US agree deal with Taliban to end 18-year conflict
The US has signed an agreement with the Taliban in an effort to bring peace to Afghanistan following 18 years of conflict.
The agreement will see the US and its Nato allies remove all troops from the country within 14 months if militants uphold the deal.
The signing in Doha, Qatar, was attended by Taliban leaders and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
Pompeo was in attendance as a witness as US special envoy Zalmay Khalilzad and Taliban chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar signed the agreement.
The Taliban is now set to hold talks with the Afghan government.
The agreement means the militants are not allowed al-Qaeda or other extremist groups to operate in the areas they control.
It will see the withdrawal of the around 12,000 US troops still stationed in Afghanistan.
The US initially invaded the country in 2001 following the 9/11 attacks in New York by al-Qaeda.
President Trump has promised to put an end to the conflict.
Pompeo gave a speech in Doha and urged the militant group to “keep your promises to cut ties with al-Qaeda”.
US Defence Secretary Mark Esper was in the Afghanistan capital, Kabul, and said: “This is a hopeful moment, but it is only the beginning.
“The road ahead will not be easy. Achieving lasting peace in Afghanistan will require patience and compromise among all parties.”
He said the US would continue to support the Afghan government.