first step, he expected to see Taliban leaders removed from a United Nations black list in order to be able to travel. He also said the issue of international troops in Afghanistan would be a major issue and that the Taliban would be willing to discuss U.S. concerns.U.S. officials have said that Trump has shown growing impatience with a lack of progress in Afghanistan, where the Taliban control much of the country despite a more aggressive campaign of air strikes announced last year.The insurgents have rejected talks with the government of President Ashraf Ghani, which they see as illegitimate and instead insisted that they would only talk with the United States.Pompeo has said that while the overall peace process must be Afghan-led, Washington would be ready to join talks, a shift from its previous position that only Ghani's government had legitimacy to talk with the Taliban.Afghan politicians urge rolling back voter driveHe has also said the United States is willing to discuss the position of international forces in Afghanistan, which the Taliban have said must leave as a condition for negotiations.Senior U.S. officials, including Pompeo and Alice Wells, the State Department's top diplomat for Afghanistan, have visited Kabul in recent weeks to try to smooth the way for talks.Many obstacles still remain before a conflict which has killed a record number of civilians this year can end. While all sides say they want talks, and there have been behind-the-scenes contacts, the only major peace talks broke down almost immediately after they started in 2015.
'US ready for direct talks with Afghan Taliban' : general
The ministry statement said: "We wish Allah’s mercy upon those who lost their lives and convey our condolences to the Afghan people and the State."
The suicide blast rocked the area killing at least 11 people and wounding 14 others.