Almost two hours after the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo briefed reporters about--among other things--Afghanistan’s situation, the State Department issued a release reacting to the Afghan Independent Election Commission's announcement of the final election results of the Afghan poll and called for a focus on peace rather than an engagement with electoral politics.

The statement reads that the United States notes the announcement of the presidential elections in Afghanistan “in favor of President Ashraf Ghani” and that it expects the concerns about the election process to be “handled in accordance with constitutional and legal procedures.”

The Afghan Ministry of Interior (MoI) on Tuesday said that at least four security incidents by the Taliban were recorded in Zabul, Ghazni, Farah and Helmand provinces in the fourth day since the implementation of the Reduction in Violence (RIV) plan on February 21.

According to the Ministry of Interior, at least five members of the Afghan security forces were killed and ten others were wounded during these incidents.