Afghan Taliban for the first time announce ceasefire for Eid
A file photo of unidentified gunmen.
Afghan security forces killed 10 Taliban militants as a ceasefire announced by the president took effect
TheAfghanTaliban announced a three-day ceasefire over the Eid holiday at the end of this week, their first such offer, which follows a ceasefire announced by the government on Thursday.
The militants said foreign forces would be excluded from the ceasefire and that operations against them would continue.
Earlier,President Ashraf Ghani said the week-long ceasefire would coincide with the end of the Ramadan fasting month, Eid. The Taliban have yet to respond.
Afghan security forces killed 10Taliban militants as a ceasefire announced by the president took effect, an official said on Friday, and as security forces said they would respond if attacked.
The 10 included five Pakistanis killed in Thursday's clash in the eastern province of Nangarhar, the official said.
The ceasefire followed a meeting of Islamic clerics this week that declared a fatwa, or ruling, against suicide bombings, one of which, claimed by Islamic State, killed 14 people at the entrance to the clerics' peace tent in Kabul.
The clerics also recommended a ceasefire with the Taliban, who are fighting to reimpose strict Islamic law after their ouster in 2001, and Ghani endorsed the recommendation, saying it would last until June 20.
The United States wants to step up military operations against Islamic State militants in Nangarhar during the ceasefire, the top U.S. general in Afghanistan said on Friday.