U.S., Taliban peace deal in the works

Officials from Afghanistan and the United States on Monday lauded major progress in the latest negotiations to end the 18-year war with the Taliban. Talks in Qatar the last two days focused on the withdrawal of U.S. troops and the Taliban’s commitment to cut ties with other extremist groups, a Taliban official said.

What’s the situation in Afghanistan? The United States has about 14,000 troops supporting and training Afghan soldiers. Despite the reinforcement, the Taliban and Islamic State continue to carry out near-daily attacks, mostly targeting security forces. U.S. special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad continues to lead the talks with the insurgents.

Dig deeper: I reported earlier this year in World Tour on the complexity of the peace talks.