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At least 10 policemen were killed in clashes with Taliban fighters in the central Afghan province of Wardak, officials said on Sunday, amid fighting to wrest control of arterial highways a day after Taliban fighters blew up bridges. The Taliban set fire to a government building in Wardak's Sayeed Abad district and killed the district police chief along with nine other policemen on Saturday night, a senior police official said. Repeated assaults on strategically important provinces, such as Wardak and nearby Ghazni, have been a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile security remains in Afghanistan two weeks before nationwide parliamentary elections. Abdul Rahman Mangal, a spokesman for the Wardak governor's office, said the Taliban raided some civilian houses after killing 10 policemen, destroyed newly built checkpoints and cut power to some parts of the city. Government forces counter-attacked to stop the insurgents from approaching the city, Mangal said. A statement from the Taliban's main spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, said the insurgents had taken the centre of Sayeed Abad and all surrounding security checkpoints, killing numerous members of the security forces and seizing weapons, ammunition and vehicles. Mohammad Arif Noori, a spokesman for Ghazni's governor, said one soldier was killed by Taliban fighters as they tried to gain control over parts of the province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by U.S.-backed Afghan forces. The Taliban attacked Ghazni, a strategically important centre straddling the main highway linking Kabul with Afghanistan's south, in August. It was the largest tactical operation launched by the Taliban since they overran the northern city of Kunduz in 2015. That confrontation killed 150 members of Afghanistan's security forces and 95 civilians, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters.  

Heavily armed Taliban fighters destroyed bridges near the central city of Ghazni on Saturday, closing the main highway between the capital Kabul and southern Afghanistan, officials said. Sporadic clashes erupted between Afghan soldiers and Taliban insurgents who were trying to gain control over parts of Ghazni province nearly two months after being pushed back from the city by US-backed Afghan forces, officials added. Mohammad Arif Noori, the governor's spokesman in Ghazni, said fighting was on-going and the Afghan army had deployed helicopters to prevent the militants from entering the city centre. ‘We are fully prepared to attack them. This time the province will not fall into the hands of the Taliban,’ Noori said. Five militants were killed as they were planting bombs on three bridges on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, Noori added. The attack on Ghazni was a show of strength for the Taliban, underscoring how volatile the security situation remains two weeks before the parliamentary elections. Polling has already been called off in Ghazni province after the Taliban overran it in August and besieged the city for five days. That confrontation killed 150 Afghan security forces and 95 civilians dead, as well as hundreds of Taliban fighters, said officials then. President Ashraf Ghani's Western-backed government pledged $20 million for relief and reconstruction of Ghazni after security forces defeated the Taliban fighters in that battle. Afghan forces said on Saturday they were also fighting Taliban insurgents to retake a highway linking Ghazni and Paktia provinces. The Taliban took control of the arterial road in August and had imposed a tolls on civilians using the highway. Rohullah Khalil Ughlo, an Afghan army commander, said 22 Taliban insurgents were killed and 17 were wounded in clashes to secure the highway. ‘The operation will end soon and the highway will be open for traffic. People will not have to pay illegal taxes anymore,’ said Ughlo. Meanwhile residents of Qarabagh district, 55 km (35 miles) south of Ghazni city, said the militants had set up checkpoints and were preventing vehicles from passing through several residential areas.

A suicide bomber blew himself up at an election rally in Afghanistan's eastern province of Nangarhar on Tuesday, killing at least seven people and wounding 25, officials said, warning that the toll was likely to climb. Campaigning for the Oct. 20 parliamentary election began on Friday and security officials have warned that campaign meetings would be vulnerable to attack by militant groups. Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman of the provincial governor, said at least seven bodies had been taken to hospital, but other officials said the total was likely to be much higher. Around 250 people were attending the rally in Kama district outside the provincial capital of Jalalabad, said Sohrab Qaderi, a member of the provincial council, adding that at least 20 were killed and dozens more wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Militant group Islamic State has claimed a series of attacks this year that have killed scores of people in Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan.

