Afghan delegation, Taliban to talk peace in Qatar: Official

Kabul: A high-powered Afghan government delegation, which will include the head of the country's reconciliation council, is to meet the Taliban in Doha to jump-start a long-stalled peace process, an Afghan official said Tuesday.

The Taliban were expected to bring their senior leaders to the table when the two sides meet, possibly on Friday, said the official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters.

The Taliban maintain a political office in the Qatari capital of Doha.

The renewed push to reach a peace deal comes as the US winds down its military presence in Afghanistan. Outgoing US commander Gen Scott Miller recently warned that increasing violence seriously hurts Afghanistan's chances of finding a peaceful end to decades of war.

At the same time, Taliban fighters have taken control of large swaths of the country. Although the exact number of districts now under Taliban control is not known, it is believed they now rule in more than a third of Afghanistan's 421 districts and district centers.

Several of the districts are strategic, bordering Iran, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan.

The surge has also exposed weaknesses in the Afghan National Security and Defense Forces. Many districts fell without a fight and more than 1,000 soldiers fled to Tajikistan.

There have been repeated reports of troops not being resupplied or being left without reinforcements. They are often outgunned and outnumbered by their Taliban adversaries.

The Doha talks will be led by senior government official Abdullah Abdullah, who heads Afghanistan's reconciliation council.

Former President Hamid Karzai is also expected to be among the delegates. The negotiations are aimed at ending the violence that has steadily increased since the US signed a deal with the insurgent movement in February last year.

Meanwhile, the Taliban are pressing on with their surge in Afghanistan, saying they seized a strategic border crossing with Pakistan on Wednesday - the latest in a series of key border post to come under their control in recent weeks.

The development was the latest in Taliban wins on the ground as American and NATO troops complete their pullout from the war-battered country.