KABUL, Afghanistan — Within hours of opening an office for peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar, Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan launched an ambush on an American convoy just outside their main base, at Bagram Air Base, killing four American soldiers late Tuesday night, according to Afghan officials.
And in the eastern city of Jalalabad, about 3 a.m. Wednesday, Afghan police units surrounded a house in the city that they said was full of Taliban insurgents and demanded they surrender. They refused, and in the ensuing firefight four Taliban were killed and two wounded; two Afghan policemen were wounded as well, according to Afghan police officials.
It was at best a rocky prelude to another effort to begin peace talks, efforts that have faltered repeatedly in recent years.
In addition to the renewed violence, Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives had strikingly different interpretations about what the new Taliban office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was for.
Afghan officials said it was only an “address” where peace talks could begin. The Taliban described it in a statement as a full-blown political office, where they would meet with representatives of the international community, interact with the press, “improve relations with countries around the world” and, almost as an afterthought, meet Afghan officials — “if there is a need.” That sounded close to describing the office as an embassy rather than a venue for peace talks.
The attack Tuesday night took place in the village of Shaka, just outside the sprawling Bagram Air Base, when Taliban insurgents launched an ambush on a routine American military patrol, firing a rocket at an armored vehicle, according to Roshna Khalid, a spokesman for the governor of Parwan Province, where the base is located, about an hour’s drive north of the capital, Kabul. She said the attack took place just more than mile outside the base’s perimeter.
The international military coalition issued a statement confirming only that four coalition soldiers had been killed in an “indirect fire” attack in eastern Afghanistan, but in line with its normal policy, the coalition did not release the nationalities of the victims. The Bagram base is largely staffed by Americans, and is the largest base in the country, with more than 20,000 persons, both military and civilian.
Dispelling any notion that the attack Tuesday might have been a rogue action, a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, e-mailed a statement claiming responsibility, and saying the insurgents had killed four American soldiers and wounded two of them.
Afghan officials have said they expected the opening of the Qatar office for peace talks to be accompanied by an effort to reduce the level of violence, but there is no explicit agreement as yet for any sort of ceasefire.
Officials have also said they expect the Qatari government to close the Taliban office if it goes beyond the narrowly defined role as a setting for peace talks and Taliban officials try to present it as an embassy.
“This is just an address for negotiations, nothing else,” said Mullawi Shahzada Shahid, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, which expects to negotiate on behalf of the Afghan government. “This office will not be used for political, military, financial or for any economical purposes.”
And in the eastern city of Jalalabad, about 3 a.m. Wednesday, Afghan police units surrounded a house in the city that they said was full of Taliban insurgents and demanded they surrender. They refused, and in the ensuing firefight four Taliban were killed and two wounded; two Afghan policemen were wounded as well, according to Afghan police officials.
It was at best a rocky prelude to another effort to begin peace talks, efforts that have faltered repeatedly in recent years.
In addition to the renewed violence, Afghan government officials and Taliban representatives had strikingly different interpretations about what the new Taliban office in Doha, the capital of Qatar, was for.
Afghan officials said it was only an “address” where peace talks could begin. The Taliban described it in a statement as a full-blown political office, where they would meet with representatives of the international community, interact with the press, “improve relations with countries around the world” and, almost as an afterthought, meet Afghan officials — “if there is a need.” That sounded close to describing the office as an embassy rather than a venue for peace talks.
The attack Tuesday night took place in the village of Shaka, just outside the sprawling Bagram Air Base, when Taliban insurgents launched an ambush on a routine American military patrol, firing a rocket at an armored vehicle, according to Roshna Khalid, a spokesman for the governor of Parwan Province, where the base is located, about an hour’s drive north of the capital, Kabul. She said the attack took place just more than mile outside the base’s perimeter.
The international military coalition issued a statement confirming only that four coalition soldiers had been killed in an “indirect fire” attack in eastern Afghanistan, but in line with its normal policy, the coalition did not release the nationalities of the victims. The Bagram base is largely staffed by Americans, and is the largest base in the country, with more than 20,000 persons, both military and civilian.
Dispelling any notion that the attack Tuesday might have been a rogue action, a spokesman for the Taliban, Zabiullah Mujahid, e-mailed a statement claiming responsibility, and saying the insurgents had killed four American soldiers and wounded two of them.
Afghan officials have said they expected the opening of the Qatar office for peace talks to be accompanied by an effort to reduce the level of violence, but there is no explicit agreement as yet for any sort of ceasefire.
Officials have also said they expect the Qatari government to close the Taliban office if it goes beyond the narrowly defined role as a setting for peace talks and Taliban officials try to present it as an embassy.
“This is just an address for negotiations, nothing else,” said Mullawi Shahzada Shahid, the spokesman for Afghanistan’s High Peace Council, which expects to negotiate on behalf of the Afghan government. “This office will not be used for political, military, financial or for any economical purposes.”