At least 25 civilians, including women and children, were killed in two separate aerial operations in the Afghan provinces of Kapisa and Maidan Wardak, officials said Tuesday. At least 12 were killed after a US forces' bomber mistakenly targeted a civilian house in central Maidan Wardak late Monday, provincial council members Masoud Shenzi and Sharifullah Hotak said. In the joint operation, a prison operated by the Taliban was destroyed in the Jaghato district of the province, leading to freedom for eight soldiers imprisoned by the militants, the officials said.  At least 40 Taliban militants were killed in the operation, a provincial council member, Merwais Amiri, said. Some other councillors confirmed a high Taliban death toll, but did not share the exact figures. Meanwhile, an airstrike in Kapisa left at least 13 civilians, including women and children, dead, provincial council member Mohammad Khan Safi said. At least five others were wounded in the operation, which took place in the province's Tagab district, the official said. However, the head of the provincial council for Kapisa put the death toll at 10, including a number of children and four women. At the same time, a statement by US forces in Afghanistan confirmed an airstrike in the province, which wounded six members of local pro-government militias. The statement, however, denies the "casualities of non-combatants." A total of 10,453 civilian casualties - 3,438 people killed and 7,015 injured - were documented in 2017, United Nations' Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said in a report in February

Nine children were killed when a bomb exploded in northern Faryab province late Friday, officials said. The incident which took place in   district, left four others wounded, a provincial council member, Nadir Saeedi, said. Another provincial council member, Mohammad Arif, put the casualty toll at eight dead and five injured. The bomb was planted near a security checkpoint to target security forces, the two officials said. The officials blamed Taliban militants for the incident. The militants did not immediately comment on the issue. A total of 10,453 civilian casualties - 3,438 people killed and 7,015 injured - were documented in 2017, United Nations' Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said in a report in February. Although this figure represents a decrease of nine percent compared with 2016, the report highlights the high number of casualties caused by suicide bombings and other attacks using improvised explosive devices (IEDs). 

A helicopter carrying security forces crashed in western Afghanistan, killing all five people on board, including the pilot, officials said on Saturday, but ruled out a militant attack. A wave of assaults by Taliban militants in recent weeks has forced Afghan and foreign forces to make far greater use of air transport to move troops and supplies, but inadequate training and poor planning have led to frequent crashes. The latest crash was caused by technical difficulties rather than a militant attack, said Naser Mehri, a spokesman for the governor of Farah province, site of the accident. ‘The helicopter crashed due to a technical issue, not due to Taliban fire,’ Mehri said. The cause of the crash is being investigated, said a defence ministry official in Kabul, the capital, adding that the helicopter had been transporting Afghan security forces. The Taliban are fighting to expel foreign forces, defeat the government and impose their version of Islamist rule after their 2001 ouster by US-led troops.

At least 38 Afghan security personnel and civilians have been killed in night-time attacks across four Afghan provinces, officials said on Friday, amid a spike in Taliban attacks at military checkpoints. A total of 29 police officers and members of the Afghan national army were killed in Taliban attacks in the western province of Farah, the head of the provincial council, Farid Bakhtwar, said. Taliban insurgents attacked several check posts on the outskirts of Farah city, as well as in three other districts, leaving at least six others wounded, according to the official. In Samangan province in the north, at least seven policemen were killed in an attack by the Islamist extremists, an official said. At least 14 others were wounded in the attack late Thursday in Samangan's Dar-e-Suf district, provincial council member Safiullah Samangani said. A week ago, 14 people were killed and six injured in Taliban attacks on police checkpoints in the same district. On Thursday, President Ashraf Ghani suggested moving forces from smaller checkpoints to bigger bases in order to avoid high casualities. The move, according to Ghani, "will significantly decrease the high death toll of Afghan defence forces." Meanwhile, civilians have again been caught up in the fighting, with officials reporting two people killed by Taliban militants in Jalrez district in the central Maidan Wardak province. The victims were both government employees from the neighbouring province of Bamyan, provincial council members Sardar Bakhtyari and Khawani Sultani said. In the east, Nangarhar province has been hit by a non-stop wave of violence. Five civilians were injured there on Friday by an explosive in Khogyani district, Nangarhar press office said in a statement. On Tuesday, a deadly suicide bombing among protesters in the province left as least 68 dead and wounded close to 170 others. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

