Karzai admits Taliban talks

AFGHAN President Hamid Karzai confirmed his government has been in informal talks with the Taliban on securing peace in war-weary Afghanistan “for quite some time” – the latest high-level acknowledgment of contacts with the insurgent group.

The comments came as Taliban fighters ambushed a military supply convoy in the east and fought with Afghan forces in the south.

“We’ve been talking to the Taliban as countryman to countryman,” he said.