Taliban

The United States and the Taliban have agreed to a temporary truce that, if successful, would open the way for a deal that would bring American troops home from Afghanistan and end 18 years of war.

Afghanistan has appreciated Turkey's continued support and efforts for the peace process in the war-ravaged country, an official said on Jan. 29.

The plane which crashed in Afghanistan may turn out to be military, not passenger. The mystery is compounded after local authorities said it was not a civilian flight. Earlier, the country's national airline, Ariana Afgan Airlines, denied that the machine was their property.

The Taliban said it had shot down a U.S. military plane in the central Afghan province of Ghazni on Monday, killing all personnel on board.

A passenger plane crashed in Ghazni province in eastern Afghanistan, the BBC reports.

According to preliminary data, 83 passengers were on board the aircraft. Local government officials confirmed that the plane crashed in Ghazni province, saying the accident happened near the area of Deh Yak.

A powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in southwest Pakistan during Friday evening prayers, killing a senior police officer and at least 11 others, police said.

The bombing also wounded 11 other worshipers in the city of Quetta, the capital of the restive Baluchistan province, said local police chief Mohammad Ajmal.

Turkey has always played a constructive and key role in NATO's Afghanistan mission since 2003, the alliance's senior representative to Kabul, Sir Nicholas Kay, said in an interview with Hürriyet Daily News at the NATO headquarters in Brussels.

The Taliban's chief negotiator has said their "doors are open" to resuming talks with Washington, hours after two attacks by the insurgents killed at least 48 people in war-weary Afghanistan.    

Increasing Taliban attacks on foreigners serving in Afghanistan have raised questions about the safety of soldiers from Balkan countries - but, apart from Croatia, the region's governments aren't changing tack.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs has subpoenaed President Donald Trump's top diplomat charged with negotiating with the Taliban the terms of an Afghan peace plan.