Taliban council agrees to cease-fire in Afghanistan
By KATHY GANNON and RAHIM FAIEZ Associated Press
The Taliban say the ruling council has agreed to a temporary cease-fire nationwide, without saying when it would begin. It provides a window during which a peace agreement with the United States could be signed. A peace deal would allow Washington to bring home its troops from Afghanistan and end its 18-year military engagement there, America’s longest. The U.S. wants any deal to include a promise from the Taliban that Afghanistan would not be used as a base by terrorist groups. The U.S. currently has an estimated 12,000 troops in Afghanistan. The duration of the cease-fire announced Sunday was not specified but it is being suggested it would last for 10 days.