Afghan government

The Taliban claimed on July 9 to be in control of 85 percent of Afghanistan after seizing key border crossings with Iran and Turkmenistan, part of a sweeping offensive launched as US troops pull out of the war-torn nation.

President Joe Biden said on July 8 the U.S. military operation in Afghanistan will end on Aug. 31, delivering an impassioned argument for exiting the nearly 20-year war without sacrificing more American lives even as he bluntly acknowledged there will be no "mission accomplished" moment to celebrate.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar has said that he will speak over the phone with his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin on July 7 in line with the ongoing talks on the operation and security of the Hamid Karzai International Airport in Afghanistan.

Turkey will hold a high-level meeting under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to discuss ongoing talks with the United States over the former's bid to operate Kabul International Airport after the completion of NATO's withdrawal from Afghanistan, the defense minister has said.

Ambassador Hakan Tekin, director general for South Asia at the Turkish Foreign Ministry, met Massoum Stanekzai, the Afghan government's top peace broker, in the Qatari capital Doha on June 8. 

According to a statement by the negotiating team in Kabul, Stanekzai and Tekin discussed ways and means to expedite the stalled peace drive.

Afghanistan's Taliban on May 10 announced a three-day cease-fire for the Eid-al-Fitr holiday this week marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

The cease-fire would begin on either May 12 or May 13. The Muslim calendar follows lunar cycles and the Eid holiday depends on the sighting of the new moon.

That is what two leaders of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda claim for CNN.
The statement came after US President Joe Biden announced the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and on the eve of the 10th anniversary of the assassination of the leader of that organization, Osama bin Laden.

America's longest war, the two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan that started in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, killed tens of thousands of people, dogged four U.S. presidents and ultimately proved unwinnable despite its staggering cost in blood and treasure.

Turkey announced on April 13 that a keenly awaited international conference on the Afghan peace process will be held in Istanbul from April 24 to May 4.

The high-level and inclusive conference between representatives of the Afghan government and the Taliban is being co-convened by Turkey, Qatar, and the U.N., according to a joint statement issued by the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken discussed the Afghan peace process and a number of other issues in a phone call on April 12.