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Bloomberg
The US has stopped all offensive operations against Taliban extremists in Afghanistan as part of an effort to reduce violence in the country for seven days and pave the way for a peace agreement this month to end the US’s longest war.
“Our operations are defensive at this point,†US General Austin Scott Miller said. “We stopped our offensive operations as part of our obligations, but we remain committed to defend our forces as well as defending Afghan security forces.â€
The reduction of violence is a “conditional effort; it’s a trial period†to see if all sides including the Taliban are able to meet their obligations, Miller said.
If the Taliban also reduces the violence for the next week, the US will then sign a peace agreement with the extremists on February 29.