The death toll from a suicide attack on Afghan protesters has soared to 68, officials said Wednesday, as violence flares across the country ahead of elections. The bombing on Tuesday in the eastern province of Nangarhar was the latest in a wave of deadly insurgent attacks which has claimed the lives of hundreds of civilians and security forces across Afghanistan. The blast wounded another 165 people, provincial governor spokesman Ataullah Khogyani said. There has been no claim of responsibility for the massacre, but the Islamic State group, which has carried out most of the recent suicide bombings in Afghanistan, is active in the province. The Nangarhar health department confirmed the toll. Scores of demonstrators had blocked the highway between the provincial capital of Jalalabad and a major Pakistan border crossing in protest over the appointment of a local police chief when the suicide bomber blew himself up. The dead and wounded were rushed to several hospitals in the back of pickup trucks and ambulances, overwhelming doctors and nurses as they struggled to cope with the huge number of casualties. It was the deadliest attack since an ambulance packed with explosives detonated in a crowded street in the heart of Kabul in January, killing more than 100 people, mostly civilians. That bombing was claimed by the Taliban. Violence across the country has intensified in recent weeks as the Taliban make gains on the battlefield and IS launches deadly urban attacks. The fighting has tempered optimism that had been tentatively growing as Afghan and international players ratchet up efforts to convince the Taliban to negotiate an end to the 17-year conflict. An unprecedented ceasefire in June followed by talks between US officials and Taliban representatives in Qatar in July raised hopes that peace negotiations could bring an end to the fighting. There has been speculation the two sides will meet again this month. The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate. The intensified fighting has also fuelled speculation over whether Afghanistan's long-delayed parliamentary elections will go ahead on October 20. The country's already stretched security forces will be tasked with protecting thousands of polling stations around the country at a time when they are already struggling to beat back insurgents. Delivering ballot papers and monitoring the vote, which is seen as a test run for next year's presidential election, will be challenging, officials have warned. There are already concerns about widespread fraud. In recent days, Taliban fighters killed nearly 60 members of the security forces in a spate of attacks in the country's north, and threatened a provincial capital for the second time in as many months.

A boy was killed and four others wounded in a double bombing outside a girls' school in restive eastern Afghanistan on Tuesday, officials and witnesses said, in the latest violence to hit the country. The first explosion happened in front of Malika Omaira girls' school in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at around 8:30 am (0400 GMT), provincial governor spokesman Ataullah Khogyani told AFP. A second bomb went off as students from a neighbouring boys' school and locals gathered at the scene, Khogyani added. Witnesses told AFP the casualties were students from the boys' school. ‘We went with other boys to see what had happened after we heard an explosion near the girls' school,’ 12-year-old Elyas told AFP from his hospital bed. ‘Another explosion hit us and I was wounded (in the leg). ‘I saw girls crying, rushing out of school. They were all in a panic.’ The twin blasts took place an hour after a bomb exploded outside Biba Hawa girls' school in nearby Behsood district, Jalalabad education department spokesman Asif Shinwari said. Students had not arrived for class and there were no casualties, he added. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attacks in Nangarhar, but the Taliban and the Islamic State group are active in the region. Both militant groups have long opposed female education and have forced the closure of countless girls' schools across Afghanistan.

