Over 40 ANDSF members were killed and dozens more wounded as a result of recent attacks by the Taliban in Zabul, Kapisa and Baghlan provinces in the past two days, according to local officials.  

According to Kapisa police headquarters, four members of the local police and public uprising forces were killed in a Taliban attack in Nijrab district on Friday evening.

Following eighteen months of marathon diplomacy in Doha, the US and the Taliban signed a deal on February 29 in Doha with the aim of bringing peace to Afghanistan, but the next milestone--March 10--has been missed, which was the scheduled date for the beginning of the intra-Afghan talks. 
 
According to the US-Taliban peace agreement, the intra-Afghan talks were scheduled to start on March 10 on the condition that the Afghan government ensure the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners from its jails, and the Taliban would reciprocate by releasing 1,000 captives as well. But President Ashraf Ghani has refused to release the Taliban prisoners without conditions, and not all at once, and this move has not been accepted by the Taliban, which has ramped-up attacks.