Taliban fighters anger leaders by posing for selfies with Afghan government troops during ceasefire

Taliban fighters have raised the ire of their leaders after taking selfies with Afghan soldiers and government officials during a three-day ceasefire.

The Islamic militants face disciplinary action for fraternising with regime troops and citizens during a temporary stop in hostilities to mark the end of Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday.

Afghanistan’s government said it would continue the widely welcomed unilateral ceasefire for another 10 days, although it added security forces would defend themselves if attacked by the Taliban, which ordered its fighters to take up arms again on Sunday night.

Taliban insurgents left their hideouts and visited towns and cities during the ceasefire, leading to unprecedented scenes of them embracing, crying and posing for photographs with regime soldiers.

But the Taliban’s leadership, including supreme commander Haibatullah Akhunzada, was unimpressed, according to a senior official from the jihadist group.

“Last night, an emergency meeting was called and all the commanders were informed and directed to take strict disciplinary action against all those Taliban members who visited citizens and took pictures with the Afghan authorities,” the official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The Taliban's ceasefire, which did not extend to US-led foreign forces, was the first of its kind. The group's leaders had told fighters to avoid public gatherings during Eid in case they were targeted in attacks.

The Taliban's offer to halt fighting came two days after the government declared an unconditional ceasefire of its own.

Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan's ambassador to neighbouring Pakistan, described the move as an "important step towards prospects for peace".

However, some Taliban attacks were planned during the ceasefire in the southern Afghan province of Helmand, said another Taliban commander, also speaking anonymously.

Last month anti-war activists in Afghanistan set off on a peace march to Kabul, walking up to 35km (20 miles) to call for an end to conflict.

The marchers spent the fasting month of Ramadan crossing harsh, sun-baked countryside, their numbers swelling and ebbing at different points along the route.

While many war-weary Afghans welcomed the ceasefires and the fraternisation between the combatants, some have criticised the government ceasefire, which allowed the Taliban to flow into cities, although the militants said they were withdrawing.

Abdul Rahman Mangal, spokesman for the Maidan Wardak provincial government, next to Kabul, said the Taliban attacked two security checkpoints in the Saidabad district in the early hours of Monday. The attacks “left casualties”, he added.

Clashes were also reported in Faryab in the north-west and Laghman, to the east of Kabul.

Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, was hit by two bomb blasts over the weekend, one of which was claimed by Islamic State.