Taliban head to MOSCOW for groundbreaking PEACE TALKS as violence in Afghanistan SURGES
THE TALIBAN terror group, which used to govern Afghanistan before the 9/11 attacks, is due to attend major peace talks on the future of Afghanistan in Moscow, but the US will not be represented.
The talks are due to take place in the Russian capital starting on September 4.
A number of regional powers will attend, including China, Pakistan and Iran.
However, neither the US nor the UK, who have been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan since the US invasion of 2001, will have a presence at the talks.
A senior Taliban member stated the group will attend “for the sake of finding peace in Afghanistan”.
Russia’s presidential representative to Afghanistan, Zamir Kabulov, confirmed the Taliban had been invited to the talks.
Commenting on the meeting, he said: “It is in line with efforts to launch the process of national reconciliation in Afghanistan.”
It is expected the Taliban will be represented by Sher Mohammad Abbas, their top political envoy.
Last month the group held peace talks with the US in Qatar.
A six-member Taliban delegation met Alice Wells, a senior State Department official.
This represented a major concession from the US, who had previously insisted the Afghan government must also be represented at any talks.
The negotiations come amid a backdrop of a surge in violence in Afghanistan.
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Earlier this month hundreds were killed when Taliban fighters attacked and briefly seized the city of Ghazni.
In a separate incident, suicide bombers from the so-called Islamic State killed over 40 people in Kabul this month.
There are reports the Taliban are stepping up attacks in a bid to put themselves in a stronger position prior to the upcoming peace talks.
British Prime Minister Theresa May has also announced that an additional 440 British troops will join NATO forces in Afghanistan.
A total of 456 British soldiers and airmen died in Afghanistan between 2001 and 2015, with most conflict occurring in the southern Helmand Province.