Dozens of Afghan forces and the Taliban movement were killed and injured during clashes in several areas, while Afghan Defense Minister Asadullah Khalid expressed his hope for the success of the ongoing negotiations in Doha between the government and the movement and for peace to be established.
The Al-Jazeera correspondent in Afghanistan quoted a government official as saying that 32 Afghan soldiers were killed Wednesday / Thursday night, and 25 others were wounded.
Ataullah Khogyani, spokesman for the governor of Nangarhar Province (east of the country), said that more than 30 Taliban militants were killed, and 20 others were injured, during clashes between government forces and Taliban militants, after the movement carried out simultaneous attacks on outposts in Hasarik, Sherzad and Hagiany districts.
On the other hand, the Afghan Minister of Defense - during a ceremony held at the Afghan air force base in the capital, Kabul - said, "I hope the Afghan peace negotiations will succeed, and we see a ceasefire throughout the country."
He added, "In the event of the collapse of these negotiations - God forbid - the Afghan forces can defend every inch of Afghan soil, and currently our forces conduct 96% of the military operations without the help of foreign forces."
In a related context, the spokesman for the official delegation of the Afghan government in the Doha negotiations, Nader Naderi, said that the parties to the negotiations had worked during the past days to agree on a document on the procedures on the basis of which the negotiations would be conducted.
He added - in an interview with Al Jazeera - that the government delegation has instructions to keep the Doha negotiations going.
On Tuesday, the Afghan Taliban and government delegations held the first closed direct negotiations session in Doha, and each team listened to the words of the other team, amid recommendations from the leaders of the various parties, with patience.
The Security Council welcomed the move and called on the two parties to take measures to build confidence and reduce acts of violence. The Council also unanimously adopted a decision to renew the United Nations Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) for a year.