Taliban killed nearly 60 members of Afghanistan's beleaguered security forces in a spate of attacks across the country's north, officials said Monday, as diplomatic efforts to end the 17-year war intensify. Heavy fighting overnight in four provinces followed a wave of violence across the war-torn country in recent weeks that has left hundreds of civilians, police and soldiers dead. After seizing a military base in Sar-e-Pul, Taliban fighters were threatening the provincial capital in a situation that could result in ‘disaster’ if reinforcements were not sent, the area's police chief Abdul Qayom Baqizoy warned. Baqizoy compared the threat to the Taliban's extraordinary raid last month on the provincial capital of Ghazni -- fighters held large parts of the city located just two hours from Kabul for days. At least 17 security forces have been killed near Sar-e-Pul city after militants seized a checkpoint in Sayyad district and burned it to the ground, provincial governor Zahir Wahdat told journalists Monday. Air support has been called in, he said. About 39 Taliban fighters have been killed and 14 wounded. ‘The fighting is still ongoing near the city and the central government is going to send more reinforcements soon,’ Wahdat said. Elsewhere in Afghanistan's north, the Taliban's elite Red unit attacked several police posts in Kunduz, killing at least 19 officers and wounding around 20, Dasht-e-Archi district chief Nasruddin Saadi told AFP. Insurgents also raided two police checkpoints in Dara-e-Suf district of Samangan province, killing 14 officers, northern Afghanistan police spokesman Sarwar Hussaini said. In Jowzjan province hundreds of Taliban fighters stormed Khomab district centre, near Turkmenistan, killing eight security force members and seizing control of government headquarters, provincial deputy police chief Abdul Hafeez Khashi told AFP. The increased violence comes as Afghan and international players ratchet up efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, which was toppled from power by US-led forces in 2001. US officials met with Taliban representatives in Qatar in July and there is speculation the two sides will meet again this month, raising hopes for peace. On Sunday a suicide bomber blew himself up in Kabul during commemorations for famed resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud, killing at least seven people and wounding more than 20. SITE Intelligence group said the local Islamic State group claimed the attack on IS's propaganda channel Amaq. The interior ministry would not respond to repeated requests from AFP for details about the latest violence. Defence ministry spokesman Ghafoor Ahmad Jawed had his phone switched off.

At least 13 people were killed when a passenger bus collided with a truck parked on a road in southern Afghanistan on Saturday and overturned, officials said. Another 25 were wounded in the accident in Zherai district of Kandahar province, provincial police spokesman Abdul Bashir Khaksar told AFP. The truck was stationary when it was hit by the bus at around 6:00 am, said Kandahar governor spokesman Mohammad Aziz Azizi. The bus was carrying around 40 passengers from neighbouring Helmand province to Kandahar and overturned after the collision, he told AFP. Azizi put the death toll at 15. Women and children were among the casualties, he added. It was unclear how many of the casualties were on the bus. Traffic accidents are common in Afghanistan where drivers often flout rules and roads are in poor condition.

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis landed in Kabul on Friday for an unannounced visit to war-torn Afghanistan, adding his weight to a flurry of diplomatic efforts to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. His trip comes a little more than a year after President Donald Trump unveiled a revamped strategy for Afghanistan that saw him commit thousands of additional US forces to the country on an open-ended basis.  Mattis, on his second visit to the country in recent months, will meet with President Ashraf Ghani and the new US commander for American and NATO forces, General Scott Miller. His arrival in Kabul comes at a sensitive time in the 17-year war. The grinding conflict has seen little progress by Afghan or US forces against the Taliban, the country's largest militant group. Afghan and international players have been ratcheting up efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, which was toppled from power by US-led forces in 2001. An unprecedented ceasefire in June followed by talks between US officials and Taliban representatives in Qatar in July fuelled hopes that negotiations could bring an end to the fighting. But a recent spate of attacks by the Taliban and the smaller but potent Islamic State group that left hundreds of security forces and civilians dead has severely dented that optimism.  Battlefield setbacks A twin bomb attack on a wrestling club in a Shia neighbourhood of Kabul on Wednesday was just the latest in a long line of devastating assaults, killing at least 26 people and wounding 91. The attack underscored the challenges facing Afghanistan's beleaguered security forces that have been beset by corruption and low morale.  Trump's strategy, announced in August 2017, increased the US troop presence in the country and now includes a renewed push to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. But there are fears that Trump is growing frustrated with the pace of progress in the country, spurring US diplomats and other officials to intensify their efforts.  The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate. There is speculation that another meeting between US and Taliban representatives could be held this month. Mattis arrived in Kabul from Delhi where he and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with their Indian counterparts. Pompeo also visited Islamabad on Wednesday where he held talks with new premier Imran Khan and other senior officials. Pompeo said he was "hopeful" of resetting the troubled relationship with Pakistan, a key player in the Afghan conflict. Miller, who took command of US and NATO forces at a handover ceremony in Kabul on Sunday, replaces General John Nicholson, who rotated out of the role after a more than two-year deployment. Nicholson told reporters last month that the warring parties now had an "unprecedented" opportunity for peace, and insisted Trump's strategy for the country was working.  But his optimism belied recent setbacks on the battlefield.  The Taliban last month launched an extraordinary attack on the provincial capital of Ghazni -- just a two-hour drive from Kabul.  Militants held large parts of the city for days and Afghan forces needed US air power to push them back.

