The Taliban militant group in Afghanistan says it plans to release 20 prisoners of the Afghan government in what would be a first handover since the beginning of a fragile peace process.
“Today, 20 prisoners of the Kabul administration will be released,” Suhail Shaheen, a Taliban spokesman, said in a tweet on Sunday, adding that the captives would be handed over to the representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in the southern city of Kandahar.
The move appears to be a major breakthrough after the militants walked out of talks with Kabul last week.
It was the second time the Taliban were reversing a decision about their interactions with the Afghan government.
Washington is compelled under the deal to pull out American forces and foreign troops from Afghanistan by July next year, provided that the militants start talks with Kabul and adhere to other security guarantees.
The Afghan government, which was excluded from the talks and was thus not a signatory to the accord, is required to release up to 5,000 Taliban prisoners. The militants are obliged to free 1,000 pro-government captives in return.
Since Wednesday, the Afghan government has released 300 Taliban prisoners.
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