Violence had resumed before the Bala Murghab attack. Late Monday, the Taliban attacked security forces in the Dasht e Archi district of Kunduz Province. At least eight soldiers and two local police officers were killed.

Afghan commanders described a sense of confusion, saying the Taliban were taking advantage of the defensive position in which security forces remained because of the government’s cease-fire extension.

“We are not really clear whether this is a truce or not. There is no energy left in the police or in the army — the government is neither leaving the area to the Taliban, nor letting us take it,” said Qumandan Jama, who leads a local police unit in Dasht e Archi.

While the government is willing to continue holding its fire, the insurgents have no apparent plans to respond in kind. Violence is expected to rise as Taliban leaders try to reassert control over their rank and file. They were surprised by the enthusiasm that foot soldiers showed for a sense of normalcy during the Islamic festival of Eid al-Fitr, when the two cease-fires overlapped for three days. The fighters openly celebrated the relatively peaceful interlude — visiting cities, stopping for ice cream and posing for selfies — despite orders to stay in their trenches.

While cease-fires’ overlap offered new hope for the Afghan peace process, officials and diplomats say the road ahead remains bumpy until the Taliban can be brought to the negotiating table. The insurgents, in their statements, have insisted on talking to the Americans directly, and on the withdrawal of foreign troops.

The United States has shown more flexibility on both those issues in recent months, as patience in the Trump administration seems to be running out with the lack of progress toward talks.

President Trump was reluctantly persuaded last year to increase the number of American troops in Afghanistan, and to base any withdrawal on progress on the ground rather than an arbitrary deadline. Ten months later, as the administration’s strategy goes up for a review, there is little progress to speak of.