An Afghan policeman shot dead at least eight fellow officers, burned their bodies and took their weapons to join Taliban militants, provincial officials said on Thursday, adding to the toll from dozens of insider attacks in this year alone. The latest insider attack occurred in northeastern Takhar province, and came just days after a US soldier was killed by an Afghan policeman in eastern Logar province, the second American to be killed in an insider attack this year. "The incident happened early Thursday morning, after a local police opened fire on his colleagues sleeping in a checkpoint in Khwaja Ghar district," Takhar provincial police spokesman, Khalil Asir said. He said the bodies were later set on fire and burned. The perpetrator was apparently connected with the Taliban, Asir said, adding that he fled to the group taking weapons. Insider attacks by Afghan soldiers or police or by attackers wearing uniform have been a major problem in recent years. There are far more insider attacks on Afghan security forces than on Western forces. Between December and May, there were 47 so-called "green-on-green" attacks involving members of the Afghan security forces turning on their colleagues, with casualties from insider attacks up 50 percent, according to a Pentagon report in June. In a separate incident, 11 members of the security forces were killed after Taliban stormed several checkpoints in the western province of Badghis, late on Wednesday. The attacks happened in Ab Kamari district, provincial spokesman, Jamshid Shahabi said, adding that in a clash lasting several hours, 24 Taliban insurgents were killed or wounded.

Islamic State on Thursday claimed responsibility for a twin bomb attack at a wrestling club in the Afghan capital Kabul the previous day that killed at least 26 people. At least 91 others were also wounded in the incident, Public Health Ministry spokesman Wahidullah Majroh said on Thursday. The bombings targeted a wrestling club in the Dashte Barchi neighbourhood in western Kabul, a mainly Shiite dominated area, Interior Ministry spokesman Nasrat Rahimi had told dpa on Wednesday. First a suicide bomber entered the club and blew himself up at around 6 pm (1330 GMT). Forty minutes later, as people were busy moving the casualties to ambulances, a car bomb went off in front of the club, Rahimi said. Journalists from various media outlets were among the casualties of the second explosion, said Hashmat Stanakzai, a spokesman for the Kabul police. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the bombings through their mouthpiece Amaq news agency, saying first a suicide bomber had targeted, "a gathering of apostates" in the neighbourhood. The claim went on to say that an explosive-packed vehicle was then blown up among first responders and journalists that killed and injured around 150 people. The incident represents the second bomb attack on a civilian building in western Kabul in less than a month. In August, a suicide bombing on an educational centre in the Afghan capital left 65 students dead and injured some 75 others. Since January, together with Wednesday's bombings, at least 17 attacks have taken place in Kabul, leaving at least 430 people. 

At least 14 people have been killed after twin blasts at a Kabul wrestling club on Wednesday that left another 25 wounded, including four journalists, officials said, in the latest assault on the Afghan capital. The second bomb detonated an hour after a suicide bomber blew himself up inside the sports hall in a heavily Shia neighbourhood, as journalists and security forces gathered at the scene. Kabul police spokesman Hashmat Stanikzai confirmed the second explosion outside the venue, which happened just over an hour after the first. "There were security forces, people, and reporters (nearby). We don't know the nature (of the blast) or possible casualties," Stanikzai said. "I was outside when the first explosion happened, which has killed over 30 people, many of them wrestlers," Pahlawan Shir, director of the Maiwand wrestling club, told AFP. "I was searching for my coach, I have finally found him in the... hospital. He is in a critical condition." Social media users who purportedly witnessed the attack said the bomber killed the guards at the club before blowing himself up inside.  He "detonated inside where a large number of athletes had gathered. There are a lot of dead and wounded", Mohammad Hanif said on Facebook. A photo posted on Twitter purportedly showed several victims being loaded into the back of a police pick-up. The last major attack on Shias in Kabul was on August 15 when a suicide bomber blew himself up in an education centre, killing dozens of students.  IS said it was behind that attack, which drew international condemnation and came amid a wave of deadly violence across the country. Most of the victims were studying for college entrance exams when the blast happened. That was followed a day later by an attack on an intelligence training centre in Kabul.  Civilians have long borne the brunt of the violence in Afghanistan -- especially in Kabul, a target of both the Taliban and IS. Wednesday's attack comes a day after the Taliban announced the death of Jalaluddin Haqqani, who founded the eponymous militant group which is widely suspected of being behind some of the attacks in Kabul claimed by IS. Afghan special forces arrested 11 Haqqani militants in Kabul and nearby districts, the country's intelligence agency said Wednesday.  The Taliban has been conducting blistering attacks on security forces across Afghanistan, including the massive, days-long onslaught on the eastern city of Ghazni last month.

