Peace talks gain ground amid fighting

Peace talks gain ground amid fighting

Associated Press

KABUL

Efforts to start peace talks with the Taliban appear to be gaining traction, with the head of the Afghan peace council saying Saturday that it has been in contact with three factions of the insurgent movement and the U.S. defense secretary predicting negotiations by the end of the year.

Other signs also suggest that discussions with insurgents are moving forward.

In violence Saturday, a roadside bomb killed four NATO service members in eastern Afghanistan, the coalition said. Elsewhere in the east, a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives near a coalition convoy, wounding three Afghan guards.