Afghan National Army official killed in Mortar shelling in Badghis, eight others injured

A senior official from the Afghan armed forces has been killed in the mortar shelling that rocked the northwestern province of Badghis, ANI reported on November 30. Abdul Basir Nuristani was serving as the chief of staff of the third brigade of the Afghan National Army before a mortar shell that landed in the army compound killed him, TOLO news reported citing local sources. Taliban, which has been waging war against the Afghanistan government for decades, has claimed responsibility for the attack without revealing details.

Read: Afghan Officials Says 31 Killed In Ghazni Explosion

The attack has also caused severe injuries to eight other soldiers, who were all rushed to the hospital. According to the country’s officials, most of them were in “critical condition”. Condemning the attacks Former President of the nation, Hamid Karzai urged “Afghan sides” to avoid bloodshed.

Read: President Ashraf Ghani Challenges Afghan Reconciliation Council; Accuses It Of Overreach

Negotiators agree on procedural rules

This comes two days after the warring sides of the Taliban and Afghanistan moved closer to end decade long war in the country. A Taliban spokesperson on Saturday, November 28 said that negotiators from both sides for the Afghan peace process have agreed on procedural rules with 21 items for the intra-Afghan talks. The peace talks were initiated in Doha earlier this year.  "The procedure of Intra-Afghan negotiations between the negotiating teams was completed and finalized in 21 articles on the 15th of November 2020," tweeted Mohammad Naeem, a spokesman for the Taliban.

Read: Afghan Officials Says 31 Killed In Ghazni Explosion

According to reports, a breakthrough in the talks was made this week and both sides are reported to have agreed to include the US-Taliban agreement, commitments of the negotiating teams, UN endorsements for the Afghan peace process, and the will of the people of Afghanistan. However, the Afghan Presidential Palace dismissed the reports that any progress had been made in the peace talks and said that the impasse still remained.

Read: Taliban Asserts Afghan Peace Negotiators Agreed On Procedural Rules During Talks In Doha

(With inputs from ANI)

 Image: AP