* Insurgent leader Jalaluddin Haqqani dies after long illness * Network known for complex, well-organised attacks * Former guerrilla leader handed control to son some years ago * Group founded in 1970s, fought Soviets, then Americans Jalaluddin Haqqani, founder of the militant Haqqani network, one of the most powerful and feared groups in the Afghan insurgency, has died after a long illness, the Taliban said on Tuesday. Haqqani, who founded the network in the 1970s, gave up operational leadership of the group some years ago to his son Sirajuddin, who is now deputy leader of the Afghan Taliban, with a $5-million US bounty on his head. Defence ministry spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said the death was not expected to mean any major change for the Haqqani network, blamed by Afghan and US security officials for some of the most devastating suicide attacks of the past decade. "Operationally, his death will not have an impact on the group," he said, adding that Haqqani's role in recent years was ideological rather than practical. Haqqani achieved prominence as a guerrilla leader in the US-backed campaign against Soviet forces occupying Afghanistan during the 1980s but later allied himself with the Taliban, fighting American troops after the Taliban were ousted in 2001. His group became notorious for complex, well-organised attacks on both Afghan and US military, as well as civilian targets and high-profile kidnappings. With hopes for peace talks raised by last June's unprecedented ceasefire, news of the death of one of the most notorious militant commanders comes at a sensitive time for both the Taliban and Kabul's Western-backed government. Jalaluddin Haqqani's death has been reported a number of times over recent years, although never confirmed, but he is not believed to have held any operational role for some time. "Haqqani had become quite old and was suffering from different health problems and had handed over the network to his eldest son, Sirajuddin Haqqani, and his other sons," said one Taliban source close to the Haqqani family. Haqqani had been ill and bed-ridden for several years but remained an inspiration for the Taliban, the movement said. "If Haqqani Sahib has departed (from) us physically, his ideology and methodology continue to endure," it said in a statement. US and Afghan officials have said the group, based in Pakistan's region of North Waziristan, and considered close to Al Qaeda, operated with the support of Pakistani intelligence services. That charge is rejected by Pakistan, which has pointed to the network's early links to the US Central Intelligence Agency.

A US service member was killed and another wounded in an apparent insider attack in eastern Afghanistan on Monday, the Nato-led Resolute Support mission said in a statement. The service member, who has not been identified, was the sixth American to be killed in Afghanistan this year. The incident came two months after a member of a US army training unit was shot dead by an Afghan soldier in the southern province of Uruzgan. "The sacrifice of our service member, who volunteered for a mission to Afghanistan to protect his country, is a tragic loss for all who knew and all who will now never know him," said Gen. Scott Miller, who assumed command of Nato forces in Afghanistan on Sunday. Insider attacks, often known as "green on blue" attacks in which Afghan service members or attackers wearing Afghan uniforms fire on US or coalition troops, have been a regular feature of the conflict in Afghanistan, although their frequency has diminished in recent years. Coalition forces have also tightened security and added extra force protection measures including special "Guardian Angel" units to accompany training units. The Resolute Support statement said the wounded service member was in a stable condition but gave no further details, saying their name would be withheld until after next of kin were notified. 

