Mounting Afghan war coincides with talks in Qatar

KABUL, Afghanistan

Escalating violence in Afghanistan went hand in hand with the intra-Afghan peace dialogue in Doha, Qatar.

In the past 24 hours, according to the Ministry of Defense and Ministry of Interior, more than 100 Taliban militants -- including scores of top militant commanders -- have been killed in the ongoing clean-up operations in various parts of the country.

According to the official figures, 58 militants were killed in Logar, 27 in Badghes and Baghlan, 10 in Helmand, eight in Uruzgan and six were killed in Ghazni provinces.

In an apparent push for upper hand amid the proposed peace talks, the Afghan security forces and Taliban are engaged in fierce and deadly clashes.

Zabihullah Mujahed, the Taliban spokesman, released a list of deadly assaults on social media with loud claims of inflicting heavy toll on the Afghan security forces.

Meanwhile, the second and final day of intra-Afghan peace dialogue in Doha on Monday resulted in formation of a joint committee aimed at the continuation of talks.

According to local Salam Afghanistan radio, the committee has Abdul Salam Hanafi, Shahabuddin Dilawar and Amir Khan Mutaqi from the Taliban side; while Rangin Dadfar Spanta, Nader Naderi, Lutfullah Najafizada, Habiba Sarabi and Umer Zakhilwal will represent the Afghan side.

The seventh round of Afghan peace talks between the U.S. and the Taliban are paused in Doha for two days as a group of Afghan politicians and civil society activists hold the intra-Afghan dialogue at the same venue.

Visuals circulating on the social media showed a number of Afghan politicians sharing dining tables with the leaders of the Taliban in an apparent cordial environment.

Although the Afghan government is not officially represented at the intra-Afghan talks with the Taliban, a number of top officials from Kabul are attending the talks in their personal capacity.