In the latest spate of attacks by the Taliban militants in afghanistan, 74 persons have been killed with more than 200 injured. The attacks targeted the police as well as facilities of the government and were timed to send across a message to those who were trying to bring peace to the country.

A coordination group consisting of reps of Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and the United States had been created a couple of years ago. Their responsibility is to facilitate negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban. However, its efforts last year had to be put on hold because a U.S.

drone strike killed a Taliban leader in Pakistan.

The reps met again this year in Oman to explore possibilities of bringing peace to the country, and the Taliban took the opportunity to carry out their strikes on the day after the meeting.

There were multiple attacks

Los Angeles Times reports that the Taliban militants resorted to multiple attacks to make this one of the deadliest in the history of Afghanistan. The militants made use of car bombs and stormed a police training center in the eastern province of Paktia to leave 52 people dead. Bombs were planted in the vehicles and went off in quick succession in the police compound.

Afghan interior ministry has confirmed the death of the provincial police chief.

There were at least 20 civilian casualties while more than 158 people suffered injuries.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has condemned the attack.

Apart from the attack in Paktia, seventeen police officers were killed in other Taliban attack in the country. One of these was in Ghazni where a Humvee, packed with explosives, blew up to kill 15 police officers apart from five civilians, and leave another 43 wounded.

The second was in Farah where militants killed two police officers after storming the center of Shibkho district, along the Iranian border.

Obviously, such attacks by the Taliban have become a major concern for the United States who are keen to maintain good relations with Afghanistan.

The situation gets complicated

The Taliban has got an agenda of its own and wants to retain control of the country.

It continues to attack the government machinery of Afghanistan to undermine its authority. According to estimates of the United States, insurgents control nearly 40% of the country’s districts.

There is a sizeable number of U.S. troops already positioned in the country, and President Donald Trump has authorized the deployment of additional numbers. The intention is to build the confidence level of the local Afghan forces. The U.S. troops would impart necessary training to the Afghans so that they can tackle the militants on their own.