General Scott Miller took command of US and Nato forces in Afghanistan on Sunday, as worsening violence erodes hopes for peace in the war-torn country. Miller, who has commanded special operations units in Afghanistan since 2013, succeeds General John Nicholson, who is rotating out of the post after more than two years. The handover comes at a sensitive time in the 17-year war that has seen little progress by Afghan or US forces against the Taliban, Afghanistan's largest militant group.  Afghan and international players have been ratcheting up efforts to hold peace talks with the Taliban, which was toppled from power by US-led forces in 2001. An unprecedented ceasefire in June followed by talks between US officials and Taliban representatives in July fuelled hopes that negotiations could bring an end to the fighting. But a recent spate of attacks by Taliban and the smaller but potent Islamic State group that left hundreds of security forces and civilians dead has almost extinguished that optimism.  "This is a tough fight," Miller acknowledged during an outdoor change of command ceremony in Kabul attended by top Afghan officials and foreign diplomats. "There's no room for status quo, we cannot afford to be complacent. We must be aware of bias and easy conclusions -- they don't exist here." In a WhatsApp message to reporters, Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warned Miller would "fail like the other commanders". For the past two years Miller has headed up the secretive Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and has lengthy experience working with some of America's most elite fighters. Nicholson, who will return to the Pentagon, is the longest-serving US commander of Nato and American Forces in Afghanistan. There had been concerns that militants would shower Kabul with mortar or rocket fire to spoil Sunday's handover, as they did during Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's speech on the first day of the Eid al-Adha holiday last month. But the ceremony passed off uninterrupted.  Miller takes up his new role more than a year after US President Donald Trump unveiled his Afghanistan strategy, which increased the US troop presence and now includes a renewed push to bring the Taliban to the negotiating table. But there are fears that Trump is growing frustrated with the pace of progress in the country.  The Taliban have long insisted on direct talks with Washington and refused to negotiate with the Afghan government, which they see as illegitimate. There is speculation that another meeting between US and Taliban representatives could be held this month. "We know the military component is only one part of this conditions-based strategy," Miller said. He added that it was necessary to "create space for the political process" to end the war.  Separately, Miller confirmed in a statement that a US airstrike in the eastern province of Nangarhar on August 25 killed the leader of the Islamic State group in Afghanistan. Abu Saad Orakzai, also known as Saad Arhabi, was among several people killed in the strike. IS first emerged in Afghanistan around 2014. Currently there are about 14,000 US troops in Afghanistan, providing the main component of the Nato mission there to support and train local forces. 

A helicopter crash in northern Afghanistan on Sunday killed at least three people including a foreign pilot, Afghan officials said.  The aircraft crashed due to "technical problems" shortly after taking off in Dehdadi district in Balkh province, Nazer Khuda Pamiri, deputy commander of Afghan forces in northern Afghanistan, told AFP.  Ten people were on board the helicopter at the time of the accident. It was transporting Afghan security forces from a military base in Dehdadi to the volatile northwestern province of Faryab. "Three people were killed and seven others were wounded," Pamiri said. "The dead include two Afghan security forces and one foreign pilot" who may have been Russian.  The helicopter caught fire after it hit the ground, Pamiri added.  Defence ministry deputy spokesman Mohammad Radmanish said the helicopter belonged to a private company and had been hired by the ministry.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Sunday rejected the resignations of the intelligence chief and the interior and defence ministers, as the government faces fierce criticism over an increasingly deadly insurgency. Ghani called on Defence Minister Tariq Shah Bahrami, Interior Minister Wais Ahmad Barmak and intelligence chief Masoom Stanekzai to continue their duties, after rejecting their resignation letters submitted on Saturday and demanding they help bolster the country's defences.  "President Ghani did not approve their resignations... and gave them the necessary instructions to improve the security situation," said a palace statement. On Friday Ghani's powerful national security adviser Mohammad Hanif Atmar had resigned, in a blow to the embattled unity government before parliamentary elections scheduled for October. The Ghani administration has been widely criticised for its inability to counter the energised insurgency. The Taliban have intensified assaults on police and troops across the country and the Islamic State group has targeted the capital Kabul. This month has seen an extraordinarily violent series of incidents, including an attack that saw the Taliban storm the provincial capital of Ghazni -- just a two-hour drive from Kabul -- despite repeated warnings from local officials that the city was in danger. Militants held large parts of the city for days and Afghan forces needed US air power to push them back, resulting in widespread destruction and estimates of hundreds of deaths. The resignation letters came a week after Ghani offered a conditional three-month ceasefire to the Taliban, a move welcomed by the United States and Nato after nearly 17 years of war. The Taliban have yet to officially respond to the offer. A brief ceasefire in June had sparked hopes that a path for talks with the insurgents was opening.