Iran Urges Peaceful Solution to Differences Among Afghans

Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Thursday urged peaceful solution to differences among Afghan political parties.

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"For peace one should sacrifice and forgive, should refrain from the maximum demands, and pay attention to the demands of the other side," Zarif said at the end of the intra-Afghan dialogue in Tehran.

"What I demand from you (the Afghan parties) is to seize this opportunity and end the war in Afghanistan as soon as possible and provide the people of Afghanistan with an opportunity for development," he added.

On Wednesday, high-ranking delegates of the Afghan government and the Taliban group started a two-day meeting in an attempt to end their conflict. Zarif pointed out that his county is ready to facilitate the continuation of talks in any way the Afghan parties want.

In Afghanistan, rural territories have been the scene of heavy battles in recent weeks as Taliban militants continued their fighting against government security forces and captured about 100 suburban districts out of the country's 400 districts since the drawdown of U.S. troops on May 1.

On Wednesday, Afghan warplanes destroyed a fast-moving Taliban suicide car bomb outside Qala-e-Naw city. The Taliban tried to detonate the massive car bombing near a defense line of Afghan soldiers. The Taliban militant group has not made comments on the reports so far. Details about possible casualties on the side of the security forces were unclear.

On Thursday, Afghan authorities reported that over 120 Taliban militants have been killed and over 50 others wounded as the government security forces continued clashes in the countryside to prevent the militants from advancing.

In Takhar province, a Taliban shadow intelligence chief, Ahmadullah for Takhar died of wounds inflicted during a recent battle with security forces in suburban Farkhar district.