US, Taliban to continue ‘extensive talks’ on Saturday

Taliban and US officials holding talks in Qatar on ways to end the war in Afghanistan have held “extensive” discussions on how foreign troops could be withdrawn, the Afghan militant group said on Thursday. The sides also discussed how to guarantee that Afghanistan would not be used again by outside forces to attack other countries, Reuters reports. US special peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad also said in a tweet that the meetings in Doha were productive. “We continue to take slow, steady steps toward understanding and eventually peace,” Khalilzad said, adding that the talks would be continued on Saturday after a two-day break.