Afghanistan strikes Taliban truce in remote area

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Source: Reuters

Afghanistan strikes Taliban truce in remote area
By Sayed Salahuddin Sayed Salahuddin 1 hr 8 mins ago

KABUL (Reuters) – Afghanistan has struck a ceasefire deal with Taliban insurgents in a remote province, a presidential spokesman said on Monday, the first move of its kind amid an escalation of violence ahead of elections next month.

The truce was reached on Saturday in northwestern Badghis province, near the border with Turkmenistan, spokesman Seyamak Herawi said. The government wanted to make similar deals with the Taliban in other parts of the country in a bid to improve security for the August 20 presidential election, he said.

"As long as the ceasefire holds, the government does not have the intention to attack the Taliban (in Badghis). And the Taliban can also take part in the elections," Herawi told Reuters.

Violence across Afghanistan has escalated since thousands of U.S. Marines began a major offensive in southern Helmand this month. Attacks have been less frequent in remote Badghis compared with Taliban strongholds in the south and the east.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090727/wl_nm/us_afghanistan_ceasefire