Afghan Taliban offer surprise three-day ceasefire for Eid
Militants say foreign forces will still be targetted
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Your support makes all the difference.A surprise three-day ceasefire has been announced by the Afghan Taliban over the Eid holiday.
The militants said foreign forces would be excluded from the ceasefire, which will take place in the middle of June and that operations against them would continue.
In what is the first offer of its kind from the Taliban, who nonetheless emphasised they would defend themselves against any attack.
"Members of the Taliban should not participate in public gatherings during the Eid festivities because the enemy could target us," they said in a statement.
There was no immediate response from the Afghan government.
It was not clear exactly when the ceasefire would begin, as Eid starts when the moon is first sighted, but Afghan calendars mark 15 June as the end of Ramadan.
Eid is the biggest festival in the Muslim calendar when families visit each other's homes, enjoy feasting and in Afghanistan tend graves of fallen loved ones. The Taliban have launched attacks during Eid in the past.
"In three days, maybe the unity of Taliban insurgents will be put to test," a European diplomat said. "If different factions don’t accept the ceasefire, then attacks will continue."
Afghan President Ashraf Ghani announced an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban on Thursday, until 20 June, but excluding other militant groups, such as Isis.
Mr Ghani's decision came after a meeting of Islamic clerics declared a fatwa, or ruling, against suicide bombings, one of which, claimed by Islamic State, killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics' peace tent in Kabul.
The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, who are seeking to reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster in 2001, and Mr Ghani endorsed the recommendation, saying it would last until 20 June.
Mr Ghani has urged ceasefires with the Taliban before, but this was the first unconditional offer since he was elected in 2014.
In August US President Donald Trump unveiled a more hawkish military approach to Afghanistan, including a surge in air strikes, aimed at forcing the Taliban to the negotiating table.
Afghan security forces say the impact has been significant, but the Taliban roam huge swaths of the country and, with foreign troop levels of about 15,600, down from 140,000 in 2014, there appears little hope of outright victory.
The Taliban's surprise announcement comes as Mr Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are due to sit down to a summit in Singapore on Tuesday, something few people would have predicted just months ago when threats between the two sides were at their most bellicose.
Agencies contributed to this report
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