This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The Taliban has killed scores of civilians in two separate attacks in Afghanistan just days after being invited to try to resume peace talks.

A suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed at least 11 and wounded 40 in the eastern city of Asadabad on Saturday morning. Most of the victims were civilians and children playing in a park, but the pro-government militia commander, Haji Khan Jan, was also killed, the governor of Kunar province told Reuters.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Injured men are brought into a hospital after the attack in Asadabad. Photograph: Parwiz/Reuters

The capital, Kabul, was hit in the afternoon when a suicide bomber detonated an explosives vest in a pedestrian area between the ministries of finance and defence, apparently targeting government employees.



The attack killed at least 12, including two government staff members, and wounded eight, the defence ministry spokesman Dawlat Waziri said.



The attacks are likely to be regarded as a response to the meeting in Kabul this week between Afghan, Pakistani, US and Chinese officials who are trying to revive peace talks.

The quartet gave the Taliban an “ultimatum”, as the Afghanistan Analysts Network termed it, to either join the next meeting, slated for early March, or face a military clampdown.

The most recent peace process involving the Taliban collapsed in July when it was revealed that the group’s leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar, had died in 2013.

After an unusually fierce Taliban campaign through the winter, many worry that if it is not persuaded to decrease violence, this year could be the most challenging yet for the Afghan security forces. Many also think the militants won’t have much incentive to seek peace as long as their military momentum continues.

According to the New York Times, the Taliban now controls more territory than at any point since 2001.



