14 DAY TRIAL // Four American soldiers have been killed on Tuesday, June 18 in an attack on the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, reports say.
According to the NBC News, the troops died in a mortar attack just hours after White House officials announced plans to meet Taliban representatives for peace talks in Qatar.
"This is a key milestone on the way to the complete transition of responsibility for security to Afghans by the end of next year," a spokesperson for the US government said at the time.
The International Security Assistance Force troops died under indirect fire on Bagram Airfield, but the attack has not been claimed yet.
"We have long said that this conflict will likely not be won on the battlefield, and that is why we support the opening of this office.
"[The US] will have a role in direct talks, but this is a negotiation that will have to be led by Afghans," US officials said describing intents to discuss terms for a ceasefire in Afghanistan.
The US planned to impose breaking off connection to al Qaeda as a condition for the peace talks.
"Our goal in Afghanistan continues to be to disrupt, dismantle and defeat al-Qaida, to ensure that the country can never again be a safe haven for terrorists.
"We're doing both at the same time, talking and winding down our fighting in the country," noted State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki.
Other conditions include the Taliban recognizing the Afghan constitution. More so, the Afghan army was awarded control over the country's security proceedings, with foreign troops arranging to leave the territory as early as 2014.
The Taliban have asked for five commanders to be released from US prisons and handed over to Afghan authorities upon their arrival in Doha, Qatar.