Afghan President Ashraf Ghani said on July 7 he had sent a delegation to Pakistan to meet with representatives of the Taliban, his first acknowledgement of official talks with the insurgents fighting to topple the government in Kabul.
The tentative step toward full peace negotiations aimed at ending more than 13 years of war came hours after suspected Taliban suicide bomb attacks in the Afghan capital struck a convoy of foreign troops and a compound of the country's intelligence agency.
The blasts killed at least one person and wounded three, according to Afghan and foreign officials.
Separately, two drone strikes this week targeting militants loyal to Islamic State in the eastern province of Nangarhar killed dozens of fighters, including the movement's second-in-command in Afghanistan, officials said.
The commander was identified by Afghan intelligence as Gul Zaman, who had been in Achin district where Islamic State sympathizers have taken territory from rival Taliban insurgents.
Taliban and other Islamist militants have stepped up attacks on Afghan and foreign forces this year, after most coalition troops withdrew from Afghanistan at the end of 2014.
As security has deteriorated, a handful of Afghan districts have fallen under Taliban control. The growing presence of fighters loyal to Islamic State, mostly made up of disgruntled members of the Taliban, is an added concern.
