The Afghan Taliban announced a three-day ceasefire later this week to mark Eid al-Fitr. This is their first offer of its kind and follows the truce announced by the government on Thursday.
The rebels say foreign forces will be exempted from the ceasefire and that operations against them will continue. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday announced an unconditional ceasefire with the Taliban, which coincides with the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, but has excluded other militant groups such as Islamic State. Ghani made the decision after a meeting of Muslim clerics issued a fatwa against the kamikaze bombings. The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, and Ghani adopted the recommendation, saying the ceasefire would last until June 20. It was not immediately clear when the Taliban ceasefire would begin.
Ghani had called for a ceasefire with the Taliban before, but this was his first unconditional offer since being elected in 2014.